Confronting the Powerful

From our Tuesday Morning Bible Study:

Moses was given a task that would look impossible to most of us. He was to go back to Egypt and confront the most powerful man in the most powerful nation on earth and give him a message that he did not want to hear and would not accept.

God told Moses from the beginning that Pharaoh would not let the Children of Israel go without a mighty demonstration of His power. Like we often do, Moses heard the part of God's message that he wanted to hear. He became totally discouraged when, in his first confrontation with Pharaoh, God's words were proven true. Moses then basically accused God of not backing him up and of not realizing what Moses had tried to tell Him from the beginning...that he was not the man for the job. (Read Exodus 5:22-23)

Moses still had not learned that God's ways are inscrutable. As Paul said in Romans 11:33:

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

God was planning to use the continued resistance of Pharaoh as the occasion to show his power and glory. God did this first by turning Aaron's staff into a snake. When Pharaoh continued to harden his heart, God brought the plagues. Through all of this, God was doing several things:

First, he was demonstrating to Pharaoh, the man who thought he was a god, that there was a God and that it was not Pharaoh. Secondly, God showed His people that He was a faithful God who loved and cared for them. Lastly, God taught Moses to trust Him completely. The Moses that emerged after they left Egypt was a far more settled leader and far more trusting in God.

Remember this when you face difficulties in life. All things that God allows to come your way may not seem good and helpful at the time that they come but God is using them for a far greater purpose in your life. He is teaching you to trust in Him more.

Audio for Tuesday Bible Study:
We have been recording our Tuesday Bible Studies. The files are below. Left-click on the link to listen to a session. If you want to download the file, right-click on it and choose "Save As." We have included the handouts from the study also. You can download them the same way. They are in Microsoft Word format.

Session 1 - Why Egypt?
Handout

Session 2 - The Birth and Early Life of Moses
Handout

Session 3 - From the Desert to the Palace
Handout

Session 4 - The Power of the Plague, Part 1
Handout

Bro. Tony