Tuesday: The Divine “I”
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 15th of July 2025
Poor Moses! He first gets berated by Pharaoh, and now his own people all but curse him.
Thus, Moses brings his complaint to God. In his bitterness and disappointment with the worsening of Israel’s conditions, he asks: “ ‘Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all’ ” (Exodus 5:22-23, NIV). Moses’ discontent with the Lord is obvious and, considering the situation, understandable.
God’s response, though, is powerful. He will act, and very decisively, as well. “ ‘Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh’ ” (Exodus 6:1, NIV).
Read Exodus 5:22-23; Exodus 6:1-8. What is God’s response to Moses, and what important theological truths are revealed here?
Image © Jim Howard at Goodsalt.com
God will no longer only speak; He will now mightily intervene in favor of His people. He reminds Moses of a few pertinent facts: (1) “I am the Lord”; (2) I appeared to the patriarchs; (3) I established My covenant with them; (4) I have promised to give them the land of Canaan; (5) I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel; and (6) I have remembered My covenant to give you the Promised Land.
Notice the repetition of the divine “I.” I, “the Lord your God,” I have done such and such, and so you can trust that I will do for you what I have promised.
The Lord now solemnly proclaims that He will do four great things for Israel because He is their living Lord: (1) “ ‘I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians;’ ” (2) “ ‘I will free you from being slaves to them;’ ” (3) “ ‘I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment;’ ” and (4) “ ‘I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God’ ” (Exodus 6:6-7, NIV).
These four divine actions secure and reestablish His relationship with His people. God is the subject of all these activities, and the Israelites are the recipients of all these benefits and grace. God offers these gifts for free, out of love; He did it then, to them, and He does it now, for us, as well.
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What other Bible characters have cried out in complaint before God—and with good reasons? Why is it OK, at times, to pour out your soul to God and even complain about your situation? Why, though, must you always do it in faith and in trust? |
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From a comparative religion perspective, the Hebrew religion developed among the other Mediterranean religions of the time. We sometimes overlook the fact that they have several things in common.
However, several important differences set the Hebrew religion apart. These differences are quite radical when you think about it.
If I might add, in God's Theocracy, there is no human sacrifice. All of the nations that God led Israel to displace in route to Canaan, practiced human sacrifice. Each time Israel turned away from God and reached the point of apostacy and began human sacrifice (like their neighbors) God disciplined them severely.
Reading your outline of Hebrew religion. I do believe the monotheistic, transcendence of God, anti-idolatry (thou shalt have no other gods before me), and association of ethics with God(ethics for Christians/Hebrews is the ten commandments, and love for God, one another, and your neighbor as yourself) is emphatically what our religion should be also.
Thank you for these bullet points
It is profoundly interesting to note how God affirms and asserts His identity and authority in certain situations. It is critically important for God to underscore who he is. In times of doubt, uncertainty, suffering and hopelessness, God steps in to declare “I” alone “I am God”. God declares, I alone can manage the situation. I alone know your situation. I alone see your tears. I alone feel your pain. The sovereign God alone has the power to rescue. Yes, God become personal and close.
When examining Exodus 6:2–8, among the many key points that emerges is that “God is enough”. In every situation under the sun that human beings face, God is the answer. God is the provision for our troubles souls. God speaks in first-person to show His closeness, control, and care. This God is what the world needs today. When we feel helpless and hopeless, His identity "I AM") is our strength.
"I am the Lord, and I do not change." – Malachi 3:6 (NLT)
God is Good of mercy who will never say without forfil His promise.What He did to Israel will do for us today,let's have hope for Him despite we are crowded with difference challenges.
We, at times, behave like Moses and question God.
Moses didn't understand why God was not doing what He said He would do and so Moses became agitated with God and questioned "why".
There are times when, we too, ask God the question "why"?
Is He a God who keeps His word??
Throughout Scripture we are instructed to embrace the fact that God is indeed trustworthy. We are to free our minds and hearts of worry. We are to give up control and entrust our lives to Him.
He might not do it according to our timeline, but "He will".
The Israelites' expectation of immediate freedom was understandable, given the signs and wonders they witnessed. Yet, they didn't anticipate Pharaoh's resistance, despite God's warning to Moses: "But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go" (Exodus 4:21). This task wouldn't be easy, but God was in control.
Humanity often craves instant solutions (The Event), despising the process. We yearn for events, not the journey. The Israelites expected a swift "yes" from Pharaoh, but reality hit hard. Moses, with foreknowledge of Pharaoh's resistance, still faced disappointment. Pharaoh's brutal response put Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites at a crossroads.
This scenario echoes our own experiences. We pray with conditional expectations, but when the process lingers, we feel let down and question God's timing. Yet, God's plans unfold according to His divine purpose, ensuring our growth and learning through the journey.
Let's reflect on this: God's ways are not our ways. He sees the conclusion and orchestrates the process for our good. As we navigate life's challenges, let's trust in His sovereignty and timing, rather than our own expectations.
In seasons of ease, it can feel very easy and simple to trust God. But when trials like illness, loss, betrayal, terminal sicknesses come our way, that very trust is indeed tested. Just as God declared to the Israelites in Exodus 6:6–7, “I will bring you out… I will deliver you… I will redeem you… I will take you as My own,” He still calls us to trust in who He is, not just what He gives us.
Trusting God does not mean denying pain or pretending all is well. It means choosing, even in hardship, to believe His Word that “The Lord is faithful to all His promises” (Psalm 145:13). Like the Israelites, we are called to remember that it is God who brings out, delivers, redeems, and claims His people. The four divine "I" statements are not just ancient words — they are a foundation for unwavering trust. God invites me and you to walk in faith. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Proverbs 3:5) which becomes any ordinary verse but a way of life because the one who has promised is faithful.
Crying out and complaining before God doesn’t mean you’ve lost faith—in fact, it can be one of the clearest ways to show it. When you cry out, you’re choosing to bring your pain, confusion, and frustration to God, not away from Him. That’s what trust looks like when life hurts.
Jeremiah did this. He wept deeply and poured out his sorrow in Lamentations. His words were full of anguish, but even in the middle of it all, he declared, “Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23).
Crying out in faith means you’re still holding on, even while you're hurting. And that kind of faith is powerful. It’s honest. And most importantly—God makes space for it.
Just don’t forget to end with trust: “I know You’re still God. I know You love me. Help me hold on.”
The reactions of Moses and the children of Israel were understandable, given their limited experience and knowledge. They did not yet realize that surrendering to God or seeking to do His will can sometimes lead to increased trials rather than immediate relief.
As Christians today, however, we are blessed with the full counsel of God’s Word. We have numerous examples—like the experience of the Israelites—that show us how challenges often intensify before deliverance comes. Being mindful of this truth can help us remain steady in faith and at peace while we wait for God to act or for our goals to be fulfilled.
So, during seasons when deliverance seems delayed, we should remain faithful, pray earnestly, resist discouragement, fix our eyes on God's promises and character, and prepare our hearts for the breakthrough. The same God who delivered Israel will come through for us as well. His delays are not denials—they are often His way of preparing us for something greater.
Oh yes, the "Divine I," could, and often does lead to the Divine why, questions. Why? I believe that Isa. 55:8,9 gives the synopsis of this conumdrum that we often find ourselves in.
God sees the big picture, we often barely see the here and now. God is merciful and long suffering. We are not.We cry out for instant answers to our instant prayers. We want the shortest route to our "needs." However, God often has to take us the circuitous route to our desired outcome. It is him, is it us? The answer is, yes. It's both.
The God we serve transcends time and space, yet he often relegates himself to function within those constraints. He has limited himself to act based upon the boundary of mankind's stubborn free will. If only man was as quick to obey his voice as is nature. If only his will were "done, on earth, as it is in heaven." What a wonderful world this would be.
Yet, here we are playing checkers with God, while He is playing Chess with us. While we are still figuring out our next move, He already sees the "end game."
What if we would let God be God and us be totally surrendered to His Will? I have, learned, and am still learning that I cannot hurry God up. I can't rush him along. I need to be still, and know that He is God, and that He is still working on me, and my situation.
The people of Israel had to learn this lesson the same way we do. The hard way. God was trying to save Pharoah while He was working to release His people from their slavery. Yet God let Pharoah determine the speed at which this showdown of the gods would play out.
He Who never sleeps, He Who never slumbers, He Who never changes, He's still working on me, and working all things together for my good, and His Glory.
Resourceful Moses! He had some trials from without and within, but he took it to the Lord in prayer...brilliant example!
God, in return, went in time and space and reminded him... "I did it in the past, I am doing it now in the present, and I will do it in the future in the Promised Land." GOD HAS A TRACk RECORD
The writer gave us good advice -Like Moses, pour our our hearts to God (Moses is especially bold with that one brethren ..Exodus 5: 22-23, Exodus 32:32 & Numbers 11: 10-15 ) but always do it in faith and trust. Why ? Because faith and trust is the only thing that can awake all our senses. Without them, we will be crying complaining and wouldn't hear not one single answer from God . Faith and trust is the personification of ears to hear God's answer, eyes to see his grandeur display of power, heart to feel His care, and love. Complaints, pain, distrust all dulls our senses, but faith and trust awakens our senses.
Lord I desire to trust in You with all my heart so that my faith can continue to grow 🌳 in Jesus name amen
The final question is interesting - the "at times" added to complaining or crying out to God almost makes it sound like this should be rare. But the thing we have to remember is that God knows our thoughts and feelings anyway. So holding them inside and not expressing doesn't actually make us holier. Much better to be honest with God about everything - not for His sake but for ours!
I just have to make a comment about only complaining to God in faith and trust. I understand the sentiment there as we don't want to be the infidel shaking his fist at God. That is not good. But we also need to remember trust and faith are not like a light switch (on/off). We grow into them. Our faith and trust in God may be fairly weak or small but I don't think that means we can't bring our questions to Him. Sometimes in these situations God actually uses them to grow our faith. Everyone starts somewhere.
In times of trouble, who am I to trust but the Lord? In times of trouble, I look up to Him, because He is the owner of the Universe; who then can go against Him? Yes, the Lord has to be my rock, even to save me from myself.
In all due respect, we can say Devine I will, some of God's I wills are conditional of our response, and usually God tells us of the condition. In this case the "I will," was conditional of Pharoah's response. Exodus 6:1. Turning back a week or two to, Exodus 3:12, God said "I will be with you." How many times does God have to say "I will?" Many times! Exodus 3: 17 says, I will bring you up out of the affliction . Exodus 3:20 says, I will stretch out My hand. Someone else can count the number of times God promises with I will. Yes, we can apply each promise made to Moses and the Israelites to our lives.
I am not trying to hammer "I will," however I thought you all would like more of Gods promises.
Ezekiel 12:25 For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.”