MOSES (Part 1)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 2/25/2018
William Shakespeare once wrote, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” When it comes to the Hebrew liberator, Moses, all three are true. Perhaps no person in history, outside of Jesus himself, has made such a profound impression on the world as Moses.
You know his story. For those who’ve heard it, it’s as familiar as your own living room. A baby placed in a basket and set adrift down a dangerous river, stumbled upon by an Egyptian princess and raised in the Pharaoh’s palace, only to discover that he was meant for so much more. Moses delivered an oppressed people from bondage, molded them into a renewed nation and received a revelation from God with new moral standards and laws.
In Jewish minds Moses ranked among the most respected Old Testament figures. Because he received the law, including the Ten Commandments, directly from God on Mount Sinai, he has always been closely associated with the commands, customs, ceremonies and other religious requirements of the Old Covenant. Yet, Moses himself was unequivocally a man of faith. Moses’ faith was the catalyst for national change and a spiritual awakening in the lives of the children of Israel. He led hundreds of thousands of Hebrews out of slavery and became a hero of the people—a national icon. His story is one of doubt and deliverance, humility and heartbreak, conflict and courage, trials and triumphs. And it’s a story that remains just as relevant and relatable today as it was thirty-some centuries ago.
So, I’d like to invite you to join me this morning and for the next few weeks for a fast-paced survey of the life of Moses. With any luck, we’ll learn some life-lessons along the way. And, when I say fast-paced, I mean it; because, today I want to look at the first eighty years of Moses’ life. The Bible tells us that Moses lived for 120 years. So, these first 80 years are just laying the ground work for an incredible life of belief and boldness. His story begins in the first few chapters of Exodus (if you have a Bible or an app on your phone, you can open it there), with a dramatic rescue!
• MOSES RESCUED
You might remember that the Hebrew people migrated to Egypt during the days of Joseph. Although Joseph was Hebrew by birth, he was sold as a slave in Egypt and eventually rose to a place of prominence. In fact, he was Pharaoh’s right-hand man, the second most powerful person in Egypt. So, when a severe famine swept through the land, Joseph invited his entire family—the sons of Israel—to make their home in the prosperous and plentiful land of Egypt.
Exodus begins by telling us, “In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation… Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done” (Exodus 1:6-8 NLT).
The descendants of Israel still lived in the land of Egypt and their population exploded to such a degree that they soon became a nation unto themselves. Pharaoh feared what might happen if the Hebrews 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 worked the people of Israel without mercy. They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands. However, the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more babies the Israelites had, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.
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 brutally murdered, but one survived.
An unidentified Hebrew woman gave birth to a baby boy she named Moses. She hid her baby from the Egyptian authorities for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she concocted a plan.
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, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she retrieved hit, opened it, and saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and her heart melted. She knew immediately that this must be one of the Hebrew children.
Just then, the baby’s sister came out of hiding and approached the princess. Thinking quickly, she asked, “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
“Yes, do!” the princess replied. So, the girl, Miriam, ran home a got her mother and the princess offered to pay Moses’ mother to nurse him until he was old enough to come live with her in the palace. So not only did Moses’ mother save his life, she’s now being paid to take care of her own son!
As I read this story, it seems that Moses’ mother planned for the princess to discover and adopt Moses. But even if it wasn’t part of her plan, it was certainly part of God’s plan!
Moses’ dramatic rescue demonstrated that God (and possibly his mother) had a carefully crafted plan for Moses’ life. The truth is—he has a plan for your life too.
Who could forget the unforgettable words of Jeremiah 29:11? “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).
ILL. There were three people in heaven who decided one day to play a round of golf at the heavenly country club. The first man stepped up to the tee, hit his drive, and watched as it headed straight for the water hazard. Just as the ball was about to land in the water, he raised his club, pointed it out over the water, and the waters parted, allowing the ball to land on dry ground. He walked out between the two columns of water, and hit a perfect second shot, right in the middle of the green. One of his partners said, “Wow, good shot, Moses!” The second man walked up to the tee, hit his drive, and watched as it took a nearly identical flight path, straight toward the water. But when the ball hit, it landed and stayed right on top of the water. He walked out across the water and hit a second shot which was also identical, landing at the center of the green. Moses told him, “Hey, that’s a pretty good shot yourself, Jesus!” Then the third man came to the tee box, teed up and hit his drive. The drive took a nasty slice and went straight into the trees, caroming off in the wrong direction, heading for the out-of-bounds marker. Right at that moment, a squirrel who happened to be nearby saw the ball and thought it might be good to eat, so it grabbed the ball and started running towards the fairway. When the squirrel was about halfway across the fairway, suddenly an eagle swooped down out of nowhere and grabbed the squirrel in its claws, flying away with both squirrel and ball. Just as the eagle’s flight took it across the green, it lost its grip on the squirrel and dropped it. The squirrel landed flat on its belly, jarring the ball loose, which then took two bounces and landed squarely in the center of the cup. Moses cast a disgusted glance at Jesus and said, “That’s why I can’t STAND to play golf with your Dad.
God’s plotting for our good. In all the setbacks, He is ordaining the best for our future. You are in the hands of the living, loving God! Your life is a crafted narrative written by a good God, working toward your supreme good. God is not making up a plan as he goes along. Nor did he wind up the clock and walk away. God’s purpose, plan and promise is to work out the events of human history and your life in particular for the good—to give you hope and a future, an eternity with Jesus.
But this is just the beginning. Following his rescue, the Bible flashes forward many years, to his rejection.
• MOSES REJECTED
After weaning him, Moses’ mother gave him over to the Princess of Egypt, who adopted him and raised him in the palace amidst wealth and luxury. At some point during his childhood or early adulthood, however, Moses learned that he was adopted and his heart went out to his fellow Hebrews who were not as prosperous and pampered as he was.
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. 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 2:11-12 NLT).
We can sympathize with Moses’ outrage. We can understand his motives. He witnesses oppression and violence. His people are being brutally beaten and they can’t fight back. He wanted to protect them. 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 thought he could get away with it.
The next day, however, when he visited his people again, Moses saw two Hebrews fighting. 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).
All of a sudden Moses’ heart sank into his stomach. “Everyone knows what I did,” he thought. 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).
This whole episode resulted in rejection for Moses. He was rejected by his own people who saw him as a pampered prince that thought he could get away with murder. He was rejected by his adopted family, the Pharaoh, and forced to flee the country. He became a stranger in a strange land, separated from his home and family.
Sometimes, like Moses, we mistakenly think we can get away with doing wrong if no one sees or catches us. Sooner or later, though, our sin will catch up with us. We may feel abandoned or isolated because of something we did, but we shouldn’t give up. Moses didn’t. It took many years after this incident for Moses to be ready to serve God, but as Moses began to build a new life in Midian, he trusted God no matter how dark his past or bleak his future. And it’s good that he did, because the next chapter tells us about God recruiting Moses for a world-changing mission.
• MOSES RECRUITED
Forty years passed while Moses carved out a life in Midian. He met and married a young woman named Zippora, they had children, and Moses made his living as shepherd. What a humbling experience this must have been. As an Egyptian prince, Moses had everything done for him; as a Midianite shepherd, he had to do everything himself. He may not have realized it, but God was getting him ready to free Israel from Pharaoh’s grasp.
Meanwhile, the king of Egypt died and new Pharaoh took his place. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. The Bible says, “They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act” (Exodus 2:23-25 NLT).
About that time, Moses was tending his flock near Mount Sinai. Suddenly, a flickering light catches Moses’ eye. He turns to see a blazing fire in the middle of a bush and Moses just stares in amazement. Even though the dancing flames engulfed 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 father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:5-6 NLT).
Both amazed and afraid, Moses removes his sandals and hides 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).
I love this passage because it reminds us that God sees what happens here on earth. He’s fully aware of the suffering and struggles people experience—he knows about school shootings, civil unrest, lost, lonely and forgotten people. And his solution—his answer to the plight of his people—is the same today as it was then: “I am sending you.” God helps people, through people.
At first Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt? You’ve got the wrong guy, God.” Moses made 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’ 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. He empowered Moses by giving him the ability to performs wonderous miracles, starting with his staff. God asked, “What’s in your hand?” Moses replied, “a shepherd’s staff.” Then God told Moses to throw the staff down and it turned into a snake. Moses jumped back, but when he grabbed it by the tail, it transformed into a staff again. Moses later used the same staff to part the Red Sea and to produce water from a rock.
A shepherd’s staff was commonly a six-foot wooden rod with a curved hook at the top. The shepherd used it for walking, guiding his sheep, and fending off snakes, among other tasks. Still, it was just stick. God used the simple shepherd’s staff Moses carried to teach him an important lesson: God can use ordinary things for extraordinary purposes!
The same is true in your life and mine. What are the ordinary things in your life—your voice, a pen, a hammer, a broom, a musical instrument? Little did Moses imagine the power his simple staff would wield when it became the staff of God.
God still recruits ordinary men and women to do extraordinary things. Just imagine what God could accomplish through you, if you’ll answer his call.
Conclusion:
We certainly learn a lot from the life of Moses. His Nile-River rescue teaches us that God has a plan for each one of us and he often works things out so that we’ll always be in the right place at the right time. His rejection by Pharaoh and the people of Israel shows us that sin—doing the wrong thing, even for the right reason—has consequences. But his recruitment by God reminds us 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 answer his call.
The amazing thing is—Moses’ story is just getting started. Next week, we’ll watch and learn as Moses confronts Pharaoh and says those unforgettable words, “Let my people go!”
Invitation:
In the meantime, if you know God is calling you—whether he’s calling you to ministry, to believe in him, or to something else entirely—let me encourage you to stop making excuses. Trust in God. Answer his call. It just might change your life.
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.
