Show Me Your Glory. Lessons from the Life of Moses Inductive Discovery Lesson 3

Transcription

1 Show Me Your Glory Lessons from the Life of Moses Inductive Discovery Lesson 3 A wise man once said, Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light. Like any of us, Moses had his moments. He learned the challenges of obedient leadership the old fashioned way: one setback at a time. We know how the story ends, but let s keep in mind that Moses was still discovering his part in God s plan. When Michelangelo created his statue of Moses, he painstakingly chiseled fierce determination into his brow, a stalwart gaze in his eyes and a set to his jaw that dared any to defy him. If life were suddenly breathed into that massive marble figure of a man, Pharaoh would have trembled before him. The flesh and bone Moses, however, was an eighty year old desert nomad holding a wooden rod accompanied by his older brother! Still, God s power and purpose rested on him. In His good time and with perfect precision, God carved away every vestige of self-reliance and engraved Himself into Moses heart. Where God resides, strength and determination abound. Background The Pharaoh that Moses stood before was Amenhotep II. He was eighteen years old when he ascended the throne upon the death of his father, Thutmose III. Unlike his father, dubbed the Napoleon of Egypt, Amenhotep II failed to distinguish himself as a strong military leader. The customary practice of Pharaohs erecting memorials to themselves indicates that Amenhotep II was a superior athlete. His skill with a bow is legendary and, by his own accounts, he was an expert handler of ships and horses. His long reign is characterized as peaceful, allowing him to aggressively pursue building projects, thus leaving his mark over all Egypt. With his reign so well-documented, we might wonder why there is no evidence of ravaging plagues or the significant destruction of his army in the Red Sea. The simple explanation is that Egyptian kings disliked recording their disasters. Exodus Ch. 5-6 Read the entire passage in one sitting. If possible, read it again from a different Bible translation. Briefly describe in your own words what is happening

2 Write down your OBSERVATIONS Read the section and record what you see. Use the first column to keep track of what you find in the Bible passage. (Who? What? When? Where?) Look for clues that tell you when and where the story is taking place. What events are recorded? Who is mentioned and what role do they play? What choices do they make? Do they succeed or fail? How do they respond to circumstances? What attitudes or motives do they display? Use the second column to record information you gather from other sources. Are more details of the story recorded somewhere else in the Bible? What else can you discover about the people and places mentioned? You may want to look up names and places in a Bible dictionary, map or encyclopedia. You can also use this section to jot down your own thoughts and impressions about people and events. Imagine the people, places and events you read about. Don t use your imagination to produce facts, but use it to bring those biblical facts to life. Exodus 5:1-14 Facts from the passage: My Research and Personal Observations:

3 Exodus 5:15-23 Facts from the passage: My Research and Personal Observations: Exodus 6:1-13 Facts from the passage: My Research and Personal Observations: 3

4 Exodus 6:14-30 Facts from the passage: My Research and Personal Observations: 4

5 Moses Character Profile This section is provided so that you can get to know Moses, the man. Use the suggested areas on the chart below to track what you have observed about Moses this week. Characteristics/Personality Traits: Training/Growth: Obstacles/Challenges: Accomplishments/Failures: Attitudes/Motives: Relationship with God/With Others: 5

6 INTERPRETATION What does it mean? Look for a spiritual lesson. Be careful not to read into the Bible an idea that is not there. Examine each verse in light of the verses around it. To help you find a spiritual lesson, ask questions such as, Is there a command to obey? A promise to claim? A condition to that promise? Is there a warning to heed? An example to follow or avoid? Looking at a character, ask questions such as, How did God deal with this person? How did they respond to their circumstances? What strengths or talents are revealed? What faults are exposed? Did they learn from their failures? Who did they depend on? How did they influence others? What did they accomplish? State the lesson in one simple sentence. APPLICATION How does it apply to me? We don t study the Bible just to gather information we want to spiritually grow. Our heart needs to be open to change. The only way to move truth off the pages of your Bible and into your life is to put it into action. To apply a spiritual lesson, we must examine ourselves and take deliberate steps to do something with what we have learned. Ask yourself: Is this a new lesson, or does it reinforce what I already know? What does it challenge me to do? Does it point out error in my attitude or actions? What changes does it require? Think of how the lesson relates to you and what specific course of action you will take. Write your application in the form of a question to make it personal. Exodus 5:1-14 Lesson: Application: Exodus 5:15-23 Lesson: Application: Exodus 6:1-13 Lesson: Application: 6

7 Exodus 6:14-30 Lesson: Application: Summary Write a simple sentence that summarizes what the passage is about. Give a title to the chapter that will help you personally to remember it. Take a Closer Look So Moses returned to the Lord and said, Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? Exodus 5:22 You caused a stink, Moses! That wasn t the reaction Moses expected and it certainly wasn t what he had intended. Moses obeyed what God told him to do and it seemed to make things worse. Have you ever done the right thing only to have everything go wrong? Have you ever second-guessed the Lord when a situation begins to unravel? When life doesn t go according to the plan (our idea of what God is doing) we find ourselves in the frustrating position of trying to figure it out. We wonder why and even begin to question God. Moses did. Let s look at Moses humiliating experience and take away three keys for dealing with discouragement. That s the last straw The overburdened people vented their frustration on Moses. They angrily refused to listen to anything else he said. For all they cared, he could beat a dusty track right back to Midian. Feeling defeated and discouraged, he probably gave that some serious thought. But first, he went back to the Lord. Put yourself in Moses shoes. What would your response have been? 7

8 The first key to dealing with discouragement is pretty clear, isn t it? Pray. Go to God and keep it real. Moses three-sentence prayer is painfully honest. He has questions and blurts them out in a tone we re all familiar with. Aren t you glad that God hears beyond our words and listens to the cry of our heart? Moses needed to know that God was still in control. Ever been there? How comforting to know we don t have to swallow our disappointment and put on a good face for the Lord. He tells us to pour out our heart in prayer so He can give us peace (see Philippians 4:6-7). Why? Because I said so Moses gets right to the point. Why? Why? Why? The confidence he felt walking into Pharaoh s court was gone. Moses took this setback personally because he still struggled with his own inadequacy. Twice he reminded God what a poor speaker he was. Focused on his failings, he temporarily forgot who he was talking to. That brings us to the second key to dealing with discouragement. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Return to God s promise in Philippians 4:7 to give us peace. In the very next verse, we re told how to hold on to that peace. What takes the lead on God s think-onthese-things list? Whatever is true. While Moses was busy reminding God what was happening, God graciously reminded Moses what was true! I am the Lord. Moses needed to remember, and we do too, that God isn t hamstrung by adverse circumstances. God never makes mistakes. God is always in control. The cure for discouragement, the vaccine against bitterness is to keep our eyes on the Lord. Are you having trouble seeing Him in your present circumstances? Go back to where you will always find Him in His Word. Reflect on the following scriptures. (Yes, there are a lot of verses to read, but it barely nicks the surface!) Express, in your own words, what is always true about the Lord. Psalm 18:30 Psalm 90:2 Psalm 102:25-27 Psalm 147:5 Jeremiah 23:23-24 Jeremiah 32:27 Isaiah 55:8-11 Lamentations 3:22-23 Philippians 2:13 Which of these verses will you commit to memory as a reminder to keep your eyes on the Lord? 8

9 Now see what I will do Have you ever been on the desert in a dust storm? It s hard to see the horizon with sand blowing in your eyes. Moses saw a reason, after so many years, to return to Egypt. He saw how eagerly the people responded to his message, believed and bowed low to worship the Lord. He watched in utter despair as they sank back into spirit-broken, hopeless lives. Moses saw that Pharaoh was an arrogant, hard-hearted man. What Moses did not yet see was that all these circumstances were part of God s greater plan. From his discouraged perspective, the whole situation went from bad to worse. You ve probably already noticed how many times in this conversation God told Moses, I will That s the third key to dealing with discouragement. Look for good to come out of adversity. That s not just advice on how to keep an upbeat attitude; it s a biblical principle to live by. Probably the first verse that comes to mind is Romans 8:28. For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God; to those who are the called according to His purpose. That is God s promise to you as His child! Everything that comes into our life is sifted through the loving hands of our Heavenly Father. He uses all things and wastes nothing in order to do the best thing for you. What good things can you expect to come out of adversity? Read Romans 5:1-5 and record what you find. Maybe, like Moses, you need to hear God say, I will Here are just a few to consider: Psalm 91:15 Isaiah 42:16 Isaiah 43:19 John 14:3 John 14:16 Can you recall a time when God helped you through a discouraging situation? Briefly share what you learned about yourself, and about God, from that experience. 9

10 Something to Think About... We need to hear that God is still in control. We need to hear that it s not over until He says so. We need to hear that life s mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to sit tight. God is God. He knows what He is doing. When you can t trace His hand, trust His heart. 1 -Max Lucado- God s Word Bearing Fruit For you, personally, what has been the most important lesson from this study? How will you put what you have discovered into practice? 1 Max Lucado, as quoted in Grace for the Moment (J. Countrymen, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2000) pp. 187,

11 Message Notes: Prayer Requests: 11

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