A BIG JOB : MOSES PART 3
God had given Moses a really BIG job - the job of leading his people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. (the Hebrews were also called Israelites)
It can be hard to know where to start when you have a big job to do - like tidying your bedroom! It really helps to have someone to help you, and a plan for how to do it. Even then you might try and make up excuses for not doing the mahi.
Moses came up with excuses why he couldn’t do the job of leading the people out of Egypt. Excuses, like...
- I’m nobody
- How will I answer the people’s questions?
- Maybe my people won’t listen to me
- They might not believe that God talked to me
God had an answer for all of Moses’ excuses. God even gave Moses some SUPER POWERS!
He told Moses to throw his stick on the ground and it turned into a snake! God told Moses to pick it up by its tail and it became a stick again.
Then Moses put his hand in his pocket and when he pulled it out it was covered in spots. The next time he did it, the spots had gone away!
Moses had ONE MORE excuse.
He told God he was not a good speaker. God reminded Moses that he (GOD) was the one who had made Moses’ mouth, and he promised to help him speak and to tell him what to say. Even then, Moses asked God to choose someone else. God’s answer was that Moses’ brother, Aaron, could help him.
So Moses and his family went to Egypt.
They met up with Aaron. Moses told Aaron everything God had said to him. The first thing they did was to call together the Israelite leaders and tell them God’s plan. Moses showed them the miracles with the stick/snake and his hand so they would believe that God really was with Moses and Aaron.
Next, Moses and Aaron went to see the king.
They said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go, so that they can hold a festival in the desert to honour me.”
The king said, “Who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”
I wonder how Moses and Aaron felt when they heard him say that? This was not going as well as they had hoped. I’m sure they would have been praying (not out loud!) and asking God, “What do we do now?!”
FOR I KNOW THE PLANS...
Nothing that happens is a surprise to God. He knows everything.
He knew this was going to happen and he had a plan.
Next week we will find out what happened to make the king of Egypt change his mind about letting the Israelites go.
Do the mahi
- Choose a job - tidying your bedroom; sorting your toys; cleaning the fridge; weeding the garden ….
- Make a plan - if you are going to tidy your bedroom, you could decide to start with putting away your clothes first and then move on to books/toys next and finish by dusting and vacuuming.
- Pray. Ask God to help you keep going when you feel like quitting.
- Ask someone to help you. You might need someone to work alongside you or just to check in every now and then to offer encouragement
Have some fun
Make a s-s-s-s-s-snake!
Here are the instructions to make 2 different snakes (taken from a book from 1977!)
