Moses

July 2, 2017 Background Scripture: Exodus 3 Lesson Passage: Exodus 3:1 – 12 This month’s focus of our Sunday School lessons is the calling of some of Israel’s greatest prophets. Christians tend to regard Moses primarily as the Law giver, i.e., the recipient and deliverer of God’s Law to Israel. However, Moses is held in high regard by the Jews as a prophet of God. One of Moses’ prophecies concerning the Messiah was that he would be a prophet like himself. Note that Moses did not refer to the Messiah as another Law giver but as a prophet. Those parts of Moses’ life that are recorded in the Bible should be of special interest to anyone called of God for service. Moses’ life is presented in the scriptures as three groups of forty years each. The first forty years were spent in Pharaoh’s household being raised by his Jewish birth mother as a son of Pharaoh’s daughter. The second forty years were spent as a fugitive from Egypt with the latter part spent living in the wilderness and tending to his father-in-law’s flock. Moses’ calling by God begins the last forty years of his life. The incidents during the last forty years of Moses’ life give clarity to the first eighty years of his life. First, note that Moses was called and commissioned by God at the age of eighty. At this point in his life, it seems as though he was in a good place in life. The troubles of Egypt were forty years behind him. He had married the daughter of a priest and they had two sons. He was working as a shepherd taking care of his father-in-law’s flock. This seems like a comfortable life for an eighty year old man. Rather than live out his life in ease, this was the perfect time in his life to be used by God. His last days in Egypt taught him that he could not have his way just because he was seen as the grandson of Pharaoh. Every great society has laws to govern its citizens and no one is allowed to live above those laws. Although Moses’ heart went out to the Hebrew slaves forty years earlier, he could not of his own wisdom and power overcome the Egyptian society and correct the injustice he witnessed. Furthermore, the previous forty years had taught him a very important lesson in humility. Rather than being seen as a ruler because of his family connections, he had relegated himself to the lowly role of being the caretaker of someone else’s flock. As stated previously, Moses was at the perfect time in his life to be used by God. He now understood that he alone could not overcome an unjust society. Furthermore, Moses now understood the virtue of being a caretaker of another’s possession. To add to his qualifications, he knew how to do this out in the wilderness. At this point in Moses’ life, God called and commissioned him for the work. Moses was called to return and confront the leadership of Egypt concerning the plight of the Hebrew slaves. This time he would do so as an ambassador from God with the full power of heaven to back him up. He would also be required to take care of God’s flock of approximately two million people in the wilderness where he had learned the trade of being a shepherd. Just as he had learned to shepherd his father-in-law’s flock in the wilderness for forty years, he would now shepherd God’s flock in the same wilderness for forty years. Eighty years of age seems like a great time to begin retirement. But in Moses’ case, it was the perfect time to begin his calling as one of Israel’s greatest prophets. Robert C. Hudson May 26, 2017