Shalom. Our teaching this morning is from Exodus 4.22-23
READ EXODUS 4.22-23
So Moses has accepted GOD’s mission to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and bring them up into their own land which GOD said in Ezekiel 20.6 about the land of Israel, I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the most beautiful of all lands.
So Moses returned to his home in Midian, and he took his wife and his 2 sons, and returned to Egypt. And The LORD said to Moses, when you return to Egypt, you shall say to Pharaoh, thus saith The LORD, Israel is My son, even My firstborn: and I say unto you, let My son go that he may serve Me: and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your son, even your firstborn.
Thus we read here in GOD’s Word that Israel is GOD’s firstborn son. And we know that Yeshua is also GOD’s firstborn son. So I thought to myself, what is the special meaning for Israel to be GOD’s firstborn son? And what is the unique significance? But first, let’s look at some Scriptures about GOD’s firstborn sons.
HEBREWS 1.5-6 Yeshua is GOD’s firstbegotten Son.
FIRST BEGOTTEN – PRO-TOT-OK-OS – first born
EXODUS 4.22 FIRSTBORN, as in, Israel is My Son, even My firstborn.
FIRSTBORN – BEHKHORE – firstborn
We certainly know that Yeshua The Messiah is GOD’s firstborn Son, even His only begotten Son. But now we read that GOD has another firstborn Son, Israel, The Jewish People. So what is the importance for Israel, and for all the world that Israel is GOD’s firstborn Son? Much in every way, as Paul writes in Romans 3.2
It is spelled out in prophecy in the TNakh, The Old Testament, that Yeshua is GOD’s Son, and that Yeshua is The Mighty GOD, and the Everlasting Father. But yet Israel is also GOD’s firstborn Son, and Israel plays a major role in Salvation throughout the world, and throughout the nations. Because GOD chose Israel to be a holy People unto The LORD their GOD, to be a special People unto Himself, and to be His Servant and Witness. Paul writes in Romans 9.4-5, to Israel pertains the adoption, and the glory and the covenants, and the giving of The Law, and the Service of GOD, and the Promises. The fathers, who are the Patriarchs, are theirs, and from the Jewish People from them as far as His human nature is concerned, came The Messiah Who is over all.
PSALM 2.7 Explains that Messiah is born of GOD, and Messiah’s birth IN ETERNITY is in such a manner that it is incomprehensible to the human mind to understand how He was born. Yet, The Son of GOD, Messiah Yeshua, is not only The Son of GOD, AND Messiah, He is also GOD The Father, and He is also The Holy Spirit because He is GOD, GOD The Father. READ PSALM 2.7
BEGOTTEN – YAHLAD – means born, born from GOD. And again, Messiah’s birth is impossible to understand, except that GOD Who is Spirit that fills Heaven and earth, brought forth His Son, and His Son, Who has no beginning or end, is The 1 GOD of Creation, and The GOD of Israel. I can say that with full confidence because The Bible teaches that there is only 1 GOD, there is none else beside Him.
I will declare the decree. DECLARE comes from the Hebrew word SAHFAR which means ANNOUNCE, and the word DECREE comes from the Hebrew word – khoke which means, THE LAW.
Thus GOD is announcing a law. That law is, GOD has a Son. He is born from GOD. This day, ha yom, may be anytime in eternity. It is impossible to know when GOD gave birth to Yeshua in Eternity.
If we take the Hebrew literally in Psalm 2.7, GOD has begotten GOD. The Hebrew reads B’nee, ahtah ahnee ha yom yehleedteekha.
– which literally reads, “My Son, You are I today have begotten You.” (repeat)
And Isaiah The Prophet confirms that The Son of GOD, GOD’s firstborn Son is the everlasting Father.
ISAIAH 9.6-7
And the writer of Psalm 45 knew, that the 1 GOD is a plural. GOD is an us, yet He is 1, and there is only 1 GOD. PSALM 45.6-7
Though GOD is all Spirit, His Son, Who is GOD Almighty appears as GOD in TNakh, because He is GOD, to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and others. And in The New Testament, though He is fully GOD, Yeshua took on the nature of a human being appearing to the multitudes in Israel. In all His appearances in The TNakh, The Old Testament, GOD is Yeshua The Messiah.
But Israel, who are the Jewish People, are born from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. And Jacob’s 12 sons, is also GOD’s firstborn Son. So what is the great significance for all the world that Israel is also GOD’s firstborn Son? Yeshua gives us the answer.
JOHN 4.22 Salvation is from the Jews.
Salvation in Hebrew is YESHUA. YESHUA means being saved, delivered, having the victory, prosperity, health, and SALVATION. SALVATION is eternal Life.
So what does Yeshua, Who is GOD Almighty, The Creator of Heaven and earth mean that Salvation comes from the Jews? Remember, that GOD is The Father of Israel, and He is also The King of Israel. ISAIAH 33.22
Because Israel, The Jewish People are governed by GOD their King, and His Law, The Law of Moses. And it is from the Jewish People that Messiah came Who is the Savior of the world. And it is Israel, The Jewish People whom GOD has given the promises, and covenants, and hope. And it is Israel, The Jewish people whom GOD said, I will establish My Covenant between Me and you, and your descendants after you in their generations for an everlasting Covenant to be your GOD unto you and to your descendants after you. Genesis 17.6.
Thus Gentiles, non-Jewish people must join in with Israel to receive Salvation. Joining in with Israel DOES NOT mean converting to Judaism. Joining in with Israel means believing in the Jewish Messiah Yeshua, AND living your life exactly the way GOD commanded Israel, the Jewish People, to live their lives, by His Law, The Law of Moses, which GOD gave to the Jewish People. That is also taught in The Torah, The Law of Moses. Salvation is from the Jews, from GOD’s firstborn sons, Israel and Messiah.
JEREMIAH 31.31-34 Let me say this first. satan is a demon, a deceiver, a demon that works hard at preventing people from obeying GOD. We learn that from what he did in the garden of Eden. GOD told Adam not to eat the fruit from a certain tree. But satan told Adam’s wife that it was okay to eat that fruit. The lie, disobeying GOD, continues today. People are taught, yes taught by religious leaders, and so-called Bible scholars to disobey GOD. We are taught by these self-proclaimed scholars that The Law of Moses is dead, no longer in force, you will lose your Salvation if you obey The Law, and do it’s works. We’re free indeed from The Law, Hallelujah. All fiction, all lies and eternally destructive.
When you or me, and anybody receive Yeshua, and believe in Him, GOD puts His Law, His Law of Moses in our hearts, to obey GOD. But satan jumps right in and pulls The Law out from most all who claim Yeshua. We are taught by great and small the lie, We don’t have to obey The Law.
Salvation is from the Jews. Not the Baptists, not the Catholics, not the Lutherans, or the Mormons, or the Arabs, or the Chinese. Salvation is from the Jews. GOD requires you, yes, requires you to live your life according to the special, and divine, and wonderful Law GOD gave to
Israel, the Jewish People.
READ JEREMIAH 31.31-34
Thus The Bible teaches what all peoples and nations must do to receive GOD’s Salvation, Yeshua, which is forgiveness of all your sins, and eternal Life. And here it is, the New Covenant which forgives all your sins through Messiah’s atoning sacrificial death. So what must you do now that you believe in Yeshua? You must join in with GOD’s firstborn sons, Yeshua and Israel, and start to walk in the newness of Life. That newness of life is obeying The Law of Moses GOD gave to Israel, The Jewish People.
Gentiles, that is non-Jewish people joining in with Israel and living by the one Law GOD gave to Israel, started at the Exodus at Passover, EXODUS 12.48-49 some 3,500 years ago.
Passover represents a time of deliverance by the shed blood of an innocent lamb. And GOD is teaching us that Salvation comes from the Jews, from GOD’s firstborn Son, the perfect Lamb of God.
NUMBERS 15.14-16 The stranger, the non-Jewish person, will live with the Jewish People in Israel during the 1,000 year Millennium, and in Heaven in New Jerusalem forever.
And Paul teaches the same to all non-Jewish people who believe in Yeshua The Messiah. Join in with GOD’s firstborn Son, Israel and live your lives as the Jewish Apostles did, and the Prophets, and The Messiah, obeying GOD and His Law of Moses.
EPHESIANS 2.11-15 VERSE 15 What did GOD abolish in The Law of Commandments when non-Jewish people come to faith in Messiah? See Verse 12.
Now in Messiah, living a GODly and Holy life in obedience to GOD, you are no longer without Messiah, you are not aliens or strangers from the citizenship of Israel, you are no longer strangers from the Covenants of Promise, you have hope, and you have GOD in this world. Those are the Commandments in The Law that GOD has abolished for you, because you believe in Messiah, and obey GOD.
VERSES 19 & 20 IN EPHESIANS 2. They are all Jewish. They all obeyed GOD. His Word and His Torah, The Law of Moses, and His Commandments. Yeshua said, Salvation is from the Jews.
Here is a teaching I don’t think you will hear on any given Sunday. ACTS 2.37-38
Being baptized in The Name of Yeshua The Messiah means becoming one with Messiah. You become like Him. You obey GOD by living by His Torah. That is what it means to be baptized in The Name of your Messiah Yeshua. You become like Him, and obey GOD by living according to The Law GOD gave to Israel. You repent. That is, you turn to GOD. You turn from your sins, which is disobeying Torah, 1 John 3.4, and you turn to GOD and obey His Torah. That is repentance.
ROMANS 6.1-6
VERSE 1 Sin is breaking Torah, The Law of Moses. 1 John 3.4
VERSE 2 Being dead to sin is no longer living in sin.
You now live your life by Torah. You study GOD’s Law and learn to live by it.
VERSE 3 Our spiritual death, which is our old life of sin is dead, because we believe in Yeshua and obey Torah.
VERSE 4 Walking in newness of life is believing in Yeshua The Messiah, and living by Torah. That is newness of Life for everyone.
VERSE 5 If we are like Messiah, obey GOD and His Torah, we will be in the likeness of His resurrection. That is when GOD resurrects us, we will have the same resurrected body Yeshua has.
VERSE 6 The old person of sin is crucified with Yeshua. Our body of sin is destroyed. We no longer serve sin, disobeying Torah, because we now live by GOD’s Law obeying it, serving GOD.
So what’s the great significance for Israel and the world that Israel is GOD’s firstborn Son? Much in every way. Yeshua said, Salvation is from the Jews. SALVATION COMES FROM believing in The Jewish Messiah Whom GOD gave to the Jewish People, and obeying The Torah, the Law GOD gave to Israel, the Jewish People. It’s that simple, and that’s why Salvation is from the Jews, GOD’s firstborn Son.
Shalom, Ira Weinstein
Month: March 2012
MIRACLES ARE PART OF GOD’S BEING. – EXODUS 4.18-21
Shalom. Our teaching this morning will be from Exodus 4.18-21, and much of our study will focus on the supernatural power of GOD. A power so mighty, and so powerful, and so subtle, and often invisible, our human mind cannot imagine or even comprehend the power of GOD’s might. Because miracles are part of His Spirit, His character and His Being.
READ EXODUS 4.18-21
So Moses has finally consented to do the Will of GOD, to go to the Elders of Israel in Egypt and say to them, The LORD GOD of your fathers, The GOD of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob appeared to me saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt, and I have said, I will bring you up out of this affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey. And you and the Elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, The LORD GOD of the Hebrews has met with us, and now let us go 3 days journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to The LORD our GOD.
And Moses, who initially refused GOD at the burning bush, saying to him, who am I that I should go to pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And again he answered GOD saying, the Elders of Israel will not believe me, nor listen to me, or do what I say, for they will say, The LORD has not appeared to you. And again Moses answered The LORD saying, O my LORD, I am slow of speech, and I talk slowly, and I have a slow tongue. Send someone else, but the plan of GOD stands, and He will do all His pleasure. GOD has spoken it, and He will bring it to pass. He has purposed it, and He will do it. Moses accepted.
EXODUS 4.18 MY BROTHERS – ah-hy – my brothers, my family, my relatives.
Moses was 80 years old and still showing honor and respect to his father-in-law Jethro who was no doubt in his 100’s. A lesson of respect and honor to our parents for all of us.
EXODUS 4.19 All the men are dead who sought your life. What does The Bible say? “GOD knows the secrets of the heart”. Psalm 44.21. GOD knew of all those who sought to kill his servant Moses, even before Moses knew he was a servant of GOD.
Midian on today’s map was in northwest Saudi Arabia, south of Jordan. It was on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba. The Gulf of Aqaba flows into the Red Sea, and across from the Gulf of Aqaba is the Sinai Peninsula in northeast Egypt. So Moses knew the area quite well.
The founding father of the land of Midian was 1 of Abraham’s sons Midian, who was born from his 2nd wife Keturah after Sarah died. So Moses planned his trip carefully when he was forced to flee Egypt, or be killed. He went to family in Midian. But the Midianites became enemies to Israel in the Exodus. They joined with Balak, the king of Moab who hired Balaam to put a curse on Israel. Thus The LORD ordered Moses to destroy them. GENESIS 24.67; 25.1-2, NUMBERS 25.16-18
BACK TO
EXODUS 4.20 Moses’ wife was Zipporah, and his 2 sons were Gershom and Eliezer.
ZIPPORAH – TSEE-PORAH – bird
GERSHOM – GAYRSHONE – a refugee (as Moses was a refugee in Midian)
ELIEZER – ELEEAYZAYR – GOD of help.
Eliezer can be a name for all of us because GOD always helps us.
And Moses took the rod of GOD which was essentially his wooden staff he used, when he walked because GOD told him to take his rod with which you will do signs and miracles. EXODUS 4.17
SIGNS – OHTOTE – miracles of GOD’s divine power, and a sign for something future.
EXODUS 4.1-4 We seem to take this event, this miracle of GOD for granted, as routine and ordinary. The rod became a snake, and Moses recoiled from it. He shrank back in alarm and horror. And then GOD made the snake a wooden staff, Moses’ wooden staff. The LORD said, take the snake by the tail, not a happy thought for Moses, and it became a rod in his hand. Well for GOD, miracles are routine and ordinary. But for us, they can be life-changing.
VERSES 6 & 7 – Moses’ hand was suddenly leprous, it was plagued and diseased. And then GOD told him to put his hand back into his bosom, and his hand was like the rest of his body, healthy. Paul has a few words of GOD’s great power. “His ways are past finding out”. ROMANS 11.33.
Here’s another example of GOD’s great power, and what we see with our eyes is only the tip of the iceberg. His miracles are for His purpose, but often for our good. 2 CHRONICLES 20
Let’s look at some words that speak to GOD’s greatness and might. 1 CHRONICLES 29.10-13, PSALM 77.19-20, PSALM 145.3, JOB 11.7-9, JOB 26.13, JOHN 3.2, COLOSSIANS 1.16-17, ISAIAH 40.28-31
John the baptizer knew of GOD’s great power.
MATTHEW 3.7-9
John had the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah. That Spirit is The Holy Spirit that GOD gives to everyone who obeys Him. Acts 5.32. John also knew the Tnakh well, The Old Testament. There was no New Testament in those days. He believed and obeyed every Word of GOD. He knew that GOD’s power was able to raise up children for Abraham from stones, from lifeless, basic rock, stones. John believed without question that GOD made Moses’ wooden rod a snake, and then made the snake a wooden rod. His old rod. He believed as we believe that GOD made the world and all Creation from nothing. No small miracle. And that GOD made Adam out of the dust of the earth. So John had no problem that GOD’s unsearchable power was able to create human beings from stones, if GOD wanted to do that. For great is The Holy 1 of Israel. Nothing, not anything is too hard for The LORD our GOD. That is why it is so important to have faith in GOD, always.
satan also knows the supernatural, incredible power of GOD. MATTHEW 4.3-4, (DEUTERONOMY 8.3)
satan also knows that The Son of GOD is Yeshua, The Messiah, GOD Almighty in the flesh, the Everlasting Father, and The Holy Spirit. satan knows well the great power of The LORD GOD Yeshua, and for Yeshua to make bread out of stones would be no big deal for GOD. But more important, Yeshua said, is to ‘OBEY EVERY WORD OF GOD”. Bible teachers take note. There was no New Testament when He spoke those words, and GOD never changes.
So Moses did as GOD said, take the rod in your hand and with it you will do signs and miracles. Moses knew that GOD would show mighty powers through it, and He did.
And another invisible, powerful miracle GOD did was harden the heart of Pharaoh. GOD made Pharaoh stubborn.
BACK TO
EXODUS 4.21 WONDERS – MOFTEEM – miracles, signs and wonders
HARDEN – KHAZAK – to be strong and courageous, but here it means, to be obstinate and stubborn.
GOD said, I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that he will not let the people go. Why?” EXODUS 10.1
So why did GOD harden Pharaoh’s heart? For GOD’s purpose, and Israel’s good. So GOD could show His signs, and wonders, and miracles to Egypt, and Israel, and all the world, that GOD is The GOD of the Universe, that He is LORD and Master, Ruler and Sovereign over nature, and all the nations that GOD is GOD Almighty, He is I AM THAT I AM, that GOD is.
There is also another powerful and invisible miracle to be found here. Pharaoh’s heart is not the only heart GOD hardened. He hardens the hearts of many, even today, causing many not to understand GOD, nor receive His Truth. It’s
a phenomenon from GOD throughout history, and throughout the world, everywhere. It is the supernatural power of GOD that many people will not receive the Truth of GOD. They cannot understand it, nor can they receive it. However, the opposite is true. GOD supernaturally, by His great invisible power allows many people to see the Truth, understand it, and receive it, and live by it. That is also a miracle of GOD. AND PAUL WRITES THAT, “THE TRUTH IS IN THE LAW” (Romans 2.20). The Law in The Bible is GOD’s Law, The Law of Moses. Why does GOD harden the hearts of some and not others? The only answer I can give you is found in Exodus 33.19
DEUTERONOMY 29.4, ISAIAH 6.8-10, MATTHEW 13.14-15, JOHN 12.37-41
(Isaiah 6.10) CONVERT – SHOOV – repent, turn to GOD and obey Him.
(Matthew 13.14-15) CONVERTED – turn to GOD, repent, and obey Him.
(John 12.40) CONVERTED – repent, turn from your sins which is disobeying The Law, and turn to GOD, and obey Him.
ROMANS 2.17-20, 2 TIMOTHY 3.7, 2 TIMOTHY 4.3-4
(2 Timothy 4.3-4) Sound doctrine is GOD’s Word, His Law of Moses.
THEIR OWN LUSTS – doing what is forbidden in GOD’s Word and Law
HAVING ITCHING EARS – teachers who say whatever their people itch to hear.
And it is also GOD Who removes the hardness and stubborness from our hearts by His great mercy and compassion. And the prophet Ezekiel explains how to remove that hardness. And that is also a miracle of GOD. EZEKIEL 36.26-28
That is the teaching of GOD Almighty, Yeshua The Messiah, and not the false teaching of many Bible teachers. As Yeshua says often, he who has ears to hear, let him hear.
For me to speak of the mighty wonders of GOD, His miracles, His signs, and His wonders, is insufficient and lacking on my part.
But yes, GOD is a GOD of miracles, and great power. He is merciful and kind, and He will always deliver you from every difficult situation you face. That is part of GOD’s Nature, His Being and character. But we have a responsibility to The LORD, as Yeshua said in Matthew 4.4. That responsibility? To live by every Word of GOD.
MIRACLES ARE PART OF GOD’S BEING. – EXODUS 4.18-21
Shalom. Our teaching this morning will be from Exodus 4.18-21, and much of our study will focus on the supernatural power of GOD. A power so mighty, and so powerful, and so subtle, and often invisible, our human mind cannot imagine or even comprehend the power of GOD’s might. Because miracles are part of His Spirit, His character and His Being.
READ EXODUS 4.18-21
So Moses has finally consented to do the Will of GOD, to go to the Elders of Israel in Egypt and say to them, The LORD GOD of your fathers, The GOD of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob appeared to me saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt, and I have said, I will bring you up out of this affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey. And you and the Elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, The LORD GOD of the Hebrews has met with us, and now let us go 3 days journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to The LORD our GOD.
And Moses, who initially refused GOD at the burning bush, saying to him, who am I that I should go to pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And again he answered GOD saying, the Elders of Israel will not believe me, nor listen to me, or do what I say, for they will say, The LORD has not appeared to you. And again Moses answered The LORD saying, O my LORD, I am slow of speech, and I talk slowly, and I have a slow tongue. Send someone else, but the plan of GOD stands, and He will do all His pleasure. GOD has spoken it, and He will bring it to pass. He has purposed it, and He will do it. Moses accepted.
EXODUS 4.18 MY BROTHERS – ah-hy – my brothers, my family, my relatives.
Moses was 80 years old and still showing honor and respect to his father-in-law Jethro who was no doubt in his 100’s. A lesson of respect and honor to our parents for all of us.
EXODUS 4.19 All the men are dead who sought your life. What does The Bible say? “GOD knows the secrets of the heart”. Psalm 44.21. GOD knew of all those who sought to kill his servant Moses, even before Moses knew he was a servant of GOD.
Midian on today’s map was in northwest Saudi Arabia, south of Jordan. It was on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba. The Gulf of Aqaba flows into the Red Sea, and across from the Gulf of Aqaba is the Sinai Peninsula in northeast Egypt. So Moses knew the area quite well.
The founding father of the land of Midian was 1 of Abraham’s sons Midian, who was born from his 2nd wife Keturah after Sarah died. So Moses planned his trip carefully when he was forced to flee Egypt, or be killed. He went to family in Midian. But the Midianites became enemies to Israel in the Exodus. They joined with Balak, the king of Moab who hired Balaam to put a curse on Israel. Thus The LORD ordered Moses to destroy them. GENESIS 24.67; 25.1-2, NUMBERS 25.16-18
BACK TO
EXODUS 4.20 Moses’ wife was Zipporah, and his 2 sons were Gershom and Eliezer.
ZIPPORAH – TSEE-PORAH – bird
GERSHOM – GAYRSHONE – a refugee (as Moses was a refugee in Midian)
ELIEZER – ELEEAYZAYR – GOD of help.
Eliezer can be a name for all of us because GOD always helps us.
And Moses took the rod of GOD which was essentially his wooden staff he used, when he walked because GOD told him to take his rod with which you will do signs and miracles. EXODUS 4.17
SIGNS – OHTOTE – miracles of GOD’s divine power, and a sign for something future.
EXODUS 4.1-4 We seem to take this event, this miracle of GOD for granted, as routine and ordinary. The rod became a snake, and Moses recoiled from it. He shrank back in alarm and horror. And then GOD made the snake a wooden staff, Moses’ wooden staff. The LORD said, take the snake by the tail, not a happy thought for Moses, and it became a rod in his hand. Well for GOD, miracles are routine and ordinary. But for us, they can be life-changing.
VERSES 6 & 7 – Moses’ hand was suddenly leprous, it was plagued and diseased. And then GOD told him to put his hand back into his bosom, and his hand was like the rest of his body, healthy. Paul has a few words of GOD’s great power. “His ways are past finding out”. ROMANS 11.33.
Here’s another example of GOD’s great power, and what we see with our eyes is only the tip of the iceberg. His miracles are for His purpose, but often for our good. 2 CHRONICLES 20
Let’s look at some words that speak to GOD’s greatness and might. 1 CHRONICLES 29.10-13, PSALM 77.19-20, PSALM 145.3, JOB 11.7-9, JOB 26.13, JOHN 3.2, COLOSSIANS 1.16-17, ISAIAH 40.28-31
John the baptizer knew of GOD’s great power.
MATTHEW 3.7-9
John had the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah. That Spirit is The Holy Spirit that GOD gives to everyone who obeys Him. Acts 5.32. John also knew the Tnakh well, The Old Testament. There was no New Testament in those days. He believed and obeyed every Word of GOD. He knew that GOD’s power was able to raise up children for Abraham from stones, from lifeless, basic rock, stones. John believed without question that GOD made Moses’ wooden rod a snake, and then made the snake a wooden rod. His old rod. He believed as we believe that GOD made the world and all Creation from nothing. No small miracle. And that GOD made Adam out of the dust of the earth. So John had no problem that GOD’s unsearchable power was able to create human beings from stones, if GOD wanted to do that. For great is The Holy 1 of Israel. Nothing, not anything is too hard for The LORD our GOD. That is why it is so important to have faith in GOD, always.
satan also knows the supernatural, incredible power of GOD. MATTHEW 4.3-4, (DEUTERONOMY 8.3)
satan also knows that The Son of GOD is Yeshua, The Messiah, GOD Almighty in the flesh, the Everlasting Father, and The Holy Spirit. satan knows well the great power of The LORD GOD Yeshua, and for Yeshua to make bread out of stones would be no big deal for GOD. But more important, Yeshua said, is to ‘OBEY EVERY WORD OF GOD”. Bible teachers take note. There was no New Testament when He spoke those words, and GOD never changes.
So Moses did as GOD said, take the rod in your hand and with it you will do signs and miracles. Moses knew that GOD would show mighty powers through it, and He did.
And another invisible, powerful miracle GOD did was harden the heart of Pharaoh. GOD made Pharaoh stubborn.
BACK TO
EXODUS 4.21 WONDERS – MOFTEEM – miracles, signs and wonders
HARDEN – KHAZAK – to be strong and courageous, but here it means, to be obstinate and stubborn.
GOD said, I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that he will not let the people go. Why?” EXODUS 10.1
So why did GOD harden Pharaoh’s heart? For GOD’s purpose, and Israel’s good. So GOD could show His signs, and wonders, and miracles to Egypt, and Israel, and all the world, that GOD is The GOD of the Universe, that He is LORD and Master, Ruler and Sovereign over nature, and all the nations that GOD is GOD Almighty, He is I AM THAT I AM, that GOD is.
There is also another powerful and invisible miracle to be found here. Pharaoh’s heart is not the only heart GOD hardened. He hardens the hearts of many, even today, causing many not to understand GOD, nor receive His Truth. It’s a phenomenon from GOD throughout hist
ory, and throughout the world, everywhere. It is the supernatural power of GOD that many people will not receive the Truth of GOD. They cannot understand it, nor can they receive it. However, the opposite is true. GOD supernaturally, by His great invisible power allows many people to see the Truth, understand it, and receive it, and live by it. That is also a miracle of GOD. AND PAUL WRITES THAT, “THE TRUTH IS IN THE LAW” (Romans 2.10). The Law in The Bible is GOD’s Law, The Law of Moses. Why does GOD harden the hearts of some and not others? The only answer I can give you is found in Exodus 33.19
DEUTERONOMY 29.4, ISAIAH 6.8-10, MATTHEW 13.14-15, JOHN 12.37-41
(Isaiah 6.10) CONVERT – SHOOV – repent, turn to GOD and obey Him.
(Matthew 13.14-15) CONVERTED – turn to GOD, repent, and obey Him.
(John 12.40) CONVERTED – repent, turn from your sins which is disobeying The Law, and turn to GOD, and obey Him.
ROMANS 2.17-20, 2 TIMOTHY 3.7, 2 TIMOTHY 4.3-4
(2 Timothy 4.3-4) Sound doctrine is GOD’s Word, His Law of Moses.
THEIR OWN LUSTS – doing what is forbidden in GOD’s Word and Law
HAVING ITCHING EARS – teachers who say whatever their people itch to hear.
And it is also GOD Who removes the hardness and stubborness from our hearts by His great mercy and compassion. And the prophet Ezekiel explains how to remove that hardness. And that is also a miracle of GOD. EZEKIEL 36.26-28
That is the teaching of GOD Almighty, Yeshua The Messiah, and not the false teaching of many Bible teachers. As Yeshua says often, he who has ears to hear, let him hear.
For me to speak of the mighty wonders of GOD, His miracles, His signs, and His wonders, is insufficient and lacking on my part.
But yes, GOD is a GOD of miracles, and great power. He is merciful and kind, and He will always deliver you from every difficult situation you face. That is part of GOD’s Nature, His Being and character. But we have a responsibility to The LORD, as Yeshua said in Matthew 4.4. That responsibility? To live by every Word of GOD.
PURIM 2012-PURIM AND THE IRANIAN THREAT.
Shalom. Our teaching this morning is about a Jewish holiday that celebrates a great victory over an anti-Semitic tyrant by the name of Haman. Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites. He was also a Persian. Persia is today’s Iran. And many Persians followed after him with the consent of the Persian king all with the intent to kill all the Jewish people in the Persian empire some 2,500 years ago.
There is a similarity to today’s Iranian ambition to destroy Israel and wipe it off the face of the map. It seems that in every generation, there is a tyrant, or people, or nation that is determined to destroy the Jewish people. It will never happen. And today’s Iran, again, along with its flunkies, Hamas, Hezbullah, Syria and others all have that same goal. Kill the Jews.
The Jewish holiday is Purim, and because of the great Jewish victory over the anti-Semite by the Hand of GOD, Purim is a time of great joy throughout Judaism. The heroes of Purim, are a beautiful Jewish girl by the name of Esther whom the Persian king chose to be his queen, and Esther’s Uncle Mordecai.
Purim is a two day holiday that started this past Wednesday evening at sundown March 7th, and ended Friday evening, last night at sundown.
Before we move into the Purim story, we should look into some history. In 586 B.C.E./B.C. The GOD of Israel exiled the Jewish people out of their land, the Land of Israel by the murderous hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and sent them into captivity to his empire Babylon, today’s Iraq, for 70 years. Because of Israel’s persistent disobedience to The LORD their GOD. In fact, the wrath of GOD, and all His divine punishment throughout history is for but 1 reason. Disobedience to GOD Almighty.
The Jewish people have been exiled from their land, The Land of Israel, 3 times in the 3,342 years Israel has been the Jewish Homeland. All because of Israel’s disobedience to GOD. The 1st exile was in 722 B.C.E./B.C. by the Assyrians, the 2nd was in 586 B.C.E./B.C. by the Babylonians, and the 3rd was in 70 C.E./A.D. by the Romans. The Roman armies destroyed the 1st Temple, killed 1,000,000 Jewish people, and GOD exiled the people to the 4 corners of the earth. In 1948, 2,000 years later, after the 2nd World War, and after the Holocaust, GOD brought the Jewish people back to Israel. The fight against anti-Semitism for the Jews in Israel continues, and will continue until The LORD returns and destroys completely all Israel’s enemies. The earth is The LORD’s, and all that is in it, the world, and they that dwell in it, belong to The LORD GOD Almighty.
2 CHRONICLES 36.11-21 The time was 586 B.C.E./B.C.
(2 Chronicles 36.12)
2 CHRONICLES 36.11-21 EVIL – RAH – means bad, disobedient, i.e., disobedient to GOD, and because evil is disobedience to GOD, GOD calls disobedience wickedness, wrong, bad, and disobedience to GOD is being reprobate.
(2 Chronicles 36.14) transgressed means violation of the Divine Law of Moses. It means to violate, disobey, or disregard, and ignore The Law of Moses, GOD’s Divine Law. The Children of Israel transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen.
So because of disobedience to The LORD their GOD, the Jewish people found themselves dispersed throughout the Babylonian empire of which Persia was part of that empire. However, Cyrus the great, king of Persia, captured Babylon in 539 B.C.E./B.C., some 47 years after Israel’s exile to Babylon, and he established the great Persian empire where the Jewish people lived in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq or Babylon, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Israel, and of course Persia, modern-day Iran. Years later, a new Persian king arose, Ahasuerus, better known as king Xerxes of the Achaemenian dynasty that was founded by Cyrus the great. By the way, Cyrus the great is notably referenced in Jewish history as a great king because The LORD moved Cyrus to allow the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple known in Judaism as the 2nd Temple. That is the same Temple where Yeshua walked in, and taught in. So the events that brought on Purim took place in Persia, today’s Iran. The story of Purim is found in The Book of Esther. So let’s turn there, to The Book of Esther.
ESTHER 1.1-4 The Book of Esther is dated between 465-424 B.C.E., some 2,500 years ago during the days of the great Persian empire. Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 1.9, “The thing that has been, it is that which shall be, and that which is done, is that which shall be done. There is no new thing under the sun”. Or it can be said, “Whatever has been is what will be, and whatever has been done, is what will be done. There is nothing new under the sun”.
This was the great Persian empire, 127 provinces, or regions from India to Ethiopia, from southern Asia, and the Middle East, and Africa. Perhaps this is on the minds of the Iranian mullahs today, a return to the glory days. It’s called hegemony, the domination of one nation over other nations.
ESTHER 1.2 Shushan, the palace in Persia was not far from the Persian gulf which flows into the Straits of Hormuz, which today Iran threatens to blockade. 20% of the world’s oil goes through the straits of Hormuz. The Persian Gulf separates Iran and Saudi Arabia. Also, the Shushan palace was about 200 miles west of where Abraham was born in Ur of the Chaldees, today’s Iraq.
King Ahasuerus was a powerful guy, but he was also inept.
And Media, as in Persia and Media, was in today’s Northern Iran, in the area of Teheran, not far from the Caspian Sea, and Russia. And not far from the small city of Qom where today, a significant part of Iran’s nuclear facility is.
VERSES 3-4 The king threw a six month feast for all his nobles and princes, and there were no restrictions on the amount of alcohol that was consumed.
And after the six month feast, the king held another blowout for seven days for everyone in his palace. And his queen Vashti held her own feast for the women that lasted seven days.
ESTHER 1.10-12 She refused possibly because the king was so drunk. But certainly because it was the Will of GOD for what was about to come. So the king asked his advisors what he should do? Dump her, they said, and get yourself a new queen. Again, The Will of GOD.
ESTHER 2.1-2 So his counsellors suggested he hold a royal beauty contest for the most beautiful virgin girls in the empire, and the king would make his choice. The king liked that idea.
ESTHER 2.5-8 Esther, I believe, was her Persian name meaning star, and Hadassah was her Hebrew name meaning myrtle. A myrtle is a plant with evergreen leaves and fragrant flowers. Esther’s uncle Mordecai brought her to the king’s house to compete in this royal beauty contest. And for twelve months, the girls were taught to apply makeup, and sweet aloes, and Esther became the favorite of the king’s chamberlains. Another act of GOD. A chamberlain was a castrated eunich. These guys were set over the care of the king’s women.
ESTHER 2.10 Esther told no one she was Jewish. Why? Becasue Mordecai probably feared she might be persecuted for being Jewish, or not permitted to participate in the queen’s beauty contest, whatever the reason, Modecai told her to cool it, and not tell anyone who she was.
ESTHER 2.16-18 This is certainly an act of GOD for what was on the horizon.
ESTHER 2.21-23, VERSE 21 The king’s gate – Mordecai apparently had an office in the King’s palace, and he overheard a plot t
o kill the King. Mordecai reported the threat to queen Esther, and the two guys were hung on a tree.
ESTHER 3.1-2 Now the plot begins to heat up. Haman was an Agagite, and he hated the Jews. An Agagite is or was an Amalekite, and the Amalekites did their very best to kill the Jews, or at that time, the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt in the Exodus. Haman was a descendant of king Agag, and Agag was the king of the Amalekites. And GOD doesn’t care much for the Amalekites because they tried to kill His people when they made war with them during the Exodus. That is probably why Mordecai showed Haman no respect.
EXODUS 17.8-16, DEUTERONOMY 25.17-19, 1 SAMUEL 15.1-35
(Exodus 17.8) FOUGHT WITH ISRAEL. They made war with Israel.
(Exodus 17.14) I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven; i.e., I will wipe out the memory of the Amalekites from under Heaven. When was the last time you met an Amalekite?
(1 Samuel 15.23) REJECTED, as in, you have REJECTED the Word of The LORD, comes from the Hebrew word mah-ahs, which means reprobate. Reprobate is rejecting The Word of The LORD, and disobeying Him. I heard John Hagee say in a video, “In a night to honor Israel”, that the Truth is in The Torah.” The Torah is The Law of Moses, the 1st five Books of The Bible.
(1 Samuel 15.24) Sin is transgressing The Commandment of The LORD, turning away from GOD. John writes in 1 John 3.4, “Sin is the transgression of The Law”.
So this Haman was an Amalekite whom The LORD despised because they hated GOD’s people, and sought to kill them. The same is happening today. The Iranian mullah regime threatens to wipe out Israel from off the face of the earth. And that will never happen. A mullah is an Iranian teacher of Islam and their law. GOD will do to them what Iran seeks to do to Israel. And I believe Mordecai knew this guy Haman was an Amalekite, and an anti-Semite. Thus Mordecai’s refusal to pay any respect to him. READ ESTHER 3.2-3
ESTHER 3.4-15 The Hebrew month Adar is around March. Today, the mullah regime in Iran threatens almost daily to destroy Israel from off the face of the earth. And they are in the process of building nuclear bombs and weapons. GOD’s Word stands and will not change. He says in Genesis 12.3, and Matthew 25.31-46, I will bless those who bless the Jewish people, and curse those who curse the Jewish people. The Iranians mullahs are a cursed people, and all that follow them, as Haman will soon find out.
ESHTER 4.1-9 Today, Israel is gravely concerned about Iran and their threats, and their nuclear capabilities, which if allowed to develop into nuclear bombs, and nuclear weapons could threaten their very existence. And Iran’s weapons will also be a threat to our country, the United States. Why? Because of the large number of terrorists in this country who would be more than happy to use those nuclear weapons and bombs against us. Israel will destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities unless GOD beats them to the punch with His own ferocious punishment. Ask king Agag, and later on, ask Haman and his sons how they like hanging from a gallows by their necks.
ESTHER 4.10-17 So Mordecai was aware that it was the Hand of GOD Who made Esther, a Jewish girl, queen of the Persian empire, for such a time as this.
READ ESTHER 4.14
ESTHER 5.1-5 A sweet banquet with an inept Persian king, and Amalekite bum, and the Jewish queen of Persia. Should be interesting.
ESTHER 5.6-14 Oh, the delusions of the enemies of GOD.
ESHTER 6.1-14 GOD’s Hand moves rapidly against those who hate His People. GOD’s timing is always perfect.
ESTHER 7.1-10 VERSE 4 The enemy (who is Haman) is not worthy of the King’s trouble.
The Hamans in today’s Iran, the Jew haters in today’s Persia who in their delusions think to destroy Israel, will find themselves also in the Hands of GOD. For Hebrews 10.31 reads, “It is a frightful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living GOD”.
ESTHER 8.1-11 Persian law did not allow reversal of the King’s decree to kill the Jews, but the King granted the Jewish people permission to stand and defend themselves against those who would seek their lives. The mullahs in Iran today, and their president, and their administration, and all that follow them should be aware of the catastrophic ruin to those that would work evil against GOD’s Chosen People.
ESTHER 8.15-17 Many in the Persian empire became Jewish. Today, there are still about 25,000 Iranian Jews living in Iran.
ESTHER 9.1-17 The 12th month Adar is March, this month.
EXODUS 15.1-7
(Exodus 15.2) I will prepare him a habitation, i.e., a place of rest, in beauty, to celebrate in praises. Beware Iran and seek peace because The LORD is a Man of War. The LORD is His Name. And right now president Ahmadinejad, you and your mullah buddies are in GOD’s crosshairs.
ESTHER 9.18-32 Purim is not a sabbath unless it falls on a sabbath. Nor is it a commanded festival of The LORD GOD. But it is a time of joy, and gladness, and feasting, a great time to remember, because GOD delivered His People from the clutches of the demon, and gave them the victory over satan. And GOD somehow will give His People the victory over their enemies of today, all of them including the loud-mouths in Iran, and all who hate the Jews. That is the promise of GOD. As Yeshua said in Matthew 25.41, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
ESTHER 10.1-3 VERSE 3, That is, Mordecai sought the good for his people, and spoke for their peace and welfare for all his people, and all his descendants.
So in conclusion, there are times in our lives when major problems confront us, but The LORD our GOD will always work a great miracle to deliver us, just as He did for the Jewish People in Persia in the days of Haman the anti-Semite who sought to massacre the Jews. Have faith in GOD. And GOD delivered them with a mighty deliverance with joy, and gladness, and celebration. So will He do the same for you, and everyone who calls on The Name of The LORD, Yeshua The Messiah, to all that do The Will of The Father which is in Heaven. Happy Purim.
Shalom, Ira Weinstein
GOD DID NOT ASK MOSES FOR A RESUME. EXODUS 4.1-9
Shalom. Our teaching this morning continues at the Book of Exodus. Moses, after 40 years of living in the land of Midian as a shepherd for his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and Moses was 80 years old at the time, led the flock to the backside of the desert. And he came to the mountain of GOD called Horeb. Horeb is also Mt. Sinai.
And The Angel of The LORD appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of a bush, and the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed. The Angel of The LORD was GOD, Yeshua The Messiah. And GOD called to Moses, but Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon GOD. And there at the burning bush, GOD gave Moses his mission. Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, The LORD GOD of your fathers, The GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and of Jacob appeared to me saying, I have surely visited you and have seen that which is done to you in Egypt. And I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt to the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites to a land flowing with milk and honey.
And again GOD said to Moses, and the elders of Israel will listen to you. They will do what you say. And you shall go, you and the elders of Israel to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, The LORD GOD of the Hebrews has met with us, and now let us go 3 days journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to The LORD our GOD.
And Moses answered The LORD GOD. No, they will not believe me, nor listen to me, for they will say, The LORD has not appeared to you.
Let’s READ EXODUS 4.1-9
EXODUS 4.1 Moses did not believe GOD. He didn’t believe GOD when The LORD told him the elders of Israel will listen to you, they will do what you say.
Look, I can’t make excuses for Moses’ rejecting The LORD’s call. But he’s 80 years old at the time, probably a very young 80. And though he was born Jewish or Hebrew, the same thing, he was brought up in pagan surroundings in the Egyptian royal family. And I’m not so sure Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, the priest of Midian was a man who knew well the GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was probably a very nice man, but like most people, he did not know GOD. Sure, Moses may have taught him a thing or 2 from his Jewish and Levitical heritage, but suddenly Moses is Face to face with GOD in a blazing bush. And GOD is telling him to do the impossible. Moses is thinking, Go to the elders of Israel and convince them that GOD appeared to him to deliver them out of Egypt and bring them to the promised land. Then go to the king of Egypt and convince him to let the people go. They won’t believe a word I say.
Sure, we know today, now, that GOD’s counsel stands. That He will do all His pleasure. That GOD can declare the end from the beginning because GOD created the end and the beginning and everything from beginning to end. Moses did not know that. So his answer to The LORD, they won’t believe me, they won’t listen to me, they will say, The LORD has not appeared to you.
How often do we premeditate, or imagine in our mind the outcme of something before that something even happens? No, LORD, they won’t listen to me. Perhaps Moses never heard or read or maybe he forgot what GOD said to Abraham, that his wife Sarah would have a son. Sarah would be 90, and Abraham 100. Sarah laughed. But GOD said, is anything too hard for The LORD? Of course not, for The LORD GOD is mighty, He can do anything. He is a great King. He has made Heaven and earth by His great power, and there is nothing too hard for Him, and the gifts and calling of GOD are irrevocable, they are binding and can not be changed. So for Moses to go to the elders of Israel and have them believe him, and then go to the king of Egypt and ask him to let GOD’s People go, and then lead the children of Israel out of Egypt to the promised land, with GOD, all things are possible. Nothing is too hard for The LORD. Moses didn’t know that at the time, but later he would experience The GOD of Creation and His great miraculous wonders.
EXODUS 4.2-5 I believe those miracles were more for the benefit of Moses, than for the elders of Israel. GOD had told Moses that the elders of Israel would listen to him, and do what he said. And GOD does not speak in vain, or as The Bible says, “Has GOD said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23.19) Perhaps Moses didn’t know at the time, but when GOD says something, it becomes Law, His Law, The Divine Law. It will be accomplished, it will be performed, and it will be done. Those miracles were for Moses.
EXODUS 4.6-9 All this is taking place at a burning bush. 2 miracles of GOD that will convince Moses to accept GOD’s mission, that yes, it is GOD, The GOD of all Creation sending him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and bring them to the promised land. So Moses is now fully convinced? Right? No.
EXODUS 4.10 I can’t do it LORD. I’m not eloquent, I’m not a man of words, I’m slow of speech, I have difficulty speaking, I’m of a slow tongue, I’m a slow speaker.
But GOD wasn’t looking for eloquence, or a man of words, nor was He looking for a man who was a great speaker. GOD chose Moses to carry out His mission, and obey Him. That’s it.
EXODUS 4.11 The LORD has great patience, up to a point. And it is GOD Who does all things, Who makes all things, Who gives man a mouth to speak, or not to speak. He makes the seeing, even the blind. It is The LORD GOD Who gives us words to speak by The Holy Spirit, (Mark 13.11) And it is also The LORD GOD Who makes man spiritually deaf and spiritually blind that they cannot know GOD or understand Him. But Moses had the Spirit of GOD, and in time, fully knew GOD, as much as man is able. (Numbers 11.17, Isaiah 6)
EXODUS 4.12 TEACH – YAHRAH – GOD is saying, I will DIRECT you, INFORM you, INSTRUCT you and TEACH you what you shall say, to the elders of Israel, to the people, to the king of Egypt, to everyone.
GOD made all of us the way we are, and not be accident. And it is GOD Who made Moses every bit the way he is. GOD chooses whom He will for His purpose, and for His missions, and for our good. And The LORD will always make His mission for His chosen a success. Sure there will be bumps in the road at times, but GOD will make His mission a success as He did for Moses and the children of Israel. It was for GOD’s purpose, and their good. Getting out of Egypt was a good thing.
Even in your life, in all our lives, GOD has chosen a special path for each of us, and sometimes it seems impossible. But The LORD your GOD is with you, and He will see you through to success. All He wants from us is to obey Him, and love Him, and go forward doing everything in our life lawfully, according to The Word of GOD, according to His Laws, and Commandments, which is His Divine Law He gave to Moses for you and me and all the world to do. GOD has made you exactly the way He wanted you to be made, for His purpose, and for your good.
Therefore GOD said to Moses, Go and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say. I will be your Teacher throughout this entire mission, and guide you, and direct you every step of the way. Just as Yeshua said in Matthew 28.20, “I AM with you always”, forever without end. And when you and I walk with GOD, The LORD is always with us. He will guide us, and teach us throughout our entire life. When we simply do as He says. Obey Him, His Laws, His Commandments, His Instructions, which are The Law of Moses.
So after 2 great miracles, and GOD’s assurance to Moses, all coming from a flame of fire out of a burning bush in the desert, Moses was still fearful, still without conficence, and still without faith. And Moses said to GOD, well let’s read EXODUS 4.13.
Send someone else.
Now GOD had prepared Moses for this mission, just as GOD has prepared each and every 1 of us for our mission in life, to obey Him, and to be His witness, to testify the truth of The LORD GOD, and His Word, and not the fiction of man (Isaiah 43.10). Moses was born a Levite from a Hebrew mother and father. But because the pharaoh out of fear, sought to kill every Hebrew male baby, Moses’ mother placed the child in an ark to save him, And he was rescued at the river’s edge by pharaoh’s daughter. And Moses was brought up in the royal palace for 40 years until he killed an Egyptian slavemaster for beating a Hebrew. And when pharaoh heard of the matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled Egypt to the land of Midian, people of his ancestor Abraham. After Abraham’s wife Sarah died, Abraham married again, and 1 of his children was Midian. (Genesis 25.2) So Moses lived in the land of Midian for 40 years. He married Zipporah, and had 2 sons, Gershom, and Eliezer, and he worked as a shepherd for his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.
Then Moses met The LORD at the burning bush. The entire life of Moses was planned by GOD, even from eternity. Moses was not privy to GOD’s plan for him, as we are not privy to GOD’s plan for us.
So GOD had prepared Moses for this great mission, giving him the spirit of wisdom. GOD had filled him with the Spirit of GOD, in understanding, and in knowledge to do what GOD commanded him to do. Just as GOD has prepared you and me for our life’s work, even from eternity. (Psalm 139). He has equipped us with every tool to fulfill and accomplish our walk through life with The LORD our GOD, Who is Yeshua The Messiah, The GOD of all Creation. And what did The LORD GOD require of Moses during his mission and during his life? The same thing The LORD our GOD requires of us, whether you are Jewish or not Jewish. Obedience to your GOD.
DEUTERONOMY 10.12-14.
Listen. GOD does not require or even suggest to non-Jewish people that you must convert to Judaism. He does not give even a hint. But The LORD your GOD does require you to obey Him, whether you are Jewish or not. That’s what GOD wanted from Moses, and that’s what GOD requires from us, obedience to Him, The LORD your GOD. MARK 12.28-31
(Mark 12.29) The Hebrew word for “hear” as in “Hear o Israel” is shema, meaning, hear what GOD says, obey Him, and do what He says. That includes obeying The Law of Moses. This is New Testament teaching. You are required by Jesus, Who is GOD Almighty, Who Himself is The Lawgiver, to obey GOD, His Word, His Commandments, His Law and His Instructions. There is only 1 GOD, and Jesus is that GOD.
(Verses 30 & 31) For those who have trouble loving themselves, when you love your neighbor as yourself, as GOD commands, you might find it easier to love yourself.
Moses is certainly unaware, but GOD had fully prepared him for this mission, but again, Moses refused GOD, saying, LORD, send someone else.
BACK TO
EXODUS 4.14 GOD became angry with Moses. Maybe a better word would be annoyed, or displeased. But GOD had His plan. “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is coming to meet you”. (All the way from Egypt) “And when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart”.
So yes, I believe Moses felt inadequate to take on this great mission. He didn’t feel he was competent enough to do what GOD had planned for him, I’m not eloquent, he thought. I’m not a man of words. Perhaps all of us are inadquate in something, but when The LORD wants us to do something, as in the case of Moses, GOD will always find a way for His purpose, and for our good. In the case of Moses, GOD sent him his brother Aaron to assist him.
EXODUS 4.14-15 So GOD would tell Moses what to do and what to say to the elders and the children of Israel , and to the king of Egypt. Moses told Aaron the words GOD spoke to him, and Aaron would speak the words of GOD Almighty to the people and the king.
So how did GOD speak to Moses, and put His words in his mouth? Well certainly at times when GOD spoke to Moses Face to face, and other times when The LORD spoke His word in a voice into his mind when GOD was not seen.
EXODUS 4.16 So GOD made Aaron a spokesman for Moses to speak to the people. Meaning, Moses spoke to Aaron GOD’s words, and Aaron spoke the words of GOD to the people. Thus in effect, Aaron was the mouth of Moses, and Moses was GOD to Aaron.
EXODUS 4.17-18 And GOD gave Moses another helper, his staff, or his wooden rod, and with it he would do miracles.
SIGNS – OHTOTE – miracles
GOD had also prepared the hearts of Moses’ family for his mission. Even Jethro his father-in-law said to Moses, Go in peace.
So finally, Moses consented to GOD’s mission, to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt after 400 years of slavery, to the promised land, the land of Israel. That was 3,382 years ago. It took 40 years to get there and conquer the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites as GOD had promised. And GOD renamed that land, Erets Y’Israel, the land of Israel, after the name GOD gave to Jacob. Israel has been the home of the Jewish People for 3,342 years, and will always be the homeland of the Jewish People.
The underlying theme of this meeting between GOD and Moses at the burning bush is that The LORD simply wanted Moses to say, Yes LORD, I willl do it. The LORD GOD wanted Moses to do what GOD asked him to do. GOD didn’t ask Moses for a resume, or an audition to hear him speak. After all, it is GOD Who made his resume, and it was GOD Who made his mouth to speak. GOD made Moses a pretty good speaker along the way because he handled himself quite well over the 40 years in the wilderness. Because GOD made him, just as GOD has made you and me, for GOD’s purpose, and for our good. But what does GOD require of you and me? To fear The LORD our GOD, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve The LORD our GOD, with all our heart, and with all our soul, and to keep the Commandments of The LORD, and His Statutes which He commands us, for our good. And GOD will bless you, and honor you for obeying Him. He always does, and He always will.
That is our mission in life, to obey The LORD our GOD, and to be His witness. Because GOD chose you to testify the truth about Him and His Word, that you may know Him, and believe Him, that He is GOD.