I AM Lesson Five I Was
“I Was”
Key Passages:
Can you fathom Moses’ run across the desert? Envision his stumbling into the area of the Midian well distorted from the heat rising from the scorching sand. There is no doubt he caused quite a stir among the shepherds as he defended the Midianite women in his sweaty, Egyptian finery. The noble gesture earned him a place at the dinner table of Jethro, the priest of Midian, and Jethro’s daughter Zipporah as a wife to boot.
Do not be confused into thinking that Moses limped out of the desert and straight into happily ever after. Let’s break down our key verse and learn a bit more about Moses state of mind when he agreed to become a part of Jethro’s family.
“And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.” Exodus 2:21 (KJV)
Can you feel the difference? Moses’ contentedness was a determined decision to be happy in this new situation. He was a man with no family, no home. This opportunity was all he had going for him so he resolved to pull himself up by his fancy sandal straps and make a new life for himself. The other ‘content’ in my mind is much more dreamy and romantic. It is the steady rhythm of one who is not holding her breath in anxiety. It is the happiness of a mother watching her husband and children play together. It is the young couple without a penny to their name but rich in love. It is the college student who embraces God’s future for her life. It is the deep exhale of bliss.
And so Moses’ new life began. He became a shepherd, a detestable vocation to any Egyptian, much less one raised as an Egyptian prince. Hebrews tells us that Moses chose to be mistreated with his own people instead of enjoying his life of luxury, but something tells me he did not envision how far the mighty would fall. The next verse in our Key does not seem earth-shattering at first glance, but I am fascinated by the implications of the wording in it. Let’s take a deeper look.
“And she bare him a son, and called his name Gershom; for he said, ‘I have been a stranger in a strange land.”
In considering this verse, we will be setting the stage for perhaps the greatest encounter in the Old Testament between God and man – Moses and the Burning Bush. You have no idea how anxious I am to present it to you and how inadequate I feel to do it. If God has taught me nothing else through this study, it is that He is ENOUGH. I trust Him to complete His work and even if I say it wrong, He will have you read it right. I’m praying for a visual Pentecost!
Look with me at the definition for the name ‘Gershom’. Remember how significant the naming of a child was to the ancients. You can literally look at a child’s name and know the heart of the parent. Moses had become an alien in a strange land. Here was the birth of the concept of being far from our heavenly home, of living somewhere we do not belong. Moses was a City Boy who had found himself in the backside of the desert. What a terrifying, lonely feeling.
What I want to focus on right now is not so much Gershom’s name but with the verb Moses used before it, ‘have been’. There is yet some time to pass before Moses will meet God in the Bush, but you already know the name by which God will introduce Himself to Moses – I AM. I get the shivers just typing it! Here is the really fascinating part. The Hebrew verb translated ‘I AM’ (hay ah – Strong’s 1961) is the exact same verb translated in Moses’ naming of his son as ‘I have been’. When God says, “I AM ever-existent, I AM ever-present, I AM ever capable”, Moses will reply, “I Was. I was in the position to save the Egyptians. I was going to be their deliverer. I was going to do mighty things for You, God. I really was.”
Have you ever found yourself floundering in a desert? Unsure of your next step? Feeling like a ‘has been’? There have been seasons in my life when my situation was so barren that I could do nothing but look back on brighter days and think, “then I could have done something great for God. Then my faith was deeper, my relationship with God stronger, my circumstances more blessed.” I used to be so heartbroken over what I believed were wasted years of ineffectiveness when now I understand God used some very painful circumstances to demonstrate His power to heal. They were not wasted days at all. They were days of faith, days of preparation, days of strength. His strength, not mine. He wanted me to know Him so when it was time to spread His fame, I would have an intimate knowledge of the Person of whom I spoke. It is hard to convince someone of God’s goodness when you have never actually tasted it. It would be like trying to describe the view from the top of Everest when you have never climbed it. He and I have climbed together and the summit is amazing, Dear Sister! He’ll take you too, if you let Him.
Let’s discuss what we’ve learned today.
Discussion Questions:
5. Do you ever believe your faith was stronger in an earlier time in your Christianity and find yourself floundering now?
6. How can this season be one of great preparation instead of a period of “I Was”?
In our study together next week we will continue with this line of thinking as we meet Jehovah God. I can not wait to show you how God can make the great exchange of our “I Was” for his ‘I AM’
Thank you for this study Lisa, it is really blessing my heart.
Good Job, Lisa. This one was a little harder for me (not to understand but to apply to my life – probably because of fear o facing some of these questions) – but good none the less :) Thank you.
Speaking directly to me again…..
I am definitely in a season right now!
I will post this evening. I need some time to think!
Lisa, this is a really hard one for me. I feel like i’m typing to you in my birthday suit and everyone can see my innermost ugly crud. Enjoy. :) Thanks for your hard work on it. It was very timely and God worked so well through you.
Wow,, this is going to take some thinking….
I’ll get mine posted soon…
Blessings
Thanks Lisa for another great lesson this week. That last paragraph spoke to me!
Thank you for another great lesson. I learned a new way of looking at “content”.
I am a little puzzled by your comment about Abraham and his wife,Keturah. I have never read that name. Can you explain? I know his wife was Sarah and his concubine Haggar.
Mama Bear
Hey Mama Bear!
Check out Genesis 25:1-6…Abraham had another wife named Keturah..One of their sons was Midian…Abraham sent these children away to the lands of the east. Only Isaac and Ishmael were present at Abraham’s burial…
Hope that helps! :))
thanks for the study I found it a bit hard but after reading a few other ladies answers I understood the questions and did my study
Thank you again Lisa.
Lisa-I finally finished my study. This was a great reflection for me. Thanks for working on this for us.
Wow, this is pretty amazing! I haven’t had time to answer the questions, but I will be pondering them this weekend!
Have a blessed Mother’s Day, Lisa!
Wow! Thank you so much, I can relate. There have been times I have beat myself up thinking I should have done this or that for God only to think I wasted precious time. I am so thankful God is always with us and teaching us thru each season he takes us through.
Blessings,
Patty
Whew 2 lessons in one week and my brain is on overload just processing all the amazing things God is affirming to me through this study…….Thank you!
Thank you SO MUCH Lisa, for allowing God to work in you so that I can be sharpened and refined. This study is wonderful, and has meant so much to me. I am so grateful for your obedience to God, and love for your fellow Sisters in Jesus. Have a wonderful week!!!
Just now reading through this, I am a week behind.
This is good, I sure felt like a “has been” this last week and was content to stay there. But God instead is using
“some very painful circumstances to demonstrate His power to heal. They were not wasted days at all.for this is my prayers They were days of faith, days of preparation, days of strength. His strength, not mine.”
Thank you.
It’s been a humbling week at work. I’m glad that this study is reminding me that there is a greater purpose behind every thing that happens to me, even though I may not see it at the time. Such reminders help me hang on.
Thanks Lisa!
Lisa,
I love God’s timing. Even though I started this study late God has been right on time with it in my life. Thank you for your obedience.
Lisa,
Thanks so much for all the time and energy you put into this study for us. It is eye opening and life changing.
No matter when I start the next lesson it is always on time!
Lisa, thank you for the reminders tonight of how much I have been protected.
God Bless you for all of your dedication, time, and giving of yourself to this blog Bible study.
Heather – (HL)
http://HLJourney.WordPress.com (as I have left my blogger; but that’s what pulls up here)
Lisa,
Thanks for sharing this wonderful study with so many of us. There are so many times during this where I have really identified with you and what you are saying. God has truly given you a wonderful hunger and desire to serve Him through this ministry. Keep it coming! He is definitely speaking to me through you.
God Bless You!
DeAnna, By Design Ministries, Inc.
Another great week! Thank you, Lisa!
Thank you Lisa. I know this was written quite some time ago, but it was the exact message I needed at just the time I needed it.
Thanks Lisa, this is a word in season..
Finally! I have had this one for a month. This morning finally the words came to answer the questions.
Lisa
This is so good. Thanks for putting it together, and I don’t know if you look each time but It was nice to see that you came for a visit to my blog.
Done with #5.
Lynn
Very thought provoking, Lisa! I am SO glad that God has brought your words into my life! Can’t wait for #6!