Bible Study Online Article

In the last article we took a look at how easy it is to fall into the trap of limiting ourselves and God to our own understanding within the natural realm and the things we are familiar with.

Like I stated before, everything that the Lord does is so methodical and orderly that the human mind can't possibly fathom, or comprehend all that God does, or plans to do.

It would appear that Moses would also have to learn how to go beyond his natural understanding as well; being that he had allowed his past to shackle him with a perception that was laden with severe limitations. And this would become more noticeable as we move forward.

But first let's take a look at how God is laying out to Moses, or prophesying, when it comes to what Moses should expect next, in regards to the deliverance of the Israelites:

"Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, 'I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.'

"Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.

"And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians." -- Exodus 3:16-22

After hearing this, Moses responded by saying: "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, 'The Lord has not appeared to you.'" -- Exodus 4:1

And the Lord responded by saying: "What is that in your hand?" He said, 'A rod.' And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Reach out your hand and take it by the tail (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.'

"Furthermore the Lord said to him, 'Now put your hand in your bosom.' And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. And He said, "Put your hand in your bosom again." So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh.

"'Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. And the water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.'" -- Exodus 4:2-9

Notice how God is preparing to use Moses in such a way that the people would be foolish, if they don't believe in what Moses was saying. This was needed at the time, being that they didn't have what we have today. They didn't have the complete Sacred Record that was written in a stretch of over 1600 years, which constantly proves that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is the true God. They didn't have the gift of the Holy Spirit like we do today that helped them to be able to see and understand the things of a of divine nature.

But Moses was so defeated from beating up on himself during the last forty years in the desert that he believed in the God of his forefathers, but he still didn't believe in himself, even after God had showed Moses first hand, that he truly was called:

"Then Moses said to the Lord, 'O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.' So the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say." But after hearing this Moses said: "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send." So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses." -- Exodus 4:10-14

We begin to see just how self-defeated Moses had become over the past forty years. He was no longer the confident brave person he used to be, when he was back in the land of Egypt. I find it interesting that Moses would ask God: "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, 'The Lord has not appeared to you.'" -- (Exodus 4:1)

The question that was put forth by Moses at the time would seem to indicate that he was really concern with what the Elders would say. And I do believe that this was part of Moses' concern, but just a small part. For it would seem as we venture forth that the thing that Moses was most concern with, was believing that he was worthy enough to be called and used by God: "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send." -- (Exodus 4:13)

Understand that this request by Moses came after all that God had just shown to him, when it came to convincing the Elders. And yet, Moses' still doubted his calling. God had just laid out to him all that was going to happen when it came to the "Great Exodus" and on top of that, God had already shown Moses how He was going to operate through him. And yet, Moses asked God to send somebody else. So of course we couldn't blame God for becoming angry with Moses, now could we? : "So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses..." -- (Exodus 4:14)

In the next article we will find out what it would finally take for Moses to actually believe that he was qualified to be used by God. Now I know it may seem silly on Moses' part. I mean after all he had just witness and Moses still didn't believe in himself? Could this really be possible? But you know what, we can't be too hard on him, can we?

Being that we too have tremendous evidence that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob really is the true God; and that Jesus (Yeshua) Christ is the true Messiah and our Savior, that the prophets of old spoke about. And yet, we too struggle to believe within ourselves as well, when it comes to our immense worth as an individual and the purpose that God has designed us for. Oh, and after all of this, did God try to kill Moses?

Joseph the Overseer of Egypt

Jacob Becomes Ill

The Prophecies of Jacob

Moses the Son of Levi

**YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**

145) The Call of Moses

146) The True Purpose of Moses

147) Identifying with Moses

148) The Systematic God

149) <-CURRENT PAGE->

150) A Frustrated God

151) Reality Check for Zipporah

152) Moses' Losing & Costly Position of Compromising

153) Moses Meets Aaron At The Mountain of God

154) Moses Gathers the Elders of Israel

155) Moses Confronts Pharaoh

156) Pharaoh Moves Against God