Growing into Leadership (5)

“Listen…and I will give you some advice.”                               Ex 18:19 NIV

As a leader, it’s your job to see that things get done. But as the workload grows you will have to find people with talents equal to the task; otherwise you will stop growing. So what keeps us from seeking out the right people and delegating the right tasks to them? (1) Past hurts: Somebody let us down so we’re reluctant to trust anybody. (2) Pride: We don’t want to share the credit with others. (3) Perfectionism: We are not willing to be put at risk while people with potential learn on the job, so our vision bottlenecks and everything bogs down. Moses had this problem with Israel. Here’s how he solved it: “Moses’ father-in-law replied, ‘What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice…You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him…But select capable men from all the people…and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this…you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.’ Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said” (vv.17-24 NIV). If you want to be a good leader, follow his example!

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/growing-into-leadership-5/

How to Achieve Financial Security

“The…years of abundance…came to an end.”                          Ge 41:53 NIV

The Bible says: “Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain…The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food” (vv.49-54 NIV). In his book Surviving Financial Meltdown, Ron Blue teaches us some valuable principles for achieving financial security: (1) Think long-term. The longer term your perspective, the better financial decisions you’ll make. Set goals in writing for the future. Invest for the long term and worry less about short-term ups and downs in your investment portfolio. (2) Spend less than you earn. To accomplish this you need to know what you’re earning and what you’re spending. Make a spending plan (or, if we dare use that loathed term, a budget). Monitor how you’re doing. Develop the self-control to avoid overspending. If you consistently spend less than you earn over a long period of time, you will do well financially. (3) Maintain emergency savings. A reserve set aside will help you ride out the surprises life throws at you. You must spend less than you earn to build savings. Savings will then help you avoid debt. These principles work together. (4) Minimize the use of debt. Debt increases risk. It may allow you to do more and have more now, but it will reduce your ability to have more in the future. These four financial principles are so simple that they may easily be overlooked, yet they’ve stood the test of time.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/how-to-achieve-financial-security/

Don’t Look Back

“They were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.” Hebrews 11:16

Have you ever felt the pull of past comforts, wishing things could go back to the way they used to be?

Imagine how Abraham felt. Having once lived in Ur of the Chaldeans, a highly sophisticated culture in ancient times, Abraham responded to the call of God to move to Canaan—a journey which, quite frankly, had its fair share of rough moments. Like the time when there was a great famine (Genesis 12:10) or when Pharaoh took Abe’s wife Sarah into his palace (Genesis 12:15) or the years that Sarah spent as a barren woman when God had promised to make Abraham’s offspring as countless as the stars (Genesis 15:5) or (déjà vu) the time when the king of Gerar took Sarah into his harem (Genesis 20:2) or—the ultimate test—when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his long-awaited son Isaac (Genesis 22:2).

I can almost picture it: Sarah sitting in her tent sulking, telling Abraham, “Remember back in Ur when I used to meet with all of my friends for tea at 3:00 on Friday? I really miss that. What on earth are we doing out here?”

Imagine if Abraham had said, “I know, I miss tennis with my buddies. Let’s go back.” What if he had caved in to the pull of past comforts and had decided to go back to where life was more familiar and more rewarding? Although God had made some amazing promises to Abraham and Sarah, I can’t help but wonder if in the dark moments they struggled with their decision to follow God.

On our journey of faith, you can count on it—the road will be littered with challenges. And the temptation will be to look back and say, “I wish my life could go back to the way it used to be.” When someone offends you, maybe you say to yourself: I remember when I could not only get mad, I could get even. Or when you’re alone at the computer, you think about the rush of adrenalin you used to feel when you looked at forbidden sites. It’s easy to think of how rewarding it would feel to spend all your money on yourself like you used to. The list of things in your past life that beckon you back is long.

But remember who is behind the urge to put your life in reverse. Satan delights to lure us back into the sludge of life the way it used to be—the toxic dump of what ultimately leads to regret, guilt, and brokenness.

So, while life may seem challenging going forward with God, we need to remind ourselves that in spite of the challenges, God is taking us to a better place. The writer of Hebrews sheds some light on this when, speaking of Abraham and Sarah, he tells us, “They admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. . . . If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:13-16).

Remember that you are “aliens and strangers.” You’re on a journey, and you don’t belong here in the first place. And remember where you are headed—to a better place. Don’t let the potholes damage your resolve!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• What are some situations that cause you to feel the lure of past comforts?
• Do you feel like an “alien and stranger on earth,” or are you pretty comfortable here? What types of things should make you feel uncomfortable?
• Although they lived thousands of years before us, what can we learn from the journey of Abraham and Sarah? In what ways can you identify with the challenges they faced?
• What are some tangible ways to focus your attention and hopes on what’s ahead, rather than on what’s behind you?

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/dont-look-back/

Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth

. . . when Moses was grown . . . he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens —Exodus 2:11

Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that time, God appeared to Moses and said to him, ” ’. . . bring My people . . . out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ’Who am I that I should go . . . ?’ ” (Exodus 3:10-11). In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God.

We may have the vision of God and a very clear understanding of what God wants, and yet when we start to do it, there comes to us something equivalent to Moses’ forty years in the wilderness. It’s as if God had ignored the entire thing, and when we are thoroughly discouraged, God comes back and revives His call to us. And then we begin to tremble and say, “Who am I that I should go . . . ?” We must learn that God’s great stride is summed up in these words— “I AM WHO I AM . . . has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). We must also learn that our individual effort for God shows nothing but disrespect for Him— our individuality is to be rendered radiant through a personal relationship with God, so that He may be “well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). We are focused on the right individual perspective of things; we have the vision and can say, “I know this is what God wants me to do.” But we have not yet learned to get into God’s stride. If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a time of great personal growth ahead.

http://utmost.org/individual-discouragement-and-personal-growth/

Riding the Donkey

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” — Zechariah 9:9

In describing the coming of the Messiah, the prophet tells us that he will be riding on a donkey. Jewish tradition teaches that this donkey is the same one that Abraham rode when he went to sacrifice Isaac and the same donkey that Moses used when he went to speak to Pharaoh.

Why is it important for us to know the Messiah’s mode of transportation? And what difference does it make whose donkey it is?

The Sages explain that Abraham began a mission that was carried on by Moses and will be completed by the Messiah. The mission is to unite spirituality with physicality. This is symbolized by “riding the donkey.” Learning to ride the donkey is the mission of our lives.

In Hebrew, the word for “donkey” stems from the same word that means “material.” A donkey represents everything in our material world. “Riding the donkey” means to harness physicality and to tame it. We use the physical world to reach our spiritual goals.

How do we do that?

Just as a donkey can take a person to places he could not go on foot, the physical world can help us reach spiritual heights that aren’t otherwise reachable. The Internet is great example. It’s definitely physical and is the product of earthly science and technology. Yes, it has its pitfalls and can lead a person to sin, but look at the spirituality it is spreading. It has given God’s word a megaphone, and we can spread His word to every land! It can bring people together and empower God’s servants. This is only one example. Everything that is physical can become spiritual when used in service of God.

What are your material gifts? Your body, your home, your money, your talents, the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the mouth you speak with –the list goes on and on. Now think about how each one can raise you spiritually. How can you use your resources to help others? How can you use them in service of God?

Our physical lives are a gift from God. How we use them is our gift to Him.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/riding-the-donkey

The Escape From Egypt

Moses called together all the leaders of Israel, and said to them, “Take lambs from the herds according to your families and kill the passover lamb. You shall also take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and strike the lintel and the two door posts with the blood that is in the basin. And not one of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning, for Jehovah will pass through to kill the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood upon the lintel and on the two door posts, he will pass over the door and will not let the destroyer come into your houses to destroy you. You and your children shall observe this event as a custom forever.

“When your children shall say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the passover of Jehovah, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he destroyed the Egyptians and released our people.’”

Then the people bowed their heads and worshipped; and the Israelites went and did as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron.

At midnight Jehovah destroyed all the eldest sons in the land of Egypt, from the eldest son of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the eldest son of the captive who was in prison. Then Pharaoh arose in the night, together with all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry of sorrow, for there was not a house in Egypt in which there was not one dead. Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Go away from among my people, both you and the Israelites; go, worship Jehovah as you have asked. Also take with you your sheep and your cattle, as you have asked, go and ask a blessing for me also.” The Egyptians also told the people to hasten out of the land, for they said, “We shall all perish.” So the people took their dough before the yeast had worked, and their kneading-troughs were bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.

The Israelites went on foot from Rameses to Succoth; and a mixed multitude went with them, and they had a great many flocks and herds. They baked unraised cakes of the dough which they had brought with them from Egypt, for there was no yeast in it, because they had been driven out of Egypt and could not wait, neither had they prepared for themselves any food for the journey.

And they went from Succoth and camped at Etham on the border of the wilderness. Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to show them the way, and at night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, that they might march both by day and by night; the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night stayed in front of the people.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the feeling of Pharaoh and his servants toward them was changed, and they said, “Why have we done this and let the Israelites escape from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. He also took six hundred chosen chariots and the rest of the chariots of Egypt with captains over all of them; and Jehovah let the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, remain stubborn, so that he followed the Israelites, because they had defied him.

When Pharaoh drew near to them the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them; and they were very much afraid and cried to Jehovah. And they said to Moses, “Why have you misled us by bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we told you in Egypt, when we said, ‘Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’” But Moses said to the people, “Do not be frightened, remain quiet and you will see how Jehovah will save you to-day; for as surely as you now see the Egyptians you shall never see them again. Jehovah will fight for you, and you are to keep still.”

Then the angel of God who went before the army of Israel changed his position and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also changed its position from in front of them and stood behind them, coming between the army of the Egyptians and the army of the Israelites. On the one side the cloud was dark and on the other side it lighted up the night, so that throughout all the night neither army came near the other.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Jehovah by means of a strong east wind caused the sea to go back all that night and made the bed of the sea dry. And the Israelites crossed over on the dry bed of the sea. The Egyptians followed and all of Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen went after them into the sea. In the morning before sunrise, Jehovah looked out through the pillar of fire and of cloud upon the army of the Egyptians and threw them into confusion. He also bound their chariot wheels, so that they dragged heavily. Therefore the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for Jehovah fights for them against us.”

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and toward morning the sea returned to its ordinary level while the Egyptians were flying before it. So Jehovah overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea, and the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that went after them into the sea, so that not one of them was left. Thus Jehovah saved the Israelites that day from the power of the Egyptians; and they saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. When the Israelites saw the great work which Jehovah did to the Egyptians, the people feared Jehovah and believed in him and in his servant Moses.

And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and as all the women followed her with tambourines and with dancing, she sang with them:

“Sing to Jehovah, for he has triumphed gloriously:

Both horse and rider has he hurled into the sea.”

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to Jehovah:

“I will sing to Jehovah, for he has triumphed gloriously:

Both horse and rider he has hurled into the sea.

Jehovah is my strength and song, he has delivered me;

He is my God, I will praise him; my father’s God whom I honor.”

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/The-Escape-From-Egypt.shtml

 

 

The Cost Of Being Cruel And Stubborn

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Pharaoh is stubborn; he will not let the people go. Go to Pharaoh early in the morning, as he is going out on the water, and stand by the bank of the Nile to meet him. Say to him, ‘Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you with this command: Let my people go that they may worship me in the wilderness, but so far you have not listened. Jehovah declares, By this you shall know that I am Jehovah: See, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand and they shall be changed into blood. The fish, too, that are in the Nile shall die, and the Nile shall become foul, so that the Egyptians will hate to drink its water.’”

Then Moses lifted up the staff and in the presence of Pharaoh and his servants struck the waters that were in the river Nile; and all its waters were changed into blood. The fish, too, that were in the Nile died, and the river became so foul that the Egyptians could not drink its water, but dug round about the Nile for water to drink.

Seven days later Jehovah gave this command to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Jehovah commands: Let my people go that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, then I will afflict all your land with frogs; and the Nile shall swarm with frogs which shall go up and come into your house, into your sleeping chamber, upon your bed, into the houses of your servants, upon your people, and into your ovens and kneading-troughs; and the frogs shall come up even upon you and your people and all your servants.’”

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up over the land of Egypt.’” So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to Jehovah to take away the frogs from me and my people; then I will let the people go, that they may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah.” Moses said to Pharaoh, “Will you do yourself the honor of telling me at what time I shall pray to Jehovah in your behalf and in behalf of your servants and people, that the frogs be destroyed from your palaces and be left only in the Nile?” Pharaoh answered, “To-morrow.” Then Moses said, “Let it be as you say; that you may know that there is none like Jehovah our God, the frogs shall depart from you, from your palaces, and from your servants and people; they shall be left only in the Nile.”

When Moses and Aaron had gone out from Pharaoh, Moses prayed to Jehovah to remove the frogs which he had brought upon Pharaoh; and Jehovah did as Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courts, and in the fields, and the people gathered them together in many heaps; and the land was filled with a vile odor. But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he was stubborn and, as Jehovah had said, did not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, just as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Jehovah commands: Let my people go that they may worship me. If you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you, upon your servants, and upon your people and into your palaces, so that the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, as well as the ground upon which they stand. But at that time I will set apart the land of Goshen in which my people live, and no swarms of flies shall be there, so that you may know that I, Jehovah, am in the midst of the earth.’”

And Jehovah did so: a vast swarm of flies came upon Pharaoh’s palace and into the homes of his servants; and all the land of Egypt was ruined by the swarms of flies.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “I will let you go that you may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only you must not go far away. Pray for me.” Moses replied, “I will go out and will pray to Jehovah that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people to-morrow; only let not Pharaoh again act deceitfully by refusing to let the people go to offer a sacrifice to Jehovah.”

So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Jehovah. And Jehovah did as Moses asked; but this time also Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let the people go.

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Jehovah the God of the Hebrews commands: Let my people go that they may worship me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, then the power of Jehovah will bring a very severe pest upon your cattle which are in the field, upon the horses, the asses, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. But Jehovah will make a difference between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, and not one that belongs to the Israelites shall die.’”

So Jehovah set a fixed time, saying, “To-morrow Jehovah will do this in the land.” Jehovah did this on the next day, and all the cattle of the Egyptians died; but none of the cattle of the Israelites. Then Pharaoh sent and found that not even one of the cattle of the Israelites was dead; but Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let the people go.

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him,’Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, commands: Let my people go, that they may worship me. Do you still set yourself against my people, so that you will not let them go? To-morrow about this time I will send down a very heavy fall of hail, such as has not been in Egypt from the day that it became a nation until now.’”

So Jehovah sent down hail upon the land of Egypt, and the lightning flashing in the midst of the hail was very severe, such as had not been before in all Egypt since it became a nation. Through the whole land of Egypt the hail struck down everything that was in the field, both man and beast. The hail also struck down all the growing plants and broke all the trees in the fields. Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail.

Again Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time; Jehovah is right and I and my people are wrong. Pray to Jehovah, for there has been enough of these mighty thunderings and hail, and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to Jehovah; the thunders shall stop, and there shall be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is Jehovah’s. But as for you and your servants, I know that even then you will not fear Jehovah.”

So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to Jehovah; and the thunders and hail stopped, and the rain was no longer poured upon the earth. But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had stopped, he sinned again, and he and his servants became stubborn, and he would not let the Israelites go.

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and said to him, “Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, commands: ‘How long will you refuse to obey me? Let my people go that they may worship me. For if you refuse to let my people go, then to-morrow I will bring locusts into your land, and they will cover the surface of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the ground, and they shall eat the rest of that which is left to you from the hail, and they shall eat all your trees which grow in the field.’”

Then Moses and Aaron were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence, but Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and Jehovah caused an east wind to blow over the land all that day and night. In the morning the east wind brought the locusts, and they went over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the land of Egypt, a very large swarm, more locusts than there ever were before or ever will be again. For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened and nothing green was left, neither tree nor growing plants, anywhere in all the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses in haste and said, “I have sinned against Jehovah your God and against you. Now therefore forgive my sin only this once, and pray to Jehovah your God to take away from me this deadly plague.” So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Jehovah, and Jehovah made a very strong west wind to blow which took up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not a single locust was left in all the land of Egypt. But Jehovah let Pharaoh’s heart remain stubborn, so that he would not let the Israelites go.

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, so dark that it may be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven; and there was complete darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days; no one could see another, nor did any one move about for three days. But the Israelites had light in their homes.

Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, worship Jehovah; only let your flocks and your herds stay behind; let your little ones go with you.” But Moses said, “You must also give us animals for sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah our God. Our cattle too must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take these to offer to Jehovah our God, and we do not know what we must offer to Jehovah until we arrive there.”

But Jehovah let Pharaoh’s heart remain stubborn, and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said to him, “Go away from me; take care that you never come to me again; for on the day that you come to me you shall die.” Moses replied, “You have spoken truly, I shall never see you again.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “Jehovah declares: ‘About midnight I will go through all of Egypt. All the eldest sons in the land of Egypt shall die, from the eldest son of Pharaoh who sits upon his throne, even to the eldest son of the slave girl who is behind the mill, and all the first-born of the cattle. There shall be a great cry of sorrow all over the land of Egypt, such as has never been before and never shall be again.’ But not a single dog shall bark at any of the Israelites nor their animals, that you may know that Jehovah does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israelites. All these your servants shall come to me and bow down before me, saying, ‘Go away, together with all the people that follow you.’ After that I will go away.” And Moses went from Pharaoh in great anger.

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/The-Cost-Of-Being-Cruel-And-Stubborn.shtml

Pharaoh The Stubborn Ruler

Then Jehovah said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him on the mountain of God and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all that Jehovah had sent him to declare. So Moses and Aaron gathered all the leaders of the Israelites, and Aaron repeated all the words which Jehovah had spoken to Moses. The people believed; and when they heard that Jehovah had remembered the Israelites and that he had seen their suffering, they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Jehovah, the God of Israel commands, ‘Let my people go that they may hold a feast in my honor in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is Jehovah that I should obey his command to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, and I will not let Israel go.” They said, “The God of the Hebrews has appeared to us; let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah our God, that he may not attack us with pestilence or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt replied, “Moses and Aaron, why do you try to turn the people from their work? Go to your tasks!”

The same day Pharaoh gave this command to the taskmasters who were over the people: “You shall no longer give the people straw for making bricks as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall demand of them the same number of bricks that they have been making before; you shall not lessen the number at all, for they are lazy; that is why they cry out, ‘Let us go and offer a sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid upon the men, that they may be kept so busy that they will not pay attention to lying words.”

So the taskmasters who were over the people went out and said to them, “This is Pharaoh’s order, ‘I will no longer give you straw. Go yourselves, get straw wherever you can find it; but your work shall not be made less.’” So the people were scattered over all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters urged them on, saying, “You must finish your daily task just as when there was straw.” The overseers of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had put over them, were also beaten and asked, “Why have you not finished to-day as many bricks as yesterday?”

Then the overseers of the Israelites went to Pharaoh and said, “Why do you deal in this way with your servants? No straw is given to your servants, and yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks.’ See how your servants are beaten and how you wrong your people.” But he said, “You are lazy, you are lazy; therefore you say, ‘Let us go and offer a sacrifice to Jehovah.’ Now go and work, for no straw shall be given you; yet you must make the same number of bricks.”

Then Moses turned again to Jehovah and said, “Jehovah, why hast thou brought misfortune upon this people? Why is it that thou has sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name he has wronged this people, and thou hast done nothing at all to rescue thy people.”

Jehovah answered Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for compelled by a mighty power he shall surely let them go, and compelled by a mighty power he shall drive them out of his land.”

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/Pharaoh-The-Stubborn-Ruler.shtml

The Voice From The Burning Bush

fter a long time the king of Egypt died. Moses was taking care of the flock of Jethro his wife’s father. Once he led the flock to the other side of the pasture and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a thorn bush. As he looked, the bush flamed up without being burned. Moses said, “I will stop here and see this wonderful sight, why the bush is not burned up.”

When Jehovah saw that Moses stopped to look, he called to him from the midst of the bush, “Moses, Moses.” Moses answered, “Here am I.” Then God said, “Do not come near; take your shoes off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” He also said, “I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses covered his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

But Jehovah said, “I have certainly seen the suffering of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry of distress because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land into a land that is beautiful and wide, to a land with plenty of milk and honey. I have heard the cry of the Israelites and I have seen how they suffer at the hands of the Egyptians. Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He answered, “I will surely be with you; and this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God upon this mountain.”

Then Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I answer them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHAT I AM“; and he said, “Declare to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ Go and gather the leaders of Israel together and say to them, ‘Jehovah the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said, I have surely remembered you and have seen what is being done to you in Egypt, and I have declared that I will bring you up out of the suffering in Egypt to a land with plenty of milk and honey.’ They will listen to your voice; and you, together with the leaders of Israel, shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has appeared to us. Now let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is made to do so by a mighty power. Therefore I will use my power and overwhelm Egypt with all the marvellous deeds that I will do there. After that he will let you go.”

Moses said to Jehovah, “O, Lord I am not able to speak well; for I am slow to speak and slow in saying what I think.” Jehovah said to him, “Who has given man a mouth? Or who makes one deaf or dumb, or blind or able to see? Is it not I, Jehovah? Now go, and I will be with you and teach you what you shall say; and your brother Aaron shall speak for you to the people.”

Then Moses went back to Jethro, his wife’s father, and said to him, “Let me go again to my people in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” Jethro answered Moses, “Go, with my blessing.”

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/The-Voice-From-The-Burning-Bush.shtml

The Boyhood And Training Of Moses

After the death of Joseph and his brothers, the Israelites increased so rapidly and became so many and powerful that the land was filled with them. But a new king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt. He said to his people, “See, the Israelites are becoming too many and powerful for us. Come, let us deal wisely with them, for fear that they become so many that, if war is begun against us, they will join our enemies and fight against us and leave the land.”

So the Egyptians set taskmasters over them to put burdens upon them. And they built for Pharaoh the store-cities, Pithom and Rameses. But the more the Egyptians afflicted them, the more numerous they became and the more they spread everywhere, so that the Egyptians dreaded what they might do. And the Egyptians were cruel and made slaves of them, making their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and brick, and by all kinds of hard work in the field.

Pharaoh also gave this command to all his people, “You shall throw into the river every son that is born to the Hebrews, but every daughter you shall save alive.”

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a woman of the same tribe, and she had a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took a basket made of papyrus reeds, daubed it with mortar and pitch, and put the child in it. Then she placed it in the reeds by the bank of the river Nile, while his sister stayed near by to see what would happen to him.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, and while her maids were walking along the river’s bank, she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her waiting-maid to bring it. When she opened it and saw the child, the boy was crying; and she felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother, and Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will pay you your wages.” Then the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child had grown up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son; and she named him Moses, for she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

One time, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people; and as he was watching them at their hard labor, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own race. He looked around and seeing that there was no one in sight, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

On the next day Moses went out, and saw two Hebrews struggling together; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow workman?” The man replied, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “What I have done is known!” When Pharaoh heard what had taken place, he tried to put Moses to death; but Moses left the country and made his home in the land of Midian.

As he was sitting by a well, the seven daughters of the priest of Midian came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock, but the shepherds came and drove them away. Then Moses stood up and protected the women and watered their flock.

When they came to their father, he said, “How is it that you have come back so early to-day?” They replied, “An Egyptian protected us from the shepherds, and besides, he drew water for us and watered the flock.” Then he said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why have you left the man? Ask him to eat with us.” So Moses made his home with the man; and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. She had a son, and Moses named him Gershom.

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/The-Boyhood-And-Training-Of-Moses.shtml