Exodus- Calling

 

Introduction

Sometimes when a group of moms go out together, they start recounting their labor experiences.  These are never my favorite stories as the bones of the story are all roughly the same, there was lots of pain and then a baby.  Moses’s mother on the other hand had a unique story to tell and we are privileged to hear it again in this section of Exodus.  Instead of showers and visitors, she broke the law by giving birth and keeping her son.  She hid him for months and then made the courageous decision to set him adrift on the river, hoping for a miracle.  

 

And one did come, God had plans for Moses to lead His people from Egypt.  No matter what is happening around us, what are circumstances may be, God in His sovereignty looks ahead and positions us right where we need to be.  

 

 

Scripture

Read Exodus 2-4:17

 

Chapter 2:1-22 Moses Born and Flees to Midian

Moses was born to parents Amram and Jochebed, both members of the house of Levi, foreshadowing the great priest he would become.  Like we saw in the midwife story, Moses’s parents feared God over man and hid him after his birth in disobedience to the Pharaoh.  When when they could hide him no longer, they sent his sister to place him in a basket of reeds along the river, hoping he would be spared.  God blessed their faith and Moses, after being rescued from the water by Pharaoh’s daughter, returned to the care of his mother who was now his designated nursemaid.  The scene shifts to an adult Moses, 40 years old.  Seeing his kinsmen being beaten, in anger kills an Egyptian guard.  His actions became known so to avoid punishment flees to Midian and settles down with a foreign wife and provides by tending sheep. 

 

Chapter 2:23-25 The Covenant God

When Moses was in Midian, there was a transition of power in Egypt as the current Pharaoh died and one did have a connection with became ruler.  Israel, who was still enslaved, continued to cry out to their God.  God, who was always aware of their situation, is described in human qualities so that we can better understand that the time of their redemption had arrived—He heard, remembered, saw, and knew of their plight.  Our problems are not far off from God.  Our God is a being who honors covenants, binding agreements He makes with people.  Psalm 105:8 tells us God remembers His covenants for thousands of generations.  Though the people were enslaved for so long, at just the right time God begins to set in motion their redemption.  As Romans 5:6 shared of Christ, at the right time, He died for us, like the Israelites in a helpless and weak state.  God saves and His timing is perfect. 

 

Chapter 3-4:17 The Call of Moses

These chapters describe the circumstances of God making Himself known to Moses.  A normal day of Moses tending sheep became supernatural as a bush was alight with divine fire and God spoke out of the flame.  The desert sand was declared holy as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob greeted His chosen mouthpiece.  Moses responds in fear, as any encounter with the divine should rightly bring forth in frail humanity.  God tells Moses He knows of Israel’s pain and promises to not only rescue them but lead them to a fertile land.  Faced with this enormous task, Moses rightly shares his lack of qualification with God who finally describes His otherness: I am who I am.  I am means that God is self-existent, a creator and sustainer who doesn’t change, eternal and complete in Himself.  Moses is right, he is not enough but God picked Him for this purpose.  His inadequacy glorifies the God who empowers. His ultimate design is that in freeing His people, they would worship Him.  God proves His will for Moses by using his staff to show His power.  God knows our weakness and it doesn’t limit His purpose for our lives.  

 

Reflection

 

·      Like Moses’s mother, have you ever been in a situation where you had no control and had to trust God for the outcome? 

·      Does it bring comfort to know that God is always aware of your trials?  When He waits to act, how could knowing this story in Exodus help you think differently about your circumstances? 

·      Has God called you to do something that you are not qualified for?  Did you respond like Moses or differently? 

 

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