God Encourages Moses (Ex. 6:9-13)

3/23/2008 2:52 PM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus:  God’s encouragement to Moses:  Speak to Pharaoh again.
Bible Reading & Meditation  Reference:  Exodus 6:9-13
 Message of the verses:  6  "Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.  7  ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  8  ‘I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.’"  9  So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.
10 ¶  Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 11  "Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land."  12  But Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?"  13  Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.”
In this section of Scripture God says “I will” seven times, and “I am” three times to Moses.  The “I am” in these sections is God name which in English is Jehovah and means “The self-Existent One.”  These are wonderful promises that God is giving to Moses and to the children of Israel, yet when Moses goes and speaks to the son’s of Israel they will not listen to him, and the reason that they do not listen to him is was “on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.”  I want to bring up the story of Job here because Job too was going through a very bad time, loosing all his children, his possessions, and then his health, but he did not act towards the Lord the same way that the children of Israel were acting. 
God then charges Moses and Aaron to go back into speak to Pharaoh, telling him that God wants him to let the children of Israel go, but Moses responds by telling God that the sons of Israel were giving him a hard time due to the severe treatment that they were going through by the Egyptians. 
“Moses and the elders had given up, but God hadn’t given up on Moses.”  “In times of despair, it’s best to ignore our feelings and simply do what God tells us to do, leaving the consequences with Him.”  
Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is difficult to go through a lot of problems in life, as I can speak from experience, but I cannot give up on God and the promises that He has given to me, for He has said that “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  The Spirit of God is the One who will provide comfort in times like these and then God will receive the glory.
My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to learn more about God, to know Him better as I go through the trials and tests that He has sent my way.  I want to receive His grace each day from Him for as Paul writes His grace is sufficient for me.
Memory verses for the week:    2 Cor. 12:9-10
9. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weaknesses.”  Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10. Therefore I am well content with my weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.