1.In Exodus 4:2-4 G-d turned Moses’ rod into a live snake. Then G-d told him to pick up the live snake by the tail. Why didn’t G-d tell Moses to carefully grab the snake behind the head so it wouldn’t bite him? Are there similarities in this story and in Jeremiah chapter 1?
I believe that when Moses first touched that snake it was alive and not yet turned into a rod again. How much more faith would it take to pick up a live moving snake by the tail? Moses obeyed and did exactly what G-d commanded him to do, making himself completely vulnerable to all possibilities of what that snake could do to him.
What was G-d saying and showing Moshe in this encounter? First He was looking for complete obedience but also I believe G-d was telling Moshe, “I can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.” If G-d could turn a rod into a snake He could certainly keep it from biting Moses.
Jeremiah chapter 1 also gives us a picture of how G-d works through people. He uses the ordinary to do extraordinary things in life. G-d used a young Jeremiah to make the same point. He uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. But one important point, it does require obedience.
Allow G-d to use you. He can work wonders through His people to glorify the Father. He can change the world through ordinary people like us.
Jeremiah 1, “1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the L-rd came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. The Call of Jeremiah4 The word of the L-rd came to me, saying,5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Alas, Sovereign L-rd,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” 7 But the L-rd said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the L-rd.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” 11 The word of the L-rd came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. 12 The L-rd said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching[b] to see that my word is fulfilled.”
13 The word of the L-rd came to me again: “What do you see?” “I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”14 The L-rd said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the L-rd. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah.16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made.17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the L-rd.
2.In Exodus 3:11 Moses asked G-d, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” What was Moses really asking? Did G-d go over Moses’ strong points to make him feel more competent for the job?
“Who am I?” might not have just been a question about worthiness. It can also have been a question about identity.
Moses was a prince of Egypt. He had been adopted as a baby by Pharaoh’s daughter. He had grown up in the royal palace. He dressed like an Egyptian, looked and spoke like an Egyptian. When he rescued Jethro’s daughters from the shepherds, they went home and told their father, “An Egyptian saved us” (2:19). So the first answer is that Moses was an Egyptian prince.
Second was that he was a Midianite. He had been forced to leave Egypt. He made his home in Midian, married a Midianite woman – Tzipporah, daughter of a Midianite priest – and he had been “content to live” there, quietly as a shepherd. We tend to forget just how many years he spent there. He left Egypt as a young man and was already eighty years old at the start of his mission when he first stood before Pharaoh (Ex. 7:7). He must have spent the overwhelming majority of his adult life in Midian, far away from the Israelites on the one hand and the Egyptians on the other. Moses was a Midianite.
He may have been Jewish by birth, but he had not suffered the fate of his people. He had not grown up as a Jew. He had not lived among Jews. He had good reason to doubt that the Israelites would even recognize him as one of them. How, then, could he become their leader?
How did God know that he was the man for the task? One hint is contained in the name he gave his first son. He called him Gershom because, he said, “I am a stranger in a foreign land” (Ex. 2:22). He did not feel at home in Midian. That was where he was, but not who he was.
Many things happened to Moses before he got to this place in his life. But all those things along the way made him who he was. It is the same with us. Who are you? All that we go through in our life, everything we experience is continually preparing us for what G-d has ahead for us. When you consider “Who am I?” as Moshe does here in our portion and Jeremiah did, just remember we who walk with G-d are far from ordinary. In fact G-d uses our weakness sometimes to work wonders for Him. You are a child of the King. You are far from ordinary.
3.In Exodus 3:1-3 Moses saw a burning bush and he turned aside? What is the spiritual lesson in these verses?
What was so important about Moses turning aside? It signaled he was open. He was not so wrapped up in his life that he couldn’t stop to see. Important point: Only after Moses turned aside did G-d speak to him. G-d was waiting to see if Moses was available.
The primary spiritual lesson is to be open to G-d’s presence, even when it appears in unexpected ways, and to actively “turn aside” from our routines to pay attention to potential divine encounters; essentially, to be receptive to G-d’s voice.
Moses was never the same. It was a life changing experience for him. G-d is looking for people like us who are willing to turn aside. I encourage you to stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit and take advantage of those times when G-d may be calling out to you. Don’t miss the opportunity. Take the time to read, study, grow in Him and be used by Him.
4.From reading this Torah portion how would you describe Moses’ mother? What important spiritual lesson do we see from her life?
Moses’ Mother
Exodus 2;1-3: Put yourself in Jochebed’s situation. She hid her son for three months but she could keep him quiet no longer. So she decided to make a basket and put her three month old son in it. She walked down to the river carrying the basket in her arms. She placed the basket with her son inside, into the water. The moment had come to let go of the basket and push it into the river. I am sure she was fearful and worried. She had no idea what would happen to her son. She probably had a few terrifying images of what might happen.
That sacrifice, even though she didn’t understand it, was necessary for G-d’s plan to be carried out. And not just his plan for Moses, but for all of G-d’s people. And what he was asking of Jochebed was to simply let go.
Letting go is hard. We want to hold on. We want to control the situation, whatever it is. Or maybe it’s a person, a relationship, a job, a house. But G-d sometimes puts us in a position where the only thing we can do is trust him.
Have you ever considered that letting go, even when it’s hard, is worship? In essence we are saying to G-d: I will raise my hands to worship you, L-rd, and in doing so, I will let go of everything I treasure most.
We know the end of the story for Moses – he was just fine. But his mother did not know that when she let go. G-d made a way for him…and all the Hebrew people. Jochebed was ok, too. G-d allowed her to be an important caregiver in her young son’s life. In addition, she and her husband are mentioned in Hebrews 11:23, among the L-rd’s most faithful servants.
Sometimes the most beautiful act of worship we can give to G-d is found in letting go.