Aug. 04, 2021

“THE LIFE OF MOSES”

“LEARNING ABOUT OURSELVES”

EXODUS 2:21-22, 3:1, ACTS 7:29-30

1.   The Desert God’s Testing Ground

*Deuteronomy 32:10 “He found him in a desert land, And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.”

The Hebrew word for “desert” comes from a verb which means “to speak.”

He encircled him, he instructed (cared for) him, He kept (guarded) him as the apple of His eye.”

*Deuteronomy 8:2 “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

2.   Moses’ Time In The Desert

*His Location

As we have mentioned before, Moses fled too and settled in “the land of Midian” (Exodus 2:15).

*His Vocation

Exodus 3:1 “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

We also know that while living in Midian, Moses and his wife, Zipporah, had two sons.

Acts 7:29 “Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.”

*His Education

Moses’ course of study in the “School of Self-discovery” included the instruction given by four professors.

1.   Obscurity- he taught Moses, who had been a somebody, how to cope with being a nobody in man’s eyes. 

Exodus 2:21 “Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.”

Exodus 3:1 “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

2.   Time- He helped Moses learn how to wait. 

Acts 7:23-25 “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 24And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.”

Acts 7:29 “Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.”

Acts 7:30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.”

3.   Solitude- The desert is a quiet and lonely place that encourages thought and reflection.

4.   Discomfort- He used the harsh environment of the Midian desert to strengthen Moses physically and spiritually.

3.   Your Response To The Desert

There are three ways you can respond:

*  “I don’t need it.” This is the reaction of fear or pride.

*  “I am tired of it.” This response usually comes after a good deal of fatigue or anxiety has been felt in the midst of one’s struggle.

*  “I accept it.” This is the response that promotes the greatest degree of learning.