Exodus 1-4Hello, people of God. I am new at this sort of communication (in some ways) so bear with me as I learn to be a bit ore concise as we move along. This entry is a bit lengthy, but, WOW, what a story. As we explore the story of Moses, we will see that Moses’ “gifts” are developed and revealed over time. In much of his life up until his encounter with God, he has no idea he posseses them or that he is using them.
The quick story of Moses’ birth and childhood is important: When he was born, as a Hebrew, he should have been killed (murdered) under Pharaoh’s law, but his mother, put him in a basket, and hid him in the Nile river. Pharaoh's daughter ultimately found this baby and commanded the baby’s mother to nurse him and raise him. Worked out pretty well for this baby and his mommy. The baby wasn’t murdered and the mom raised him anyway AND got paid for it by Pharaoh’s money and he had no clue about it.
So, when Moses is older, living under the roof of Pharaoh, he goes out and seeks to see “his own people.” Moses sees the plight of the people who have the same blood as he does. His sympathy for them, implied or otherwise, immediately changes to passionate anger out of his motivation of compassion and desire for justice. When he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, Moses murderes the Egyptian to save the slave. Just as quickly and seamlessly as he turned to anger he turned to self-preservation and instinctive caution. He hid the murdered body.
To his amazement, he returned to the same place the following day and sees two Hebrew slaves fighting. Again, out of his desire for justice he steps in but learns that his murder is no secret so he runs to Midian, another country, to hide.
Behold, when he got to the place he thought was safe, he found another case of injustice and stepped in. (By now, I have decided Moses is a little impulsive and aggressive.) He helped the daughters of a priest take care of his flock. The priest asked Moses to stay and even marry one of his daughters. They have a son together. During the time Moses lived in Midian, Pharaoh died. Moses was tending sheep when he came upon the infamous burning bush. God talks to Moses! Now get this: we have no knowledge that Moses has any relationship with God at all. Now his father-in-law was a priest so we can assume he has heard the name of God and such, but that is about it for the Bible reveals nothing to us in this arena.
So here is Moses, a man destined to be murdered himself at birth, but saved (we assume by God’s grace), raised in a privileged life under the Pharaoh who wanted him murdered, Moses murders someone himself in the name of justice, runs from justice himself and finds refuge in a foreign land because he administered more justice to the daughters of a priest. That’s a story in itself. Because we have no Biblical knowledge of any relationship with God, we think he does not have one of any significance. Yet, God Himself, is revealed to Moses. A note here: Moses had moved his flock to a new place away from his normal routine. This was the “far side of the desert.” Was Moses seeking something? Think about that: was it Moses who found God in the wilderness of his life or was it God who found Moses?
Scholars estimate Moses was about 80 years old when the burning bush experience happened. He knew the talents he had possessed in those 80 years and I am sure never imagined that God would reveal Himself to him and on top of that now give him a spiritual gift beyond his natural abilities as well as a God sized mission. So how does God talk to a strong-willed, impulsive, aggressive, murderer who ran from the consequences of his own actions whom He wants to carry out His mission? By appealing to his interests. God led Moses into the conversation by using Moses’ own concerns: Justice for people. One of the gift inside of Moses was that of “Knowing” (#9). Now this was a obviously a developing gift, but when God speaks to you and you are to share that with others, it is a gift of “Knowing.” I think it was quite instantaneous, but none-the-less, it was there.
Moses was stubborn and argued his case for God to use someone else. God told Moses his mission but Moses only measured himself by what he knew was naturally inside of him. When he does this, he sees himself as limited and unable to carry out the mission God has placed before him. God gave Moses a proverbial Spiritual Gift Basket! Starting with the burning bush, Moses would find he was an Encourager, Nurturer of Leadership, man of Faith, full of Wisdom, could perform Miracles, had the ability of Visionary and Managing Leadership, and was certainly a Shepherd.
Moses, even after God reassured him of the signs and wonders that Moses will be able to perform, just flat out tells God: Exodus 4:10 -
Then Moses said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent,neither recently nor in time past, nor since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."
God is a bit perturbed at Moses’ and “Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses,” as we read in Exodus 4:14. Moses wasn’t going to give in easily and God certainly wasn’t.
Was Moses really that reluctant, or was he trying to figure out God for himself? Was this part of the fulfilling of his knowledge and wisdom? Was Moses so clouded by his past, that he could not see into the future? As Moses gives an objection, God gives him an answer and really, gives Moses more than he requested. Not only does God provide for the immediate need, but offers more for the future as well. Hello, revelation!
I will end with this, today: God even gives Moses a helper in Aaron, who can supposedly speak eloquently. But how does this relationship work? The scripture tells us that Moses received the gifts. Moses has the power. Moses encountered God himself. Yet the last few sentences in Chapter 4 say that Aaron, initially, did all the talking and it was Aaron who performed the miracles. Chew on that for a few hours.
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