[uplifting music]
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[uplifting music]
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>>Eric Flickinger:
Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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Glad to have you with us today.
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We are on a journey, a journey
through the book of Exodus,
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looking at Moses,
looking at the Israelites,
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and especially looking
at God as He led His people
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and He leads His people today.
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This week, we're
looking at lesson number 2,
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and that is "The Burning
Bush," a fascinating story
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from the book of Exodus.
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But before we begin,
let's start with prayer.
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Father, we thank
You for being with us
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and guiding us through our
study on the book of Exodus.
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We're just
beginning this journey,
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as was Moses at
this point in the book.
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And we ask that You
will guide and direct us
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into a clearer understanding of
You and Your character of love
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and mercy and grace as we do so.
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We thank You, in
Jesus' name, amen.
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>>Dr. Jiri Moskala: Amen.
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>>Eric: Well, we're
glad that you are here,
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but we are also
glad that the author of
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this quarter's "Sabbath
School" lesson is here with us:
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Dr. Jiri Moskala.
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He is the dean of
the Theological Seminary
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at Andrews University.
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Dr. Moskala, thank you
again for being with us.
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>>Dr. Moskala: Glad
to be here with you.
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>>Eric: So this is lesson
number 2, "The Burning Bush."
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We looked a little bit
last week about the oppression
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that God's people were
under and Moses' early life.
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And now we're getting to
the point where God calls Moses
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to do something, to
do something significant.
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So how does God
intervene in Moses' life?
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And what does this burning
bush experience look like?
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>>Dr. Moskala: You know, I think
that this burning experience
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for Moses was
really extraordinary
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because this burning
bush experience is when God
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is coming and
disturbing him in his life.
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First 40 years
were, you know, in Egypt,
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when he was the prince.
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He should be,
like, the next pharaoh.
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He was educated for everything.
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Of course, there were
the tensions and intrigues
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in the court, royal court.
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But then he is in the family
of Jethro in the Midian desert.
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And he has a quiet life.
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And he actually like it very
much because now he is married.
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He has two sons.
He has a great family.
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His family is supporting him.
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He is there. He is also
like a shepherd with the sheep.
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So this was great.
Nothing was missing to him.
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And now God is
coming and telling him,
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"Well, I am here, and I
will send you back to Egypt."
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So this was, like, a varying,
changing, disturbing experience,
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completely out of the blue.
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Before, he wanted to
do something for Israel,
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but now he is very
reluctant to do it.
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And we read there
that it was God Himself,
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the angel of the Lord.
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And then you have the angel
of the Lord called "the Lord,"
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who is really calling him
and revealing Himself to him.
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And he is overwhelmed
by the presence of God.
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>>Eric: So walk us
through why this experience
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was so transformative for him,
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why--so dramatic from
his past 40 years of living
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in the wilderness--why did
this make such an impact on him?
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>>Dr. Moskala: You know, as I
said, he had a comfortable life.
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Now is coming a special command
to him by God, who is appearing,
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and it's an
extraordinary appearing
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because he sees
the burning bush,
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and this fire is still there,
and it's not consuming the bush.
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So he's coming closer, and
then God is revealing Himself
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to him, that He is
this God of Abraham,
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of Isaac, and Jacob,
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that He is here in
order to do something
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for the
oppressed people in Egypt.
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He is now out of Egypt.
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And another 40 years were there
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where God's people
were in oppression.
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And for us, we read
it in several sentences,
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but if I am in oppression
for one day, one month,
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one year, or several years,
it's a long period of time.
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So it's accumulating, and now
God is coming to him and saying,
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"Moses, Moses."
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And when he is
responding, "Here I am,"
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God is really telling him,
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"Yes, you are
on the holy ground.
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"I am here. I am
present. But don't be afraid.
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I have something
special for you."
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And then you have this beautiful
passage when God is saying,
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"I have indeed seen the
misery of my people in Egypt.
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"I have heard them crying out
because of their slave drivers,
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"and I am concerned
about their suffering.
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So I have come
down to rescue them."
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And then at the end He said,
"So now, go and lead my people
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out of Egypt, out of
this land of slavery."
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>>Eric: You know,
Moses didn't immediately jump
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on this opportunity.
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It seemed a little
bit-- it was difficult for him
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to wrap his mind
and his heart around.
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Even though it talks about the
angel of the Lord appearing--
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this is the Lord
who is speaking to him,
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who's giving him
this command to go.
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And he's a
little-- he's hesitant.
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Maybe that's a
good way of saying it.
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And he also--he's
good at making excuses.
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You know, "I hear what You're
telling me to do, God, but--"
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and he starts to
list off a few excuses.
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When God
introduces Himself to Moses,
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how does He identify Himself?
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How does He help Moses
to understand who it is
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that he's actually speaking to?
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>>Dr. Moskala: Well, actually,
in verse 6 you can read,
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"'I am the God of your
father, the God of Abraham,
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"the God of Isaac
and the God of Jacob.'
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At this, Moses hid his face,"
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and he realized that
he's in the presence of God.
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So it was, from our
perspective as Christians,
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as Seventh-day Adventists,
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this was Jesus who was
there communicating with Moses.
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And when He now tell
the command, and there are,
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like, clear two
commands in the Hebrew text--
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"You go and lead,"
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you know, "lead these
people out of Egypt"--
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it is very interesting
that Moses is now engaging
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in dialogue with God.
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And what I-- I
like it, actually,
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very much that God
is open to dialogue.
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But maybe this dialogue is
from the perspective of Moses,
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like, not only the hesitance
but, really, refusal to go.
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And the first objection he's
saying, "Well, Lord, who I am?"
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And so he's
playing very, very humble.
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"Who I am?"
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And this is a good
question, actually.
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"So who I am,
that You remember me
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"and You are now calling
me to do this specific task?
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"I was already
there. I know how it is.
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"It's terrible.
But I am not the one.
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"I am not born to be savior
and leader of these people.
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You are asking me to go there?"
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And the response of God, I
think this is very important.
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There's always excuse, and
God responds, and God is saying,
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"I will be with you."
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So what else he needs, right?
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When God is telling us in
our life, "I am with you,"
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this is
all-encompassing promise of God.
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Like, when Jesus was
going to heaven and said,
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"I will be with you
till the end of the world,"
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of course, this is what we need.
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And God is telling
him, "I will be with you."
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And Moses is hearing
that, and God is telling him,
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"And I will give you a sign.
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You--now, you
are at Mount Sinai"--
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and we know from later on--
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"and you will come back
with the Israelites here,
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"and you will know
that I was with you.
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So take my promise:
I will be with you."
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And, of course, it
is not enough for Moses,
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and he's asking the question,
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"But they will ask
me, 'Who are You, God?'"
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And now, again, God is
now revealing who He is.
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And this is that famous
statement in the Bible--
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that God is saying, "I AM."
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"I AM WHO I AM."
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[speaking in
Hebrew] "I AM WHO I AM."
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And you can also
translate this "I AM WHO I AM"
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also "I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE."
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It means that God is present.
He's intervening--"I AM."
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"I AM"--He's present. But
you cannot also grasp Him.
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You cannot manipulate
with "I WILL BE WHO WILL BE,"
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you know? He is in
charge. He is in command.
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And then He is now
saying, "Yes, I AM, I AM."
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And the same phrase--now
God is speaking about Himself,
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that "I AM WHO I AM."
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He was saying
before, "I am with you."
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We call it "I will be with you,"
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but this is the same, so, "I am
with you. I will be with you."
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And God is saying,
"Yes, I am who I am,
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and I will be who will
be. So you can rely on me."
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And then He's
speaking, "Yes, I am this God
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of your forefathers--"of
Abraham, Isaac, you know, Jacob.
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"I am with you.
So go. Go there."
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But, again, it was
not enough. [chuckling]
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>>Eric: Yeah,
unfortunately, for Moses,
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he continues to make excuses.
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But, again, that's
not so terribly unlike us.
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You know, God frequently
calls us to do something,
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and we come up with reasons
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why we can't do
what He asked us to do.
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>>Dr. Moskala: Exactly, and
so, you know, he's now asking,
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"And what if I will
come, really, and these people,
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"Your people,
will not believe me,
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that You sent me?" [chuckling]
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And God is, again, so merciful.
I love this God of Moses.
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He's kind in
saying, "No problem, Moses.
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"I will give you
a special ability.
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"You will do even miracles.
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"You will
persuade them by the signs
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"because they are
waiting for signs,
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"for specific
miracles. You will be able.
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"You throw your own
stick on the ground?
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"This will be the serpent.
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"You take it at
the end of his body?
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"It will be again back.
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"And you can be
leper if you put it in--
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"your hand into your pocket.
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"And then it will be
healed again later on.
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"So I will do everything.
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Don't worry. Just go."
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>>Eric: So He's giving
him evidence of who He is
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and the fact
that he can indeed do
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what He's calling Moses to do.
00:12:01.95\00:12:05.19
Dr. Moskala, there is a--
for somebody who wants to dig
00:12:05.22\00:12:07.96
more deeply into this
episode of "The Burning Bush,"
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you have
written a companion book
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to this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson.
00:12:13.16\00:12:14.83
Tell us a little bit
about the companion book.
00:12:14.86\00:12:16.56
Before you do, there are also,
00:12:16.60\00:12:18.17
in addition to
the companion book,
00:12:18.20\00:12:19.50
there are also teachers
guides for the quarterly.
00:12:19.53\00:12:23.51
There's some other
"Spirit of Prophecy,"
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or Ellen White quotes,
that you can find from it, too.
00:12:25.54\00:12:28.11
And the Spanish version
of this has the study guide,
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the teachers guide--
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>>Dr. Moskala: Yes,
this is this one here.
00:12:33.82\00:12:35.05
>>Eric: --and the companion book
in there. So all three of those?
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>>Dr. Moskala: All
three of them--the quarterly,
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then the teachers edition,
and then the companion book.
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In English, we have it, like,
in three different editions.
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I like this Spanish edition
of Inter-American Division.
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They have all three together.
00:12:52.97\00:12:54.27
>>Eric: All three,
all bound together.
00:12:54.30\00:12:55.60
>>Dr. Moskala: And
they can study together.
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>>Eric: So tell us a
little bit about this lesson,
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lesson number 2, in the book.
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>>Dr. Moskala: Yes,
the lesson number 2, again,
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I, in each lesson,
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want to show who is that God who
is speaking in these chapters.
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And I call it
here "Burning Bush:
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The God Who Calls and Cares."
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And here I also
explain that terminology,
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"the angel of the Lord,"
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why the angel of the
Lord can be Jesus Christ
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and not really the angel
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and that it is really the
Lord and the biblical text
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is speaking about that.
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And, also, I am explaining all
the dynamic of God's calling:
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What does it mean in our life
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when He calls us
to specific ministry?
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>>Eric: So if you are interested
in digging more deeply
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into that, understanding
the angel of the Lord--
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now, that's not to say
that Jesus is a created being,
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and this book
makes it very plain
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that that's not the case--
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but how can this
angel of the Lord be Jesus,
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biblically speaking?
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If you wanna dig into
that, make sure you pick up
00:13:55.63\00:13:57.73
this companion
book to this quarter's
00:13:57.77\00:13:59.67
"Sabbath School" lesson,
00:13:59.70\00:14:01.07
and also to see how God calls us
00:14:01.10\00:14:03.57
and gives us opportunities
to answer that call.
00:14:03.61\00:14:06.31
If you wanna pick
up the companion book
00:14:06.34\00:14:07.78
to this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson,
00:14:07.81\00:14:09.48
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00:14:09.51\00:14:10.85
You will find it
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00:14:10.88\00:14:13.42
Again, you will find
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00:14:13.45\00:14:16.99
We're going to be
back again in just a moment
00:14:17.02\00:14:18.55
as we continue taking a
look at this quarter's lesson,
00:14:18.59\00:14:22.22
looking at the book of Exodus
and, specifically, the story
00:14:22.26\00:14:25.06
of the burning bush,
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:14:25.09\00:14:27.23
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:27.30\00:14:29.23
[uplifting music]
00:14:29.26\00:14:31.27
>>John Bradshaw: So
what is God really like?
00:14:33.13\00:14:36.50
To hear some
people tell the story,
00:14:36.54\00:14:37.94
"God is a tyrant, God is
vindictive, God is hateful";
00:14:37.97\00:14:41.78
to hear some
people tell the story,
00:14:41.81\00:14:43.95
"God is a murderer.
00:14:43.98\00:14:45.95
God is masochistic"--
that's what some people say.
00:14:45.98\00:14:49.28
Now, why would
they say such a thing?
00:14:49.32\00:14:50.85
Well, you look into the Bible,
00:14:50.89\00:14:52.32
and in Noah's day, God
destroyed the entire world.
00:14:52.35\00:14:56.06
There may even have
been billions of people alive
00:14:56.09\00:14:59.49
at that time. God wiped 'em out.
00:14:59.53\00:15:02.10
Well, was that a one-off?
00:15:02.13\00:15:03.77
In the days of
Hezekiah, king of Judah,
00:15:03.80\00:15:07.17
185,000 Assyrian
soldiers were destroyed
00:15:07.20\00:15:12.51
by God's angels in a night.
00:15:12.54\00:15:14.94
What is the
character of God like?
00:15:14.98\00:15:17.95
You don't wanna miss
"The Character of God."
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We'll talk about
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00:15:19.98\00:15:23.12
And you'll know
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00:15:23.15\00:15:25.95
"The Character of God,"
00:15:25.99\00:15:27.96
brought to you
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00:15:27.99\00:15:31.49
>>John: You know
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00:15:33.76\00:15:35.36
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00:15:35.40\00:15:38.67
and we encourage
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00:15:40.74\00:15:43.04
Well, I wanna share
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And here it is:
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itiswritten.study.
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00:16:32.99\00:16:37.46
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:16:37.49\00:16:39.13
brought to yo by It Is Written."
00:16:39.16\00:16:41.03
We're looking at lesson number 2
as we study the book of Exodus.
00:16:41.06\00:16:45.87
Dr. Moskala, we've been talking
about Moses at the burning bush,
00:16:45.90\00:16:48.47
this experience that he has,
this dialogue that he has going
00:16:48.50\00:16:51.57
between himself and God.
00:16:51.61\00:16:55.38
When we see this
dialogue taking place,
00:16:55.41\00:16:58.85
what does this dialogue
reveal to us about Moses' faith,
00:16:58.88\00:17:05.02
about his doubts?
00:17:05.05\00:17:06.45
What do we know about Moses
as he's asking these questions
00:17:06.49\00:17:10.13
or, more accurately,
making these excuses?
00:17:10.16\00:17:14.00
What does that
tell us about him?
00:17:14.03\00:17:15.53
>>Dr. Moskala: I am really
fascinated by these questions
00:17:15.56\00:17:19.60
and the dialogue
between God and Moses
00:17:19.63\00:17:22.44
because it tells me
that God is approachable.
00:17:22.47\00:17:26.34
We can come to Him
with any questions,
00:17:26.37\00:17:30.05
and, actually,
God is inviting us.
00:17:30.08\00:17:32.75
And I am always surprised
how many biblical authors
00:17:32.78\00:17:36.32
are dialoguing, even
reacting to God's commands.
00:17:36.35\00:17:40.79
And they're,
like, not only hesitant
00:17:40.82\00:17:43.12
but trying to change it,
that it will be different.
00:17:43.16\00:17:47.76
Of course, you have also
different episodes where,
00:17:47.83\00:17:51.07
like, Isaiah--"Here I
am, Lord. Please send me."
00:17:51.10\00:17:55.07
But there are others who
are very hesitant to follow
00:17:55.10\00:17:59.74
God's leadership because
they know how demanding it is,
00:17:59.77\00:18:03.78
that it is not a simple task.
00:18:03.81\00:18:06.18
So it tells me that
our God is a personal God.
00:18:06.21\00:18:12.29
We can talk to Him. We
can explain our feelings.
00:18:12.32\00:18:17.26
And even we are
frustrated, we can speak to Him.
00:18:17.29\00:18:21.16
But I would say also
that when we speak to Him,
00:18:21.20\00:18:25.17
we need to know also
that we are only creatures.
00:18:25.20\00:18:29.90
He is the Lord. He is God.
00:18:29.94\00:18:31.54
And this is what we
have, a great lesson
00:18:31.57\00:18:34.81
from this dialogue
between Moses and God.
00:18:34.84\00:18:37.71
God is commanding;
00:18:37.75\00:18:39.45
he is now giving four excuses--
00:18:39.48\00:18:42.22
the first, "Who I am? Who I am?"
00:18:42.25\00:18:45.82
and then the
second, "Well, all right,
00:18:45.85\00:18:48.49
You will be with
me," or "I can take it."
00:18:48.52\00:18:51.33
"But who are You?
00:18:51.36\00:18:53.53
People will ask me who are You."
00:18:53.56\00:18:55.73
And it means--it shows
that the knowledge of God
00:18:55.76\00:19:00.47
at the time was diminishing,
and that influence of Egypt
00:19:00.50\00:19:06.81
and Egyptian
gods was so dominant
00:19:06.84\00:19:09.94
that the Israelites
were now more fearing
00:19:09.98\00:19:13.85
these Egyptian
gods because they saw,
00:19:13.88\00:19:16.62
you know, these
Egyptians are having these gods,
00:19:16.65\00:19:20.32
and they are ruling over them.
00:19:20.36\00:19:21.72
So these gods must be
stronger than our God.
00:19:21.76\00:19:26.53
And they're intimidated.
00:19:26.56\00:19:28.00
"So who You are?
00:19:28.03\00:19:29.33
I have to even
tell them who You are."
00:19:29.36\00:19:32.70
And the Lord is
saying, "Telling them who I am.
00:19:32.73\00:19:35.10
I AM. Why? I am
present. I am intervening."
00:19:35.14\00:19:38.77
And you cannot
manipulate with Him.
00:19:38.81\00:19:41.08
"I am in charge."
So this is beautiful.
00:19:41.11\00:19:45.18
And then Moses is not
ready yet [chuckles] and saying,
00:19:45.21\00:19:50.95
"Well, I will be there,
00:19:50.99\00:19:53.29
"and still they will
not take me seriously.
00:19:53.32\00:19:57.09
"They are not
taking You seriously.
00:19:57.13\00:19:59.39
Why they would take me
seriously as Your servant?"
00:19:59.43\00:20:03.47
And He's empowering
him: "You will be able even
00:20:03.50\00:20:05.97
to do miracles,
different signs, and wonders."
00:20:06.00\00:20:09.84
And the signs,
actually, in the biblical text
00:20:09.87\00:20:13.07
is not called
"miracle." It's a sign.
00:20:13.11\00:20:15.74
It's a sign that God is present,
00:20:15.78\00:20:18.01
that God is now
responding to their cries,
00:20:18.05\00:20:21.08
that God will do
something for His people.
00:20:21.12\00:20:23.15
Like, God is always
ready to do something
00:20:23.18\00:20:25.29
for you and for me, right?
00:20:25.32\00:20:27.26
And this is that God.
00:20:27.29\00:20:30.06
And when, again,
all these excuses
00:20:30.09\00:20:34.66
are explained by
God, comes the fourth one.
00:20:34.73\00:20:38.17
And Moses saying,
"Well, Lord, I am not eloquent.
00:20:38.20\00:20:44.04
I don't know how to speak."
00:20:44.07\00:20:46.31
And, of course, he already
is 40 years out of Egypt.
00:20:46.34\00:20:49.54
So he was not fluent now
in Egyptian, and but what is,
00:20:49.58\00:20:56.48
again, great, God
is responding to him.
00:20:56.52\00:20:59.49
I will now reading in
chapter 4 from verse 11.
00:20:59.52\00:21:05.49
You know, Moses says, "I
am slow of speech and tongue."
00:21:05.53\00:21:10.53
And the Lord said to him,
"Who gave [man his mouth]?
00:21:10.57\00:21:14.64
"Who makes [him] deaf or mute?
00:21:14.67\00:21:16.87
"Who gives [him]
sight or [make him] blind?
00:21:16.91\00:21:19.64
"[It is] not I, the Lord?
00:21:19.67\00:21:21.41
Now go; I will help you speak
and will teach you what to say."
00:21:21.44\00:21:26.58
Wow, so there is
no more excuse, right?
00:21:26.61\00:21:29.88
God will tell him
exactly what to say, how to say,
00:21:29.92\00:21:33.22
when to say it.
00:21:33.25\00:21:35.62
If every time God will
tell me that in my life,
00:21:35.66\00:21:38.93
I would be very
happy. [chuckles]
00:21:38.96\00:21:41.06
And God is
assuring, "I will be with you.
00:21:41.10\00:21:43.13
I will do
everything what you need."
00:21:43.16\00:21:46.53
So what--how we can now react?
00:21:46.57\00:21:49.40
For excuses, God
gave great responses:
00:21:49.44\00:21:53.48
"I will be with you."
00:21:53.51\00:21:54.88
And now this is a big surprise.
00:21:54.91\00:21:57.38
It's a shock in
the biblical text
00:21:57.41\00:21:59.91
because in verse
13 we read that Moses
00:21:59.95\00:22:03.82
is no more asking any question
00:22:03.85\00:22:05.49
but is now
giving command to God.
00:22:05.52\00:22:09.16
Isn't it now reverse?
00:22:09.19\00:22:11.76
You know, first
God was commanding,
00:22:11.79\00:22:13.90
and now Moses is
in the position--
00:22:13.93\00:22:16.97
when he is refusing
to follow God's call,
00:22:17.00\00:22:19.57
that he's
commanding God and saying,
00:22:19.60\00:22:20.74
"Lord, please
send someone else."
00:22:20.77\00:22:25.14
You know, "Send someone else."
00:22:25.17\00:22:27.28
You know, I always
say we can, you know,
00:22:27.31\00:22:30.25
have dialogue with
God. We can argue with Him.
00:22:30.28\00:22:33.95
But when He is
assuring us about His presence,
00:22:33.98\00:22:38.62
He's giving us all His Word,
00:22:38.65\00:22:40.62
all His promises,
we need to trust Him.
00:22:40.66\00:22:44.63
And this is what now
Moses need to learn--
00:22:44.66\00:22:48.93
how we need to learn our
lesson, how to trust the Lord.
00:22:48.96\00:22:52.93
And, in spite of this,
you know, he is not yet ready.
00:22:52.97\00:22:58.27
And he's saying, "Please,
Lord, send someone else."
00:22:58.31\00:23:00.61
Now he is commanding God, but
you cannot manipulate with God.
00:23:00.64\00:23:05.61
You cannot tell Him what to do.
He is in charge of everything.
00:23:05.65\00:23:11.25
So now God is reacting.
00:23:11.29\00:23:13.92
This time He is not
speaking to him in, as before,
00:23:13.96\00:23:18.73
with loving care,
you know, but really--
00:23:18.76\00:23:22.30
"Then the Lord's
anger burned against Moses."
00:23:22.33\00:23:27.17
This is here when
Moses is experiencing
00:23:27.20\00:23:32.17
something about God's anger.
00:23:32.21\00:23:35.18
"Why you do not trust
me? I am here for you.
00:23:35.21\00:23:38.95
"I assured you I
will be with you.
00:23:38.98\00:23:41.78
Why are you so hesitant?"
00:23:41.82\00:23:44.59
You know, this is
how it is with our life:
00:23:44.62\00:23:49.19
We sometimes have our
questions, and we are hesitant.
00:23:49.22\00:23:53.19
We do not listen,
and do we overlook
00:23:53.23\00:23:56.06
this beauty of God's promises?
00:23:56.10\00:23:58.90
And, again, this God,
He's even angry with Moses.
00:23:58.93\00:24:05.21
He's such a magnificent God.
00:24:05.24\00:24:07.08
I am in love with
this God because now--
00:24:07.11\00:24:09.74
listen what He is saying.
00:24:09.78\00:24:12.75
He says, "What
about your brother,
00:24:12.78\00:24:15.22
"Aaron the Levite?
I know he can speak.
00:24:15.25\00:24:18.52
And he's already
coming to meet with you."
00:24:18.55\00:24:22.99
So it tells me that
God already know that Moses
00:24:23.02\00:24:28.76
will tell "no" to Him,
00:24:28.80\00:24:30.43
that He prepared the way
in His providence in saying,
00:24:30.47\00:24:33.60
"Aaron, you will go and
meet your brother, Moses."
00:24:33.64\00:24:38.77
And now Moses is
really without any excuse
00:24:38.81\00:24:44.95
because God, in His providence--
00:24:44.98\00:24:47.48
even though he was
so hesitant in refusal,
00:24:47.52\00:24:53.62
he is hearing that
God is preparing way.
00:24:53.66\00:24:57.29
Even the help will be coming.
His brother will be there.
00:24:57.33\00:25:01.93
And the next one we read,
there is no response of Moses.
00:25:01.96\00:25:07.47
He is not
telling anything to God.
00:25:07.50\00:25:09.94
But we read at
the end of verse--
00:25:09.97\00:25:12.77
of this chapter, like, in
the middle of the chapter,
00:25:12.81\00:25:16.01
that Moses went back to Jethro,
00:25:16.04\00:25:18.58
his
father-in-law, and said to him,
00:25:18.61\00:25:21.28
"Let me go back
to my people in Egypt
00:25:21.32\00:25:24.35
to see if any of
them are still alive."
00:25:24.39\00:25:28.06
And Jethro is telling him, "Go."
00:25:28.09\00:25:29.62
So Moses, as a
good man of the family,
00:25:29.66\00:25:32.73
is asking his
father-in-law, "May I go?"
00:25:32.76\00:25:36.93
And father--"Yes"--
00:25:36.97\00:25:38.67
you know, he see that God is
in command. "You need to go."
00:25:38.70\00:25:42.34
And this help also
from his father-in-law
00:25:42.37\00:25:46.41
was encouragement:
00:25:46.44\00:25:47.78
"Yes, you have really
no excuse. You need to go."
00:25:47.81\00:25:52.45
And then you have
the rest of chapter 4,
00:25:52.48\00:25:56.05
when you see how God really
prepared Aaron to be with him,
00:25:56.08\00:26:03.73
and now also
preparing Moses to do everything
00:26:03.76\00:26:07.30
what God said before.
00:26:07.30\00:26:08.60
This is that
episode about circumcision,
00:26:08.63\00:26:11.00
that he need to, you
know, follow God's instruction.
00:26:11.03\00:26:13.80
And then they speak, both.
00:26:13.84\00:26:15.84
They are now back in
Egypt, and Moses and Aaron
00:26:15.87\00:26:18.67
are speaking to
elders and leaders of Israel,
00:26:18.71\00:26:23.91
and they hear that God
really wants to be with them.
00:26:23.95\00:26:27.62
They see that He performs signs
00:26:27.65\00:26:31.15
and that God
really hear their voice.
00:26:31.19\00:26:33.66
They have now
the confidence in God
00:26:33.69\00:26:37.23
because He will now
be concerned about them,
00:26:37.26\00:26:41.26
and they are bowing
down and worship the Lord.
00:26:41.30\00:26:43.30
So the chapter ends beautifully.
00:26:43.33\00:26:45.83
>>Eric: So we've got
this incredible picture,
00:26:45.87\00:26:47.70
this story--
brief story in here--
00:26:47.74\00:26:49.74
a couple of chapters of God
and Moses having a dialogue:
00:26:49.77\00:26:53.84
Moses making excuses,
00:26:53.88\00:26:56.38
God bringing
them down each time.
00:26:56.41\00:26:58.61
We've got a
short bit of time left.
00:26:58.65\00:27:00.75
If there's somebody
who's watching right now
00:27:00.78\00:27:02.65
and they have a
habit of making excuses
00:27:02.68\00:27:06.72
when they sense God
encouraging 'em to do something,
00:27:06.76\00:27:09.29
in just a few sentences,
00:27:09.32\00:27:10.63
what would you tell
that person to encourage them
00:27:10.66\00:27:13.96
to walk forward?
00:27:14.00\00:27:16.13
>>Dr. Moskala: I will
say, listen to God's promises.
00:27:16.16\00:27:20.27
Don't look upon
yourself and your weaknesses
00:27:20.30\00:27:24.24
and your points of
things that you don't know.
00:27:24.27\00:27:30.65
If God says, "I will be
with you," you can count on it.
00:27:30.68\00:27:34.78
He will be doing more for
you than you can even imagine,
00:27:34.82\00:27:38.99
and then the experiences
you can have with your God
00:27:39.02\00:27:42.26
will surpass all your excuses.
00:27:42.29\00:27:44.63
So trust Him.
00:27:44.66\00:27:46.33
And He is here to
fulfill His promises for you.
00:27:46.36\00:27:52.13
Count on Him. Trust Him.
00:27:52.17\00:27:54.24
>>Eric: So I would encourage
you to do the very same thing:
00:27:54.27\00:27:56.40
Count on God, trust Him,
and He will direct your path.
00:27:56.44\00:28:00.68
Thank you for joining us
today on "Sabbath School,"
00:28:00.71\00:28:03.04
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:28:03.08\00:28:05.95
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