From Potential to Promise: A 5 Day Devotional on the Life of MosesSample

CS Lewis said: “Courage is not merely one of the virtues, but rather the sum of all the virtues at their point of testing.”

Likewise, courage is not the absence of fear, but instead, making brave decisions in the face of all the fears. This is how Moses led every day. Consider what courage Moses needed to return to the place where he was a fugitive and where the authorities sought his death. Consider that the people of Israel had no memory or respect for him, as he had been absent for 40 years. Consider also, the utter scale of the venture God was requesting of Moses, to take 2 million people out of slavery on a long journey on an unknown road, to an unknown land, without clear provisions.

Exodus chapters 5-13 convey the drastic and powerful stories of the series of plagues that God allows to come upon the nation of Egypt in order to ensure that the nation of Israel will be set free from slavery to the Egyptians, once and for all. The ten signs of increasing magnitude all confronted not only the stubborn and proud heart of Pharaoh but also the idolatrous gods of Egypt, as each plague targeted their specific areas of apparent influence.

Let’s look at two of these plagues.

First, turning the Nile into blood. This affected the entire life-source of the nation of Egypt. Their life and society revolved around the Nile, and it’s no coincidence that a regime that had destroyed the lives of so many children in this river should have the river turned to blood as a consequence.

Secondly, let’s consider the Passover feast. The first Passover was the story of how the firstborn males of Israel would be protected by the blood of a lamb. As we know, the Lamb slain for the protection of each Israelite household would come to represent the exact sacrifice that Jesus Himself would carry out on the cross as a substitute sacrifice on our behalf. This is one reason why Jesus’ death actually took place during a Passover week hundreds of years later.

Some scholars believe that the smearing of blood on the doorposts of each home was a sign of the cross, made in blood, before the crucifixion cross had even been invented. Moses and Aaron learned that the God of Israel was the supreme authority. Literally, the God above all gods. This was to be their foundation for the future whenever challenges arose; they would draw near to God, knowing He had a plan and the power to fulfil it. This is also true for us today in a confusing world. It remains clear that God will fulfil His promises.

CONCLUSION

What about you? Who is God calling you to be in this season? What is God calling us to do in this generation? What is our mission?

In the Exodus from Egypt, God sets up the greater deliverance to come through the person and work of Jesus Christ. He was the flawless Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the universe itself. His perfect life and innocent death ensured that every plague will ultimately pass over us because they were all laid upon Him on our behalf.