??Lets play Who Said It？I'll say the words from one of our Moses lessons, and you try to guess who said it! Ready？
??* All Hebrew boy babies must be thrown into the Nile River! Did you guess pharaoh？
??* Shall I call a Hebrew woman to nurse this baby for you？That was Marian!
??* Take care of this baby for me, and I will pay you. Did you guess the princess of Egypt？
??* I think I’ll call you Moses, because I drew you out of the water. That was the princess again.
??* Don’t come any nearer, take off your shoes for you are standing on holy ground. That was the Lord!
??* Who am I that I should go lead the people out of slavery？That was Moses, wasn’t it？
??Do you remember how many times Moses offered excuses to God because he did not want to go back to Israel？Finally, as we begin our lesson today, Moses is ready to obey the Lord. Exodus 4：19 says, And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return to Egypt：for all the men are dead who were trying to kill you.
??God was also saying Go to someone else. Moses had probably not seen his brother Aaron for the entire 40 years he was gone from Egypt. But as Moses began to travel back to Egypt, God spoke to Aaron there in Egypt：Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And so the two brothers met. Can you imagine the hugs and tears and excitement, as the two brothers not only enjoyed the reunion, but also shared the news of what God was going todo for His people. Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord.
??Together they began to speak to the elders of the people of Israel. They all gathered together for a meeting, where Aaron spoke all the words that God had told Moses, and Moses did those miracles God had shown him.
??The Bible says in Exodus 4：3l, And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. I’m sure their wholehearted response encouraged Moses and Aaron. And they would need encouragement as they took the next step of obedience to God. They now had to confront Pharaoh, the king of Egypt!
??Being ushered into the presence of this wealthy and powerful king must have caused Moses and Aaron to feel nervous, but their message was just as God had commanded.
??”Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. “ Pharaohs answer was proud and disdainful：Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go？I do not know the LORD, and no! I will not let the people go.
??Pharaoh was right in one way. He did not know the LORD, the true and living God. In Egypt there were many false gods. People worshipped the Nile River, the snake, the cat, and Pharaoh himself was considered to be a god. But our true and living God says in His Word the Bible：“For all the gods of the nations are idols：but the LORD made the heavens. “ (Psalm 96：5)
??The LORD God not only made the heavens, He made all things, including you and me! And what a loving God He is, to tell us I have loved you with an everlasting love! There is no other religion or god anywhere in the world that can truly say those wonderful words! Do you remember what Gods wonderful love caused Him to do for us？The Bible tells us there is none of us that do good, we all sin by breaking God’s laws. Even though children don’t usually murder or rob a bank, even children break Gods laws. How？Well, Do you disobey your parents, or pout to get your way？Do you say unkind words or think you are better than others？Those are all things that God calls sin, or breaking His law. The punishment for breaking Gods law is that we are forever apart from God in a terrible place called Hell. But even as God said that sin must be punished, still His love caused Him to send someone to take that punishment for us. Yes, you remember, it was Jesus His perfect Son. Jesus suffering, bleeding, dying on the cross were all-necessary to pay for our sin. Jesus died and was put away in a cold, dark tomb. But God raised Him up on the third day. Now Jesus is alive in Heaven. He loves you so much and He is ready to save you from your sin. He says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. There is no other god who loves us like that, because there is no other TRUE and LIVING God! It is sad that Pharaoh did not know Him.
??Again Moses and Aaron made the same request. “Let my people go!” But Pharaoh angrily lashed back at the two men：You are keeping the people from their work! Then Pharaoh called in the officers who were in charge of the Hebrew slaves. From now on, don’t give them any straw to make brick. Make them find their own straw, and still demand that they make just as many bricks as before. They’re getting lazy and idle, that is why they are asking me to let them go.
??Of course the officers had to obey the kings cruel order. But of course, the poor Hebrew people could not perform this impossible task! They were already being overworked, from dawn till dark. When the people were sent out to gather straw, they could not make as many bricks. And because they couldn’t make many bricks, their Hebrew leaders were beaten by the Egyptian officers. Very soon those leaders came to Pharaoh to complain and ask why. What an evil and cruel king! He would not even listen, but demanded that they go out and do as he had said. Oh, how discouraged, how hopeless those Hebrew leaders felt as they left the palace!
??As they went out, the Bible says that they met Moses and Aaron who were not far from the palace. And they turned their anger to Moses and Aaron：”You! You are the ones who have caused this! You might as well have put a sword in the hand of Pharaoh to kill us! “
??Oh, those words broke the heart of Moses! But he went straight to the Lord, and cried out in prayer：Lord, why have You made it even worse for this people？Why did you send me here？It doesn’t look like You are delivering Your people at all! At this point, neither Moses nor the Hebrew people could understand what was happening, and they were not trusting God.
??When something painful or unpleasant happens to us, isn’t it sometimes hard to trust God. Was it ever hard for Moses and Aaron and the Hebrew people! But God was working out His perfect plan, even when things seemed to be getting worse! And God encouraged Moses and said to him：I am the LORD. I am going to keep my promise. Tell the people of Israel that I will bring you out from slavery to freedom! You will be my people and I will be your God. I will give you a good land for your very own. I am the LORD.
??Moses took that message to the people of Israel, but the Bible says they did not listen to Moses because they were in such great heaviness of spirit. They were so beaten and tired from their cruel treatment. Then God told Moses to go back to Pharaoh. You and I can understand why Moses didn’t want to go. He said to God, Look now, the children of Israel have not listened to me, how can I expect Pharaoh to listen to me？Doesn’t that sound sensible'still God told Moses to go back to Pharaoh with that same message：Let my people go.
??What would you do if you were Moses？Moses himself knew he would have to trust
??and obey the Lord. He would have to go back to Pharaoh. Did Moses understand why？No!
??If you have believed on the Lord Jesus and asked Him to save you, you are His child.
??Will you trust and obey God even when you don’t understand？No matter how long you have to wait, no matter what painful or unpleasant changes come, remember there is a wise and loving Heavenly Father Who is quietly working all things for your good.
??让我们来玩一个游戏，叫做"猜猜是谁说的？" 我要从讲过的摩西的故事中说出一句话，你来猜猜这句话是谁说的。 准备好了吗？
??"所有的希伯来男孩，都要被扔进尼罗河里淹死。" 你猜的是不是法老？
??"我去在希伯来妇人中叫一个奶妈来，为你照看这个孩子，好不好？" 这是米利暗说的。
??"你把这个孩子抱去，替我喂养他。我会给你工钱的。" 你猜的是不是埃及的公主？
??"我要叫你摩西，因为我从水里把你拉出来。"还是埃及的公主。
??"不要再往前走了，把你脚上的鞋脱下来，因为你所站之地是圣地。" 这是神说的。
??"我是什么人，竟能将以色列人从埃及为奴之地领出来呢？"是摩西说的，对不对？
??你还记得多少次摩西在神面前找借口，因为他不想回到埃及去？最后，在我们今天圣经故事里，摩西终于顺服了神。出埃及记第4章19节说：耶和华在米甸对摩西说："你要回埃及去，因为要杀你的人都死了。" 同时，神也在吩咐另外一个人。摩西离开埃及的40年中可能一直没有再见到他的哥哥亚伦。当摩西准备回埃及的时候，神对正在埃及的亚伦说："你往旷野去迎接摩西。"弟兄俩个终于见面了。又拥抱，又哭泣，
??又兴奋，不但如此，他们还互相诉说神将要为他的百姓所行的大事。摩西告诉亚伦神对他所说的一切。他们又一起向以色列的长老们讲述。 亚伦将耶和华对摩西所说的一切话述说了一遍，摩西又在百姓眼前行了那些神迹。出埃及记第4章31节说：百姓就信了。以色列人听见耶和华眷顾他们，鉴察他们的困苦，就低头下拜。我相信百姓的反应激励了摩西和亚伦。当他们继续顺服神的时候，他们实在需要这样的鼓励。 现在，他们要去见埃及的国王——法老。
??去见有钱有势的法老一定使摩西和亚伦很紧张。但是他们按照神所吩咐的对法老说："耶和华以色列的神这样说：懭菸业陌傩杖ィ?诳跻跋蛭沂亟凇?"法老傲慢轻蔑地说："耶和华是谁，使我听他的话，容以色列人去呢？我不认识耶和华，也不容以色列人去。"法老说对了，他是不认识这位又真又活的神。在埃及，有很多假神。人们崇拜的是尼罗河，蛇，猫，甚至法老自己也被看成神。但是我们所信的这位又真又活的神在圣经中诗篇第96篇5节说："外邦的神都属虚无，惟独耶和华创造诸天。"
??神不但创造诸天，世上一切都是他创造的，包括我和你！他是一位慈爱的神，他说"我以永远的爱来爱你！" 在世界上没有其他的宗教或神能说出这样奇妙的话。你还记得因为神爱我们而为我们所做的吗？圣经告诉我们所有的人都犯了罪，违反了神的律法。虽然小朋友不会杀人或抢银行，但小朋友也违反了神的律法。当你不听父母的话，与人闹别扭就是违反了神的律法。还有，你有没有说过不友善的话，或觉得你比别人强呢？这些，神都把它叫做罪，或者违反神的律法。 作为对罪的惩罚，我们就要到一个可怕的地方叫"地狱" ，与神永远地分离。虽然罪一定要被惩罚，但是因为神爱我们，他就使人为我们承担了罪的惩罚。是的，你要记住，这就是神的完美无暇疵的儿子耶稣。 耶稣受尽痛苦，流血，并死在十字架上，就是要来赎我们的罪。耶稣死了，被埋在又冷又黑的坟墓里，但神使他第三天复活。现在主耶稣就在天上活着。他非常爱你，他要把你从罪中拯救出来。没有其他的神这么爱我们，因为除了我们所相信的这位又真又活的神，并没有其它的神。 可惜，法老不认识他。
??再一次，摩西和亚伦对法老说："容我的百姓去。"但是法老生气地对他们说："你们为什么叫百姓旷工呢？" 然后法老吩咐管希伯来奴隶的督工的和官长说， 从现在开始，你们不可象以前一样，把草给百姓做砖，叫他们自己去捡草。他们平常做砖的数目，你们仍旧向他们要，一点不可减少！因为他们是懒惰的，所以呼求说：懭菸颐？去祭祀我们的神。" 当然，这些可怜的希伯来百姓不可能完成这些工作。他们从早到晚，已经做了过量的工作。现在他们还需要到处捡草，怎么可能完成砖的数目呢？因为他们不能完成他们的工作，照原来的数目做砖，法老的督工就责打以色列人的官长。 很快，以色列人的官长就来到法老面前抱怨。法老实在是一个凶狠恶毒的国王。他根本不听他们的哀求，就是要他们按照他所要求的做。当以色列人的官长离开王宫的时候，他们真是觉得灰心，没有希望。
??他们离了法老出来的时候，正遇见摩西、亚伦站在对面，于是就向他们发怒气说：" 是你们造成这一切，你们把刀递在法老手中来杀我们。"这些话实在使摩西的心都碎了。他来到神面前祷告："主啊，你为什么苦待这百姓呢？为什么打发我去呢？你一点也没有拯救你的百姓。"这时候，摩西和以色列百姓都不明白到底怎么回事，他们开始不相信神。
??当一些痛苦或不愉快的事情发生在我们身上的时候，是不是我们也是这样，信心动摇了呢？对摩西，亚伦和以色列百姓来说，这真是很难！虽然事情好像越变越坏，但是神要实现他完美的计划。神鼓励摩西说："我是神。我的应许我一定实现。告诉以色列人，我要把你们从为奴之地领出来！你们是我的百姓，我是你们的神。我要给你们自己的土地。因为我是神。"
??摩西将这话告诉以色列人, 但圣经说, 只是他们因苦工愁烦, 不肯听他的话。他们实在是因着被苦待而劳累, 愁苦。神让摩西回去见法老。我们可以理解为什么摩西不愿意去。 摩西对神说, "你看, 以色列人尚且不听我的话, 法老怎肯听我这拙口笨舌的人呢？??"但神仍然让摩西回去见法老, 并告诉他一样的话：容我的百姓去。如果你是摩西, 你会怎么做？摩西自己知道他需要信靠, 顺从神。他得回去见法老。 那摩西明白为什么吗？他不明白！
??如果你相信主耶稣把你从罪中拯救出来，你就是神的孩子。虽然你有时不明白为什么，你仍然会信靠，顺从神吗？不管需要多久的等待，不管有多么痛苦，不愉快的事情发生，你要记住，我们满有智慧，满有慈爱的天父，正在暗中工作，使你可以在万事上得益处。 |