Moses (1498-1378 BC)
By
faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s
daughter. He chose to be mistreated along
with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Hebrews 11:24-25 (NIV)
READ: Exodus 2, 3 and
Deuteronomy 34
After the days of Joseph the
children of Jacob remained in Egypt for centuries bringing us to the time of
Moses. During this time the descendants
of Jacob were increasing in number and were being treated brutally by the
Egyptians. The life of Moses can be
easily broken up into three 40 year segments.
The first was his life and upbringing in Egypt. Moses was a Hebrew child born in Egypt during
a time of political uncertainty and great danger for the Israelites. Pharaoh aimed to destroy every male child
born in Israel and only the hand of God could have this evil tyrant’s daughter
providing protection for the Hebrew baby who was to become the future deliverer
of God’s people. She found him as a baby
in a basket in the reeds and took him in as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the
Egyptians yet his heart yearned for his people who were suffering under the
brutal Egyptian slave drivers. One day
Moses saw a Hebrew being beaten by an Egyptian and he was aroused by the
injustice and killed the Egyptian. He
covered up his violent act by burying his victim in the sand and fleeing
because of the Israelites reaction to his actions. This brings us to the second 40 years of his
life, the formative and character building years in the wilderness of Midian. It was there that he met his wife and
received his calling to be the deliverer of Israel as God met him at the
burning bush. The sign was a challenge
to Moses to put his faith in the God of his forefathers and to serve a people
who had rejected him. Moses then enters
the final 40 year phase of his life by returning to Egypt as Israel’s
deliverer. These final years consist of
two parts. The first is the conflict
with Pharaoh which includes the ten plagues of Egypt and the second is the
challenge with Israel as they reject God and wander in the wilderness. In these years Moses led the people out of
great love for them, he received the Ten Commandments, he initiated the
Passover feast, he interceded for the people yearning for them to follow God
and he wrote the first 5 books of the Bible.
All of this was possible because he exercised great faith in God and
obeyed Him!
JOURNALING AND PRAYER
1. Where do you feel weak in your faith?
2. Ask God how He wants to grow your faith this summer. What does He want to do in your heart?
3. Thank God for what He has shown you, and pray that it would become a reality in your life.
