Humility

 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

Exodus 3:11 ESV

To be fair to Moses, he had a point. He'd been shepherding his father-in-law's flocks for 40 years. How was this country bumpkin going to persuade the most powerful man in the world to let God's people go?

Not only so, but Moses had fled Egypt in ignominy, with blood on his hands. Any advantage he may have had by being the previous Pharoah's adopted grandson had been ruined by the fact he'd murdered an Egyptian oppressor of one of his fellow Hebrews. And if he had once been in the royal family, he had now made himself a murderous stench to the Egyptians, and the new Pharoah wouldn't welcome his return at all.

Having said that, Moses had enjoyed the best start in life as the adopted son of Pharoah's daughter. If anyone could speak to the Egyptians on the Hebrews' behalf, it was him. And though the old testament paints him as a fugitive, the new testament reveals that Moses chose the eternal value of being one of God's people over the fading pleasures of Egypt.

I think Moses was quite settled in his exile. I'm sure he wasn't expecting an encounter with the God who is, to send him back to Egypt like some prodigal, to demand the freedom of his people. He must have felt like a little fish in the Red Sea!

I don't think Moses was simply displaying some typical self deprecation that is so characteristic of a number of Biblical heroes. I do believe that he genuinely thought he wasn't up to the task. Maybe he was right, humanly speaking, but spiritually, God was going to prove him wrong.

'God who is, may we be open and available for whatever You would have us to do for You. May we proclaim Your freedom for every slave to sin who trusts in You. In Christ's name we pray, amen'

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mercy

  For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. Deuteronomy 4:31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.4.31.ESV Jesus Christ is Lord. That's why they crucified Him, for claiming to be God and King: blasphemy to the Jews and treason to the Romans. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. So the same Jesus of yesterday is the Jesus of today. He was merciful yesterday, and He'll be merciful today and forever. He doesn't just turn around and decide to destroy people He's lavished His mercy upon. If we've received God's mercy, or if we receive it now, or before Christ returns, nothing can separate us from the love of God. If we want God's presence in our lives, and we cry out to Him for it, He's not going to abandon us in the wilderness of our sin. If we claim God's Bible promises for ourselves in faith, we are safe in Him. God promises never t
Read more

Power

 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.Exodus 9:16 ESVhttps://bible.com/bible/59/exo.9.16.ESV  Secular historians point to the lack of extra-biblical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and ensuing exodus. But here in this verse, God describes how this anonymous Pharoah has been immortalised in the annals of the Hebrews, so that God is proclaimed in all the earth. The mighty men of the world might think they can stand against God and win, but resistance is futile!  The more stubborn Pharoah was, the more the Lord was able to display His power. The more insistent Pharoah was of keeping his slaves, the more unreasonable he appeared. It was a battle of wills, and the will of Yahweh prevailed.  In the end, Pharoah will have been broken by the plagues. In the final plague, his own firstborn son was killed, the next in line to the throne of the world superpower. He might have tried to put a brave face on it, but he
Read more

Family

  But he answered them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." Luke 8:21 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.8.21.ESV Jesus, the humble carpenter turned teacher, was becoming like a celebrity of His day. They say familiarity breeds contempt, and that seems to be why they wanted to see Him. They wanted Him to come back down to earth. Jesus's response was shocking for His culture. He seemed disrespectful of His mother and brothers, refusing to even acknowledge them. Yet He knew that there's something more important than family. More important than family is to do the will of God. How do we know what God wants? By hearing from His word, the Bible. God demands our loyalties above and beyond our families. If loving God requires us to disown our families/be disowned by them, then sobeit. Eternal reward is worth temporary pain. 'Almighty God, may we obey You as we ought, even if it costs us family relationships. In Jesus' powe
Read more