Bible Study Guides – Moses

April 19, 2015 – April 25, 2015

Key Text

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” Hebrews 11:24–26.

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 241–256.

Introduction

“He [Moses] looked beyond the gorgeous palace, beyond a monarch’s crown, to the high honors that will be bestowed on the saints of the Most High in a kingdom untainted by sin.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 246.

1 HOME—THE FIRST EVANGELISTIC FIELD

  • What responsibility did Jochebed feel regarding the education of her son? Exodus 2:7–9; Acts 7:20, 21.

Note: “God had heard the mother’s prayers; her faith had been rewarded. … She faithfully improved her opportunity to educate her child for God. She felt confident that he had been preserved for some great work, … to be surrounded with influences that would tend to lead him away from God. … She endeavored to imbue his mind with the fear of God and the love of truth and justice, and earnestly prayed that he might be preserved from every corrupting influence.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 243, 244.

  • How should parents educate their children? Proverbs 22:6.

Note: “The whole future life of Moses, the great mission which he fulfilled as the leader of Israel, testifies to the importance of the work of the Christian mother. There is no other work that can equal this.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 244.

2 MOSES’ SECOND SCHOOL: THE KING’S COURT

  • What education did Moses receive at the court of the king of Egypt? Acts 7:22.

Note: “At the court of Pharaoh, Moses received the highest civil and military training. The monarch had determined to make his adopted grandson his successor on the throne, and the youth was educated for his high station. ‘And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds’ (Acts 7:22). His ability as a military leader made him a favorite with the armies of Egypt, and he was generally regarded as a remarkable character.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 245.

  • Discuss the impact of the education that Moses had received in his Hebrew home.

Note: “By the laws of Egypt all who occupied the throne of the Pharaohs must become members of the priestly caste; and Moses, as the heir apparent, was to be initiated into the mysteries of the national religion. This duty was committed to the priests. But while he was an ardent and untiring student, he could not be induced to participate in the worship of the gods. … He was unshaken in his determination to render homage to none save the one God, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 245.

  • When Moses was threatened with the loss of the crown, what choice did he make? Why? Hebrews 11:24–26.

Note: “Moses was fitted to take pre-eminence among the great of the earth, to shine in the courts of its most glorious kingdom, and to sway the scepter of its power. His intellectual greatness distinguishes him above the great men of all ages. As historian, poet, philosopher, general of armies, and legislator, he stands without a peer.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 246.

3 MOSES’ THIRD SCHOOL: TENDING SHEEP

  • Why was this third school of tending sheep essential for a man whom God wanted to prepare for the great work that was before him? Exodus 2:15, 16, 21; 3:1; Hebrews 11:27.

Note: “In the school of self-denial and hardship he [Moses] was to learn patience, to temper his passions. Before he could govern wisely, he must be trained to obey. His own heart must be fully in harmony with God before he could teach the knowledge of His will to Israel. By his own experience he must be prepared to exercise a fatherly care over all who needed his help.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 247.

  • What was the result in Moses’ character at the end of forty years of schooling in the wilderness? Numbers 12:3.
  • Before anyone can do an acceptable work for God where he or she is required to deal with people, what must he or she learn? Romans 12:18.

Note: “In all who have been chosen to accomplish a work for God the human element is seen. Yet they have not been men of stereotyped habits and character, who were satisfied to remain in that condition. They earnestly desired to obtain wisdom from God and to learn to work for Him. Says the apostle, ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him’ (James 1:5). But God will not impart to men divine light while they are content to remain in darkness. In order to receive God’s help, man must realize his weakness and deficiency; he must apply his own mind to the great change to be wrought in himself; he must be aroused to earnest and persevering prayer and effort. Wrong habits and customs must be shaken off; and it is only by determined endeavor to correct these errors and to conform to right principles that the victory can be gained. Many never attain to the position that they might occupy, because they wait for God to do for them that which He has given them power to do for themselves.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 248.

4 NO EXCUSE FOR HUMAN WEAKNESS

  • How did God remove Moses’ timid and self-distrustful excuse of a “slow tongue”? Exodus 4:10–12.

Note: “A man will gain power and efficiency as he accepts the responsibilities that God places upon him, and with his whole soul seeks to qualify himself to bear them aright. However humble his position or limited his ability, that man will attain true greatness who, trusting to divine strength, seeks to perform his work with fidelity.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 255.

  • What weakness of Moses angered God? How did his tendency to yield to his wife result in disobedience to God? Exodus 4:24, 25.

Note: “On the way from Midian, Moses received a startling and terrible warning of the Lord’s displeasure. An angel appeared to him in a threatening manner, as if he would immediately destroy him. No explanation was given; but Moses remembered that he had disregarded one of God’s requirements; yielding to the persuasion of his wife, he had neglected to perform the rite of circumcision upon their youngest son. … Such a neglect on the part of their chosen leader could not but lessen the force of the divine precepts upon the people.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 255, 256.

  • When people have been called to do a work for the Lord, what shows that they must be careful to know and to do their duty? I Samuel 15:22; James 4:17.

Note: “While they [many people] refuse to believe and obey some requirement of the Lord, they persevere in offering up to God their formal services of religion. There is no response of the Spirit of God to such service. No matter how zealous men may be in their observance of religious ceremonies, the Lord cannot accept them if they persist in willful violation of one of His commands.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 634.

5 ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATION FOR CHRISTIAN SERVICE

  • What is the first and most important quality that every soul winner must have? John 21:15–17.

Note: “The question that Christ had put to Peter was significant. He mentioned only one condition of discipleship and service. ‘Lovest thou Me’ (John 21:16)? He said. This is the essential qualification. Though Peter might possess every other, yet without the love of Christ he could not be a faithful shepherd over the Lord’s flock. Knowledge, benevolence, eloquence, gratitude, and zeal are all aids in the good work; but without the love of Jesus in the heart, the work of the Christian minister is a failure.” The Desire of Ages, 815.

  • What is the evidence that Moses had obtained this essential qualification? Exodus 32:9–12, 32, 33. Did God actually want to destroy Israel, or did He want to test Moses?

Note: “If God had purposed to destroy Israel, who could plead for them? …

“As Moses interceded for Israel, his timidity was lost in his deep interest and love for those for whom he had, in the hands of God, been the means of doing so much. The Lord listened to his pleadings, and granted his unselfish prayer. God had proved His servant; He had tested his faithfulness and his love for that erring, ungrateful people, and nobly had Moses endured the trial.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 318, 319.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 What was the first school Moses attended?

2 What was the second school he attended?

3 What was the third school he attended?

4 How was each of these schools necessary for educating Moses for his life work?

5 What is the first question that comes to every prospective soul winner?

© 2014 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.