Daily Devotions
Exodus
"The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations." Psalm 33:11
THE VERY REAL POSSIBILITY OF A LACK OF FAITH
Did Moses anticipate that there would be a problem of unbelief on the part of the children of Israel? He anticipated well! The Lord discussed this very problem openly with His servant.
“If they do not believe you…”
This was certainly going to be an issue. The children of Israel could come up with any number of reasons why they would not believe in Moses easily.
1. They could say that they did not know Moses at all.
2. They could say that Moses did not know God very well.
3. They could say that the power of Egypt was too great to overcome.
4. They could say that Moses did not possess the necessary power to deal with Pharaoh.
“Nor heed the message of the first sign…”
There were messages behind the signs that God would display through Moses! The message of the first sign, turning the rod of Moses into a serpent had a powerful message! But that one sign may not be enough for some to believe that God was with Moses!
“They do not believe even these two signs…”
God gave Moses another sign, a healthy hand becoming a leprous one and then restored to normalcy again! Perhaps the second sign would go some ways to bolster the discouraged spirit that many of the children of Israel seem to have acquired.
“The river will become blood…”
The Lord now gave authority to Moses to perform three sign-miracles! What a combination of miracles! Moses would surely be able to make some headway in his ministry to the children of Israel if he were to show these signs in Egypt!
DEALING WITH PROBLEMS
God wanted Moses to face up to the fact that there would be problems in life and ministry! However, he must not take a weak, defeatist approach! He must dare to face problems squarely, as the Lord did. He must dare to exercise faith in the Lord and in His power! Given time, and given courage to do his part, he would be able to serve as a servant of God with great effectiveness! The Presence of God was promised. Promises were also given. These would be backed up by the Power of God. Thus no one need ever fear problems in ministry!