As he received his marching orders from God, Moses was reminded that Israel was important to the Lord, and he was given a message of warning for Pharaoh: obey and let His people go, or Pharaoh would suffer the death of his first-born son. On the way back to Egypt, though, Moses was also called to obey the Lord within his own family or possibly be killed himself. To do so would anger Moses' wife, Zipporah. Could Moses do the difficult thing that God required?

As Moses headed back to Egypt, uncertain as he was, hesitant, fearful, unsure, he held tightly to the "staff of God." In the years ahead, whenever he felt anxious again, Moses would hold tightly to that same staff because God had promised him that it would be instrumental in bringing forth miraculous things. We don't have a staff like that today as Christians, but we have something even better to hold on to when we are anxious or unsure: we have God's promises as found in His Word!

Moses was worried that he would not be eloquent enough for God to use him, especially in the Egyptian royal court. And even though God assured him, "I will be with your mouth," Moses still hesitated. This angered the Lord, but He accommodated Moses by giving him, among other things, the "staff of God" to carry back to Egypt. What was that all about anyway?

As Moses tried to convince God that he was not the right man to go to Egypt and be used by God to deliver the Israelites from slavery, God made three promises and gave Moses three signs to show him that he would be successful. Yet Moses still hesitated. One of the excuses Moses used was that he was "slow of speech." What did he mean by that?

At first, Moses did not want to return to Egypt when God called to him from the burning bush. Why was he so resistant? Why did Moses want to know God's "Name?" God promised to provide Moses with a "sign" which would assure Moses that God was with Him in Egypt. What was that sign? And when God told Moses to ask Pharaoh for a three-day cessation from work so the Israelites could go and worship God, why did He not instruct Moses to demand their permanent release instead?

We all know that Moses was sent to Egypt by God to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. But did you know that he was also called to deliver God to the Israelites? The Lord sent Moses to Egypt from the burning bush because God saw how His people were struggling under the "hand" of the Egyptians, and He would show them the difference between the power of Pharoah's "hand" vs. God's own "mighty Hand," a theme we will see repeated throughout the plagues ahead.

Moses was called by God to a burning bush that was not actually burning. That will get your attention! Actually, all three persons of the trinity Godhead were present at the burning bush! The Lord says He "knows" and "remembers" His people in Egypt. What does that mean? Moses said, "I have become a stranger in a strange land." What did he mean? And what was it about life in Egypt for the Israelites that moved God to rescue them through Moses?

After Moses struck and killed an Egyptian slave master, he spent 40 years in the wilderness of Midian tending sheep. Why was it necessary for Moses to be there for so long? How did God need Moses to change before God could use Moses to free His people from slavery? What was the difference between the pre-Midian Moses and the post-Midian Moses? How is the change in Moses identified by the language used in Exodus chapter 2?