Journey Back to Egypt - Treasures of Faith - Week 8 Day 5

TODAY'S TREASURE

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 

Exodus 3:1-3 (ESV)

Transcript

Journey Back to Egypt

Chuck and Sharon Betters

Today’s Treasure

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 

Exodus 3:1-3 (ESV)

Moses, when given the task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt, objected strenuously (Exodus 3:1–4:17).

First, Moses questioned, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

God responded, “I will be with you,” the very promise He had made to Abraham.

Moses objected. “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?”

God responded, in effect, “Tell them that Jehovah, the faithful and trustworthy God of their fathers, has sent you.”

Moses doubted. “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” Moses probably remembered his earlier rejection by his people and questioned why this time would be any different.

God responded that Moses should throw down his staff, the symbol of his identity as a working shepherd. Without this staff, he could not take care of the sheep or protect himself. God changed the staff into a snake, the national symbol of Pharaoh’s alleged sovereign power. God changed it back into a staff when Moses obediently picked it up. This was no magic trick; it underscored God’s power and authority over Pharaoh. Moses had to surrender his shepherd’s calling in order to accept God’s commissioning. Though Moses carried the simple staff of a shepherd, God had invested it, as indeed He had invested Moses, with a power far beyond its humble appearance.

Moses continued to object, claiming he was not a man of words. “O LORD,” he complained, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

God responded, reassuring Moses and promising him that the Lord Himself would help him speak and teach him what to say. As with Moses, God also promises to give us the strength and abilities we need. As it says in the book of Ephesians, every child of God is “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (2:10).

Moses decided he wasn’t the best man for the job. God’s promise of His presence, power, and authority was apparently not enough for Moses. He desperately exclaimed, “O LORD, please send someone else to do it!” (Exodus 4:13). This is the first time during this encounter that God actually became angry with Moses. He bluntly told Moses that his eloquent brother Aaron would serve as Moses’s spokesman.

Moses at last acquiesced and obeyed. On his long journey back to Egypt and into the jaws of his enemy, however, Moses did not travel alone, for God was with him.

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34:10-12). Everyone who answers God’s call to know Him intimately must confront His call to courageously serve as Moses did.

LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

My mother loved jigsaw puzzles; she enjoyed solving the mystery and always appreciated seeing the completed picture. But, while she loved her puzzles, Chuck also loved to tease her. So it was that, as this patient and meticulous woman carefully assembled an extremely challenging puzzle, “Snow White Without the Seven Dwarfs” (a circular, completely white puzzle with well over a thousand pieces), Chuck mischievously hid one small piece of the puzzle in his pocket. Imagine her disappointment when she discovered she could not complete the puzzle and have the satisfaction of seeing her project really finished. The first question of everyone who saw her puzzle was, “Where’s the missing piece?” Chuck finally sheepishly confessed to his little crime and handed over the missing piece. The picture, so hard to assemble, was now finally complete.

How many “incomplete puzzles” are there today in the ministry of local churches because the children of God refuse to bring their “puzzle pieces,” their special gifts and abilities, to the table of ministry? Instead, they hide them in their pockets and then join the chorus of critics who ask, “Why isn’t this church meeting those needs?”—when all the while they themselves are holding the missing pieces. Like Moses, they ask the same questions. However, unlike Moses, they never actually trust God to provide them with the wisdom and ability to do what He has called them to do.

Friends, hard calls require leaning into Jesus. Dependency on Him opens our eyes to grace and experiencing His faithful love. Moses obeyed with fear and trembling. God did not disappoint Him. He won’t disappoint us, either.

PRAYER

Father, where are You calling us? Where are we holding back because of fear or feelings of inadequacy? Give us eyes to see the promise of Your presence and equipping, no matter how hard or difficult the calling appears. Amen.

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Adapted from Treasures of Faith by Chuck and Sharon Betters with permission from P&R Publishing

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