This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better generalunderstanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concernedwith only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning withchapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two ofRevelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you missa day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
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EXODUS
CHAPTER 4
1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
Now Moses gives his 3rd excuse:
3. They will not believe Moses because they had not had an appearanceof God in 400 years. And why would he appear to this man - Moses?
2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
God showed Moses how his rod would become a snake. Evidently a very fearful snake.
Moses "fled from before it." This would be such a marvelous snake it would literally
consume the ones the magicians of Egypt would make.
This is a depiction of the "rod" of God - His Word. It will consume all the lies,
hypocrisies and idols of this world! The Word of God is TRUTH, and will overshadow
and consume all untruth.
6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
God gives Moses a second sign - leprosy. The nation of Israel had been so long in Egypt some
of them had become leprous. But God would deliver them and make them new, just as He did
Moses' hand.
God will make people new today! Through Jesus He washes us white as snow, even though we live in
a world of sin and are contaminated by it.
(1John 1:9)
8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
Now Moses receives a 3rd sign: water turned to blood. The river (Nile) meant LIFE to the Egyptians;
but God would turn it into blood. Therefore that in which they believed would become a plague.
When we trust God and His Word all other religions are exposed as fantasies.
10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
Moses now gives his 4th excuse:
4. He is "slow of speech," or lacking in eloquence of speaking.
But God gives Moses the answer for this problem too. It is God Who makes people able;
all we need to do is be available.
13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.14 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.15 And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.17 And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.
This is Moses' 5th and final excuse:
5. Send someone ELSE. Moses had exhibited rebellion once before when he killed the
Egyptian soldier. And he will exhibit it only once more in all his life - at the place
in Numbers 20:8-13, where the people provoked him to anger about water to drink.
We should understand that when we are faced with the insurmountable evidence of God's
PRESENCE and POWER, He becomes angry when we rebel against Him.
But even in His anger, God graciously provides Moses with his NEED - a helper.
Aaron, Moses' brother, will be the spokesman for Moses.
Notice now that God accepts no more excuses. He allows for no more discussion of
the matter. He simply commands - "GOD"!
Moses believes God, and he has no choice but to GO, even though he never verbally
acknowledges his acceptance of God's command.
Today, history and the Bible prove that God IS. And those same evidences prove
God's POWER! When He tells us to GO, shall we rebel against His power?
18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.19 And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
Moses went and told his father-in-law (Jethro) that he must go.
Then God speaks to Moses and reminds him that this task will not be easy.
The final show-down will concern "first-born" sons.
The final show-down with the devil will be by God's FIRST-BORN SON, JESUS!
24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
Now this is a touchy subject. Moses, even though a Hebrew, had not circumcised
his son, Gershom. Evidently the reason he had not done it was because Zipporah, his wife,
didn't want it done.
We aren't told exactly how God "met" Moses; whether it was by vision or dream. But
both Moses AND Zipporah KNEW it was God!
AND, they both knew the REASON! God incapacitates Moses with an illness, and now, Zipporah,
who hated this rite, had to perform it herself!
In doing so, she caused God to "let him go" - or release Moses from the illness.
Zipporah still didn't like it. But she had done it.
I feel that this warrants more discussion. Sometimes we, as Christians, must deal with
circumstances that are pleasing to God but unpleasing to us. We must be willing.
Many men have felt that God called them to the ministry; but have been held back because
their wives would not heed the call. God never calls a man to ministry without also calling the
wife to that same commitment.
There are many unpleasant tasks in the ministry. I have seen quite a few men who's
ministry was ruined because their wives refused to deal with thos unpleasant tasks.
When God speaks to our hearts, and calls us to ministry, let us be willing to
do what He asks.
27 And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:30 And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.31 And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
Aaron met Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. Such sweet fellowship we have
with brothers in the Lord! Then Moses and Aaron both went to the elders of Israel.
The people BELIEVED and worshipped the Lord.
When God CALLS, He also ENABLES, and PERFORMS.
Please continue to follow along in Bible study with us.