In our previous articles we have brought the following to your attention:

EGYPT IN BIBLE HISTORY AND PROPHECY

ITS ETHNIC ROOTS
ITS EARLY RELATIONSHIP TO ABRAHAM
ITS ENORMOUS RIVER
ITS EXPANDING RESOURCES
ITS EXTENSIVE ROLE IN THE BONDAGE AND DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL

Under this fifth heading we have looked at the following:

1. The PURPOSE of God
2. The PROTECTION of God
3. The PREPARATION of Moses

We have noticed so far the “PREPARATION” of Moses in the land of Egypt and pointed out the importance of Acts 7:22 and Hebrew 11:24-26. We now want to take a look at his “PREPARATION” in the land of Midian which involved the second 40 years of his life.

MOSES RECEIVED A WIFE – her name was Zipporah, one of seven sisters, the daughter of a priest. (Note: Midian was a son of Abraham through his second wife – Keturah) – read Exodus 2:15-22

MOSES RECOGNIZED A WAY TO TRAVEL THROUGH THE WILDERNESS – Exodus 3:1 says: “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.”

MOSES REALIZED THE WILL OF GOD FOR HIS LIFE – Exodus 3:1-4:23.

1. The EXPERIENCE of the “burning bush” made him aware of the greatness and holiness of God – 3:1-6.

2. His EXCUSES clearly reveal our needs in doing the will of God. Consider carefully his excuses and the problems that they suggest was in his life, and the lessons that we need to learn through them!

First – “WHO AM I?” – Exodus 3:11 – clearly the problem of personal INSECURITY. However, we need to realize that the will of God is not dependent upon our abilities and reasonings. God has promises to be with us and help us to do what He wants – Exodus 3:12.

Second – “WHO ARE YOU?” – Exodus 3:13 – the problem of God’s IDENTITY – but, our response should be to trust the LORD to be consistent with His own character and to demonstrate it whenever necessary!

Third – “THEY WILL NOT BELIEVE ME!” – Exodus 4:1 – the problem here is possible INDIFFERENCE – the only answer to it is to leave the results to God! – read Exodus 4:9.

Fourth – “I AM NOT ELOQUENT” – Exodus 4:10 – the problem of personal INADEQUACY – but, Acts 7:22 says that Moses was “mighty in words” – We need to accept the fact that God made us like we are and He can use us if He wants – Exodus 4:11-12!

Fifth – “SEND SOMEONE ELSE!” – Exodus 4:13 – personal INDECISION – usually connected to a lack of commitment or some fear we have. The only answer – DO WHAT HE TELLS YOU TO DO NO MATTER WHAT!

In our next article, we will speak about the PLAN OF GOD and the POWER OF GOD! Thanks for reading, and may God bless you!

In our last article we emphasized the PURPOSE of God and the PROTECTION of God in our study of what the Bible says about Egypt. It is impossible to deal with this subject apart from a study of Israel’s great leader – MOSES. There are two passages that need a careful look – Acts 7:22 and Hebrews 11:24-26. Of course, the call of Moses in the opening chapters of Exodus is also a critical matter, and we will deal with that in our next study. For now we focus on the PREPARATION of Moses. First, in the land of Egypt itself – a time period of about 40 years. We will look at the second 40 years of his life in our next study.

THE PREPARATION OF MOSES

IN THE LAND OF EGYPT

We want to consider five issues as to how God prepared Moses in the land of Egypt. Of course, it was a foreign culture for this Jewish boy, and there were many difficult things to face. Life can be like that and we often do not see what God wants to do in and through us.

1. EDUCATION

Acts 7:22 says the following: “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” – that is an incredible statement since Egypt in the 15th century BCE was the cultural center of the world and filled with amazing understanding and knowledge of multiple subjects.

2. ELOQUENCE

Moses complained to God when he was called to take the children of Israel out of Egypt that he was not very good at talking! However, Acts 7:22 says that he was “mighty in words.” Of course, that could be a reference to what God did through him at a later time when he went before Pharaoh and the time of the plagues.

3. EXPERIENCE

Acts 7:22 also says that Moses was “mighty in deeds” – he was known for getting things done and seemed to be in a position in the kingdom to demonstrate that fact.

4. EXPOSURE TO TEMPTATION

Hebrews 11:24-26 is the background for understanding the pressure and temptation that Moses was facing in the time of his PREPARATION in Egypt for the task that God was calling him to do.

According to this passage there appear to be three areas of temptation that came to Moses during this time;

(1) POSITION – Hebrews 11:24 says “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” Queen Hatshepsut was known in Egyptian history to be one of its more influential and powerful leaders. Mark 10:43-44 says: “whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant and whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.” Our religious world today is filled with spiritual pride and abuse of position and authority. There is a lack of brokenness and humility among our religious leaders and instead we all watch the arrogance and manipulation of audiences by effective “madison-avenue” techniques of salesmanship. No one is ever allowed to question the leader, and the lack of a servant’s heart is so evident. May God help us!

(2) PLEASURES – Hebrews 11:25 says “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” Egypt could provide whatever sexual and enticing pleasures a man’s heart would desire. Moses learned early to say “NO.” Yes, there is “pleasure” in sin, but the consequences are quite damaging to our physical and emotional health – AND, can have serious results in our spiritual lives if we do not get right with God! God is NOT trying to make us miserable or keep us for the enjoyment of physical affection and sex (which He Himself designed and created!)! But, He has clearly revealed in the Bible that the greatest enjoyment will come when we have sex the way He designed – sex between a husband and a wife and NO ONE ELSE!

(3) POSSESSIONS – Hebrews 11:26 says “Esteeming the reproach of Christ (Messiah) greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.” One look at the “treasures” of king Tut’s tomb will clearly show how much wealth was at his disposal. Moses decided in his heart that suffering for the cause of his Messiah was worth far more! The Bible says “for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” God’s rewards will be far more valuable than anything this world has to offer. We brought nothing into the world, and we will take nothing out when we die!

5. ENDURANCE UNDER ENORMOUS PRESSURE

Hebrews 11:27 says “for he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible.” There is a wonderful old song that says “TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS – look full into His wonderful face – and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace!” In spite of all that he could have had (from a human perspective and worldly viewpoint), Moses “endured” and “forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.”

There is much more to the story of EGYPT in the Bible – NEXT TIME!

In the previous article (WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT EGYPT – Part I) we gave five major points about Egypt from the Bible’s teaching. The fifth point was…

5A. ITS EXTENSIVE ROLE IN THE BONDAGE AND DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL

We mentioned that there were five issues related to this:

1B. The PURPOSE of God
2B. The PROTECTION of God
3B. The PREPARATION of Moses
4B. The PLAN of God
5B. The POWER of God

We shared in the previous article about the “PURPOSE of GOD” and we now want to deal with “The PROTECTION of GOD” – Exodus 2:1-10; Acts 7:18-21; and Hebrews 11:23-27 speak of this protection. There are five things that should be noticed from the Biblical record:

1C. The COURAGE of the parents of Moses – Hebrews 11:23 – “they were not afraid of the King’s command” – what a blessing to have parents like these! God used them and their courage to protect Moses from his birth!

2C. The COMING of Pharaoh’s daughter – Exodus 2:5 – she “came down to bathe at the river” – nothing is accidental in the plan and program of God! Our studies of archaeology and ancient history have led us to believe that the events of the Bible at the time of Moses took place in the 15th century BCE (before the Christian era) and not in the 13th century BCE as some scholars propose. We believe that the daughter of Pharaoh was none other than the famous Queen Hatshepsah whose funerary temple still stands in the desert sands of the city of Luxor. The dead were always buried on the west side of the Nile River and that is where this marvelous temple is found.

3C. The COMPASSION of Pharaoh’s daughter – Exodus 2:6 tells us that when the baby cried she had “compassion” on him. She knew he was one of the Hebrew children (due to circumcision no doubt!) but in spite of her father’s edict to kill them she was used by God to care deeply for this little one. How wonderful is the plan and protection of our God!

4C. The CALLING of a nurse – Exodus 2:8 tells us this remarkable part of the story – she “called for the child’s mother” – imagine the grace and mercy of the Lord upon the mother of Moses – she was able to take care of her little baby in behalf of the daughter of Pharaoh – what a blessing!

5C. The CARE of Moses – Acts 7:20 tells us that Moses was “brought up (nourished)” in his father’s house for three months. What wonderful protection the Lord gave to this child whom God was going to use in a powerful and mighty way in taking the children of Israel out of Egypt!

There’s an old hymn written by Civilla D. Martin that says “GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU” – the stanzas are so encouraging:

“Be not dismayed whate’er betide – God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide – God will take care of you!

Thro’ days of toil when heart doth fail – God will take care of you;
When dangers fierce your path assail – God will take care of you!

All you may need He will provide – God will take care of you;
Nothing you ask will be denied – God will take care of you!

No matter what may be the test – God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast – God will take care of you!

The chorus repeats: “God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way; He will take care of you – God will take care of you!

Next week we will continue our study of ancient EGYPT and what the Bible teaches!

In our November newsletter we featured an article on what the Bible says about IRAN. Another major player in the politics and future of the Middle East is EGYPT, a country that is mentioned frequently in the Bible. Many of you have expressed appreciation for the outlines of various Biblical subjects that we have made available to you in these articles, so we will give you another one for your study and blessing – here is the first part in this study:

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH US ABOUT EGYPT? (Part I)

1A. ITS ETHNIC ROOTS – Genesis 10:6, 13-14, 20

2A. ITS EARLY RELATIONSHIP to Abraham

1B. It PORTRAYS the power and wealth of Egypt – Genesis 12:10-13:1
2B. It PRODUCES the father of the Arab nations of the world –
Genesis 16:1-16; 21:13, 17-18, 21

3A. ITS ENORMOUS RIVER (the NILE) – is the southern boundary of the land which God promised to Abraham – Genesis 15:18

4A. ITS EXPANDING RESOURCES – this became the means of survival for the children of Israel. (Consider two factors in this matter)

1B. The PROVIDENCE of God was behind the wickedness of Joseph’s brothers – Genesis 37:22-28, 36 cf. 50:15-26

2B. The PROSPERITY of God was upon Joseph – Genesis 39:1-5, 20-23; 41:39-45, 50-52, 56-57

5A. ITS EXTENSIVE ROLE IN THE BONDAGE AND DELIVERANCE OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL – Exodus 12:40-42 (Consider the following five points)

1B. The PURPOSE of God
2B. The PROTECTION of God
3B. The PREPARATION of Moses
4B. The PLAN of God
5B. The POWER of God

Let’s start with the first matter – “The PURPOSE of God” – there are many trials and difficulties in life that are hard to understand. We often do not see the overall purpose of God or what He is planning to do. In the will of God, it was His purpose to bring the children of Israel to Egypt. They suffered greatly there, but it was also God’s way of sustaining them in very difficult times. The Bible speaks often of the time Israel was in Egypt as a time of “bondage” and describes His people as “slaves.” They existed in this land of Egypt for 430 years.

1B. The PURPOSE of God – Genesis 50:20-26; Exodus 1:1-22

Romans 8:18 tells us that the “sufferings of this present time” are not worthy to be compared with the “glory” that will one day be revealed to the children of the Lord. II Corinthians 1:3-7 speaks of how the “God of all comfort, the Father of mercies” will use all of our trials for His glory and our good – to make us a blessing of comfort to others who are going through difficult times. In I Peter 5:8-11 the Bible speaks of the attacks of Satan upon the believers, but urges us to resist him in “the faith” and to understand how God can use those attacks to make us stronger, more mature, and more established in what we believe and in how God wants to use us.

NEVER FORGET – God has a purpose in all the trials we experience, and the great evidence of that is the experience of the children of Israel for 430 years when they were in serious bondage to Egypt.

Part II is coming next week – God bless you all!

We can always speak of many things that are happening in Israel today, but a question has been on our minds of late as to “What is God doing with Israel?” The focus on events, politics, battles, economies, nations, terrorists, etc., can be received on many web sites. But, what is God doing?

1. GOD IS DECLARING HIS UNIQUE PERSON AND IDENTITY!

The message of Isaiah 44 is given to help Israel and the rest of the world understand what God is doing. In that powerful passage, we are told the following in Isaiah 44:6-8: “Thus saith the LORD (YHWH) the King of Israel, and His Redeemer the LORD (YHWH) of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside Me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming and shall come, let them shew unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have DECLARED it? ye are even My witnesses. Is there a God beside Me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”

It is God who chose the “ancient people (Israel)” and it is God Who reveals the things that are coming – it is God Who DECLARED it – and His message to Israel and the rest of the world is – THERE IS NO GOD BESIDE ME – He is the LORD GOD of ISRAEL, and there is NO OTHER GOD!

2. GOD IS DEMONSTRATING HIS MIGHTY POWER!

Isaiah 43:15 says: “I am the LORD (YHWH), your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” Isaiah 44:24 adds: “Thus saith the LORD (YHWH), thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD (YHWH) that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself.”

Creation demonstrates the mighty power of God (Psalm 19:1) and so does His work in creating Israel. Isaiah 43:1 says “But now saith the LORD (YHWH) that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.” The word “created” is the Hebrew word “bara” – out of nothing!

3. GOD IS PROVING HIS FAITHFUL PROVIDENCE!

Providence refers to God’s control over circumstances and events that He is working for His glory and praise. Deuteronomy 7:6-9 speaks of how God has chosen Israel to teach two major things about Himself: One, that He is the “faithful God” Who will keep His promises to His people no matter what their performance or failures! And, two, He is a God of love Who will love them no matter how they respond to Him. Isaiah 44:21 says “thou shalt not be forgotten of Me.”

4. GOD IS SHOWING HIS CONTINUAL PROTECTION!

Isaiah 43:1 says “Fear not” and that command is repeated in Isaiah 43:5 and Isaiah 44:2, 8. Throughout the last 27 chapters of Isaiah the LORD GOD reminds the people of Israel of His comfort and protection. He will never leave them or forsake them! Isaiah 51:12 reminds Israel: “I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who are thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass.”

5. GOD IS DOING HIS SOVEREIGN PLEASURE!

In Isaiah 43:21 we learn that God formed the people of Israel to show forth His praise, or as 43:7 says, they were “created…for My glory.” In Isaiah 46:10-11 we read these strong words: “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My PLEASURE; Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth My counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purpose it, I will also do it.”

6. GOD IS FULFILLING HIS WONDERFUL PROMISES!

Promises of redemption, restoration, rejoicing, and even the return of the Messiah will all be fulfilled in His time and in His way. Isaiah 45:21 says: ” Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD (YHWH)? and there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Saviour; there in none beside Me.”

7. GOD IS PROCLAIMING HIS WONDERFUL PARDON!

Israel has often been disobedient to God and has forsaken Him, but He has never forsaken them, and He is (Psalm 86:5) “ready to forgive” and “abundant in pardon.” Isaiah 45:22 says: “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” Isaiah 44:21-22 says: “Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art My servant: I have formed thee; thou art My servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of Me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee.” Psalm 130:7-8 says: “Let Israel hope in the LORD (YHWH): for with the LORD (YHWH) there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”

PRAISE THE LORD FOR WHAT HE IS DOING WITH ISRAEL!