The Life of Moses
God delivers his enslaved people out of Egypt by the hand of Moses. This time period covers 4 books of the Bible: Exodus Leviticus, Numbers Deuteronomy. Exodus is the record of God's deliverance of the Children of Israel out of Egypt. It chronicles the first 80 years of Moses life. Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy records the giving of the law to the children of Israel and the numbering of the people and setting them apart into tribes. It also records their stay in the wilderness for 40 years until the unbelieving people die and the next generation can come into the promised land believing God and victorious.
EXODUS
Exodus is the record of God's deliverance of the Children of Israel out of Egypt. The Children of Israel are the sons of Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel. Joseph was one of Israel's sons and God put him in a very prominent position to save the Christline during 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine. Joseph was second in command to Pharoah and had stewardship over all of Egypt. Because of the grain that God had Joseph store during the 7 years of plenty Joseph was able to sell it and amass great fortunes for Egypt. He also brought his father (Israel) and brothers to live in Goshen, the most prosperous land in Egypt. Eventually Joseph and his brothers all die but the Children of Israel remain in Egypt.
Exodus 1
:7 And the children of Israel were fruitful,
and increased abundantly,
and multiplied,
and waxed exceeding mighty;
and the land was filled with them." [Do
you get the picture?]
:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt,
which knew not Joseph.
:9 And he said unto his people,
Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
:10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them;
lest they multiply,
and it come to pass, that,
when there
falleth out any war,
they join also unto our enemies,
and fight against us,
and so get them up out of
the land.
:11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their
burdens.
And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and
Raamses.
:12 But the more they afflicted them,
the more they multiplied and grew.
And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
:13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
:14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage,
in morter,
and in brick,
and in all manner of service in the
field:
all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
They were very oppressed. They had let themselves become slaves. They had not remembered the promise to Abraham about occupying Canaan. They probably could have left Egypt after the famine was over but life was good in Goshen.
Exodus 2
:23 And it came to pass in the process of time, that the king of Egypt died:
and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage
and they cried,
and their cry came up onto God by reason of the bondage.
:24 And God heard their groaning,
and God remembered his covenant with Abraham,
with Isaac,
and with Jacob.
:25 And God looked upon the children of Israel,
and God had respect unto them.
The Children of Israel cried unto God for help and He had respect unto them. The word respect is yada? in Hebrew which is a root word meaning to know/acknowledge/be aware of. God had respect unto them, He heard them--their words--cries for help.
Moses was born during this time when Pharoah was having all newborn males of the Children of Israel killed. God had Moses' parents hide him for three months and then put him on a small ark and floated him to Pharoah's daughter. He endeared himself to her and she took him in and then hired Moses' mother to continue nursing him and raise him (be the Nanny). Moses' mother taught him of his people and God and he grows up in Pharaoh's house (40 years-Acts 7:23).
Here is reason for a stop and think moment. Moses grew up in a rather well-to-do family. The King's House!! He had it all! Being the son of Pharoah's daughter has its privileges. He had his own tutors, servants and never lacked for anything. He was taught about God from an early age but we do not know how long his mother was able to take care of him. So, we stop and think, this amount of time took only 10 verses of scripture but much happened. When reading the Word of God it is good to empathize with the people. Put yourself in their shoes. See how they lived, apply what you learn to your own life. Not that you put your male child in ark and float him down some river but practice the principles God's Believers did to be victorious. Moses parents listened to God.
Acts 7
:23 And when he was full forty years old,
it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children
of Israel.
:24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him,
and avenged him that was oppressed,
and smote the Egyptian:
:25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood
how that God by his hand would
deliver them:
but they understood not.
:26 And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove,
and would have set them at one again, saying,
Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye
wrong one to another?
:27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying,
Who made thee a ruler and a judge
over us?
:28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
:29 Then fled Moses at this saying,
and was a stranger in the land of Madian,
where he begat two sons.
One day Moses goes out to help the Hebrews and finds an Egyptian beating up on a Hebrew (the Children of Israel are also referred to as Hebrews now). When he stops the altercation he ends up killing the Egyptian and hides the body. God didn't tell Moses to try to help His people this way. It wasn't of God and therefore it didn't work. He was then ridiculed by his people and hunted by the Egyptians so he flees to Midian. In Midian he finds a family of seven daughters, marries one of them, tends his father-in-law's sheep and has two sons. After 40 years in Midian (Acts 7:30) God gets Moses' attention via a burning bush and has him return to Egypt to lead God's people back to the land God had given them--Canaan.
Whoah!! Time to stop and think again. Now Moses is 80 years old. I am sure he was not as feeble as we get when we are 80, he actually lives another 40 years. Still he has been tending sheep for 40 years and not necessarily working toward a plan to help his brethren--they had mocked him and his efforts to help them. Yet in those 40 years his heart was healed enough so that God could talk to him and he would listen.
Listen to God, listen to that still small voice. Be aware that He is omnipresent. He is quite interested in us and helping us, we are his beloved children.
We learn how to listen from Elijah who was a prophet of God. The Children of Israel had turned toward worshipping Baal. Not everyone but the majority had destroyed the sacrificial alters killed the prophets. Elijah is hunted also and he goes to God. He is quite distressed--understandably.
I Kings 19
:10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts:
for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant,
thrown down thine altars,
and slain thy prophets with the sword;
and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life,
to take it away.
:11 And he [God] said, Go forth, and stand upon the
mount before the Lord.
And, behold, the Lord passed by,
and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,
and brake in pieces the rocks
before the Lord;
but the Lord was not
in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake;
but the Lord was not
in the earthquake:
:12 And after the earthquake a fire;
but the Lord was not in the fire:
and after the fire a still small voice.
:13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it,
that he wrapped his face in his
mantle,
and went out,
and stood in the entering in of the
cave.
And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said,
What doest thou here, Elijah?
What Elijah learned was that God will speak to him in a still small voice, it is not going to be mighty pillars of smoke, or fire, or burning bushes, or great thunderous voices, but a still small voice that he can hear when he is peaceful, quite, and listening.
Listen--expect to hear God speak to you. He will communicate with you in a way that you will understand for God is not the author of confusion. Trust in Him, believe in Him. Moses learned to listen to God and he saw great results.