Voices of the Past

Sometimes we wonder why God is taking so long to answer our prayers. I’m sure the Children of Israel wondered why it took hundreds of years for God to rescue them from slavery. Moses probably wondered what in the world he was doing out in the fields guarding sheep when he’d once lived in Pharaoh’s palace and walked among the elite.

During the first forty years of Moses’s life, he was a member of Pharaoh’s household. He was a person of position and power, mighty in “words and deeds.” He thought highly of himself. His killing the Egyptian slave master was an attempt to start a revolution. According to Acts 7, he believed he could be God’s instrument to rescue his brethren. But during these years, although he believed in God, he didn’t know Him.

Moses tried to free the slaves with his own power and totally failed.

Pharaoh wanted to kill him because he recognized what Moses was trying to do, that he was siding with the Hebrews.

In order to escape Pharaoh, Moses fled to the desert and spent 40 years herding sheep, a job considered to be near the bottom of the labor echelon. This was a tremendous downfall from his life of prestige, privilege, and power.

Forty years later, God called him and offered him a second chance. God hadn’t forgotten him, but the Lord was waiting until Moses was ready, until he was fully seasoned by the trials of his life.

Moses could have responded with “Wow, God is giving me a second chance!”  Instead, he basically said (paraphrasing here), “You’ve got the wrong person… Forty years ago I was at the height of my power and strength… I’m old now.”

God didn’t dispute Moses’s self-evaluation or seek to raise his self-esteem, but He responded, “I will be with you!” That’s what counted. God would be with him. That’s what mattered. He told Moses to not be afraid.

But Moses didn’t have a relationship with God yet. He didn’t understand how God’s presence would make all the difference. He raised objections. God assured Moses that he would give him the words. Moses still objected. God became angry and told him he’d call Aaron to be a speaker for Moses.

At this point in his life, instead of thinking of himself as a person of power and might who could conquer the world, Moses viewed himself in these terms: I’m nobody. I can’t do it. The problem is overwhelming. He still didn’t fully understand who God was, and he had no personal relationship with Him. As a result, he felt fearful and overwhelmed.

We can be like that: overconfident in our own ability and full of pride. Then when we fail, we swing to the opposite end of the spectrum, feeling discouraged and defeated.

Finally, Moses obeyed and traveled to Egypt. The elders welcomed him. Pharaoh scoffed and made the Hebrews’ burdens heavier. The plagues came one after the other. But in the midst of it all, Moses witnessed God’s power and God’s faithfulness. His view of God changed in a mighty way.

We can see this best at the Red Sea. The Israelites saw Pharaoh’s army coming and panicked. They were fearful and ready to give up. Moses’s responded with “Do not be afraid… the Lord will fight for you… You need only be still.”  Moses had been transformed. His view of God has been greatly expanded.

Through every challenge and crisis, Moses trusted the Lord to deliver the people, feed them, provide for them, and protect them. His view of himself probably didn’t change dramatically from his years as a shepherd. He still realized he couldn’t do this on his own. However, now he knew that with God at his side and going before him, all things were possible. The problem of freeing the Israelites was huge, but God was bigger. Moses now knew that God was infinitely more powerful, mighty, and faithful beyond our ability to conceive.

 The difference between Moses striking out on his own in the beginning and failing, and him hiding in the desert, and him returning and leading the people out of slavery was his view of God. That made all of the difference.

God used Moses tremendously. Our relationship with God determines where we’re going and what we accomplish.

The Apostle Paul understood this. Paul was a man of prayer. As we understand more of who God is and grow in relationship with him, we’ll be enable to do more for Him and fulfill our calling.

Sources:

Sermon by Dr. Paul Thomas, Evangelical Free Bemidji, Dec. 29, 2024

English Standard Version of the Bible: Acts 7 and Exodus 2 & 3

“Burning Bush” Image by Kar3nt on Pixabay