Bible Lesson: Intercessory Prayer:
Moses Intercedes Time After Time For The People Of God.
Bible Texts:
Exodus 32:1-14 NLT
1 When the
people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the
mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make
us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this
fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”
2 So Aaron
said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and
daughters, and bring them to me.”
3 All the
people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron.
4 Then Aaron
took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a
calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are
the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 Aaron saw how
excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf.
Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to The Lord!”
6 The people
got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace
offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking,
and they indulged in pagan revelry.
7 The Lord told
Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought
from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.
8 How quickly
they have turned away from The Way I commanded them to live! They
have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and
sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
9 Then The Lord
said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are.
10 Now leave Me
alone so My fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy
them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”
11 But Moses
tried to pacify The Lord his God. “O Lord!” he said. “Why
are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land
of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand?
12 Why let the Egyptians say,
‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering
them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’?
Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this
terrible disaster you have threatened against your people!
13 Remember your servants
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them,
saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of
heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to
your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’”
14 So The Lord
changed His mind about the terrible disaster He had threatened to
bring on His people.
Exodus 32:30-35 NLT
30 The next day
Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin, but I
will go back up to The Lord on the mountain. Perhaps I will be able
to obtain forgiveness for your sin.”
31 So Moses
returned to The Lord and said, “Oh, what a terrible sin these
people have committed. They have made gods of gold for themselves.
32 But now, if you will only
forgive their sin—but if not, erase my name from the record you
have written!”
33 But The Lord
replied to Moses, “No, I will erase the name of everyone who has
sinned against Me.
34 Now go, lead
the people to the place I told you about. Look! My Angel will lead
the way before you. And when I come to call the people to account, I
will certainly hold them responsible for their sins.”
35 Then The
Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped
the calf Aaron had made.
Exodus 33:14-17 NLT
14 The Lord
replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you
rest—everything will be fine for you.”
15 Then Moses
said, “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us
leave this place.
16 How will anyone know that you
look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go
with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart
from all other people on the earth.”
17 The Lord
replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look
favorably on you, and I know you by name.”
Numbers 11:1-3 NLT
1 Soon the
people began to complain about their hardship, and The Lord heard
everything they said. Then The Lord’s anger blazed against them,
and He sent a fire to rage among them, and He destroyed some of the
people in the outskirts of the camp.
2 Then the
people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to
The Lord, the fire stopped.
3 After that,
the area was known as Taberah (which means “the place of burning”),
because fire from The Lord had burned among them there.
Numbers 14:13-23 NLT
13 But Moses
objected. “What will the Egyptians think when they hear about
it?” he asked The Lord. “They know full well the power you
displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt.
14 Now if you destroy them, the
Egyptians will send a report to the inhabitants of this land, who
have already heard that you live among your people. They know, Lord,
that you have appeared to your people face to face and that your
pillar of cloud hovers over them. They know that you go before them
in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.
15 Now if you slaughter all these
people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame
will say,
16 ‘The Lord was not able to
bring them into the land He swore to give them, so He killed them in
the wilderness.’
17 “Please, Lord, prove that
your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said,
18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger
and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and
rebellion. But He does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the
parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even
children in the third and fourth generations.’
19 In keeping with your
magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people,
just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”
20 Then The
Lord said, “I will pardon them as you have requested.
21 But as
surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with The
Lord’s glory,
22 not one of
these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen My
glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt
and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested Me by
refusing to listen to My voice.
23 They will
never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of
those who have treated Me with contempt will ever see it.
Numbers 21:4-9 NLT
4 Then the
people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red
Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with
the long journey,
5 and they
began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out
of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There
is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this
horrible manna!”
6 So The Lord
sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and
died.
7 Then the
people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking
against The Lord and against you. Pray that The Lord will take away
the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then The Lord
told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a
pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!”
9 So Moses made
a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was
bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!
Time after time, Moses interceded for the people of God, and The Lord
heard his prayers.
Our Lord said...
John 13:15 KJV
For I have
given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
John 17:9-26 NT
(Our Lord's Prayer.)
1 After saying
all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the
hour has come. Glorify your Son so He can give glory back to you.
2 For you have
given Him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one
you have given Him.
3 And this is
The Way to have eternal Life—to know you, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
4 I brought
glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave Me to do.
5 Now, Father,
bring Me into the glory we shared before the world began.
6 “I have
revealed you to the ones you gave Me from this world. They were
always yours. You gave them to Me, and they have kept your word.
7 Now they know
that everything I have is A Gift from you,
8 for I have
passed on to them the message you gave Me. They accepted it and know
that I came from you, and they believe you sent Me.
9 “My prayer is not for the
world, but for those you have given Me, because they belong to you.
10 All who are Mine belong to
you, and you have given them to Me, so they bring Me glory.
11 Now I am departing from the
world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you.
Holy Father, you have given Me
your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they
will be united just as we are.
12 During My time here, I
protected them by the power of the name you gave Me. I guarded them
so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as
the Scriptures foretold.
13 “Now I am coming to you. I
told them many things while I was with them in this world so they
would be filled with My joy.
14 I have given them your word.
And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world,
just as I do not belong to the world.
15 I’m not asking you to take
them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.
16 They do not belong to this
world any more than I do.
17 Make them holy by your Truth;
teach them your Word, which is Truth.
18 Just as you sent Me into the
world, I am sending them into the world.
19 And I give Myself as a holy
sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your Truth.
20 “I am praying not only for
these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in Me through
their message.
21 I pray that they will all be
one, just as you and I are one—as you are in Me, Father, and I am
in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent
Me.
22 “I have given them the glory
you gave Me, so they may be one as we are one.
23 I am in them and you are in
Me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know
that you sent Me and that you love them as much as you love Me.
24 Father, I want these whom you
have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they can see all the
glory you gave Me because you loved Me even before the world began!
25 “O righteous Father, the
world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent
Me.
26 I have revealed you to them,
and I will continue to do so. Then your love for Me will be in them,
and I will be in them.”
Luke 22:31,32
KJV
31 And The Lord
said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he
may sift you as wheat:
32 But I
have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art
converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Moses was an intercessor, our Lord was an intercessor, and we the
people of God are called to be intercessors!
Joel 2:17 KJV
(Intercession for the people of
God.)
Let the priests, the ministers of The Lord, weep between the porch
and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give
not Thine heritage to reproach..."
Acts 12:5-12 NLT
(Read the whole story 1-17.)
The church at prayer.
5 But while
Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
6 The night
before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with
two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison
gate.
7 Suddenly,
there was a bright light in the cell, and an Angel Of The Lord stood
before Peter.
The Angel
struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!”
And the chains fell off his wrists.
8 Then The
Angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he
did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” The Angel ordered.
9 So Peter left
the cell, following The Angel. But all the time he thought it was a
vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening.
10 They passed
the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to
the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed
through and started walking down the street, and then
The Angel
suddenly left him.
11 Peter
finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The
Lord has sent His Angel and saved me from Herod and from what the
Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”
12 When he
realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark,
where many were gathered for prayer.
Ephesians 1:16 NLT (The Apostle Paul to the Ephesian
believers.)
I have not
stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly
Do you have a prayer list? The names of loved ones, your church,
leaders of the country, the lost?
Has God heard your prayers?
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