Slices
Prepare
Bring to the Lord any worries or fears that might distract you from his Word today.
Bible passage
17 ‘As the time drew near for God to fulfil his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then “a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt”. 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
20 ‘At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family. 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23 ‘When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being ill-treated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defence and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realise that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, “Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?”
27 ‘But the man who was ill-treating the other pushed Moses aside and said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
30 ‘After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 32 “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
33 ‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.”
Explore
Stephen’s retelling of the history of God’s chosen people moves to their time of slavery in Egypt and the rise of Moses.
What stands out in Stephen’s summary of the story is how God’s hand is on Moses throughout. From the start he is ‘no ordinary child’ (v 20), then he becomes ‘powerful in speech and action’ (v 22). By the time he visits the enslaved Israelites, Moses appears to be aware that God has chosen him (v 25). The Israelites, however, are not ready to hear this, so Moses runs away. God remains with him and continues to bless him (v 29). Then we see his dramatic calling (vs 30–34) as God speaks to him through the burning bush.
Few of us will have a calling as dramatic as that of Moses! But God has a purpose for each one of us. Sometimes it might seem as if we’ve given up on his call or even that he has changed his mind: Moses spent 40 years leading a quiet, unremarkable life (vs 29,30), but God had not forgotten him. Whether you are a child (v 20), in education (v 22), aged around 40 (v 23), at home with children (v 29) or aged 80 (v 30), God has not finished with you yet!
Respond
Thank God that he does not give up on you even when you make mistakes. Tell him that you are still available to be used in his plans (if you dare!).
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Nehemiah 3,4; Luke 6
Pray for Scripture Union
July is a busy time for the Mission Events team. Please pray that they will have stamina and spiritual wisdom as they support the holiday and mission leaders getting ready for the summer programme.
