Opening questions and prayer
Talk about a time when you struggled with authority. This can be something silly and lighthearted.
Who are some of the people that have authority in your life now?
How do they treat you?
What is one thing you wished they did differently?
What is one thing they do well?
Who are some people you have authority over? (This could be kids, co-workers, elderly parents, etc.)
How do you treat them?
What is one thing you could do differently in how you manage them?
What is one thing you do well?
What are some difficulties you have with authority?
How does the world treat those in authority or who have power?
How does the Lord want us to treat those in authority?
Read Exodus 6:28-7:1
Exodus 6:28-7:1 (All verses are from the NLT unless otherwise noted)
28 When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord! Tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, everything I am telling you.” 30 But Moses argued with the Lord, saying, “I can’t do it! I’m such a clumsy speaker! Why should Pharaoh listen to me?”
7:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet.
What is the Lord asking Moses to do?
How does Moses respond?
How does the Lord reassure Moses that He will be with him?
How will Moses be like God to Pharaoh?
When you doubt God’s plan, how does He reassure you?
Who are some people in your life who point you to God?
Read Exodus 7:2-7
Exodus 7:2-7
2 Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. 3 But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. 5 When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”
6 So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them.7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.
Why will Pharaoh refuse to listen to Moses and Aaron?
How will God show His authority to the Egyptians?
Even though Moses had doubts, what did he and Aaron do?
What is significant about Moses and Aaron’s age?
What are some excuses people give for not following God’s plan?
What hope do Moses and Aaron, in their old age, give to people who think they can’t make an impact for God’s Kingdom?
When you doubt the work of the Lord, how can you still do what the Lord commands you to do?
Read Exodus 7:8-9
Exodus 7:8-9
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’”
Why will Pharaoh want to see a miracle?
How is Pharaoh’s response similar to how Moses responded when the Lord told Him to go to the Israelites and lead them out of slavery? (See Exodus 3:11-15)
Exodus 3:11-15
11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”
13 But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.
This is my eternal name,
my name to remember for all generations.
How did Moses question God’s authority?
Authority is a theme throughout Exodus. See Exodus 2:13-14
Exodus 2:13-14</