Gathering
What awesome place have you recently checked off your bucket list of must-see places? Why did you do so?
Backstory
The book of Genesis closes with Jacob (aka, Israel), eleven of his sons with their families and all their servants, livestock and belongings moving from Cana to Egypt to survive a terrible famine. They could do this because one missing son, Joseph, was already there, paving the way. He was initially banished to Egypt as a 17-year-old slave, due to the jealously and ill-will of 10 older brothers. With God’s help, Joseph rose from slave yard to prison to palace. As Pharaoh’s second in command, Joseph took charge of storing seven bountiful harvests to carry Egypt through seven years of famine. Hundreds of years passed as Jacob’s family grew into a large tribe and the Egyptian leadership forgot the work of Joseph. Finally, one pharaoh felt threatened by the number of Israelites, making them into slaves and killing their first-born sons. Moses miraculously escaped this purge and, like Joseph, ended up in the court of Pharaoh, thanks to God’s intervention. As a young man Moses became aware of his Israelite heritage, witnessed the oppression of his people, and killed a slave master. Moses became a pariah to Pharaoh and fled for his life into the Wilderness, where he joined the family of Reuel, married his daughter, Zipporah, and began his work tending the family’s flocks.
God’s Story
We pick up Moses’ story by reading Exodus 3:1-22.
Finding My Story in God’s Story
1. Imagine yourself as a shepherd in the Wilderness. How would you describe that daily life?
- Extremely lonely, as when I’m _____________.
- Boring, as when I worked as _____________.
- Filled with wonder at the star-filled sky, as when I’m _____________.
- Frightening, as when I’m _____________.
- Low-down, dirty scut work, as when I’m _____________.
If anyone in the group has had experience in the wild, ask them to reflect on that adventure and share their thoughts and feelings about it.
2. How did you, or would you, cope with hours of solitude?
- Watch TV or surf the Internet.
- Write a letter.
- Keep a journal.
- Pay attention to __________.
3. What skills would Moses, the shepherd of sheep and goats, have needed to develop to become a good shepherd of God’s people in the Wilderness?
- How to find water in the wilderness.
- How to recognize sickness in sheep and goats.
- How to avoid predators and fend them off.
- How to cook on an open campfire.
- Other __________.
4. What was the first step in beginning Moses’ conversation with God?
- Moses went to investigate the burning bush.
- God’s angel set up the burning bush.
- God spoke to Moses.
- God guided Moses to the Mountain of Horeb.
- Other __________.
5. How would you describe the conversation of Moses with God?
- God did most of the talking.
- Moses kept trying to find reasons to get out of God’s directive.
- God had to use words and miracles to influence Moses.
- Moses was afraid and God was frustrated with Moses’ doubts.
- Other __________.
Our Story
6. What has God used in your life that has prepared you for the work you do now?
- A family who raised me as __________.
- A wilderness experience __________.
- A major job loss __________.
- Time in jail or prison for __________.
- Other __________.
7. Do you feel a call to a different kind of commercial or volunteer work? If so, what?
8. Pray over each man, especially any who are feeling the weight of a change of call. Pray for God’s clear signs and their willingness to seek counsel from trusted friends. Tell them what gifts you see in them. (The men’s group or close friends, as an extension of the local church, is what God often uses to confirm that sense of call.)