Answers to Yesterday's Quiz on Moses

Let's look at what some of the answers may be for the questions I posted in yesterday's blog post.

When God first told Moses that it was he, that (God) would send to deliver His people from Egypt, God called Moses by name from the midst of the burning bush. Moses was there to seek God and to see what made the bush burn and yet not be consumed by the fire. Immediately when God called Moses by name, he answered, "Here I am."  Moses, raised in Pharaoh's court as an adopted son, was taught in the best schools Egypt had to offer.  He wore royal clothing, befitting an heir to the throne. He had a close relationship with Pharaoh. He was trusted. Yet when the time came on God's timeline, it was revealed to Moses that He was not an Egyptian, but indeed a Hebrew!  So when he saw one of his fellow Hebrews being mistreated, in anger, he killed the Egyptian, which would have been punishable by death. 

So Moses fled Egypt to Midian, where he meets Jethro, a Midianite Priest Jethro gives to Moses, Zipporah, his daughter, in marriage.  Moses then resides with Jethro and cares for his flocks.  During these years, Zipporah bears a son for Moses and they name him Gershom, for he said "I have been a stranger in a foreign land." Also during these many years, the Pharaoh that knew Moses has passed on and another Pharaoh comes into power.  This Pharaoh fears that the growing number of Hebrew slaves may turn on him and overtake his kingdom, because there are so many of them.  

It is in this context, that God calls out to Moses, whom He has made ready to 'shepherd' and lead His people Israel from the slavery they have endured for 400 years (since the passing of Joseph and the famine in the land that brought them to Goshen). God had been preparing Moses, all his life with not only an education to make him a leader, but as a shepherd, to lead and tend flocks. Moses was ready to lead and guide and protect God's people as they wandered through the desert on their way to the Promised Land.

So, when Moses is in the Presence of the Holy One of Israel, he prostrates himself before Him and God identifies Himself to Moses as "The God of your father-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face for fear of looking upon God.

God then tells Moses that He has heard the cries of His people; He knew their sorrows and has come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians. Then Moses begins to question and doubt. He first asks God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"  Moses had been in the desert tending sheep and raising a family and living the life of a Shepherd, dwelling in tents. He was content. It had been a long time since he walked the royal halls of Pharaoh's court, and then had fled for his life!  He was no longer the same man that left Egypt!  God promises him that He will be with him and the sign of this would be that once he had brought God's people out of Egypt, they would come back to that same mountain and worship God. 

So he asks God, "When they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" God answered and told him to reply "I AM WHO I AM"The Hebrews would recognize this name of the everlasting God.

Again, Moses says "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say "The LORD has not appeared to you."

Answer: God asked Moses:  "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod." (It was his shepherd's rod.)  God told him to cast it on the ground and it became a serpent.  Then he told Moses to pick it up again and it became his shepherd's rod again.  This was the first miracle that God showed Moses to confirm to him that He was who He said He was and would be with Moses to deliver His people.

The 2nd miracle that God showed Moses was that He told Moses to put his hand into his bosom.  When he did, it became leprous, as white as  snow.  He told him to put it back in again, and when he withdrew it, it was completely healed.

Next:  God tells Moses that if they refuse to believe these two signs, then he is to "take water from the river and pour it on the dry land.  The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land." (This is what was left out and was different from the movie "The Ten Commandments", although later, God tells Moses to extend his staff out over the river and it would become blood, which was depicted in the movie.)

So... after seeing all these things that God had shown him, how did Moses respond? He begins to make excuses, saying he's not a man of eloquent speech. (He surely remembered the higher education of the Egyptians and the courts of Pharaoh's house! He had spent years in the desert talking to sheep!) So God responds by reminding him just who 'made' the tongue and that HE would be 'with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

Ok.  So what  next? Moses is running out of excuses now, so down to the bottom line: "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send."  (Can't someone else do this better than I can??)

God works it all out and appoints Moses' brother Aaron to be the spokesperson for Moses. Moses would tell Aaron what to say and he would say it. (Moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh. Ex. 7:7)

David Jeremiah tells us that when it comes to the "will of God, commitment comes first; confirmation second. We want to reverse this order. Waiting for the confirmation means you will never make the commitment. Obedience must come first to what has already been revealed to us and then new instruction will be given."

Before we get too hard on Moses, let's consider how many times God has revealed His will in a matter to us, and we try to make excuses why we aren't the best candidate to do it, or why surely someone else is more qualified.  Yet when God chooses a person, He doesn't look at all of your great abilities does He?  He looks for a willing and obedient heart. One who want to please and obey Him.