Study Lessons from Exodus 5:22-23 and 6:1-12
Patience, or lack of it is covered in this lesson from Exodus. God promises deliverance but the people no longer believe Moses.
And, Moses is upset because God did not free the Israelites immediately.
Sound familiar?
This Bible study lesson is partly about being patient to allow the plan of God to work in our lives.
Moses wanted to know why the plan to deliver Israel from Egypt wasn’t working right away. From Scripture, we know God had a long term plan to perform miracles and free them.
God Remembers His Covenant with Israel
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh.
For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord.
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them.
I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.
And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.
Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. – Exodus 6:1-6 NASB
Moses and Patience – Hurry God!
The people of Israel were not freed when Moses went to Pharaoh the first time – nor the second or third.
In fact, more work was inflicted on the people when Pharaoh declared that they were to make bricks without straw so the sons of Israel were not impressed with Moses’ performance.
They were ready to go back to the old routine of slavery because it was “comfortable”.
God promised Moses that He would lead the people from bondage and the understanding was right now! – according to Moses.
God was working this entire time but the suffering still continued.
Moses was in fact urging God to hurry because his first effort failed in his human eyes.
Patience & Faith
Are we similar to Moses? Do we expect God to answer every prayer today, or even this very moment?
Yes, I have done this many times before. I’ve said a prayer for a situation, and then expected immediate results.
I am always hesitant to say it but this shows a lack of faith on my part. It’s tough to give up control and turn a situation over to God – especially when we are in need right now.
God’s Plan for Israel
I’m sure God knew that Pharaoh would not tremble with fear and dismiss a complete tribe because of a threat from a God he did not know or understand.
After all, this was an entire work force providing bricks among other labors the Egyptians had come to rely upon.
The Heart of God
You and I cannot possibly know what is in the heart of God when He intervenes in a major situation.
– Maybe He wanted the Israelites and Moses to have more patience and faith.
– Maybe He wanted Pharaoh to recognize that He was God – the only God.
There are hundreds of other scenarios we could uncover but the fact remains that God knew exactly what He was doing – and the results of the final outcome.
What We Should Do
When faced with major challenges in our lives there are plenty of examples used in the study Bible which might be useful.
Don’t dwell on the hardship – If we take it as being in God’s plan we can strengthen our patience when problems occur.
Honoring God – We can try to find a way to give God honor while He is working.
God with us – As Moses thought during his time of frustration, we too might feel that God has left us, but He is right there beside us.
God’s plan – It’s impossible for our human minds to comprehend the plan God has in store for us. We don’ t see the overall picture the way He does, so our best response is to only trust Him.
We Can See the Outcome for Israel
[easyazon_image align=”left” height=”160″ identifier=”0781414199″ locale=”US” src=”https://makingchristknown.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/51LIBYBeXEL.SL160-1.jpg” tag=”bobpardphot-20″ width=”107″]In Exodus, we can look ahead and see that God will deliver Israel from Egypt, so it’s easy for us to say “hold on” to the people of little hope.
Now, let’s pray and do what the gospel song says to do in our situation:
“Hold on, our God will show up; and take us through the fire again.”
– Amen
Love in Christ
– Bob
To learn more about the love and life-changing experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to read John 3:16 for more information.