God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. They are on the way to the promised land and are faced with a serious problem. A journey through the desert is never easy. The scripture tells that they couldn’t find water for three days. Under those circumstances, their grumbling seems quite legitimate and reasonable. However, what if they had cried out to God for help instead of grumbling to Moses. God provided the water through a miracle. Like Israelites, many times in our lives we grumble against others and/or God when we should cry out for help.

This is the song of Moses and his older sister Miriam, and both of them testify to the great deeds that Yahweh did to deliver them from Egyptian slavery. They praise God and share this powerful testimony. Testimony is an important, part of Christian faith. The apostles were killed because of their testimony. Even today in many countries Christians are persecuted because of their testimony. Mainline protestant Christians, including Methodists need to be more willing and bolder in sharing their testimony.

In the beginning of Exodus, Pharaoh ordered the killing of Hebrew male children. God does not forget that, and judges Pharaoh for the evil that he brought to God’s people, about eighty years ago. This is the final plague that God brought to the Egyptians, and killed every first-born son in Egypt, including the first born of Pharaoh. But God showed mercy to the Israelites. God commanded Moses to remember this pass this story to the generations to come, so they know that God’s mercy and judgement, both are real. Today, a lot of Christians tend to think of Jesus a loving, submissive and merciful, son of God, and indeed that is who Jesus is. However, when Jesus returns, he will come to judge. Christians ought to balance the message of the cross; and proclaim God’s mercy without compromising God’s judgement.

Snakes represented Egyptian power. Aaron’s staff to turn into a snake is nothing less than a direct challenge to Pharaoh’s power. His magicians counter this attack by duplicating the feat, but their snakes are swallowed in the process. This sign and the ten plagues display one by one Pharaoh’s impotence, and that, God is the ultimate conqueror. This passage gives us a snapshot of the drama to unfold God’s final victory over Egyptians, and Jesus Christ crushing snake’s head in future.

To be human is not to be frail, weak, or rebellious. To be human means to be the pinnacle of God’s creation. It was humans alone whom God created in His image. Being human means having a great capacity for anything God- like. Moses became like God to Pharoah, which means God gave Moses God-like authority to fulfill the mission that God gave him. In the sermon Pastor Nadeem talks about what it means for us to be God-like, and what is our mission, as God’s people, in this world.

God sent Moses to Egypt as a deliverer and gave Moses the vision of freeing Israelites from Pharoah’s bondage. But, Moses vision is tested by temporary setbacks. On the other hand, God’s deliverance plan did not change or thwarted by these temporary setbacks. In our lives or church ministries we sometimes have to face temporary hurdles, such as financial difficulties, spiritual wilderness, opposition, rejection, discrimination, or oppression etc. However, no matter how big you think your setback may be, God has a bigger purpose for you. Don’t let your temporary setbacks discourage you.