Tag Archives: Moses

People in Old Testament

Burning Bush

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Text: Exodus 3:1-6, 14

Summary: God called Moses to service at the “burning bush.” Jesus is the great I AM. Jesus is who appeared to Moses as “the angel of the Lord.”

Have you heard about Moses and the burning bush? That is a story in the Bible from the Book of Exodus. Moses had grown up in Egypt in the palace of the Pharaoh. When he was about 40 years old, he ran away from Egypt because he killed an Egyptian that was beating up a Hebrew. Moses spent another 40 years in the backside of the desert with the Midianites. It was here that God worked on Moses and taught him what he would need to know to be a leader, a leader to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

Moses and the burning bush

Moses and the Burning Bush by Arnold Friberg is provided courtesy of Christ-Centered Art.

One day Moses saw something very unusual. He saw a bush that appeared to be on fire, but it wasn’t burning down. It was the angel of the Lord. This was a name for God. It was actually Jesus (before he ever came to earth, he has been alive forever) who called to Moses. Moses answered, Here am I.

(Read Exodus 3:5-6)

Moses was afraid because he realized it was God speaking to him. God was calling him to service. He wanted Moses to be the leader of the Israelites and take them away from being slaves in Egypt to serve God in the Promised Land. Moses made excuses but finally he realized he could not turn down God’s call to serve him. As one last effort to make an excuse, he asked God what his name was so he could tell the children of Israel who it was that called him. God answered with a word we now call Jehovah (from YAHWEH), which means I AM THAT I AM. This name means that God has lived forever; he is God because he is God and that’s it. Jesus is the great I AM that spoke to Moses at the burning bush.

As Christians we are called to serve God also. We can make excuses and disappoint God, or we can do all we can to serve Him. Some Christians are called into special areas of work for God and become pastors or missionaries. But what I’m speaking about right now is not that. I’m speaking about EVERY Christian. Every Christian is called by God to serve him at school, work, or play. We can serve God no matter where he places us.

©1999 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.

Miracles, Wilderness Journey

Red Sea Escape

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Text: Exodus 14

Prop: a straw and small plate with water

Summary: God is with us when we face danger. God parted the Red Sea to provide an escape for Israel from the Egyptian army.

Alternate Skit: Use long thin balloons: 10 blue, 2 red, 2 green. Shape 2 Egyptian helmets from the green balloons. Recruit children to play parts. Use some to be the sea (holding the blue balloons), one child to be the Angel of the Lord (holding 2 red balloons as if it is a pillar of fire), two children to be horsemen. Cut out two chariot wheels from construction paper. Have a narrator read the story. Recruit an adult to play Moses. When the wind blows and the sea parts, have the children raise the blue balloons and wave them, creating a wall on the left and right. Have Moses lead the children through the parted sea. When the two horsemen chase them, have them drop the chariot wheels and then when Moses stretches out his hand, the sea covers the Egyptians.

God still does miracles. Have you ever been in danger? One day my neighbor Len was trying to jump-start a riding lawnmower using the battery in his Jeep. He thought the emergency brake was on but somehow the Jeep started rolling backwards down his driveway. He ran after it and opened the door. When he tried to get in the moving vehicle, he slipped and his head fell under the Jeep. He saw the front tire coming straight for his head and thought he was about to die. Suddenly he felt someone yank him out from under the Jeep. The Jeep continued to roll into the next yard until it hit a tree and stopped. When he sat up no one was around. He thanked God for having an angel pull him to safety. Today I want to tell you about another miracle when God provided an escape for the children of Israel when they were facing danger.

When God lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, God told Moses to camp near the Red Sea. God knew that Pharaoh would chase after them if he thought they were trapped between the wilderness and the sea. When the children of Israel saw the army with chariots and horsemen approaching, they panicked and cried to God for help.

(Read Exodus 14:13-14) Jesus calls us to do impossible things by faith. God told Moses to go forward (verse 15) but that meant going into the sea! But remember, Jesus said with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). God provided the children of Israel with an Israelite Nite Lite. He gave them a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Then the angel of God moved from leading them and went behind them. The pillar was a cloud of darkness on the side facing the Egyptian army, hiding the Israelites from their enemy, but it shone brightly to give light to the children of Israel.

(Read Exodus 14:21-22) Wow! Can you picture what God did? Watch this. [Blow through the straw on the plate filled with water to demonstrate the wind blowing on the sea to divide the waters.) The wind blew so hard on the sea that the waters were divided. There was a wall of water on each side as the children of Israel hurried through on dry ground. When Pharaoh’s army chased after them God caused the wheels on the chariots to fall off and they couldn’t drive them! When the children of Israel were safely on the other side, Moses again stretched out his hand and the waters let loose and drowned the army in the sea. With this miraculous parting of the Red Sea, God provided an escape for the children of Israel from Pharaoh’s army.

It only took God one day to get Israel out of Egypt, but He would spend 40 years getting the Egypt out of Israel. They continued to complain and failed to trust God to lead them, so they wandered in the wilderness. Sometimes we may face great danger. It is hard to stand still and not panic, but Jesus wants us to trust and depend on Him. God is always with us to protect us. He can provide a way of escape even if our problem seems hopeless. We don’t need to be afraid because Jesus gives us victory in life if we just trust in Him.

©1999 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.