This devotion is the second in the series that parallels the Bible Study series “Centering Jesus: Seeing Jesus at the heart of Scripture” Follow the link to see the rest of the study and the other devotions in this series.
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Moses: God Guides and Delivers Us
Deliverance is a powerful theme in stories, and a remarkable thing to experience in life, as well. The idea of being freed from bondage gives us hope and reminds us that the bad guys won’t win in the end. We rejoice to see Prince Rillian destroy the silver chair or King Theoden shake off the evils of Wormtongue. We celebrate the work of the Underground Railroad guiding slaves to freedom and the networks who hid and rescued Jews during the Holocaust.
The book of Exodus gives us one of the greatest accounts of deliverance. The Israelites had been held in slavery for 400 years, knowing no other life but bondage. God appointed Moses to bring His people out from Pharaoh’s hand and into the Promised Land. This was no simple task. The people endured uncertainty, witnessed the plagues, and sought God’s protection through the Passover before finally making their departure.
The Israelites didn’t always like or trust Moses but recognized him as God’s spokesman and their leader. Ultimately, though, it was the Lord who guided them and provided for them. And while Moses was significant and chosen by God for critical tasks, someone much greater came to fulfill God’s promises to the people. The events of the exodus remind us that we, too, have been delivered and rescued, perhaps not from brickmaking, but from the bondage of sin, death, and the devil.
Hebrews offers some helpful connections between Moses and Jesus that remind us of the place Christ has as our great deliverer.
Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. -Hebrews 3:1-6
Moses demonstrated endurance and remarkable faithfulness in his ministry, but Jesus surpassed that, showing a perfect faithfulness that endured even through death. Moses was a servant and part of God’s household, but Jesus is God’s Son and the creator of the house. Just as the credit for a great artwork or song goes to the artist (or composer), Jesus is the builder and planner of all things in our lives. He makes everything we do possible.
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. -Hebrews 11:24-27
Moses had faith to turn from a potential life of ease in Egypt and chose to lead God’s people in the exodus. He trusted in God’s ultimate plan enough to flee from Pharaoh’s wrath and rescue the Israelites. Jesus left His heavenly throne and came to Earth to endure pain and death on our behalf. He faced our enemies to rescue us from destruction. And Jesus bring us into a final paradise, where we find our hope. In this life we face trouble and trials. But we know that Christ has overcome the world. He will not leave us in bondage to Satan but delivers us so that death cannot touch us in the end.
Prayer: Dear Father God, thank you for the faithfulness you have shown throughout your history. Thank you for examples we have of endurance and deliverance. Guide us to marvel at your Will and your Word, and to understand the love you show through your plans. Thank you for the faith and life of Moses, and for sending your Son as the ultimate deliverer. In Jesus’s name, Amen
Journal Questions:
- How can we be reassured and comforted by past examples that prove God’s faithfulness?
- God gives us purpose in life. He created Moses to lead the people and deliver them from Pharaoh’s hand. What is our primary purpose? What does this have to do with plans God has for you?
- We sometimes feel a sense that we don’t belong. How does this relate to the Israelites in the exodus from Egypt and to our experience on Earth as Christians
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