Now Go!
Exodus
3:11-4: 26*
Key Verse: 12
– “Now go; I will help you speak and
will teach you what to say."
Introduction: God
promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that He would increase their descendants in
Egypt and would bring them back to the Promised Land. We learned from the
previous message that God heard the groaning of His people and came down to
rescue them. In God’s perspective, the time was ripe for rescuing His people
Israel from slavery in Egypt. So He appeared to Moses from a burning bush in the
desert. During this visit, God said to him that the ground he was standing on was
holy and He told him to take off his sandals. On this holy ground, God
personally persuaded Moses so that he might do what God had for him to do. God said two things: first, He had heard the
groans of His people and had come down to rescue them from slavery. Second, He
would take them back to the Promised Land as He had promised their forefathers.
Then God commanded Moses: “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites
out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:10).
But for Moses, this was an enormous task and there were many
concerns that had yet to be resolved before answering ‘yes’ to God’s call. So, God
addressed Moses’ concerns. As we explore this process, I pray that He may give
us an insight into His call for each of us.
This happened near Mountain Sinai where God’s presence
manifested itself in the burning bush. It is hard to imagine what the burning
bush was like. This was how God wanted Moses to experience Him as He would later
appear as a consuming fire (Exodus 24:17; Deuteronomy 4:24). In awe and fear,
Moses prostrated himself before God. In such a setting, whatever God said, all
of His words were closely tied to this
encounter.
As for Moses, he was an ordinary man, just like anyone else.
He had no particular discipline other than the education that he had received in
Egypt. It is possible that his life as a shepherd in Midian was mundane and
ordinary. In response to God’s call, Moses responded with three questions: the first
was about himself, the second was about God, and third was a question about the relationship between
Moses and God. God answered these questions fully, but Moses was still
reluctant to obey His call and lingered in indecision. Finally, God called
Moses a third time.
In response to God’s calling, Moses had four questions:
A.
Who
am I that I should go?
B.
What
is His name who sent you?
C.
What
if they do not believe or listen to me?
A.
Who
am I that I should go?
“But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to
Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
Moses was asking how he could go up against Pharaoh. Pharaoh
was too great and too powerful for him! When one faces such a great task, he
first has to look into the resources that he has. In the early days of his
life, Moses miserably failed in his attempt to rescue his people. He became a
fugitive and eventually ended up in Midian. Now Moses’ life was spent day-in,
day-out with the sheep. He had no connections with any man of power nor did he
have wisdom, relationship or authority. Even his passion for his people
had dissipated over the last forty years in Midian. Leading the nation of Israel?
Talking to Pharaoh, the mighty king of Egypt? Simply, the task was too immense
and too overwhelming for Moses. According
to his thinking, such a thing had never occurred to him and he had never
imagined that he would be called to
accomplish such a great task.
When one is called to do the work of God, such question may come
first. Why me? God did not need a man of
great power and ability. Instead, He needed a man who could fully reveal His
power and will. So He chose Moses and He waited for him for 40 years. This
choice was not out of ignorance of Moses’ situation, rather God knew the details
of his life all too well. He knew his birth, his attempt to rescue his people,
his life as a fugitive, and the forty years of living with sheep in Midian. Moses
was no dummy. When he was born, his mother noticed that he was no ordinary
child. As he grew up, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him as her son; she saw
something extraordinary in him. Yet God did not do anything when Moses was
running away; He did not do anything for him for the entire 40 years he was tending sheep.
God knew all of his weaknesses and failures, what he had,
and what he did not have.
So God answered his question in one sentence: I
will be with you. God was saying that His power, wisdom, and authority would go with him.
Moses did not need to have any power, wisdom, or ability of his own. God Himself
was the source of all the wisdom, power, and authority he needed.
How could Moses know that God would be with him in His
Almighty power and wisdom?
“And this will be the sign to you that it
is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will
worship God on this mountain."
It was impossible to prove right then and there whether God
would be with Moses, because it was a matter of things happening in the future.
But God, in order to assure him, offered him a sign. “When you have brought the
people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
However, this sign was not something visible. The result would serve as the sign that He
was with Moses. It was yet to seen, but God was assuring Moses that he
would eventually lead the Israelites out of Egypt and bring them out to this
mountain, where he was now meeting with and worshipping God. God was demanding
a belief from Moses: “The outcome will surely prove what I am
saying to you now! As you said, it is impossible for you to carry out this task,
but you will do it, and you will worship Me here with your people, the Israelites.”
How do we know that God is with us? Even as He offered this
outcome as the sign of His being with Moses, likewise Paul counted the fruit of his labor as a sign of
God being with him as well.
1 Corinthians 9:2 - “Even though I may not be an apostle to
others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in
the Lord”. Though many might reject Paul’s apostleship, many Corinthian
believers were the evidence and seal of it. If God were not with Paul, how
could the Corinthian people become believers?
In essence, the call
was all about the work of God; this work was His because it was He who
promised to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. This
is true for us as well. The work we do
is God’s, not ours. God chose us to do His work. He is with us in His power,
wisdom, and passion for sinners. It is good to know that we do not have much power
of our own to go against the giants of this age, but it is also important to
realize that God has to be with us and is with us as we respond to His call.
When I received Christ, I was overjoyed and had a desire to serve
God, but the moment I thought about my situation, I realized that I did not
have much to offer. So I said “Please send someone else”. But this call lingered in my heart so long.
When I accepted 2 Peter 1: 3, for the first time, I was able to fully accept
God’s calling and began this ministry.
2 Peter 1:3 - “His divine power has given us everything we
need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory
and goodness”.
In Christ, God has given us everything that we need to carry
out the mission that He gave us. God is with us; He has given us everything
that we need. This is so important for us to know. Jesus’ promise also
guarantees us his abiding presence with us
Luke 11:9-13 Jesus taught his disciples to ask, seek, and
knock. At the end, Jesus said this: “how
much more will your Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him" (v13).
John 14:16-17 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give
you another advocate to help you and be
with you forever-- the Spirit of truth”.
B.
'What is His name?’
“Moses said to God,
"Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers
has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I
tell them?"” (v3:13)
This was a very important question. Until this time, God had not
revealed His name; He had only identified Himself as the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. In Hebrew, when the
word ‘god’ is used, it not only denotes the God of Abraham, but also many gods of the time. So simply the word
‘god’ does not distinguish him from the many
other gods of those times. What was His proper name? What is your true
identity? The Hebrews heard of the stories about how God was with their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, but He had been silent and no one knew, saw, or had encountered Him in at least the last
few hundred years. It is possible that God remained in their minds just as a historical
figure, totally unknown to His people. In this regard, Moses, as well as his
people, the Hebrews, was in the same predicament. In this situation, God
identified Himself in a unique way.
This is not a proper noun. Rather, this name is descriptive
of who God is, but He gave this as His proper name. Also He wanted to be called
this name by Moses, the Israelites, and
all the generations after them. What does this name mean?
First, God has no proper name; He cannot be called by any earthly
names on earth. Simply, nothing on earth
can measure up to His being.
Second, “I am who I am” is shortened to ‘I AM”. Since the
verb in the Hebrew is in future tense, the exact translation is “I will be what
I will be.” Also, at the same time, the verb has a compacted meaning of the present.
By combining these two, the name denotes
God’s eternal character.
Third, He is
self-existent, has created all things, and
gives lives to all creatures; but He is not created. He is absolutely
autonomous and is not influenced or predicated by anything. He is above all
creatures and He alone is worthy of honor and glory.
Fourth, He is above
all creation and His name demands the honor and respect of the one and only
authority over the universe.
To establish this confidence in His people, God added: “This
is My name for ever, and my memorial unto
all generations.”
God indicated that since this name speaks of eternity, so
must all generations call on this name. In front of Moses was a burning bush.
The bush was glowing and emitting a bright light. The amazing presence of God
was felt and the name “I am who I am” was fully in accordance with His glory, power,
and holiness.
God is the only God
who revealed and identified Himself in a specific historical event. This
revelation of Himself unfolds further through the event at Mountain Sinai where
He gave Israel the Law.
In this authority, God gave reasons why He was calling Moses
inV16-17; this is a repeat of what God said to Moses earlier (3:7-10)..
Here God emphasized two things: first, He had seen their
suffering and was coming down to rescue them. Second, He wanted to take them to
the Promised Land, which was flowing with milk and honey. God repeated this,
because He wanted Moses to see the suffering of the Israelites, and share the
same compassion God had for them.
Moses had expressed compassion for his people earlier in his life by killing an Egyptian
slave driver; God reignited that compassion now. Sharing
God’s compassion for people is one of the most important qualities that He looks
for from His servants. This was seen in Jesus’ life as well. Jesus rebuked the
Pharisees and teachers of the law harshly for their lack of compassion towards
the weak and weary. He showed compassion for many who came to him with various
diseases, and healed them, one by one,
late into the night. Another time, Jesus told his disciples to feed more
than five thousand people.
Second, God wanted
for Moses to see great blessing in the Promised Land. Moses and the
Israelite nation must all see this hope in order for them to come out of Egypt. Jesus’ call to his disciples was
heavily loaded with this hope. From the beginning to the end of his ministry, Jesus often taught about the coming of God’s kingdom. Jesus
wanted his disciples to have hope for the coming kingdom where all of God’s blessings would
overflow. Like this, hope for the
Promised Land was important for Moses
to see.
In addition, God revealed the primary purpose for their
departure from Egypt:
“‘Let us take a
three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God[B2] '” (3:18c)
It was to worship the Lord, our God. As the Egyptians had their gods, so we have our God. We need to worship him. Here
the word “Lord” is the same as the name God gave to Moses as His name - “I am
who I am” (YHWH[B3] ).
The God who is eternal and almighty was whom Moses and the Israelites had to
worship. As God’s name indicates His
authority and power, this demand from the Israelites loads a heavy burden on
Pharaoh’s heart because he was not dealing with Israel or Moses, but with the God
of Israel, who is almighty and eternal. This
is the ultimate honor of God, as His name represents. Once His name is
revealed, this is the course of life for His people, to honor and worship Him.
In order to assure Moses of success, God revealed even more to
him:
V
3:19-22[B4] .
Though Pharaoh was strong and mighty, God inflicted him and his people with His
mighty hand, until they had no choice but to let Israel go. When God had done
all of this, the Israelites could even plunder all the Egyptian households.
Isn’t this vison encouraging, and even invigorating? But Moses had more
questions.
C.
What
if they do not believe me?
“Moses answered, "What
if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to
you'?"” (Exodus 4:1)
This is also an important question. Has there been a meeting
between you and God? Has God approved or been with you? God gave three signs for Moses to prove that He was with him.
When we understand the
signs that God gives, we have to think about them in two ways: their meaning and
its immediate context, and God’s unchanging will embedded in those signs.
The first sign was
Moses’ staff - Exodus 4:2-5
The Lord told Moses
to throw his staff on the ground. Once he did so, it became a snake. When he
caught it by its tail, it became a staff again. It was a simple demonstration
of God’s miraculous power.
The power had to do
with control over the snake. By this miracle itself, we do not know if
there was an implied meaning to this demonstration, other than a demonstration
of God’s power. But when we stop to consider two things, the meaning of this
miracle becomes clear.
First, it is
noteworthy that a snake was the
prominent symbol of one of the Egyptian gods. If the snake that Moses’ staff was turned into
was the same kind of snake as the
Egyptian god, then the implied meaning is obvious and powerful. God has control
over that power, no matter how powerful that power was. The Israelites suffered
so much under that Egyptian power, but now the God of the Israelites would take
control of that power through Moses.
The word ‘snake’ is
the same word used to denote the serpent in Genesis 3: 1 and Numbers 21:7. The snake was an agent of
satanic force, who deceived Adam and Eve so that they fell into sin. It was a ‘serpent’
that Moses later hung up on a pole so that people might see it and be healed
from venomous snake bites. The Egyptians were the prime example of satanic
influence against Israel. In this respect, it was also a sign of God’s will to
take control of satanic forces.
Second, the significance of this miracle is implicated in v
5, to convince the Israelites that the God of their fathers had appeared to
them. The implicit meaning is that the Israelites were suffering under the evil
forces of a poisonous viper, but God had come and now He was here to take control.
So this is the message: God can and will control the forces
of Satan through His mighty power. Immediately
God gave Moses a second sign;
The second sign was Leprosy.
V6-7.[B5]
When Moses put his hand inside of his cloak and took it out, his hand was
leprous. But when he put his hand back in and took it out again, it was normal.
Leprosy was very gross to look at, breaking out all over the skin. Once someone has it, it is easily noticeable and
self-evident; it is often incurable and even fatal. This was also a demonstration
of God’s power to heal such a gross and incurable disease.
Leprosy was
considered unclean, according to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 13:2). We can
find a few examples of leprosy breaking out on people. For instance, when Miriam opposed Moses, God struck her with leprosy. Another example
is when King Uzziah burned incense
in place of a priest; he violated God’s commands and was struck with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:19).
Gehazi also went against the advice of
Elisha, the prophet, and took gifts from General Naaman; he immediately came down with leprosy and his skin became
white. These examples are particularly common among those who challenged the
authorities that God had established (i.e. when one dishonored God, they
were became leprous.
So this miracle was about sin. The hand was put under the
cloak, and turned leprous; when he put it back and took it out again, it was
healed. It also had something to do with
Moses. It was a demonstration of God’s
power and will to heal leprosy. If leprosy is the result of one’s sin or
rebellion against God, healing leprosy is God’s will to reverse sin’s effects. Whose
sin? Moses was to show this to his people, the Israelites. God performed this miracle to show that He
has the power and will to handle sins that were in the depths of their hearts.
[B6]
“Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the
first sign, they may believe the second””. (4:8)
Undoubtedly, in their eyes, leprosy was a form of God’s
punishment. God was showing them what He would do, either to punish those who
rebel with a terrible disease or to cleanse them, even though they had sinned
God said that the Israelites may believe the second miracle, that of leprosy,
since it was so personal. Here a strong will of the speaker is included in the
verb; it is similar to saying “it will surely cause them to believe.”
These two miracles were aimed at earning the Israelites’ trust.
They were simple miracles, but they demonstrated
God’s will to control the forces of
Satan, and the forces of sin in His
people. It was all for God’s grace and for love for His chosen people, the Israelites.
The third sign was the
changing water into blood
In the third sign, God changed the water of the Nile into
blood. This was primarily aimed at the Egyptians and it was another
demonstration of God’s power. What is the significance of the Nile River? The
yearly rainfall of Egypt is very small and cannot support many lives, but the Nile
River supplies an abundance of water and has sustained the lives of all the Egyptians.
The moment that water was drawn out from the river, it turned into blood. They
could not use the water , either for drinking or any other use. If the water of
the Nile River was the source of living, then God was able to shake up their
lives that depended so heavily on the Nile River. So this was a powerful display
of God’s will and power to control the resources of life in Egypt. If the Egyptians
could not use the water of the Nile River, then their lives would be in great danger.
Each of these three signs was a display of God’s power, what
He could and would do. God could handle the evil forces of Egypt, the
snake, undo the ill-effects of sin through
Moses, and destroy all the resources of Egyptian
life. God would do these through Moses, who
would be the sole agent of His great power. With God, Moses could speak to his
people in power and also challenge Pharaoh’s
power.
Moses’ response
Moses’ reservation
“Moses said to the LORD, "Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the
past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and
tongue"” (Exodus 4:10).
Moses knew his weaknesses so well; he might have tried to
overcome them throughout his life in Midian, yet he could not. So here, his
mind was focused on one weakness: he was not good at speaking or communicating.
In order to undertake such a great task, he thought that he would need to be a
great communicator or orator. This is obviously true; when one speaks
powerfully, persuasively, and passionately, he can move people’s minds. If one
is a mediocre speaker, no one is willing to listen. Though God prepared all
things for him, he knew he did not have
one thing that was essential to carry
out this mission communication skills.
But when God heard this, He said this to Moses:
“The LORD said to him, "Who gave human beings their
mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind?
Is it not I, the LORD?”” (Exodus 4:11).
God was telling him that He knew his weaknesses, including
his lack of communication skills. He knew Moses inside out, so He finally
commanded him:
“Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to
say"” (Exodus 4:12).
God was willing to provide everything for Moses to carry out
this task. In His mighty power, He could do all things to fulfill His purpose. Since
God had answered all of Moses’ questions, he should not have anything more to
question or objections to make regarding
this task. There was only one thing for
Moses to do: NOW GO! Right then, he had to go and deliver God’s message . This
is the second time God commanded Moses to go.
Yet there was something lingering in Moses’ heart that could
not fully concur with God’s call or accept it with full conviction and
commitment.
Exodus 4:13 – “But Moses said, "Pardon your servant, Lord.
Please send someone else."”
His mind was hung up
on one thing: he was incapable of speaking well enough to carry out such a
great task. Notwithstanding God’s will and
power, Moses was unable to overcome one weakness in himself. He was
demanding God to do something about his weakness. God was not happy! How can a
man reject God’s call twice?!
“Then the LORD's
anger burned against Moses” (Exodus 4:14a).
It looked like a genuine humbleness, but it is not a trivial
matter for God’s anger to burn against anyone. God was extremely displeased
with Moses’ attitude. Why? It was because it was an expression of Moses’
unbelief in God’s provision and His words. We can further say that Moses could
not fully trust all that God had said
and demonstrated. Moses could not entrust all matters, including his
weaknesses, to God’s hands. It was not his eloquence in speech that would bring about change in the hearts of his people. Moreover,
even if he could speak eloquently, he could not change the mind of Pharaoh. The change could not be brought by human language, (i.e. excellent oration, oratory skills, etc.). The change that God
was looking for is possible only by His power. That mighty power was revealed in the three signs. The same
principle is addressed by Paul as well.
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and
persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human
wisdom, but on God's power” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).
Yet Moses’ mind was fixated on his weakness, and did not
fully trust God’s power. In the depth of Moses’ heart there was unbelief.
Unbelief is dishonoring to God Almighty. This is the fundamental nature of
human beings. Unable to let go of his own weaknesses, Moses’ mind still lingered in fear and uncertainty; he needed
to surrender himself and give his full trust to God. He needed to be able to
entrust his entire being to God’s hands.
God called Moses in such a magnificent setting, the glowing
light of the burning bush. But still an element of darkness remained in Moses’
heart, and he was unable to let it go. God saved his life from drowning as an
infant; He let him wander in the desert for 40 years, while he became humble
and meek. God waited for Moses to be ready over those 40 years, but still, in
his mind, there remained something that would not accept God’s call in faith. What
was it?
We will discuss this in depth in the next passage.
Despite Moses’ reluctance and refusal to answer God’s call,
God was determined to help him:
Exodus 4:14a - God provided Moses someone who could make up
for his weakness in speech, his brother, Aaron. When God calls, who can refuse
that call? When God backs you up, there is no way to reject that support. We
are compelled to follow through with God’s call.
Now Moses could not think of any more reasons to object to God’s
command, but in his mind, something still lingered. Knowing this, God made
things very clear.
What does this tell us about God? When God calls someone, He
will do everything to equip them to do the work to which He has assigned that
person; He will surely fulfill His purpose through that person. If this is you,
then do not say NO, but put your trust in God!
Exodus 4:14b-15 Though
God was willing to use Aaron as His spoke man, He made it clear to Moses that
it would be he that would represent God, not Aaron who would be a spoke person
on Moses’ behalf. Having Aaron could not
be used as an excuse for Moses to escape or evade God’s primary call for him.
God understood Moses’ reluctance and fear. This became
obvious in the fact that Moses did not make any positive answer to God about
his will to accept and obey God’s call. This reluctance is further noted
through the following event:
Moses’ obedience
Exodus 4:18. Here,
though Moses made a decision to go to Egypt, he did not clearly understand why
he was going there. Instead, he was telling his father-in-law something totally
unrelated to God’s call. In this situation, God called him a third time; He also told him that the king was seeking
Moses’ life. This information from God nudged Moses further to obey His command
to go, to return to Egypt! So finally
he gathered all of his family together and set out for Egypt.
Exodus 4:21-23.
God further revealed the critical message that Moses must
carry to Pharaoh, that Israel is God’s firstborn son and that that was the
reason why he must let them go; if he would not, God would kill his firstborn
son. This is the fundamental premise that Pharaoh needed to know and that Moses
must accept. This claim is deeply rooted in what God promised to Abraham in Genesis
17.
– “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant
between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come,
to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of
Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting
possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God"
(Gen 17:7-8 NIV).
Here the main focus, out of God’s three promises, was for Abraham
to have many descendants and for his descendants to become God’s people. This derives from the
idea of making his descendants God’s firstborn son. This promise was also tied
to circumcision (Genesis 17:11).
Israel had to become God’s possession in order to become His
firstborn son; this was accomplished by their full commitment as seen through
circumcision. So circumcision is the
distinctive sign of Israel as the firstborn son. By practicing
circumcision, Israel was committed themselves fully to the Lord as His own. Was
there such a commitment present in Moses’ heart? God’s call cannot be thought
of as being separate from His promise to Abraham. At the same time, Moses exhibit
the same level of commitment to God as Abraham did by circumcising himself
and his whole family.
Did Moses possess such commitment as God’s chosen? Did he
consider himself fully as God’s chosen, His firstborn son?
Though God forcefully presented His power and call for
Moses, yet one thing remained unresolved; there was lingering doubt and
hesitation in Moses. This was evident in his words to his father-in-law, his
fear to go back to Egypt, and the absence of any words of full commitment to
God’s call.
How can we understand Moses?
Exodus 2:22 “Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named
him Gershom, saying, "I have become a foreigner in a foreign land."
When his first son was born, Moses named him Gershom,
meaning that he had become a foreigner in a foreign land. Here the Hebrew verb
is a perfect tense, indicating that it was a completed action. This implies
that Moses became a foreigner; he fully assimilated into Midian life. Such a
statement might be an expression of his lament over the fact that he could not
fully keep his Hebrew heritage. His mind and spirit were fully set on living life
in Midian and had resolved all the issues of life related to living in Midian. We
might even be able to say that Moses stopped being Hebrew and gave up hope of
ever being Hebrew again. This was the source of his reluctance and hesitation
to respond to God’s call.
In looking at Moses’ family, there was only one Hebrew, and
that was Moses himself. His wife was Midian, and his son, Gershom, was uncircumcised and lived fully as a Midianite.
Moses did not commit his family members, including his wife and sons, to be God’s people. We might even say
that the hesitation of Lot, because his family was so closely involved with Sodom, was flowing in
Moses’ heart also. If so, then how could Moses deliver the message of God’s
judgment on Pharaoh’s firstborn son?
Circumcision was an expression of one’s full commitment to
God’s call to become His child; this commitment must be not only include
himself, but his entire family as well.
It was not improbable that Moses’ wife, a Midianite woman, refused
to circumcise Gershom in the manner of the
Hebrews. After all, Moses, her husband, was a foreigner and she had every right
to insist that her children remain as she wanted in the land of Midian.
In the depth of his heart, this might have been the source
of Moses’ fear, lingering, hesitation, and halfhearted commitment to God’s
call. With such unresolved issues in his family, how could Moses carry out completely
the mission God was giving him? Particularly, delivering a message that would
kill Pharaoh’s firstborn would pose a
great problem for Moses. Would God use Moses? How could this be resolved?
Exodus 4:24. As Moses starting out on his way to Egypt with
his wife and children, he spent a night in an inn, but, in the middle of the
night, God was about to kill Moses. In
some versions of the original language,
it was not Moses, but his firstborn son
Gershom that God was about to kill. Either way, God made clear that Moses’
entire family must be committed to Him as His people and that that commitment
must be demonstrated through his actions, i.e. circumcision.
Exodus 4:25a. Zipporah,
Moses’ Midianite wife, quickly realized the danger and circumcised her son
Gershom. She said this: "Surely you
are a bridegroom of blood to me" (Exodus 4:25b). The exact meaning is not
clear, but by saying that Moses was a bridegroom of blood, she was fully
conforming herself to Moses’ family, i.e. the Hebrew. In this way, not only was
their son circumcised but also Moses’
wife was fully committing herself to be Hebrew. This process necessarily
involved circumcision and the shedding of blood. In this way, Moses’ entire
family became fully committed to God as His promised children.
Why then did God threaten Moses, even to the point of
killing him? God would not kill a person just because he did not do what he was
supposed to do. At the heart of the issue was Moses’ reluctance to fully commit
himself and his family to this mission even after God had revealed His power.
God’s revelation invariably demands obedience. Despite such a full revelation,
if one rejects God’s call in favor of his own wellbeing, God will demand full
restitution of His justice. He demands faith, and if there is no faith, he
shall face death.
Death always delivers a powerful and effective message about
life. God’s message was clear; if Moses did not comply with God’s call to become
His people, then He would bring judgment on Israel.
After this, Moses nearly died, but after all he survived; this
experience cannot be forgotten and, in Moses, this experience lasted throughout
his life. Disobedience, refusing to be God’s people, unbelief in God’s power
and grace… all result in death. Moses survived
God’s wrath; his entire family, including his wife and sons, were fully
included in God’s promise. Nothing was left unresolved and Moses was ready to
respond to God’s call to deliver his people from their slavery in Egypt. Now
Moses was truly ready.
God calls people to accomplish His works. Jesus called twelve
disciples. Also God calls each of us for His purposes. Though God’s purpose for
us may not be as grand as Moses’, it applies the same principle. In this call, five things must be considered seriously:
understanding God’s compassion for the suffering of His people, the hope for
the Promised Land, and the three signs: the sign of the snake, the sign of
leprosy, and the sign of turning the water of the Nile River into blood. Lastly,
we must remember that God cannot use a person, unless their entire family is
under His blessing.
After all, God wanted Moses to get up and go! I pray that
God may give each of us a deep insight into His calling for our lives.
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