Call Of A Leader - Moses Series

The Journey to Faith Series

Introduction

There's much to learn through life experiences. The majority of scripture is not a rulebook. God has communicated great true this in the context of relationship swiftness people. One of the greatest lessons on worship was communicated to an encounter with Jesus and a woman of questionable character. The many powerful truth of the New Testament have been communicated by Paul to a particular people or church or person.

First Corinthians chapter 10 tells us to pay attention to the experiences of the Israelites to the we can learn from their example. Therefore, it would be a good experience for us to go back and looked at Israel's walk so that we might learn what it means to walk by faith. What happens after God saves us? What does that walk look like?

For the next several months we will follow Israel from a time of miraculous salvation through their desert experience intended to teach them how to really trust God so that we might pick up clues and find our way in this journey of faith that leads us to the promised land. Much of God's truth was communicated to story and so we will pick up the story of Israel of their successes and their failures to relate to God with faith and genuine trust. The story of the Hebrew people really begins with a single person named Abram. Out of all of the peoples of the world God detected in the heart of Abram a sensitivity toward him. Thus God appeared to Abram with a most gripping promise.

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house,

To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3

At this point the promise seemed a bit vague. God promised land, seed, and blessing. Not only personal blessing for him, but Abram would be the source of blessing for all the families of the earth. So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; Genesis 12:4

Along the way God spoke to Abraham again in a vision.

"Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great." Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir." Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:1-6

The faith of Abraham was tested. Abraham believed God to leave for and travel to a place where God would take him. Now God has promised the impossible. God would bring new life out of a barren womb. It is here where the scripture tells us of Abraham's genuine faith in God. I wish I could tell you that his faith was perfect, but whose is?

There's much more to the story but our purpose is to follow Israel. So eventually Sarah conceives and bares Abraham a son who's name was Isaac. To Isaac was born Jacob. Out of Jacob came numerous sons and grandsons who become the fathers of the tribes of Israel. God preserved of this new little nation through severe famine in the region.

Through God's blessing on the Jacob’s son Joseph, the extended family escapes annihilation and finds abundant refuge in the land of Egypt. The children of Jacob of God renamed Israel prospered greatly in the land not only financially but numerically. Following Joseph's death, a new pharaoh arose in Egypt who forgot all of the wonderful things Joseph did to save the Egyptians. This pharaoh feared any an Israeli revolt and the threat of any alliance that Israel might take with surrounding nations and conquer Egypt. As a result, the pharaoh ordered all newborn male babies to be killed as they were delivered by the Egyptian midwives.

Along with this, the Israelites were put under slavery and forced labor. This ill-treatment lasted nearly 400 years in spite of the loud cries of the people of Israel for deliverance. In the midst of this is severe bondage a little baby was born.