Exodus – Page 12 – Be Still…

Exodus 4:18-31 – Egypt Here We Come

Today’s reading seemed a bit disjointed, didn’t it to you? I understand that is common in Hebrew writing. From start to finish in only a few verses, we have moved from the mountain where Moses is commissioned to arriving in Egypt to complete the mission. We can also get stuck on an event that happened on the journey.

What did you think about the attempt on Moses’ life by God? I thought it a little strange that God would kill him before he arrived in Egypt and finished his assignment. If you look closely, it never says Moses was the target, yet that is what is assumed by the use of pronouns. Who else would it be? But why? Was it a test?

Exodus 4:1-17 – God’s Power

Read Exodus 4:1-17

Moses is still not sure he’s the best man for the job. God is making a HUGE ask here, and Moses continues to question the Almighty. That takes some gumption to question God. In the face of the same situation, I don’t know that I would have been any different. I would not have felt worthy for the mission. In our business, we call such thoughts – limiting beliefs. We, like Moses, often halt our own progress and success because of our limiting beliefs.

Exodus 3:11-22 – Provision from God

Read Exodus 3:11-22

Now it’s time to hear what Moses has to say about his assignment. “Who me?” seems pretty appropriate. Confronting Pharaoh and leading a multitude of Israelites to freedom does not sound like a simple task. Moses at first doesn’t feel anywhere near qualified for this. You may be recognizing yourself in some of these excuses. When God calls us to act, we need to be obedient. Although, that’s sometimes easier said than done. Maybe it will help to remember you’re not alone.

As for Moses, he is thinking fast on his feet, seemingly to get out of this mission. He’s coming up with excuses or what-ifs. I feel confident in saying we do the same, don’t we? I don’t think it’s just me. When a new task with great challenge faces us, do we accept it right away or do we have conversations going on, questioning what-if this or what-if that? We want answers just like Moses did.

Exodus 3:1-10 – Meeting God

Read Exodus 3:1-10

It started like any other day. Moses was tending sheep. He had probably kissed his wife goodbye and headed out for a day in the hot sun. Never in a million years did he expect to meet God that day. God will show up for us in unexpected places, too. We need to be watching.

I have seen this scene portayed in different ways. Watch HERE.

I loved what Moses said, “Here I am.” There was an openness and vulnerability in that statement. Moses answered an unknown voice, why? Out of curiosity? Respect? He didn’t know this burning bush was God, did he? But he was fascinated. What kinds of emotions do you think were coursing through his veins at this moment?

Exodus 2:16-25 – New Beginnings

Read Exodus 2:16-25

Having fled for his life, Moses is soon welcomed into a new community. The Midianites would have been a people living in the Sinai Peninsula area between Egypt and Israel. There is not a lot known about them from what I have read. What we do see is how God has opened their hearts to be part of Moses’ story. Moses’ own people, the Israelites, don’t recognize him. The people who adopted him, the Egyptians are out to kill him. Yet the Midianites have welcomed him with open arms.

Moses is given a wife and we hear about his first son, Gershom. Moses recognizes he is a foreigner in a foreign land. I understand how that feels now that we live in Mexico. I had never given it much thought for the 50+ years I lived in my home country. Living in different cities always posed a new challenge, but the culture was the same. In Mexico, so many things are different from anything I’ve ever known. It goes way beyond the language barrier of which I’m crushing. I’m embracing the fact I am now the foreigner in a foreign land. I rely all the more on God to show me how I can make a difference here.