A profound encounter

 

                                           

                              Is there more to life

                                    than the humdrum? 

  At forty, Moses yearned to free his people. Pharaoh’s harsh treatment of the Hebrews angered him, and after he watched an Egyptian overseer whip a Hebrew slave, he killed the Egyptian. The Hebrews perceived this differently. Moses was an Egyptian prince, Pharaoh’s adopted grandson, despite his Hebrew birth. He didn’t belong in either world because he had a foot in both.

 When Pharaoh heard of the murder, he wanted Moses dead. Disgraced and alone, Moses fled into the desert as far as Midian (possibly part of modern-day Saudi Arabia, close to the Red Sea.)

Did God care about his people, and wasn't Moses meant to lead the revolt? Had he mistaken God's calling on his life?

  Tired and thirsty under the scorching desert sun, he arrived at a well. Seven shepherdesses were watering their father’s flocks, but a band of shepherds arrived and drove them away. Moses sprang into action, rescued the women, and filled the troughs for the sheep.

Their father, Reuel, also known as Jethro, invited Moses to stay with them, and Zipporah, one of Jethro’s daughters, became Moses’ wife. He tended his father-in-law’s flocks, wandering the desert for grazing land and water, a humdrum life, far from the opulence of the Egyptian court.  

After forty years, Moses must have become acquainted with every hill and contour of this arid land, having spent endless nights under the stars and weary days travelling between oases. His past bore no relevance to his present circumstances. Yet he learned how to manage stubborn sheep and survive in the desert, valuable skills he would need after God called him to lead his wayward people, although Moses did not know that. He was just getting on with life. Moses’ influence did not extend beyond his family. He had become an alien in a strange land, but God had humbled him so that he would walk with God and not run ahead of his Creator's plans.

It is in his silence during our daily rhythms we learn patience, endurance, and reliance on God. We may think God has forgotten us. Instead, he is guiding us through each step of our alienation, loneliness, and insignificance. He stands in the shadows, training us until each stage of our spiritual development is complete.

Moses had turned eighty. He led the flock toward Horeb, God’s mountain. Orange flames leaped from a burning bush, but it did not disintegrate or blacken. From the centre of the flame, God’s angel called his name.

“Moses, Moses!”

“Here I am!”

“Don’t come closer, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Who was this angel of the Lord? This was a Christophany, the pre-incarnate Jesus. God appeared to Moses, and Moses covered his face, terrified.

Has God ever made his presence known when you least expected it? Did you realize you were standing on holy ground? His brilliant perfection exposes our faults and failures, but this is because we are in the presence of the Almighty. He is ultimate power, love, and wisdom, and he humbles us so we will understand exactly who we are in his presence. His light exposes our darkness.

Why did God appear to Moses?

 “I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cries, and I am concerned. I have come down to rescue them and to bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey. Go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” Secure promises, reassurances, and a commission for Moses.

 This sudden appearance startled Moses, but God knew Moses was almost ready for the next chapter on his life. His forty-year desert apprenticeship was almost over.

God sees our misery, hears our cries, and he cares about us. He will guide us during our wilderness journey until we reach his Heavenly Home, the land flowing with even brighter delights than milk and honey.  

But in the interim, he has work for us to do. Where will he send us, and are we ready?

This was not what Moses wanted because this eighty-year-old shepherd had grown accustomed to his quiet life. 

"Who am I to approach Pharaoh and guide the Israelites out of Egypt?

“I will be with you.”

“What if the Israelites ask who sent me? What shall I tell them?”

“I AM WHO I AM. Tell them, ‘I AM’ has sent me to you.”

 God, unsurpassed in greatness, eternally exists. Israel’s deliverance was God’s business, and God is beyond our objections: his vision is beyond our imagination. His people’s mighty deliverance would ensure God’s remembrance through generations. He had watched them suffer, would rescue them and go before them.

Moses had serious doubts. The Israelites hadn't listened to him in the past.

“The people might not believe you’ve sent me.”

 God squashed that objection. He turned Moses’ shepherd crook into a snake and reversed the process, reinforcing his superior power.

Next, God turned Moses’ hand leprous and healed it: another expression of his miracle working power. He gave him yet a third miraculous sign, promising to turn water from the Nile into blood.

 Forty years ago, Moses hadn’t talked himself out of trouble in the Egyptian court. Why would it be any different? So, he objected.

“But God, I’m not eloquent.”

“Who made your mouth, your ears and your eyes? Go, and I will help you speak, and will teach you what to say.”

And with last ditch desperation, Moses tried again to change God's mind. 

“Please, God, send someone else!” Moses had almost lost his life in Egypt, and forty years hadn’t dulled the emotional pain and fear from his past.

Moses had stretched God’s patience, but compassion prevailed. “Aaron, your brother, can speak well, and I have already sent him to meet you. Those men who sought your death have died."

After returning to his desert home, Jethro gave his blessing, and with faith in God, Moses and his family headed for Egypt. He knew he must identify with the Hebrews, regardless of Pharaoh and persecution and his faith had taken a leap forward.

We may wait for decades, wondering what God is doing in our humdrum lives. Perhaps you have prayed over a problem you can’t solve, or the brokenness of a family member. The wait can be productive. Let’s appreciate the subtle refinements of humility, dependence on God, love, and spiritual growth God is forming in us. Perhaps this is his best method to graduate you from the school of hard knocks, the small and large irritations that train us for something bigger and better. They mould us into the image of Christ: love, godly wisdom and obedience.

Next time, we will see how Moses became God’s servant…

                                           Let’s meet again soon, and meanwhile, God bless. 😊