Sunday Sermons
Moses and God
Moses and God
Long before God appears to Moses in the wilderness and sends him to deliver Israel (Exodus 3:1-6), Moses had made a previous attempt on his own. According to Acts 7:23 when Moses was approaching the age of forty and after years of Egyptian schooling (7:22), he is a man powerful in speaking ability and getting things done. The text says “it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel” (Acts 7:23). From this we can infer that he knew his ancestry, that he was a Hebrew and not an Egyptian. Immediately Moses saw an act of injustice against one of his brethren, and defended him by killing the Egyptian oppressor. The text then says that Moses “supposed” that the Israelites would understand that God was granting deliverance through him, that he looked upon this act as a signal for the Israelites to rise up and follow him to freedom—but there was no movement. In fact, on the next day Moses sees an Israelite oppressing another Israelite, but Moses’ attempts to help them are rebuffed. How quickly the report of Moses killing the Egyptian had spread (Acts 7:28)! Finally, Moses must flee to Midian to escape the wrath of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
Lessons
- The oppressed are not all innocent, at times, given the chance, the oppressed with quickly oppress others. The abused often become an abuser.
- Some people want freedom—yet without any restraints. It is tempting to gripe about taxes and this and that, but we need to make sure we are not the type of people who resent any type of authority over us, but rather appreciate the benefits of modern life, including living within a developed infrastructure.
- When the text says that Moses went out to “look on” their hard labors, the Hebrew term here means to “watch with emotion”. Indicating that Moses earnestly desired to help his fellow man.
40 Years Later: Acts 7:30
Now we find Moses is a married family man (Exodus 2:21-22) and is busy pasturing the flock of his father-in-law (3:1). The previous Pharaoh had died, but the policy of oppression continued with the next king and God’s people were crying out for deliverance (Exodus 2:23-25). At this moment, God appears to Moses and gives him the task of going back to Egypt, facing the new Pharaoh and delivering His people.
Clear Up-Front Instructions
I am impressed with what God says to Moses at this moment:
- God really does care about them. In His great compassion, He has taken notice of their sufferings: Exodus 3:7
- The place in which they were to settle is clearly mentioned: Exodus 3:8
- On the way, the first order of business, after deliverance, is to come to Sinai and worship: 3:12
- Pharaoh will not immediately give up: 3:19 He will only give in under compulsion, which will come about as the result of miracles: 3:20 At the end of this process, the Egyptians will be so eager to see them go that they will pay them to leave: 3:21-22
The Questions/Excuses
As Moses talks with God some of the questions or concerns that Moses has are legitimate, such as, “What if they ask me what His name is?” (Exodus 3:13). And, “What if they do not believe me?” (4:1), for anyone can claim God has spoken to them or sent them on a mission. Moses' other questions and concerns? God is not so understanding those.
“Who Am I?”: Exodus 3:11
40 years previously, Moses had thought he was the man to do the job of liberating Israel, but now he is not so sure. As outside observers, we would say Moses is perfectly suited for the job, but it is amazing how we can view ourselves as not the right person for any God-given job—when in fact, we are. It is easy to feel as Moses felt, “who am I? “I am nobody!” It has been noted that self-distrust is good, but only if it leads to trust in God. Otherwise it ends as spiritual paralysis, inability and unwillingness to undertake any course of action” (Exodus, Cole, p. 68). I like God’s answer to this excuse, “Certainly, I will be with you” (Exodus 3:11). A relationship with God, God on your side and mine, instantly should take us from the “Who am I?” mindset, to the “I can do all things through Christ” state of mind(Philippians 4:13). In addition, any study of the Bible will reveal that God has often used the most unlikely people, whether Gideon, the young David, Galilean fisherman, tax-collectors and others, to accomplish great things.
I am a Very Poor Communicator: Exodus 4:10
In reading this excuse and what Stephen says about Moses, that he was a very educated and very powerful, articulate man (Acts 7:22), we might wonder how Moses could say such a thing. Perhaps he may have been thinking about the amount of time that had elapsed since his Egyptian education. Yes, forty years previous he had done a lot of public speaking, but that was a long time ago and he had not given any speeches in years. In addition, he may have been thinking about his last attempt to persuade people to follow him—which had failed miserably. In like manner, it is very easy to convince ourselves that we are clumsy with words, lacking talent in quickly answering an argument or are a very slow thinker on our feet. When, in reality, we might be better communicators than we give ourselves credit for.
Again, I like God’s response:
- He is our Creator and knows exactly the abilities that we have (4:11). He never asks us to do something we cannot perform.
- No one is born a gifted speaker, but God can train us (4:12). For Moses, he would speak by inspiration, for us, we have the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16—17).
“Please Just Send Someone Else”: Exodus 4:13
This is far more than a question or even an excuse, it is a flat out, “No, I am not interested in the job”. I wonder if we also feel this to be a viable option? How common today is this opting out of responsibilities? Let's make a conscious decision not to fall into this form of laziness. The reality about this reaction is that nothing would ever get done if we all just said, “Send someone else”. And many people just “assume” that someone else will work, pay the bills, raise the kids, teach the next generation, and take on all the other responsibilities for becoming productive.
“The Anger of the Lord Burned Against Moses”: Exodus 4:14
The first thing that caught my attention here is that God is actually and truly angry at Moses, though he is of course "a believer!" God, in His justice, does not play favorites. I cannot have the attitude that I'm so special that God will be happy with me no matter what I do or don’t do.
- A sure-fire way to make God angry is simply to ignore His commands that are directed to us: Luke 6:46/ Don’t move, don’t do what He says---and He will indeed be angry.
- Observe how simple the fix was. God essentially says, “Get Aaron, he is a good communicator” (Exodus 4:14). God gets very frustrated when we say, “I can’t”, when in reality the fix to our situation is often so accessible and within our reach, and often on its way if we will only wait and welcome it. In fact, Aaron was actually on his way to come out and meet Moses.
- The problems that keep people trapped are the problems they choose to stay in, often resisting the offer of one life-preserver after another being thrown to them. Just recently I heard more than one parent say about a child, “They had so many chances”. Let's keep offering those chances.
- I am also impressed that God just does not let Moses off the hook, but rather does not accept any excuse. Just as in the case of Jonah, God pursues the reluctant. Open your heart and life to the purposes He had for you, for you will never regret fulfilling your purpose for being created.
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
