The great Hebrew leader was born at the time when the king of Egypt had decreed the death of all newly born male children to the Israelites. The record of his life and accomplishments spans the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, and his greatest honour was the privilege of being known as “the friend of God”.
“And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom Jehovah knew face to face,” <Deut 34:10 ASV>. “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” . “(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD”.
His life span of 120 years is usually divided into three periods: the first forty years – from birth until he fled into Midian: the second forty years – from Midian until the Exodus: the third forty years – from the Exodus until his exodus. The account of his adult life begins as he runs away from Pharaoh to the land of Midian.
TRYING TO SERVE GOD IN HIS OWN WAY
” One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labour” . Moses, as a son of Pharaoh, was well trained in all the details of leadership and government. He was fully qualified in the eyes of this world’s systems, and attempted to apply such qualifications in God’s service. However, such was not God’s method or timing. Moses needed to wait on God’s leading instead of attempting to serve God by his own ability, knowledge, and initiative. Because Moses attempted to do things in his way he now had to spend the next forty years of his life in “wilderness solitude”, a far cry from Pharaoh’s courts. It was here in this place of solitude that he was caused to reflect upon God’s dealing in his life. How did he end up here? Like any other “wilderness wanderer”, it is usually due to an act of sin! He had to learn that as God’s leadership candidate he must wait on God’s leading.
We too can be fully trained in worldly methods, and desire to use some of these methods in the Lord’s work. However, like Moses, we too will have to be retrained in God’s school, since in most cases such methods are not always applicable to God’s service.
Remembering the things taught him by his mother concerning God’s dealings with His people the Israelites, Moses heard and was obedient to God’s call, and became interested in the Hebrew people. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” <Heb.11:24-27 NIV>. Note here that there not only has to be a refusal, but also a choice! It is all well and good to refuse the ways of the world, but there must be a sincere choice to be a totally committed disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Where do you and I stand today in regards to that choice?
We are sometimes tempted to serve God by using or attempting to apply methods we have acquired from worldly systems. This however, may not be God’s way, and we need to examine our methods carefully in the light of scripture and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit; otherwise God will cause our methods to fail in order to show us that we need further training under the tutorship of His Holy Spirit. We should also recognise that our timing may not be God’s timing: sometimes what we perceive to be the right circumstances or situations may not be in God’s plan. A very important consideration is the fact that sometimes God’s people are not ready.
“He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. . God had prepared Moses for the job, but neither Moses nor the people of God were ready! Moses needed further training in the quietness and loneliness of the desert – alone with God. Sometimes God has to allow His people to endure trials for a longer period until they can see the need for His intervention.