Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS025029S
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00:11 [uplifting music] 00:14 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:15 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:18 Glad to have you with us today. 00:19 We are studying through the book of Exodus, 00:23 a fantastic book, a beautiful picture 00:25 of God working with and through His people. 00:30 Today, we're looking at lesson number three. 00:32 It's called "A Rough Start." 00:34 On our first week, we kind of looked at the background 00:37 of the book of Exodus, where Moses came from, 00:40 what his life was like. 00:41 Last time, we took a look at his encounter with God 00:44 at the burning bush, and now we're going to 00:46 take a look at Moses as he comes face to face with Pharaoh. 00:50 You are in for an exciting ride today. 00:53 But before we dive into it, let's start with prayer. 00:56 Father, we thank You for being with us today 00:59 and for promising to guide us as we study Your Word. 01:02 We ask that You will bless our time together, 01:04 open our hearts and minds to a message from You, 01:07 and we thank You, in Jesus' name, amen. 01:11 We're grateful to have you with us, 01:12 but we are also grateful to have the author 01:14 of this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson with us, 01:17 Dr. Jiri Moskala. 01:19 Dr. Moskala, thank you again for joining us. 01:21 >>Dr. Jiri Moskala: Thank you for having me here. 01:23 It's a pleasure for me to study the book of Exodus 01:25 together with you and with all the people around. 01:28 >>Eric: It's an exciting story, and we've kind of 01:31 come up to the point where Moses has now been called. 01:34 We've seen him-- you know, how he was raised. 01:37 We've seen him spend some time in Egypt, 01:39 had to leave Egypt, then the episode 01:41 of the burning bush, and now, he is coming face to face 01:45 with Pharaoh with that message 01:46 that God has called him to share. 01:51 So what does Moses say to Pharaoh 01:53 in their first encounter? 01:55 >>Dr. Moskala: Well, in the first encounter-- 01:56 and not only in the first but even the later-- 02:00 his start was very clear. 02:02 It's in chapter 5, verse 1. 02:04 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says." 02:07 And I love that, because he's not coming 02:10 and saying, "Well, Pharaoh, listen to me. 02:13 "I have something very unique to tell you. 02:16 You need to do this and that." It is not Moses' word. 02:18 It is not the word of the committee of the elders. 02:22 It is God's word. 02:24 So it is not Moses' invention. 02:27 So Pharaoh need to understand that he is now dealing not 02:32 with human authority but with God Himself. 02:37 And he probably heard more already 02:40 about this God of Israel, but God--Moses is coming 02:46 and saying, "Look, this is the God, our God, 02:50 "God of Israel, who is now asking you 02:52 something to do." 02:54 And this continues, says, "Let my people go." 02:57 The Lord says, "Let my people go, 03:01 so that they may hold a festival to me in the [desert]." 03:06 And I think that this is a very famous sentence: 03:08 "Let my people go." 03:10 And it's occurring several times in the book of Exodus. 03:13 And Pharaoh, in his response, is very clearly saying, 03:19 "I will not let [the people] go." 03:23 And this is that very important statement. 03:28 And when Moses is starting, "Thus says the Lord," 03:33 the first response of Pharaoh is, "[And] who is the Lord, 03:38 that I should obey Him and let Israel go?" 03:43 So I think that this is now the whole 03:47 great controversy play, 03:49 where you have the living God 03:53 who is demanding, "Let my people go, 03:58 my people, Israel, go to worship freely." 04:01 And on another side is Pharaoh, who plays to be God, 04:07 who wants to, you know, demand that divine authority 04:12 that he commands, and everybody had to obey. 04:14 He was used to that all the time, but now 04:18 he's playing a very clear game. 04:23 And his conviction, probably, "I am who I am," not God. 04:31 "And He is who He is," not "I Am" now. 04:34 "And I demand here's my country, my territory, my people. 04:39 So who is this God?" 04:41 Okay, "Who is the Lord?" 04:44 And the Lord is here, this Yahweh. 04:47 He is very clearly using the term, you know, 04:52 and he's refusing. 04:56 "I do not know the Lord," speaking again about Yahweh, 05:01 "and I will not let Israel go." 05:04 So it's a willful, deliberate action. 05:08 It's not a play. It's a decision. 05:14 God demands, you know, now through Moses and Aaron, 05:18 but, "I will not do it." 05:21 And this is very strong refusal. 05:25 It's a stubbornness which comes through 05:28 his decision and his words. 05:30 >>Eric: So Pharaoh is very firm in his answer. 05:35 He is--he's not resistant; he's rejecting. 05:39 I mean, it's not even partial; it's just, 05:43 "And who is this God anyway?" 05:45 >>Dr. Moskala: Yes, he has no questions for clarification. 05:50 And so now Moses and Aaron, 05:56 "They said, 'The God of the Hebrews has met with us. 06:00 "'Now let us take a three-day journey 06:02 "'into the [desert] to offer sacrifices 06:05 "'to the Lord our God, or he may strike us 06:08 with plagues or with the sword.'" 06:11 And now you have, again, Pharaoh's response. 06:15 And what is interesting that you have in this chapter now, 06:20 chapter 5 and the beginning of 6, 06:23 different sets of dialogue. 06:25 It starts Moses and Aaron speaking to Pharaoh. 06:29 Then you have Pharaoh, who's speaking 06:32 with slave masters and the Israelite supervisors. 06:36 Then you have the slave master and the Israelite supervisor 06:39 with the people. 06:41 Then you have a dialogue between the Israelite supervisors 06:44 with Pharaoh. 06:47 After that, you have the Israelite supervisors 06:50 talking with Moses and Aaron, and then comes that Moses 06:55 speak with the Lord, and then Moses speak 06:59 with people, and the Lord, again, speak with Moses. 07:05 And so this is a set of dialogues which unfolds 07:10 this narrative, dramatic narrative, of how 07:15 everything was done when Moses and Aaron 07:20 came to Pharaoh. 07:23 You know, when I was younger, I always thought, 07:27 "Well, when God is telling, 'I will be with you, 07:31 "go and do this,' so, then, everything will be smooth 07:35 because God is in command." 07:37 He is telling, "Trust me. 07:39 It will go according to my will." 07:42 And we, over and over again, see that in the Scriptures 07:47 it's a little bit different. 07:49 God is calling, you trust God, 07:53 and instead what you would expect 07:54 that will be now success and smooth, and maybe 07:58 with one exception with Jonah, but every time comes 08:03 more and more difficulties. 08:05 This is why also the title for this study week is harsh-- 08:11 >>Eric: "A Rough Start," yeah. >>Dr. Moskala: "A Rough Start," 08:14 you know, it's very rough, you know, 08:16 what you would not expect is happening. 08:19 God revealed several times and said, "I hear your cry. 08:23 "I hear that you are in misery. 08:26 "I know your despair. I know your disappointments. 08:29 "I know how you are treated. 08:31 So I will come and do something for you." 08:35 And instead that beautiful things will happen, [chuckles] 08:40 you see that through this dialogue, you are-- 08:44 the story unfolds that there are bigger and bigger difficulties. 08:49 >>Eric: So walk us through some of those 08:50 bigger and bigger difficulties. 08:51 What was, like, the immediate effect 08:54 or the immediate consequences 08:56 of Moses and Aaron going before Pharaoh? 08:58 Like you said, it wasn't a smooth start. 09:00 It was very rough. 09:02 What did that rough start look like? 09:03 >>Dr. Moskala: Well, the rough start was that Pharaoh says, 09:07 "You are only making excuses. 09:09 You want to"--you know, 09:12 that people go and do something else to worship their God. 09:16 "No, they are here to be my labor force, 09:20 "and they are very important for me. So you-- 09:24 "I will do, actually, things more difficult for you. 09:29 "In order not to be distracted by something else, 09:34 "you will now work even harder. 09:35 "So, before I will-- I always gave you some material 09:40 "with which you will work on the building, the cities, 09:45 "and palaces, and whatever was needed, 09:47 "different buildings. 09:49 "Now I will not give you that material. 09:52 "You will be responsible to have it, but the quota 09:56 you need to produce every day will be still the same." 10:02 And, of course, he is giving that order. 10:05 It is not a possibility. It's an order. 10:08 And now comes that, you know, the slave masters 10:12 and the Israelite supervisors are speaking with people 10:16 and saying, "Yes, this will be like that. 10:18 We need to do it." 10:20 You have in between also 10:23 that these Israelite supervisors 10:27 are now trying to talk with Pharaoh 10:30 because they were beaten, the quota was not done, 10:34 and they think that this is 10:36 the matter of the supervisors, 10:39 and they did not anticipate that it was Pharaoh 10:43 who made that command. 10:45 So speaking with Pharaoh, their situation is even worse. 10:51 They--he told them, "You are lazy. 10:54 You need to work hard." 10:57 So it is a desperate, desperate situation. 11:02 People cannot produce what is needed, 11:06 so they are under the bigger oppression, 11:09 and these leaders are even beaten. 11:12 And in that situation, you read that they are now-- 11:19 when these leaders are going from Pharaoh, 11:25 Moses is there waiting for them, and we read 11:29 "The Israelites' [foremen] realized [that] they were 11:32 "in trouble when they were told, 'You are not to reduce 11:36 "the number of bricks required of you for each day.' 11:41 "When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron 11:44 waiting to meet them." 11:46 And here are this whole frustration going-- 11:51 bursting out, and they are saying 11:54 to Moses and Aaron, "May the Lord look [upon] you 11:59 "and judge you! 12:01 "You have made us [a stench] to Pharaoh and his officials 12:05 and have put a sword in their hand to kill us." 12:10 So you're saying you promised-- you said that God is with us, 12:16 but it's now even worse. 12:18 You should leave us, 12:21 and we should be in better position. 12:24 If you would not come, it will be better for us. 12:28 And then, of course, you hear that Moses 12:32 is really touched 12:34 and is crying to God, you know, 12:37 and in verse 22, you read that "Moses returned" to God, 12:41 "to the Lord and said, '[Oh], Lord, why have You 12:45 "'brought trouble upon this people? 12:49 Is this why You sent me?'" 12:52 You know, like, "Ever since I went to Pharaoh 12:56 "to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble 12:59 "upon this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all. 13:04 "You promised You will rescue. 13:07 "I am talking to Pharaoh. Situation is worse. 13:11 "So I was right when I said 13:14 "I should not go to Egypt, 13:18 but You led me." 13:20 So now you hear that frustration of Moses. 13:26 "You promised, and You did not rescue." 13:29 And I think that we are very often in our life 13:32 also with our frustrations. 13:35 When we talk to God, He is promising to be with us. 13:39 We do the right decisions for Him, we follow Him, 13:43 and then come the complications. 13:46 And it's, again, how God is teaching us 13:49 to trust Him even more, because He will intervene, 13:54 but unfortunately not according to our time, 13:57 but according to God's timing. 13:59 And we very often need to learn how to wait for the Lord. 14:04 >>Eric: So this is a lesson that Moses is learning here 14:07 and something that we hopefully will take away as well. 14:10 In addition to the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 14:14 that we're going through together, 14:17 there's also a companion book that goes with this lesson. 14:20 Tell us a little bit about that companion book 14:22 and why someone might wanna pick it up 14:25 in addition to the lesson 14:27 that we are studying through right now. 14:29 >>Dr. Moskala: Well, this companion book 14:31 is some additional material because in the quarterly, 14:35 you can do only something. 14:36 In the teacher's edition, you can also add 14:39 some more things. 14:41 But in the companion book, you can put a few things 14:44 together with some additional information. 14:47 So this, you know, companion book, chapter 3, 14:52 has this rough start, and the God who challenges, 14:56 a God who challenges not only Pharaoh, 14:59 but also us in our trust in the Lord when we follow 15:05 and it does not happening according what we expect 15:08 to follow still and to stay on the right path. 15:11 And so here we have this additional insights 15:15 for our quarterly. 15:17 >>Eric: So if you have perhaps faced 15:19 something like that where you did the right thing 15:22 and you expected a certain outcome 15:24 and it didn't happen, don't be discouraged. 15:28 Don't despair. 15:29 Moses wore the same sandals that you are wearing right now, 15:33 and we can learn some great lessons 15:34 from what he went through. 15:36 So pick up that companion book. 15:38 You can find it at itiswritten.shop. 15:41 Again, itiswritten.shop. 15:43 Just look for the companion book to this quarter's 15:45 "Sabbath School" lesson, and you will be blessed by it. 15:48 We're going to come back in just a moment as we continue 15:50 looking at this rough start that Moses had when he went 15:53 and spoke to Pharaoh: we'll be right back. 15:56 [uplifting music] 16:01 >>John Bradshaw: It Is Written is committed 16:02 to giving people the opportunity to experience the love of Jesus. 16:07 Eyes For India brings hope and vision to thousands 16:09 of people in need, and there's much more. 16:12 Through high-impact international medical ministry 16:14 and other humanitarian projects, hearts are being reached 16:17 around the globe. 16:19 You can partner with It Is Written 16:21 in changing lives for eternity. 16:23 Your support now will bring healing and blessing 16:26 to people in desperate need, enabling them to experience 16:29 the power of God for the very first time. 16:32 Call now: 800-253-3000. 16:35 That's 800-253-3000. 16:38 Visit us online at iiwworld.com 16:43 or text "world" to 71392. 16:47 Designating your gift to missions 16:49 will directly support these life-changing projects. 16:52 Thank you for partnering with It Is Written 16:54 in opening eyes to the goodness of God 16:57 and offering hope to the world. 17:01 [uplifting music] 17:05 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 17:06 brought to you by It Is Written. 17:09 We're looking at lesson number three, 17:10 "A Rough Start," as we examine the story of the Exodus 17:14 and Moses' difficulties and challenges in standing 17:17 before Pharaoh. 17:20 Dr. Moskala, when Moses is having these difficulties, 17:26 interacting with Pharaoh, things not going as smoothly 17:30 as he liked, and you mentioned a variety of dialogues going on. 17:35 The Israelites are not very happy 17:36 with Moses and Aaron-- or God, for that matter, 17:40 at this point--because things have not been--gone very well, 17:43 not as they would have liked, 17:45 and so they're pushing back against Moses. 17:50 How does God respond to their suffering, 17:52 and what promise does He give to them? 17:54 They're not happy right now, 17:55 but God is still there. Walk us through this. 17:57 >>Dr. Moskala: And we understand why they are not happy, 18:00 because they are expecting that God will intervene, 18:02 that He will do-- that what He promised, 18:05 it will be immediately fulfilled, 18:08 as we expect that in our life. 18:10 And God's timing is different than our timing. 18:13 But what is really great here, that in that moment 18:17 of the ultimate frustration, even for Moses, "Why I am here?" 18:22 You know, "You sent me here, and the situation is even worse. 18:26 "If I would be not there, it will be better. 18:28 So, why, why I am sent?" 18:30 And in that very difficult down, God is saying, 18:35 "Well, I will rescue my people now." 18:38 And He is now promising-- and this is from chapter 6 on-- 18:43 that He's saying, "Now you will see 18:45 what I will do to Pharaoh." 18:48 So God is--God's timing is now here, and He's saying, 18:52 "Now is the time. I will do it." 18:55 And you have in the first eight verses 18:59 beautiful, beautiful testimony of God, how He is saying 19:05 what He will be for His people. 19:08 This is so important that in the Jewish tradition 19:11 they are reciting these passages here 19:15 every time when they are celebrating Passover. 19:18 And it's also so important for us because we are 19:22 God's people, and He's also telling us 19:25 how He wants to rescue us, not only 19:27 from the physical oppression but also from the oppression 19:31 of sin and evil in which we are living, in oppression 19:34 of our own thoughts and our fears. 19:38 And God is coming and saying from verse 2, 19:41 remember who I am: "I am the Lord." 19:44 This is that Yahweh. 19:46 It's--in the Bible, there is a difference 19:48 between "Yahweh" and "Elohim." 19:50 "Elohim" is like a mighty, strong God, from "El," 19:55 whom is God of everyone, who is the Creator, 19:59 mighty God, the Ruler of the whole universe, 20:02 King of kings, and Lord of lords. 20:05 But "Yahweh" is like a very intimate, close God, 20:09 personal God, who is intervening into our human effort. 20:13 He's God of the covenant. 20:16 And this God is now saying, "I am Yahweh. 20:20 I am this who I am," okay? 20:23 And then He says, "I appeared to Abraham, 20:27 to Jacob, to Isaac, and I am Almighty God." 20:32 This is interesting that God is saying, "I am Almighty," 20:35 in that context because He wants to tell them, 20:39 "I can do things what you think that are, like, 20:43 "not done, and I will make my name known. 20:50 "I did not make myself known to them so well. 20:54 "I want that you will now know me. 20:57 "I also established my covenant with them. 21:00 And I hear," again, it's repeated, the groaning, 21:04 the crying. And then you have this beautiful statement: 21:08 "I will remember my covenant." 21:11 I promise that, and it will be fulfilled. 21:13 And you have now four very important, redemptive, 21:17 like, salvific verbs what God will do. 21:21 "I will bring [them] out from under the yoke 21:25 of...Egyptians." This is the first. 21:28 Second, "I will free you from being slaves to them." 21:32 And third, "I will redeem you." 21:34 I will save you "with an outstretched arm 21:39 and with mighty acts of judgment." 21:42 And fourth, "I will take you as my people, 21:45 and I will be your God." 21:48 And so God is really telling, "I will now intervene, 21:53 "and this will be different. 21:55 Even though Pharaoh says, 'No,' you watch, 22:00 and you will be surprised." 22:02 And He is promising not only that He will do this thing, 22:06 "I will free you, I will bring you out. 22:09 I will redeem you, I will save you," 22:12 but also now, "I will take you as my people." 22:17 He wants to enter into the relationship with them, 22:21 that they will really know Him, personally know Him. 22:24 And it's saying, "And I will take you as my people, 22:30 and I will be your God." 22:33 So suddenly from this, you know, place between God and Pharaoh 22:39 and God and people, now it's very personal. 22:44 God is coming and saying, "You are my people, 22:47 "and I will do something for you. 22:50 "As I called your forefathers to follow me, 22:53 "now I will do unique things for you. 22:57 You will be my people." 22:59 And this in the Bible is a very significant formula 23:03 because it's a covenant formula. 23:06 It's, I think, here for the first time mentioned 23:08 in the Scriptures, and this formula 23:11 will be always repeated: 23:14 "I am your God, and you will be my people." 23:19 And throughout the Bible, when this formula appears, 23:24 it's a covenant formula. 23:26 And covenant is nothing else than legal establishment 23:30 of relationship between God and us. 23:33 This is God who makes covenant with us, 23:35 not we with Him. 23:37 And through this covenant, He wants to assure 23:40 that He is faithful, that He is keeping His promises, 23:44 and no matter what He's against, He will fulfill it. 23:49 So this merciful, compassionate God, gracious God, 23:54 He is now telling, "I will intervene, 23:57 "and our relationship will be great. 24:00 "It will be established on the new level. 24:05 "I will be your God, you will know me personally, 24:09 "and you will be my people, because I claim you 24:13 as my people." 24:15 And so God, in order to help people to be 24:20 really in that relationship, He knows that He needs first 24:24 to liberate them. 24:26 This is why there's redemptive, salvific promises. 24:29 "I will," you know, "bring you out. 24:33 "I will make you free. I will redeem you. 24:37 I will save you, and you will be mine." 24:40 >>Eric: So he's making these promises to His people, 24:43 explaining to them what He's going to do among them 24:47 and in them and for them. >>Dr. Moskala: Exactly, exactly. 24:50 >>Eric: And there's something that happens here. 24:52 Moses performs some miracles to demonstrate 24:55 God's power and authority. 24:57 Walk us through some of those miracles. 24:59 We don't have a whole lot of time, 25:00 but help us to understand these miracles that He performs. 25:02 >>Dr. Moskala: Well, He performs, you know, this change 25:07 of the stick into the serpent. 25:10 And later on, we will see how in their encounter, they will see 25:20 the mighty acts of God by the plagues. 25:23 So this will be the next lesson, which we'll be seeing how God 25:29 in His mercy but also in His power is intervening 25:34 and showing who is here in charge, that people 25:38 will be not confused, that they will be not slave 25:40 in their mind to all these forces 25:45 they see around them. 25:47 And it's very, you know, maybe discouraging 25:50 that when God is giving this final promise, 25:54 "I will now do something," that when Moses is coming 26:00 and telling it to the people, we read, like, I think, 26:05 it in verse 9: 26:07 "Moses reported this to the Israelites, 26:09 "but they did not listen to him 26:12 because of their discouragement and [cruel bondage]." 26:16 Maybe we sometimes are in the big pain 26:19 and we do not see the solution. 26:24 But this is probably the time when God is really in charge, 26:30 when He come and He can rescue us. 26:32 And "then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go, 26:35 tell [the] Pharaoh.'" 26:37 And after, you know, "If the Israelites 26:41 will not listen to me," Moses is saying, 26:46 "Why I should go to Pharaoh when people 26:51 are not believing You?" 26:53 And God is saying, "Now you go, and big things will happen." 26:58 And then you have the story how God is now intervening 27:02 through these 10 plagues, and Pharaoh is learning 27:09 who is really in control, if it is God or him. 27:13 >>Eric: So we're about to see God reveal 27:16 His incredible power through these plagues, 27:20 His ability to deliver through these plagues, 27:23 and that's what we're going to be looking at next week. 27:25 We're going to be diving into the 10 plagues, 27:29 a powerful, powerful study. 27:32 We're glad that you are joining us on this journey. 27:35 We're looking at the Exodus from beginning to end 27:38 and seeing how we can learn these lessons and apply them 27:41 to our lives today. 27:44 If you happen to have missed the first couple of episodes, 27:46 you can still go back and watch them on itiswritten.tv 27:49 or on the It Is Written YouTube channel. 27:52 But we look forward to seeing you again 27:53 with us again next week when we're taking a look 27:56 at lesson number four, "The Plagues." 27:59 We'll see you then. 28:01 [uplifting music] 28:24 [uplifting music] 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.aberdeen.io] |
Revised 2025-07-10