God Speaks
Israelites Enslaved in Egypt; Moses’ Birth and Early Life; Moses Called By God
Verse of the Day: [God cares when His people are in distress–the Israelites in slavery in Egypt, for example.] “God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.” (Genesis 2:24-25 NIV 2011)
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We Respond
Reflection.
Consider the following questions regarding Exodus 1-3
> 1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
> 2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
Exodus 1
1. God is always with His people. even when their circumstances may seem to say otherwise.
2. People should be like these midwives and do what is right and good in spite of opposition.
Exodus 2
1. God sometimes causes even strangers or their enemies to show compassion, hospitality or favor to His people.
2. People need to take pity on defenseless children and show gratitude to helpful strangers as Pharoah’s daughter and the priest of Midian, respectively, did to Moses.
Exodus 3
1. God knows whom He has chosen to lead His people and how best to call them.
2. The people God chooses may be just going about their daily tasks when He calls them into service.
Prayer
> 3. How might I pray regarding Exodus 1-3?
Dear LORD God, thank You for watching over and guiding the people You have chosen (even before You created the universe). You took about seventy people in one extended family and built them into a mighty nation of over two million people. Please build up what is called “the kingdom of God.” Thank You that You know those who belong to You by faith even if they don’t know it yet. May the proper fear of You empower me with the courage to disobey and/or stand up to powerful superiors who are doing wrong. Please give me creative (even daring) plans to protect those you have put in my care. Please help young children to watch out for their vulnerable siblings. May You guide or move people into positions to protect or adopt children for whom their birth parents are not able to care. May your chosen leaders rely on Your direction and timing rather than their own perceptions or impulsive ideas. Please mature Your chosen leaders through the discipline of family responsibilities and hard work. You know who and how best to do it. Please observe the sufferings and listen to the groanings of Your people in this day and age and take action as You see fit. Please call people into service for You in every aspect of life and culture. For Your glory LORD. AMEN
Action (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
> 4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Exodus 1-3?
With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:
- I will pray for God’s chosen leaders to take courage and stand up for what is right out of the fear of the LORD, not the fear of “public opinion”.
- I will show compassion on someone who is being rejected by others, even if the oppressor is someone in authority and/or someone close to me.
- I will not act on my own but ask God to show me how He wants me to handle various situations in my life.
- I will trust God to see my difficulties, feel my pain, and hear my groaning. I know He will take action when and how He knows is best for His glory and my ultimate good.
Share
I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.