FOCUS ON THE BIG PICTURE!!
EXODUS 2: 13 When he went out the next day, there were two Hebrew men fighting. So he said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your fellow Hebrew?” 14 The man replied, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Are you planning to kill me like you killed that Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Surely what I did has become known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard about this event, he sought to kill Moses. So Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he settled by a certain well.
EXODUS 3: 9 "And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me (God Almighty), and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So now go, and I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11 Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
EXODUS 5: 1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the LORD,2 the God of Israel, ‘Release my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast to me in the desert.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the LORD, and I will not release Israel!”
EXODUS 5: 20 When they went out from Pharaoh, they encountered Moses and Aaron standing there to meet them, 21 and they said to them, “May the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the opinion of Pharaoh and his servants, so that you have given them an excuse to kill us!”
OK, now I know this is a lot of scriptures but I did try to reduce them down to the main ones for the point I’m teaching. You may think of this lesson as “crying & whining” or “Forgetting the Big Picture”. I think the last one is the best so let’s go with it FORGETTING THE BIG PICTURE.
If you read the entire account of Moses & the Children of Israel, you notice they do a lot of crying & whining on route to the Promised Land God told them that was theirs. Now notice it IS THEIR LAND so God said!! Not might be, not someday will hopefully be, but guaranteed to be by God, THEIR PROMISED LAND.
This murderer, who is Jew but raised as an Egyptian, with the best of all things, runs away to hide for 40 yrs on the backside of nowhere to keep safe. He learns to tend sheep which is the lowest job one can get but better than begging. Man, what a big step down in ranks. He was as low as he could go. BUT REMEMBER, God can use anyone if they are willing to repent, follow Him & obey. Now 40 is the number for PREPARATION. Moses was being prepared. Look how many 40’s there are.
The focus though isn’t really so much on Moses as much as the Children of Israel. Look at the above verses. First they are face down crying out to God to save them from this horrid treatment of Pharaoh & slavery, so God sends Moses. Many miracles occur as well as things get worse with Pharaoh on the Children of Israel before they get better. The Children of Israel see all this, they have been told that God has heard them & has a plan for them, yet they complain when all isn’t handed to them on a silver platter.
If you read the entire account, this is about 11 days travel but because they couldn’t man up & see the big picture, they wondered stuck within fingertip reach of the Promised Land for 40 yrs! They refused to learn to lean on God, be thankful, & stop grumbling. They remind me of a bunch of spoiled brats (yes, I know I’m talking about my kin folk) that took their eyes off what great miracles had been performed for them by God Himself & that God Himself had a Promised Land that was perfect for them IF THEY WOULD OBEY & FOLLOW. Where was their faith? God’s word plainly states “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” (Heb 11:6)
God punishment to this lack of faith caused everyone to wait until all the older generation dies off so that the youth could grow up hearing the stories of God’s divine mercy, marvelous miracles, and learning some chutzpah (hoots pa - personal confidence or courage that allows someone to do or say things that may seem shocking to others: supreme self-confidence : nerve, gall) in their backside to take what was their property God gave them instead of waiting for someone to do all for them.
The Children of Israel had an attitude of being slaves and couldn't imagine how to live without someone ordering them about. They didn't try. Slavery for 430 yrs. had taken its toll on the way they thought, lived, worked, behaved, etc. God was not able to use them in the Promise Land because they had no faith. Every little bump or problem, they panicked and wanted to go back to Egypt the very place they had been crying to God to deliver them from!!! OH PLEASE.
Moses had sent spies into the Promised Land for 40 days and they brought back grapes so large they had to be carried on poles by two men! THAT’S AMAZING. So, 1 yr for every day was what the punishment was for not having faith and doing what God said.
Seem harsh? ATTTTT! Just a minute. God is a just fair loving God but He don’t play. He did in His infinite mercy and grace fix it so that the Children of Israel’s clothes nor shoes ever wore out. God provided them manna from Heaven to eat. He provided them meat because they were whining about the manna (they got sick of it too). He provided them fresh water. He took care of His own but they didn’t get the big promise due to fear.
I'm sorry. I got lots of chutzpah and moxie (moxie is a term meaning you could drink 3 Moxie soda drinks, which were nasty but earned you your name) and can't imagine trekking around all those years due to lack of faith! Now, I’m not saying be crazy, but pray, read & study & meditate on God’s letter to you (Bible) and listen to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. If it lines up with what God states, why wait? The fact you are reading this letter is proof God works. I just started doing what He told me, when & where He told me. This PGGMer thing is now in 6 states and 59 people. It grows weekly because IT IS ALL GOD.
Yeah, I’ll be the first to wonder where in the world is God taking me and what is He doing? But I am now at a place in my life that is bigger than I could have ever imagined ALL BECAUSE GOD! Do I look up? No. I keep a watch on where my feet are stepping so I stay on God’s path but I do keep the big picture in mind. Easy? No, God’s asked me to do scary things tons of times but I am never alone and He always fixes things ahead for me. My looking up is to God and not around me. Satan uses fear to scare us away from the amazing things God has for us.
EXODUS 2: 13 When he went out the next day, there were two Hebrew men fighting. So he said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your fellow Hebrew?” 14 The man replied, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Are you planning to kill me like you killed that Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Surely what I did has become known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard about this event, he sought to kill Moses. So Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he settled by a certain well.
EXODUS 3: 9 "And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me (God Almighty), and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So now go, and I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11 Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
EXODUS 5: 1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the LORD,2 the God of Israel, ‘Release my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast to me in the desert.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the LORD, and I will not release Israel!”
EXODUS 5: 20 When they went out from Pharaoh, they encountered Moses and Aaron standing there to meet them, 21 and they said to them, “May the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the opinion of Pharaoh and his servants, so that you have given them an excuse to kill us!”
OK, now I know this is a lot of scriptures but I did try to reduce them down to the main ones for the point I’m teaching. You may think of this lesson as “crying & whining” or “Forgetting the Big Picture”. I think the last one is the best so let’s go with it FORGETTING THE BIG PICTURE.
If you read the entire account of Moses & the Children of Israel, you notice they do a lot of crying & whining on route to the Promised Land God told them that was theirs. Now notice it IS THEIR LAND so God said!! Not might be, not someday will hopefully be, but guaranteed to be by God, THEIR PROMISED LAND.
This murderer, who is Jew but raised as an Egyptian, with the best of all things, runs away to hide for 40 yrs on the backside of nowhere to keep safe. He learns to tend sheep which is the lowest job one can get but better than begging. Man, what a big step down in ranks. He was as low as he could go. BUT REMEMBER, God can use anyone if they are willing to repent, follow Him & obey. Now 40 is the number for PREPARATION. Moses was being prepared. Look how many 40’s there are.
The focus though isn’t really so much on Moses as much as the Children of Israel. Look at the above verses. First they are face down crying out to God to save them from this horrid treatment of Pharaoh & slavery, so God sends Moses. Many miracles occur as well as things get worse with Pharaoh on the Children of Israel before they get better. The Children of Israel see all this, they have been told that God has heard them & has a plan for them, yet they complain when all isn’t handed to them on a silver platter.
If you read the entire account, this is about 11 days travel but because they couldn’t man up & see the big picture, they wondered stuck within fingertip reach of the Promised Land for 40 yrs! They refused to learn to lean on God, be thankful, & stop grumbling. They remind me of a bunch of spoiled brats (yes, I know I’m talking about my kin folk) that took their eyes off what great miracles had been performed for them by God Himself & that God Himself had a Promised Land that was perfect for them IF THEY WOULD OBEY & FOLLOW. Where was their faith? God’s word plainly states “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” (Heb 11:6)
God punishment to this lack of faith caused everyone to wait until all the older generation dies off so that the youth could grow up hearing the stories of God’s divine mercy, marvelous miracles, and learning some chutzpah (hoots pa - personal confidence or courage that allows someone to do or say things that may seem shocking to others: supreme self-confidence : nerve, gall) in their backside to take what was their property God gave them instead of waiting for someone to do all for them.
The Children of Israel had an attitude of being slaves and couldn't imagine how to live without someone ordering them about. They didn't try. Slavery for 430 yrs. had taken its toll on the way they thought, lived, worked, behaved, etc. God was not able to use them in the Promise Land because they had no faith. Every little bump or problem, they panicked and wanted to go back to Egypt the very place they had been crying to God to deliver them from!!! OH PLEASE.
Moses had sent spies into the Promised Land for 40 days and they brought back grapes so large they had to be carried on poles by two men! THAT’S AMAZING. So, 1 yr for every day was what the punishment was for not having faith and doing what God said.
Seem harsh? ATTTTT! Just a minute. God is a just fair loving God but He don’t play. He did in His infinite mercy and grace fix it so that the Children of Israel’s clothes nor shoes ever wore out. God provided them manna from Heaven to eat. He provided them meat because they were whining about the manna (they got sick of it too). He provided them fresh water. He took care of His own but they didn’t get the big promise due to fear.
I'm sorry. I got lots of chutzpah and moxie (moxie is a term meaning you could drink 3 Moxie soda drinks, which were nasty but earned you your name) and can't imagine trekking around all those years due to lack of faith! Now, I’m not saying be crazy, but pray, read & study & meditate on God’s letter to you (Bible) and listen to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. If it lines up with what God states, why wait? The fact you are reading this letter is proof God works. I just started doing what He told me, when & where He told me. This PGGMer thing is now in 6 states and 59 people. It grows weekly because IT IS ALL GOD.
Yeah, I’ll be the first to wonder where in the world is God taking me and what is He doing? But I am now at a place in my life that is bigger than I could have ever imagined ALL BECAUSE GOD! Do I look up? No. I keep a watch on where my feet are stepping so I stay on God’s path but I do keep the big picture in mind. Easy? No, God’s asked me to do scary things tons of times but I am never alone and He always fixes things ahead for me. My looking up is to God and not around me. Satan uses fear to scare us away from the amazing things God has for us.
Replies
I never thought about that slave mentality as being the detriment that it of course would of been to that generation. And why God could use Moses because he had not been raised in the slave environment. Makes Aaron even more awesome in his faith and Commitment!
It is a faith that truly does follow the big picture through generations . Much as our forefathers did coming to America. They did it for their children and future generations. Cool!