A series on God’s calling: Moses
Exodus 3:1-22
[Traditionally
we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a
missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called
all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this
series, we will look at how God called people in the Bible to ministry, and
what that means to us.]
Do you ever wonder how your life would’ve been different if…? Fill in the blank.
For instance, if I had stayed in college at Michigan
Tech, I would never have met my wife, been the father of my daughter and
grandfather to my grandkids. But, in order for all of those things to happen, a
whole lot of circumstances had to change. Not the least of which was dropping
out of school at Tech and moving to Lansing.
This mostly hinged around a summer discipleship
program in Lansing where I decided that working with urban youth, not rocks,
was what I wanted to do. From there, the circumstances fell like dominoes which
led to the past fifty plus years.
The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430
years. During most of that time, the Egyptians enslaved them and made their
life bitter with hard labor. However, centuries before that, God had told
Abraham this would happen and promised to rescue his people. The time had come
to fulfill his promise. But he needed a leader.
Moses was the man for the job! He was well educated having
been trained in “all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” As a prince of Egypt,
he was confident and had a position of power. Also, having been raised as a
child of privilege, he believed that he was capable of doing anything, and
getting what he wanted.
But he wasn’t ready to lead Israel! Moses needed to make
significant changes. Although he was a man who “was powerful in speech and
action”, he was also impulsive, acting out of his own will and pride. He
wasn’t ready to follow God’s leading, or to submit to God’s will.
Forty years after fleeing Egypt as a fugitive wanted
for murder, he was a humbled man. He had gone from being the prince of Egypt to
a common, lowly shepherd; he had fallen from a position of power and prestige
to a hardscrabble life. He had learned his lesson, but it had cost him his home,
his family and his people in Egypt.
The Lord proceeded to tell Moses that he had seen
the misery of his people; that he had heard them crying out; that he was
concerned about their suffering. And as a result, that he had come to rescue
them from the Egyptians to take them to the Promised Land.
About this time, Moses may have been wondering why
God had appeared to him to tell him these things. He was about to find out. The
Lord said:
10 So now, go. I am
sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” NIV
Circumstances were beginning to fall like dominoes. Moses’
life could have been totally different. But God had been at work through all
those circumstances; all those changes. He had been pursuing Moses for decades,
preparing him to lead his people. It was time now, and Moses was ready.
1 But now, O Jacob,
listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine. NLT Isaiah
43
Isaiah could have written these words to Moses. He also
could have written them to you and me. God is calling us by name. Just say, “Here
I am Lord. Send me.”
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