Used By God – Exodus (Moses) 

We finally get to explore Moses himself. These past few bible studies we have been exploring those around Moses. This section will cover a lot of bible ground, we might make it through 2 chapters in this bible study, but it will be fast and to the point, but deep at the same time. So Moses, a runaway prince of Egypt who is now a shepherd in the land of Midian. He literally went from riches to poverty. It’s been years since he been back in Egypt. It’s actually believed that it was 40 years that Moses was in the wilderness before God shows up in chapter 3 of Exodus. What can we learn from God’s Call of Moses as it relates to our 21st Century life?

First, right off the bat, God will call anyone. He is calling Moses a Sheperd to go confront the Pharaoh of Egypt. So it’s completely right to say that God doesn’t pick his leaders based on status or reputation. Moses is also a murderer. This dude has a bounty on his head, Pharaoh would love for Moses to show back up so he can put him to death. Moses knows this, that is why he is hiding out in the wilderness. 

Imagine for a minute being Moses. Your people, your family, your blood is in another country and they are slaves. You most likely are thinking that you will never see them again. You’re never going to see your brothers, sisters, mother, not even your family from among the Palace of Pharaoh. Moses must have been best friends with the Son of Pharaoh. Imagine having to leave everything you know. The heartbreak in that is so real and powerful. It must have been hard for Moses all these years and he most likely learned to harden his heart of the pain over the years. Now one day on a normal day, God shows up. God shows up and says, “You’re the one, you’re going to go back and get the entire people of Israel”. Imagine the emotional pain Moses is feeling right now. 

When God calls us to something, he might call us into the very place that brought us pain, anger, he might call us to go among our enemies. Don’t expect God to always call you to a perfect pleasing playground, where no feelings are hurt. God might just call you into the storm. Into the darkness. Why? God has a purpose. He has a purpose in using you, me, and the rest of his people, right now in the 21st century to be the Light of the World.  

We can learn a few things about God right here in this conversation with Moses. First God came like a fire, but it was controlled. This fire didn’t burn everything up that it touched, somehow the fire was non-consuming. It says that it was “Flames of fire” this same term pops up in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit shows up as “Flames of Fire”. In Exodus 3 we see it as a Bush, but in Acts 2 it’s instead Tongues. Why? Why does God show up as two different objects? Maybe, just making a guess on this, but maybe God showed up as a Bush on fire to Moses is because God’s next step in how he would deal with his people was going to take place in the desert, where this bush was burning. And then in Acts 2, God used tongues of fire, because the next thing God would do is allow his people to speak in Tongues. Both of these events are actually one-time seasonal events in history. Before the Israel Age begins, Bush is on fire and before the Church Age begins, some tongues are on fire. 

So when God calls Moses, he tells Moses who he is. God isn’t hiding from Moses. God and Moses are not speaking some special angel tongue. God is clearly speaking to Moses on Holy Ground and calls his name out two times. God calls Moses and tells Moses all that will happen and all he wants him to do, but Moses is afraid. 

Rightfully so, Moses was on the run. He had people who wanted to kill him. He tries three different ways to try to get God to send someone else. Moses was perfectly fine not serving God. Moses was perfectly fine dying in the desert with his new wife and kids and just forget about the people of Israel. God was not perfectly fine with that at all. God created Moses for a purpose, he had a plan for Moses’s life and God intended for Moses to fulfill The God Plan he had for him. 

In 4:10 Moses told God, “I am not eloquent… I am slow of speech”. God picked the perfect person, who had nothing to give. There was nothing Moses could offer God. No skill set, no special education, nothing, not even about to speak straight. He was afraid of a snake. A dude that been in the desert is scared of a snake, come on, Moses is a coward. It was this dude, Moses whom God called to stand face to face with the most powerful men on earth and demand the people of Israel be freed. 

This story reminds me of the Career Pastors across America. They have a great education, they get a nice salary. Some of them don’t even preach the Gospel. They don’t serve God. Many churches are dead because of these career pastors. Moses is no Career Pastor, he was a Called Pastor. The difference is big. Called Pastors called literally do anything else than Lead the People of God. They have skill sets in other things and they have no desire to go lead the People of God. If it seems like I’m attacking the pastors in this writing, then your right. What happened to pastors that stood for the Truth of God in this nation. So many churches starting to preach the homosexuality is right, that abortion is okay. I am always coming across false teachings. Mormonism is a growing movement that rejects the truths of the bible. Where are all the Moses’ of our generation, who will follow God even in the darkest place, in the most unpopular room? 70 years on earth, 20 are given for growing up, another 20 are given for retirement and dying. You have 30 years to glorify God, but instead, you glorify false teachings.