Show Me Your Glory Lessons from the Life of Moses Inductive Discovery Lesson 9 W hat am I to do with these people? Moses was feeling the pressure again. When water wasn t easily found, the Israelites moaned and complained. We re thirsty! This wasn t a new test. How could they so quickly forget God s faithfulness to provide? As usual, Moses found himself caught in the crosshairs of their complaints. They questioned his motives and good judgment. Why did you bring us out here? Can t you see what this is doing to our children? So Moses did what he always did when they throttled him with criticism. He cried out to the Lord. Listen closely and hear the frustration welling up through his words. What am I going to do Lord? Moses was facing tests of his own. As a leader, he was responsible for the safety and well-being of millions of people. As a man, he was feeling stressed and alone out there in front. As always, God supplied Moses with unfailing resources to meet every need. Background Rephidim was the last stopping place for the Israelites before reaching Mt. Sinai where they would meet God. After dealing with the crisis of no water, Moses and the Israelites were attacked by the Amalekites who were descendants of Jacob s brother, Esau. These nomadic people occupied the wilderness further north and had to travel a great distance to start this fight. They attacked Israel suddenly and at their weakest point (see Deuteronomy 25:17-19). Joshua is first mentioned here, commissioned by Moses to lead Israel into battle. Rephidim was the sight of much turmoil, but it was also a place of happy reunion for Moses and his family. Apparently Moses had sent Zipporah and his sons to live with her father for safekeeping while he led the Israelites out of Egypt. Jethro rejoiced with Moses and gave him wise counsel before departing for his home in Midian. Exodus Ch. 17-18 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
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 17:1-7 Facts from the passage: My Research and Personal Observations: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2
Exodus 17:8-16 Facts from the passage: My Research and Personal Observations: Exodus 18:1-12 Facts from the passage: My Research and Personal Observations: 3
Exodus 18:13-27 Facts from the passage: My Research and Personal Observations: --------- --------- --------- --------- 4
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
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 17:1-7 Lesson: Application: Exodus 17:8-16 Lesson: Application: Exodus 18:1-12 Lesson: Application: 6
Exodus 18:13-27 Lesson: Application: Summary Write a simple sentence that summarizes what the passage is about. Give a title to the chapters that will help you personally to remember them. Take a Closer Look You re going to wear yourself out and the people too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. Exodus 18:18 NLT We tend to think of stress as a 21 st century affliction. But as long as there have been people, there have been individuals who try to do way too much. In this chapter, we see Moses was so conscientious in his effort to meet every pressing need that he was headed for burnout. But he was too busy to notice! Jethro quietly observed the situation and offered his son-in-law some wise advice. To his credit, Moses listened and learned a valuable lesson about time and energy management. These are practical matters, but they impact our spiritual growth and productivity, so let s take a closer look. Think about it. When Jethro asked Moses why the people were coming to him all day long, Moses answer, simply put, was because they need me. Consider the logistics involved in Moses method of arbitrating daily disputes between a man and his neighbor. If Moses put in a 14-hour day (with no breaks), he could hear 84 ten-minute cases a day. If only half of the 600,000 * people had a dispute, it would take Moses more than five years to settle just one day s worth of disagreements! How would you like to wait in that line? No wonder Jethro told his overworked son-in-law, The thing that you are doing is not good. Somewhere along the way, Moses had developed a routine he couldn t possibly keep up with. Can you relate? * See Exodus 12:27 7
Who needs you? List the hats you wear, meaning the roles/responsibilities you are currently committed to. Mark whether you regard this role as essential (E) or optional (O). Briefly state why you do it. (If you need more lines, use a separate sheet of paper and take your vitamins!) Role E O Why How are you doing in keeping up with your obligations? Choose one of the following letters and mark it to the left of each role you listed. A = Always M = Most of the time S = Sometimes R = Rarely N = Never Let s talk about expectations. Jethro saw Moses pushing himself beyond reasonable limits. Moses needed to lead the people (that s what God called him to do) but he was trying to do it single-handedly. Before scolding yourself for not getting it all done, perhaps you should re-evaluate your expectations. Consider the following: Do I confuse being busy with being productive? Do I equate doing my best with being the best? Who am I trying to impress? Am I trying to excel in too many pursuits? After giving it some thought and prayer, is there anything you should move from the essential category to the optional? Is there a role that should be moved from optional to essential? Briefly share your thoughts. Who do you need? Moses needed the good counsel he received from Jethro. Honest words from a caring heart offered a simple solution. Look around you, Moses. There are capable, godly men just waiting to serve God and assist you. Train them, and then let them work! Moses learned to delegate responsibility. That doesn t mean his daily calendar was suddenly cleared, but his energies were re-directed. He stopped trying to be a fixer and started being a facilitator. That s a valuable lesson for anyone with responsibility to learn. 8
There is a fine line between having a can-do attitude that motivates us to good works and a can-do-it-all mindset that is counterproductive because we re stretched way too thin. Are you a charter member of the can-do-it-all club? Looking at those hats you wear (particularly ones that relate to home and family) consider the following: When a need arises, am I always the first one with my hand up? Am I unwilling to delegate tasks because I can do them better myself? Do I find it difficult to turn the reins over to someone else? Is this my motto: If I don t do it, it won t get done. Let s talk about balance. By urging Moses to share the workload, Jethro was not recommending that Moses abandon his post. He recognized that God had called Moses into leadership. He was reminding Moses to put first things first. Prayerfully sift through your to-do list. As believers, we are all called to serve according to the abilities God has given us. What are you investing yourself in? Is it helping you be a light or burning you out? Ask the Lord to help you put first things first so you will be a growing woman of faith and service. A life of service isn t just about spending yourself you need to be replenished. Come daily to the well of God s Word and worship. Before you start your busy day, be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). Then take Him at His Word and get going! Promises to Go Does God know how busy you are? He sure does! Record the promises you find in the following scriptures and take them with you. Psalm 28:7 Psalm 55:22 Psalm 138:8 Proverbs 16:3 Matthew 6:33 Matthew 11:28-30 9
Something to Think About... We must learn our limits. We are all something, but none of us is everything. - Blaise Pascal - 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? 10
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