“God Asks Moses’ to Help Him”

“God Asks Moses’ to Help Him”All the time Moses’ was living in the land of Midian, the Egyptians were being very cruel to the people of Israel. Finally, the people of Israel cried to the Lord because of their sufferings, and the Lord heard them and looked down from Heaven and pitied them. He decided to send Moses’ to help them.One day while Moses’ was taking care of his sheep out in the country near Mount Horeb, suddenly he saw fire flaming up out of a bush. Moses’ ran over to see what was happening and saw a strange thing; the bush was on fire but didn’t burn up! Just then God called to him from the burning bush, “Moses’ Moses’!”We can hardly imagine how surprised and frightened Moses’ was, but he said, “Yes, Lord, I am listening.” God told him not to come any closer and to take off his sandals because the place where he stood was Holy ground, for God was there.“God said, “I am the God of your fathers. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses’ hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.Then God told him that He had seen the sorrows of the people of Israel, and had heard their cries, and had come down from Heaven to set them free from the Egyptians.There was a new king in Egypt by this time, not the one who had chased Moses’ out of the country. This new king was called Pharaoh just like all the other kings of Egypt. The Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and to tell him to stop hurting the people of Israel and to let them leave Egypt and go back to Canaan. The Lord told Moses he was to lead them out of Egypt and to bring them to that very mountain where He was talking with Moses.But Moses was afraid to go; he was afraid that Pharaoh would hurt him or kill him if he said to stop hurting the people of Israel.But God told him, “I will be with you and help you.”God told Moses to tell the people of Israel that God wanted them to leave Egypt and to follow Moses to a good land where there would be plenty to eat and where everyone would be happy and free.Moses said he was sure that no one would listen to him or believe that the Lord had really sent him. He had a shepherd’s rod in his hand, which the Lord told him to throw on the ground. Moses did, and God made it change into a snake! Moses was afraid of it and ran away.Then the Lord said, “Grab it by the tail.” Moses did, and it was changed back into a shepherd’s rod again.Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put your hand into your coat.” When he took it out, his hand had turned white! It was covered with a dreadful disease called leprosy that made it white.“Put your hand back into your coat again,” God said. When Moses took it out this time, it was well again!God gave Moses power to do these two wonderful miracles so that when the people of Israel saw him do them, they would believe that God had sent him. But if they still would not believe him, even after he had done these two miracles, then Moses must take some water out of the Nile River and piur it on the ground, and the water would change to blood!Moses still didn’t want to go, and he began to make one excuse after another. He could not speak well in front of people, he said.But the Lord told him again to go to Pharaoh, and Moses begged the Lord to send someone else. Then the Lord became angry with Moses for refusing.Moses had a brother whose name was Aaron. God finally said that Aaron could go with Moses and make the speeches to Pharaoh and the people of Israel. God would tell Moses what to say, Moses would tell Aaron what to say, and Aaron would tell the people and the king what God wanted them to know.When the Lord had finished talking with him from the burning bush. Moses went back home and received permission from his father-in-law, whose name was Jethro, to return to Egypt to visit his people.Questions:What was strange about the bush Moses saw?What did God tell Moses to do? Why?What did Moses’ rod turn into? How did he get his rod back?What happened to Moses’ hand when he put it into his coat?Why did God give Moses’ power to do these two miracles?

“Moses at the Burning Bush”

Exodus 3:1-7= Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up.” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.