Witnesses to a Great Miracle

A. M. Deigloriam

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781532633317
• eBook ISBN: 9781532633324
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

It was God's love for His creation that allowed Moses, Elijah, James, Peter, and John to unfold God's plan for all mankind. These saints were sanctified and chosen to be witnesses to the transfiguration and deity of God's only Son Jesus Christ. These witnesses were recognized and honored by God for their obedience and faithfulness. All of mankind has been richly blessed by these men of God, as they became servants of God in accomplishing many great miracles.These specific saints were allowed to see Jesus in all His glory as He was transformed from His earthly body to the holy splendor of His heavenly body. This experience was terrifying for the apostles and was seared into their very being. From that day forward God would use the apostles James, Peter, and John in unfolding God's love and plan for all of mankind.First Kings 19: 12 reads, "And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."God spoke to Elijah and to the souls of men in a still small voice of love, grace, and mercy.

1.

God’s Plan for Moses

God’s timing and how He plans out events is difficult for us to understand. In many cases His timing and plans unfold over periods of time we cannot comprehend. In some cases we see His plan unfold within a life time and in others cases His plans are fulfilled over many life times. God chose Moses as His messenger and the leader for the Israelites.

Moses’ (1393 to 1273 BCE) life was filled with God’s presence and direction. Moses is believed to be the author of the first five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) of the Old Testament. There are those who said Moses spoke with God’s voice and at the same time was the most humble man to walk on the face of the earth.

Moses’ life was a miracle in many ways. He was born at a time when the Pharaoh set a decree that all male Hebrew babies should be drowned. The Pharaoh wanted to control the number of Hebrew slaves for fear He may lose control.

Moses’ survival through his childhood was also a great miracle. He was placed in a basket in the Nile River where he was discovered and raised by the Pharaoh’s daughter. He was raised within the Pharaoh’s household with the best of care and education. At this point, you can see how God is grooming Moses to be the Israelites’ leader. At age 40 (Acts 7:23–24), he became enraged one day after watching a guard beat a Hebrew slave and killed the guard. He then fled the country for his life. He later married Zipporah and had two sons (Gershom and Eliszer) after becoming a shepherd in the land of Midian which is located southeast of the Sinai Peninsula.

It wasn’t until Moses was 80 years old that God revealed himself in a burning bush at Mount Horeb in the Sinai and instructed him to liberate the Israelites from the enslavement of the Pharaoh of Egypt. God’s plan and timing of these events was made possible with men who were able to recognize God’s presence and who were obedient to God’s word and direction. Moses spirit at this point in time was a willingness to serve (Here I am God use me) without knowing the task at hand.

Exodus 3:4 reads, “And when the Lord saw he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.”

Exodus 3:7 reads, “And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmaster; for I know their sorrows.”

Exodus 3:10–11, “Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt.”

Moses had not been in Egypt for 40 years and many of the people that knew him were dead including the King that wanted to kill him. At this point, he begins to question God’s plan for him to return to Egypt and bring the Hebrew people out of slavery from the current Pharaoh. Questioning or asking the Pharaoh to entertain such a request would be in most cases a death sentence. God answered Moses with a clear message.

Exodus 3:14–15 reads, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel. I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”

Exodus 4:10 reads, “And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou has spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?”

God responds to Moses’ fears by sending Aaron his brother to be his spokesman and companion as they together journey to Egypt to confront the Pharaoh.

God wanted to remind both Moses and the Israelites of His promise He would be with them always and throughout all their struggles. He is God and all things are possible through Him. Moses certainly was a man of great courage not only to question God, but to obey His command to return to Egypt to confront the Pharaoh. Over and over we see God pick men that seem outwardly not to be men of great leadership skills. We know that Moses was a man that was slow of speech, had a violent temper that led to the killing of an Egyptian guard, spent 40 years as a shepherd, and questioned God’s command to go to Egypt. These are not traits one would associate with being a candidate for taking on great responsibility and a leadership role. However, God looks at a man’s heart to determine who He will use to further His kingdom. He is able to determine at what point in time a man or woman is ready to share a personal relationship with their creator. As Moses, this relationship begins when a person surrenders to God and grows in dependence on Him for direction.

Exodus 7:1–2 reads, “And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.”

Moses and Aaron did as God asked and confront Pharaoh with the demand that he release the Israelites knowing they may be killed on the spot. The number of Israelites captive in Egypt is estimate to be 600 thousand not including woman and children. This was a slave workforce that represented great wealth and importance to the Pharaoh and Egypt. The question of release was probably considered ridiculous and its requesters as men of not sound mind.

God’s plan was more complicated than just the release of the Israelites. His plan was to bring Pharaoh and Egypt to their knees to realize He was God and no other gods would be tolerated. He would destroy Pharaoh, his army, and create 10 plagues that would destroy the country. God would also harden the heart of Pharaoh so that he would be solely responsible for Egypt’s destruction.

The first plague

Exodus 7:17 reads, “Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.”

All the fish in the river died and rotted in the rivers. There was no drinking water since all the water from the Nile and all other sources were now contaminated and not drinkable. The pagan god of the Nile was no longer a god that would bring forth nourishment to the Egyptians.

Moses and Aaron were persistent in the face of great danger and continued to ask Pharaoh for the release of the Israelites. Moses showed great courage and refused to compromise on his demand and continued to say, “Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews . . . let my people go, that they serve me”.

The Pharaoh was both the religious leader and the political leader. Their religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals centered on many different pagan deities. Pharaoh was also believed to be a god and the god’s representative on earth. His chief responsibility was to maintain peace and harmony throughout the country. He achieved that by working with the pagan goddess Ma’at. He fought battles to protect the country and to gain resources. It is believed that Thutmoses III (1485BC-1431BC) was the Pharaoh that Moses communicated with in approximately 1446 BC. It is believed there were about 2 to 3 million people living around the Nile delta at this time. Many were farmers that were depended on the yearly flooding of the Nile for the land to be fertile for the raising of crops.

Second Plague

God directed Moses and Aaron to approach the Pharaoh and again demand that all the Israelites be set free and again Pharaoh refused. God told Moses to request Aaron to stretch out the rod over all the rivers, ponds, streams and cause frogs to come into the homes and cover all the land. This plague caused Pharaoh to take action and requested the presences of Moses and Aaron. He asked that their God would take the frogs away and he would let the Israelites go make sacrifices unto their Lord. Moses spoke to God and asked that the frogs be removed and God responded and removed the frogs. When Pharaoh saw that the frogs were removed he took back his promise (hardened his heart) and refused to let the Israelites go.

Third Plague

Exodus 8:16 reads, “And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.”

The Pharaoh’s magicians could not replicate this plague and had to acknowledge that only Moses’ God could produce such a miracle.

Exodus: 8:19 reads, ”Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearken...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: God’s Plan for Moses
• Chapter 2: Moses and the Israelites Journey
• Chapter 3: Moses Experienced God’s Wrath
• Chapter 4: Elijah
• Chapter 5: Peter the Apostle
• Chapter 6: James (the Greater) the Apostle
• Chapter 7: John the Apostle
• Chapter 8: The Transfiguration of Jesus
• Chapter 9: The Transfiguration
• Chapter 10: Application
• Chapter 11: Conclusion
• Notes