Heroes of the Bible: Moses
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 8/01/2021
NOTE: This sermon was adapted from my book, Holy Heroes of the Bible. If it's a blessing to you, please consider buying the book which includes chapters/sermons on 17 additional Bible heroes: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SBNJTSZ
I want to start off today by bragging a little bit. As many of you know, I personally hate running. I like to work out and stay fit, but I do not like to run. It’s the worst. Yet, I recently completed a virtual 5K (one of these races that you register for online, run alone at home, then post your results using RunKeeper or some other fitness app). So, why would I run a 5K all by myself when I hate running? Well… It wasn’t just any 5K; it was DC’s Superman Run 5K. By completing the race, runners earn a nifty Superman hoodie and a medal with the Superman logo emblazoned upon it. That was all the motivation I needed to get off the couch and start running.
I think this is a perfect example of the way our heroes (real or fictional) are capable of motivating and inspiring us to do things we wouldn’t otherwise do. If you’re just joining us, we’ve spent the last few weeks getting acquainted with some of the greatest heroes of the Bible. It’s my hope that, throughout this series, their stories of heroism and faith will inspire and motivate us to be a little more heroic ourselves.
A few weeks ago, we started with Noah—the hero who built an ark. Then we met Abraham—the hero who lived by faith. Last week, we learned about Jacob, who became a hero by abandoning his life of duplicity and deception when he encountered God in a divine dream and determined to never let go of Him.
Now we come to our next Hero of the Bible—Moses.
Next Slide: Moses
The story of Moses begins with a baby placed in a basket and set adrift down the Nile River only to be discovered by an Egyptian princess and raised in the Pharaoh’s palace. Moses eventually became a hero to millions by delivering an oppressed people from bondage, molding them into a new nation and receiving a revelation from God with new moral standards and laws. His origin story, though, is fraught with danger, discovery, murder and misgivings. And it’s a story that remains just as relevant and relatable today as it was thirty-some centuries ago. It all begins in the first chapter of Exodus, with Moses’s rescue!
• MOSES’S RESCUE
When a severe famine swept through the land, the descendants of Jacob—now known as the Israelites—migrated to the land of Egypt. In time, their population exploded to such a degree that the Pharaoh feared what might happen if the Israelites ever turned against the Egyptians. “So,” the Bible says, “the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor” (Exodus 1:11 NLT). The Egyptians forced the people of Israel to mix mortar, make bricks and do all the labor in their fields. Despite this bitter oppression, though, the Israelites numbers continued to increase. So, the Pharaoh issued a royal decree to all the people of Egypt saying, “Every time a boy is born to the Hebrews, you must throw him into the Nile River” (Exodus 1:22 NCV). Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Hebrew babies were maliciously murdered, but due to the resourcefulness of his mother, one survived.
To protect her baby, this Israelite mother hid her son from the Egyptian authorities for three months. When she feared that he might be discovered, she concocted a plan to rescue him. The Bible says, “She got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him” (Exodus 2:3-4 NLT).
Soon, Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she retrieved it and discovered the beautiful baby boy inside. The crying infant melted her heart, so the princess decided to raise the baby as her own and named him Moses.
Just then, the baby’s sister came out of hiding, approached the princess, and offered to find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby. “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So, the young girl ran home and got her mother. The princess then offered to pay Moses’s own mother to be his nurse. So not only did Moses’s mother save her son’s life, she’s now being paid to take care of her own baby!
Many of us imagine that Moses’s mother just said a prayer and hoped for the best when she set her baby drifting down the dangerous Nile River. In reality, Moses’s rescue was a carefully constructed plan. Moses’s mother knew right where to place his basket among the reeds along the shore (where it wouldn’t be carried away by the current) so that he would be discovered and rescued by the princess. Even Moses’s older sister played an important role, being in the right place at the right time to offer her assistance.
Just as Moses’s mother carefully crafted a rescue plan for her baby boy, God has a carefully crafted plan to rescue you and me. Just as baby Moses faced certain death at the hands of the Egyptians, you and I are doomed to death as the just penalty for our sins. But like Moses’s mother, who dearly loved her son and couldn’t bear to see him killed, God’s great love for us prompted him to set his rescue plan in motion. While we were still sinners and just as helpless as a baby in a basket, the Bible says, “Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live” (Galatians 1:4 NLT).
Before Moses could be a hero to anyone else, he needed to be rescued himself. The same is true for you and me. Moses’s dramatic river rescue reminds of our own need for a hero to rescue us from sin and evil. Jesus gave his life in order to rescue us from death according to God’s plan. Before we can become holy heroes ourselves, we need to be rescued by the greatest hero of all.
Of course, this is just the beginning of Moses’s journey. Following his rescue, the Bible flashes forward forty years to a tale of Moses’s rejection.
• MOSES’S REJECTION
Raised in the Pharoah’s palace, Moses grew up amidst wealth and luxury. But at some point, Moses learned that he was adopted and his heart went out to his fellow Hebrews who were not as prosperous and pampered as him. The Bible says, “Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work” (Exodus 2:11 NLT). Little did he know his whole life was about to turn upside down. The story continues, “During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand” (Exodus 2:12 NLT).
We can sympathize with Moses’s outrage. We can understand his motives. He witnessed oppression and violence. His people were being brutally beaten and they couldn’t fight back. He wanted to rescue them as God had rescued him. But none of that justifies Moses taking matters into his own hands and committing murder. This wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a heat-of-the-moment reaction. He paused and made sure there were no witnesses, murdered the man, then hid the body. He knew it was wrong, but he did it anyway. Moses appointed himself judge, jury and executioner.
The next day, Moses visited his people again and saw two Hebrews fighting amongst themselves. When he tried to break up the fight, one of them shouted, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” (Exodus 2:14 NLT).
When he heard those words, Moses’s eyes must have widened like a deer caught in headlights. His violent act of vengeance backfired. His people didn’t see him as a hero, but as a villain. Suddenly, Moses’s heart sank into his stomach, as he realized, “Everyone knows what I did.” And, the Bible says, “Sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian” (Exodus 2:15 NLT).
Moses tried to be a hero, but did it the wrong way and made himself a villain. As a result of his evil actions, he wound up on the wrong side of the law—a fugitive on the run, rejected by his own people as well as his adopted family. He was rejected by the Hebrews who saw him as a pampered prince that thought he could get away with murder. He was rejected by his adopted Egyptian family, including the Pharaoh, and forced to flee the country. He became a stranger in a strange land, separated from his home and loved ones.
Perhaps you can relate to Moses. Maybe you tried to right some wrong and just made things worse. The old saying is still true—two wrongs don’t make a right. Perhaps you’ve felt the sting of rejection. Maybe you’ve lost friends or family because of the mistakes that you’ve made. Perhaps your church even turned its back on you when some secret sin came to light. Rejection is painful, but sometimes we bring it on ourselves because of the mistakes we make—the sins we commit.
Decades later, Moses would implore the people of Israel, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today… The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm” (Exodus 14:13-14 NLT). It’s too bad Moses couldn’t have given that advise to his younger self. If Moses had allowed God to deal with his enemies instead of taking matters into his own hands, his story might have been dramatically different. Thankfully, God wasn’t done with Moses. Flashing forward yet another forty years, the next chapter in Moses’s story tells of his redemption.
• MOSES’S REDEMPTION
In Marvel’s Ant-Man, Scott Lang, like Moses, had a criminal past. Yet, Dr. Hank Pym attempts to recruit Scott, fresh out of prison, to become the new Ant-Man. When Scott hesitates, thinking himself undeserving, Hank says, “Scott, I believe that everyone deserves a shot at redemption.” He later adds, “This is your chance to earn that look in your daughter's eyes. To become the hero that she already thinks you are.” Forty years after Moses’s misguided murder, the Lord gave him a similar shot at redemption and the chance to become a hero in the eyes of Israel.
For decades, Moses lived a life of obscurity in the land of Midian. He met and married a young woman named Zippora, they had children, and Moses made his living as shepherd. Then, while Moses tended his flock near Mount Sinai, something extraordinary happened. A flickering light caught Moses’s eye. He turned to see a blazing fire engulfing a nearby a bush. Even though the dancing flames surrounded the bush, it didn’t burn up. As Moses cautiously moved in to get a closer look, a commanding voice emanated from the flame: “Do not come any closer… Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:5-6 NLT).
Both amazed and afraid, Moses removed his sandals and hid his face. Once God had Moses’s full and undivided attention, he shared a message that would change the course of Moses’s life. God announces, “Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:9-10 NLT).
God saw that his people were suffering and needed a hero. God’s solution, his answer to the plight of his people: “I am sending you, Moses.” God chose Moses to become a hero to his people. But Israel’s future hero didn’t exactly jump at the chance. In fact, he came up with every excuse not to go: “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of slavery? I’m not good with words. You’ve got the wrong guy, God, please send somebody else.”
Moses made multiple excuses because he felt inadequate for the job God called him to do. It was natural for him to feel that way. He was inadequate all by himself. But God wasn’t asking Moses to work alone. God answered all of Moses’s objections, saying, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12 NLT).
God often calls us to tasks that seem too difficult, but he doesn’t ask us to do them alone. God goes with us and he enables and empowers us to do what he asks. That’s what he did for Moses. God empowered Moses by giving him the ability to perform wonderous miracles through the use of his shepherd’s staff, making him the first human hero with actual superpowers! As a demonstration, God told Moses to throw his staff down on the ground. So, Moses threw down the staff and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back, but when he grabbed it by the tail, it instantly transformed into a staff again. Moses eventually used the same staff, which he called “the staff of God” (Exodus 4:20), to transform the Nile River into blood, to call down lightning and hail on the Egyptians, and to part the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to cross the sea on dry ground in a daring escape from Pharaoh’s army.
Despite his reluctance and repeated excuses, Moses experienced redemption and a second chance to become the hero God made him to be. The same can be true in your life and mine. If you’ve made a mess of your life, rest assured God still offers redemption. He still hands out second chances and high callings. He still empowers ordinary people to do extraordinary things. When God searches for people to serve him, he rarely looks for those who are already strong and heroic. Rather, he frequently finds feeble and faulty people whom he can make into heroes by his power. That’s what God did for Moses, and he can do the same for you.
Conclusion:
We certainly learn a lot from the life of Moses. His Nile-River rescue reminds us that each one of us needs a hero to rescue us. His rejection by both the Hebrews and Egyptians shows us that paying back evil for evil is not the true path of a hero. But his redemption by God reveals that we have a God of second chances. No matter how badly we mess up or how inadequate we might feel, God will empower us and enable us to do extraordinary things if we’ll simply stop making excuses and join forces with Jesus. Next week, we’ll draw inspiration from yet another hero of the Bible—the mightiest man in Scripture, Samson.
Invitation:
Maybe you’ve made some major mistakes in life and you’re in need of redemption. People may have rejected you, but God will accept you. He sent Jesus to rescue you from this evil world and from the consequences of your own sins. If you haven’t accepted God’s offer of redemption, what are you waiting for? Stop making excuses. Trust in God. Join forces with Jesus. Become the hero God made you to be. If you’re not sure how to go about that, I’d love to help. You can pull me aside after church, call me at home, or better yet, come forward while we stand and sing. Let’s sing church.
NOTE: This sermon was adapted from my book, Holy Heroes of the Bible. If it's a blessing to you, please consider buying the book which includes chapters/sermons on 17 additional Bible heroes: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SBNJTSZ
