Read associated scripture: Exodus 1-7; 10-17
1. What was
significant about Moses’ birth?
Moses was supposed to die.
As we read into The Story you find that long after Joseph and his
generation died, a new King took power over Egypt. He feared that the Israelites had become far
too many in number and feared they would take over the Egyptians. King Pharaoh gave an order to control the
number of Israelites which stated all boys born to the Hebrews shall be
killed. One of the tribes of Levi
became pregnant with a fine son. She
knew he should not die. She hid him as
long as she could and finally sent her son in a tarred basket rather than kill
him. The Pharaoh’s daughter found him,
realized he was a Hebrew baby and helped raise him.
2. How did
God display his concern and love for his people after hearing their cries and
groaning?
He saved them!!! God remembered his covenant with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. He was concerned in how
they were being treated by the Egyptians.
God comes down to rescue the Hebrews from the hand of the Egyptians and
to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land. He tells Moses through that burning bush that
he would uses Moses to save the Israelites!
3. In what
ways was Moses qualified to lead the people? In what ways did he feel he was
not qualified?
In many ways Moses was qualified to lead the people because
he was an Israelite. He was one of them
even though he had been saved from death because he was Hebrew. He showed
compassion for the Hebrew people when he found the Hebrew Slave being abused.
He also Moses knew people like the Egyptians should not treat these slaves (the
Hebrews) the way they had been treated.
Moses knew even Hebrews should not fight with Hebrews. Although, Moses did not feel he was qualified
because he had been accepted as an Egyptian.
Who was he, an adopted Egyptian, to lead the slaves/Israelites away
from his own people?? Moses even argued
with God. He did not feel he was the
qualified Leader the Lord needed to accomplish such a task. Yet Moses listened
to the Lord. Although, he feared he would fail at this task the Lord asked of
him, Moses ultimately trusted the will of God and said “Yes” to God.
4. Have you
ever felt unqualified or unable to do something, as Moses did? How did you
handle it?
This is personal for me. I have felt very unqualified to do such a
thing. Several years ago, I was given
the task of Interim Director shortly after the Director retired. I accepted the task because I had worked in
the office for years and seen this process.
Did I feel qualified? Heck
no!!! Some of the Environmental Health
Specialists I was advising had been there a life time before me. I was 30 years old. Many of the Environmentalists had been
employed by the district twice the time I had worked there. How did I do?? I did the best I could with the
circumstances. I looked to my
supervisor. Supervisor is just another
term for leader! I looked to that person
for those tough situations I had never experienced firsthand. Our leader is God! We need to look to God like Moses did, and
put all our trust in him. If we trust in
the Lord, even the hardest of tasks can be achieved—
Michelle- For me, the
Lord asked me to take up the daunting prospect of leading a bible study. This
might sound like a simple request, but God knows my heart and knows that being
used to spread His word comes with a fear of failure. I didn’t spend the formative years of my life growing
up in church, studying the bible, taking about my faith, or praying out loud. I
was so fearful that I would fail Him, that I wouldn’t know the answer, wouldn’t
be able to quote scripture, and would stumble when I tried to lead the group in
prayer. The Lord was asking, and I was continuing to tell Him “No. I can’t….
You have the wrong girl. Maybe when I read the whole bible and study more I can
handle it.” The thing is, He knew I could do it. I had to take a huge step of
faith, trusting that God had confidence in me, and that He would provide the
tools I needed to use me as a vessel. This step of faith brought me closer to
Him and caused me to study His word more. I am learning so much more about who
God is and what he intends for my life. It has made me realize that when God
calls you to do something, saying “Yes” allows you the opportunity to feel His
presence. There have been some growing pains along the way, but He has given me
a conviction unlike any I have ever felt before. The Lord knows YOUR potential.
More than that, He wants you to be a light for Him. Trust that.
5. The Story
notes several amazing miracles in the deliverance of the people from
Egypt. Do you believe God performs
miracles today? Why or why not?
Wow, this is a personal question. But, I KNOW God performs miracles today. I don’t think they happen in the same way
they did with Abraham or Moses…the level is just different and I think you know
what I mean. But yes, miracles happen
every day. Have you ever thought
something similar to this: wow, if I had left when I wanted to, I might have
been in that accident or…..
Michelle: I
absolutely believe that miracle happen every day. We know that God is never changing. He is the
same God today that he was in the time of Abraham. I think that miracles of
this magnitude do happen, we just might not see them…or believe them. I really
feel that we have become both desensitized and skeptical. If you spend some
time on Google search, you will find stories of impossible miracles
happening. While we need to be careful,
we also need to ask ourselves “Why not”? Is the God who never changes, the God
who parted the Red Sea, who flooded the earth, who sent Christ to die for us,
really incapable of anything? My answer is this…MY GOD IS CAPABLE. HE IS MIGHTY
and HE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS!!!
6. What can
you learn about the character of God from the story of the Israelites’
deliverance from slavery?
God wants you to know HE is in control. God is not a dictator from above or
micro-managing you. He wants you to
learn through Him. Often times I have to
think that way as a Leader myself. I am
no Majesty by any means. But, think
about this…If I constantly have to tell them how to live their lives, are they
learning?? God uses this same
concept. God wants us to appreciate the
fact that we WANT to follow Him. Does
this make sense to you?
Another thought….We also learn that God, the creator of the
universe knows each of us by name! He hears our cries. He knows our suffering.
He wants us to cry out to Him. He wants to be our portion in time of trouble.
He wants us TO NEED HIM. While the Israelites’ suffered for MANY years before
the Lord sent the deliverer in Moses, God still heard them. He heard each one
of their cries. What we need to realize
is that God’s timing is perfect. He knows when the right time is to deliver us.
Do you think that it would have turned out the same if Moses wasn’t the one to
lead them? If you think about all of the complaining the Israelite’s did in the
desert after 400 years of slavery, imagine what it would have sounded like
after one day?!?! Trust that God’s timing is perfect. Remember that scripture
in Jerimiah 29:11? “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future.” Again, put your name in the “you”. HE IS TALKING TO YOU! Just as he knew when the right time to
deliver Israel was, he knows when the right time to deliver you is.
Think about this too. Has there ever been a time in human
history where we felt like we needed Christ’s return more? Jesus told us that
only the Father knows when it is time to return. Why? Because his timing is
perfect.
DVD Session
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2X_0fjj_b4
1. Tell
about a time you were minding your own business, going through you normal Lower
Story life and God showed up, revealed himself or spoke to you in some
surprising way. …Personal thought…
2. God is
dramatically active in his people’s deliverance—he is engaged, he cares (Exodus
3:1-10; The Story, pp. 45-46). Looking
specifically at verses 7-10, what do you learn about God in the following
areas:
What did God see, hear and feel?
What did God say he would do?
What did God call Moses to do?
We already went over this above in the Discussion Questions
but God heard the Israelites cries; he felt their distress. He called Moses to save them! Moses had that connection with the Israelites
to lead them out of the slavery! Moses
did not believe he was the right person for the job but God helped him every
part of the way!
3. How did
Moses see himself and his abilities and how did God see him?
Tell about a conversation you had with God that may have
sounded something like the one Moses had in this passage. This is personal for me but here is my
situation. As a mom, sometimes I feel I
am not worthy of the job. I question God
in my ability. I think to myself: I am
not good enough; I am bad at this; I need help.
When I ask for God’s grace to help I suddenly feel enlightened—I feel
like I get that assurance that I CAN do this.
4. While God
saw Moses as the perfect person to face Pharaoh and speak the word of the Lord
to the Leader of Egypt, Moses say himself as a political fugitive and a poor
communicator who had no business facing the king. Give examples of how God can see us one way
and we can see ourselves very differently.
What can we do to increase our ability to see ourselves from God’s
perspective?
Do you know that when God sees us, he only sees us as
BEAUTIFUL. Only WE see our
impurities. We should all remember that
we are the image bearers of God. WE
should spend our time on Earth reflecting our Savior’s image. God gave each of us facets of our image such
that we can serve him in that reflection of his image. Remember, God put us here for a reason! His reason!!!
5. Randy
suggested that the best thing we can do is to say yes to God, even when we do
not feel adequate for the task ahead.
Tell about a time when you dared to say yes and followed God, even when
you were afraid. How did God show up and
lead you. …Personal reflection…
6. God
always was, is and will be; he calls himself “I AM,” the self-existent
one. How can embracing the reality that
the God we worship the eternal “I AM” help you face the challenging moments of
a normal day?
For me it is the ALMIGHTY pep talk. HE is there.
HE is everything. He makes the
promise to us every day!!!! HE knows we
will falter. He still loves us. He will
be there to help us pick up the pieces, learn and grow stronger in him;
stronger reflecting in him.
REST IN HIS PRESENCE!! Take time each day: morning,
afternoon, night…whatever works…and really rest in His presence.
7. What is
one area of your life where you find you tend to focus more on your limitation
than God’s ability to work through you?
Wow! This is personal
but don’t you find it so much easier to find your limitation than God’s ability
to work through you??? Ask your friends
to pray for you. I found that if I told
just one friend to pray for me (without the specifics) I felt much better than trying
to get through the day. Does this make
sense?
8. How is
Passover an ancient sign pointing to the death of Jesus on the cross as the
final Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world? (Exodus 12:1:-24)
Think about the sacrifices Abraham, for example, gave to the
Lord. He was about to give his only son
even but throughout time they were always making animal sacrifices. That animal was innocent but sacrificed for
the Lord. Think about Passover. They
slaughtered an innocent lamb, pure and free of any blemish. They took the lamb
into their body (think about communion… The Lord ’s Supper). It was by the blood of that lamb that they
were saved from death. See the parallel?
Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice.
9. Read
movement 2 of The Story. How does God
unfold his story in this second movement and how does this connect with your
story?
Movement 2 focuses on God’s plan to get us back! He did just that with the Israelites! Now, how can each of us use that story for
God to get us back. For me? I have always considered myself a Christian
girl. Christian student. Christian friend.
Christian wife. Christian
employee. Christian mom. But for me, what about Christian self. Wow! I
do my best to reflect in His image for others but what about MYSELF. I am so thankful that Michelle, even though
she knows my quirky nature, shyness, weirdness, -- still invited me to be a
part of this Women’s Study. This is for
ME. Not for anyone else but for me.
Thank you! With that I will do what I
need for me so that I can reflect more and come closer to HIM. So HE can get ME back. I need that.
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