Disciples Church Bible Reading Plan

Moses   4.27 24

Grab your bibles and let’s dig into the testimony of Moses. 

A God-ordained Adoption

In Exodus 2, Moses’ story begins with his birth. His parents had to send him down the river in order to try to keep him alive; if only they had known what God had in store for him. The daughter of Pharaoh makes him her own. (v.10) Moses looks to use his status in Pharaoh’s house to look out for his people (v.11). In his defending a Hebrew man who was being beaten, he kills an Egyptian soldier and flees to Mideon to avoid the wrath of Pharaoh. (v.12-15). He marries and has a son in his time away from Egypt. At the end of Exodus 2, we read that Pharaoh dies and the Israelites cry out to God to remove them from their bondage in Egypt. 

Exodus 2:23-25 Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. 

An Unlikely Leader

In Exodus 3, we read about the incredible encounter Moses has with God at the burning bush. God making Himself known through this kind of encounter is what is called a Theophany. Moses shows great reverence and righteous fear at the presence of God. God tells Moses that He has seen His people’s affliction and heard their cries and that he will deliver them to the Promised land. Then God says something Moses would have never expected. He says you will be my mouth piece before Pharaoh and chosen leader. Listen, to Moses’ response: But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”(Exodus 3:11)

Too often we get caught up in looking only at the horizontal. Meaning, we are only worried about what other people think of us, how they will respond, and of what we are capable. But realize, when we do this, we are missing something very critical. What God thinks about us and what He can do in and through us, is the vertical truth we must walk in every day. Yes, by the world’s standards, we are often very insufficient and unqualified, but that is not how God works. He most often takes the least of these and raises them up to do mighty things so that He is the one who gets the glory.

Notice as we read on that God doesn’t give Moses a pep talk. He doesn’t slow down and say, “You can do it!” What God doesn’t say to us in response to our feeling defeated or ill-equipped is, “You just have to believe in yourself.”

God’s response to Moses is a statement of truth and of assurance of the one who is in power! Five life-shifting words: 

Exodus 3:12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

God isn’t the guy who wants to cast you in His epic story because He is desperate for anyone who will show up. This is the author, perfector, designer, creator, director, and sustainer of all things. “I WILL BE WITH YOU!”

God has given that life-shifting statement to everyday, average, unlikely people time and time again. It is those same words Jesus told His previously cowardly, failed, and scared disciples. After experiencing the risen Christ and hearing the promise that He would be with them all the way, what did they do? They rose up and gave all they had to their faith as they gave birth to the church. 

The question for us is, “What have we done with those words?”

God says: “I will be with you.” How have you woken up and lived life this last week as a result of those words? Has it been, “Thank God! Having You around will make things easier and more convenient,” or “Ok God, I’ll remember that when I can’t seem to do it on my own,” or has it been, “God, I recognize it as being all from You and for You. I trust that You will lead me, sustain me, and use me for Your purposes. Let’s go!”

I AM

One of the things that helps us is to rightly know and remember who God is, is to understand what His name is. In our text, we get one of the most important insights into who God is as He describes to Moses His name!

Exodus 3:13-18 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 

What you need to understand about the religious system in Egypt in that day is a belief in many gods; these are “little-g”, little-pretender gods—a god of soil, of fertility, of the sun, of death. So, Moses is asking, “How do I describe You to those who believe in many gods? Which god will they think You are?”

Now listen to God’s answer:

Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” 

Now you might be thinking, “Well that just clears it right up!” But pay close attention to what He just said. “I am who I am” is taken from a Hebrew word that means “to exist”. What God is telling Moses is, “I exist, I am real!”

In this, He is totally slamming the entire religious system and putting to proper shame all the little-g, man-made gods.

He makes no excuses nor any explanations. He is as straightforward as He can be. I am! Whether you figure Me out or not, or whether you acknowledge Me or not, I am. 

Next God says, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” So, God’s name is “I am.”

Exodus 3:15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered from generation to generation. 

The Lord (all CAPS) L-O-R-D 

The Lord = four Hebrew consonants (YHWH); these were so sacred that the Jewish people wouldn’t even pronounce them.

Our modern word for God’s name is “Yahweh”, so anywhere you see the word Lord in all caps in the bible this is a sign that it is in reference to the one, true God.

This is the name of God! YAHWEH! It is not a name to be taken lightly; it is full of power and wonder; it is a name describing His eternal power and unchangeable character. In a world where values, morals, and laws change constantly, we can find stability and security in our unchanging God.

This name is used 6,800 times in the Old Testament. Now think of the difference between knowing Him as GOD versus knowing him as YAHWEH—“He Is”! When God reveals His name, He is not only letting us get to know Him, He is proclaiming who He is.

So, when He says, “I am,” He is saying, “I am huge, I am it, I am vast, I am who I am!” No matter what you think, or have been told, I am.

I Will Put My Power on Display for All to See and Talk About

Exodus 3:19-22 “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” 

God raises Pharaoh to power and then hardens his heart to not let His people go so that God can put His power on display. In each interaction with Pharaoh and each plague to follow, Moses remains faithful. He leads the Israelites to the mouth of the Red Sea where God will put His power on display again. God uses Moses for so many mighty works in delivering a nation out of bondage. Surely Moses could have tried to make his new leadership and fame about himself but instead he remains faithful and continues to make it about God.

In Exodus 20, we read about God giving this law to Moses and His people. The Ten Commandments are the cornerstone of God’s expectations of His creation. They are God’s moral law for how mankind should honor God above all else and love and honor one another before themselves. These are moral expectations God has had on His creation from day one, but God personally wrote them into stone so that the people would be clear about His expectations. 

At Moses’ death, this is said of him:

And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34:10-12)

Moses thought the Israelites would not obey him and that he was too “slow of speech and of tongue” to lead Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 3:1-4:17). Yet the Lord, in His patience and grace, remained with Moses and strengthened his hand. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Moses stared down the mightiest king on the planet (Exodus 4:18-14:31), led the Israelites against the Midianites (Numbers 31), and did many other mighty works.

Despite years of serving the Lord, however, Moses never steps foot into the Promised Land; rather, Joshua leads Israel into Canaan (Deuteronomy 31:1-8). Even though Moses does not enter the land, God grants him a vision of it, reminding Moses that the promise to the patriarchs (Genesis 15) would come to pass. Moses dies on Mount Nebo after seeing Canaan, and God, Himself, buries him (Deuteronomy 34:1-8)—probably to guard against the people later building an idolatrous shrine to Moses. Being buried by the Lord, of course, was also a great honor.

Death before entering Canaan was earthly discipline for Moses, who failed to trust God at Meribah-kadesh (Deuteronomy 32:48-52; see Numbers 20:1-13). Even the greatest old covenant prophet had to learn that his place in the kingdom is through a grace that covers all his failures. No less than all the other saints of God, Moses had to recognize the truth of the old hymn Rock of Ages which says, “Not the labors of my hands can fulfill the law’s demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone.”

What I love about the testimony of Moses is that it is far more a testimony about God. I want my life to be that way. I want the people who have walked with me, heard my preaching, and followed me, to have way more to say about all that God did in and through me in that time than what I did. 

Beloved, may we keep our eyes on the vertical and not just the horizontal. May we never forget that we are utterly dependent on the great I am who is with us always. May we never lose our gratitude or trust in God, even when what stands before us seems insurmountable. 

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

Acts 7:1-48

Stephen’s Speech

7:1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said:

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

  “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
    during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43   You took up the tent of Moloch
    and the star of your god Rephan,
    the images that you made to worship;
  and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.¹ 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

Footnotes

[1] 7:46 Some manuscripts for the house of Jacob

(ESV)

Joshua 13:8-33

The Inheritance East of the Jordan

8 With the other half of the tribe of Manasseh¹ the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them: 9 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon; 10 and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonites; 11 and Gilead, and the region of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah; 12 all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); these Moses had struck and driven out. 13 Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.

14 To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the LORD God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him.

15 And Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the people of Reuben according to their clans. 16 So their territory was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland by Medeba; 17 with Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the tableland; Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, 18 and Jahaz, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, 19 and Kiriathaim, and Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, 20 and Beth-peor, and the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, 21 that is, all the cities of the tableland, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses defeated with the leaders of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. 22 Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain. 23 And the border of the people of Reuben was the Jordan as a boundary. This was the inheritance of the people of Reuben, according to their clans with their cities and villages.

24 Moses gave an inheritance also to the tribe of Gad, to the people of Gad, according to their clans. 25 Their territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites, to Aroer, which is east of Rabbah, 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir,² 27 and in the valley Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, having the Jordan as a boundary, to the lower end of the Sea of Chinnereth, eastward beyond the Jordan. 28 This is the inheritance of the people of Gad according to their clans, with their cities and villages.

29 And Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh. It was allotted to the half-tribe of the people of Manasseh according to their clans. 30 Their region extended from Mahanaim, through all Bashan, the whole kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities, 31 and half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. These were allotted to the people of Machir the son of Manasseh for the half of the people of Machir according to their clans.

32 These are the inheritances that Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho. 33 But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel is their inheritance, just as he said to them.

Footnotes

[1] 13:8 Hebrew With it

[2] 13:26 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew Lidebir

(ESV)

Exodus 24

The Covenant Confirmed

24:1 Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 Moses alone shall come near to the LORD, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.”

3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules.¹ And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

12 The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.”

15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Footnotes

[1] 24:3 Or all the just decrees

(ESV)

Exodus 3

The Burning Bush

3:1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”¹ And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD,² the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.³ 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Footnotes

[1] 3:14 Or I am what I am, or I will be what I will be

[2] 3:15 The word Lord, when spelled with capital letters, stands for the divine name, YHWH, which is here connected with the verb hayah, “to be” in verse 14

[3] 3:19 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew go, not by a mighty hand

(ESV)