Humility of Moses

Most of us have heard of Moses - and there’s a reason for it. He’s kind of a big deal. In fact, I’d say he is one of the most important figures in the Old Testament. This story is the defining moment of the nation of Israel and set the stage for everything else that happens in their history leading up to the coming of Christ.

In many ways, Moses is like a hero to the Jews. Spokesperson and friend of The Almighty, God did signs and miracles through this man that they had never seen before. Moses was the one who led them out of slavery in Egypt, gave them the 10 Commandments and Jewish Law, took care of and guided them during their wanderings in the desert, and talked to God and interceded for them when they screwed up, ensuring that they made it all the way to the promised land in spite of their mistakes and lack of faith.

It’s a pretty epic story - way more than we were able to cover in one night. But definitely worth reading in its entirety. It’s kind of like an action movie - starts with the unlikely hero who has an identity crisis and goes on a journey of self-discovery before having a major showdown with his enemy. Lots of crazy effects and imagery - with the burning bush, The Nile river turning to blood, zillions of frogs and locusts popping up out of no where, columns of fire, parting the red sea so they could walk across on dry land... Great stuff. So I encourage you all to go home this week and read at least the first half of Exodus.

What we really focused on Monday night is who Moses was and what his relationship with God was like. That’s kind of what this summer series is about - looking at these heroes of the faith and figuring out what it is that made them great and figuring out how we can start to develop those awesome Godly characteristics in our own life.

In order to understand the story of Moses though, we have to go back in time and take a look at what was going on at the time of his birth. Any time you’re reading the Bible, it’s important to know the context.

The end of Genesis tells the story of a man named Joseph. You may have heard of him too - he had a pretty sweet technicolor coat. I’ll sum up his life real fast. He was one of 12 sons of Jacob, and first born son of Rachel - the wife that Jacob loved best. So even though he was kind of the runty younger brother, he was special to his father. Jacob gave him a special multi-colored cloak which basically signified that he was going to be heir of the family fortune. So he got a little cocky and his older brothers resented him. One day they beat him up, stole his coat, threw him in a pit and wanted to leave him there to die. But one brother stuck up for him and said, ‘Hey - instead of killing him let’s sell him into slavery instead.’ So they sold him to some to some passing traders, then spread some animal blood on his coat and took it back to Jacob saying they found it in the fields and that he must have been eaten by a wild animal.

Meanwhile, Joseph goes to Egypt and is a slave in the house of Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh’s guard. God is with him and he cleans up his act and becomes a wise and good worker. There are some twists and struggles to his story that you can read about on your own, but basically God helps him find favor with Pharaoh and raises him up to be second in command of all of Egypt.

There’s a famine coming and Joseph helps the Egyptians store up plenty of food so they won’t starve. But back home they’re not so fortunate. Jacob sends the brothers to Egypt to buy some grain from Pharaoh’s right hand man. So the brothers are unexpectedly reunited - AWKWARD! He messes with them a bit but finally reveals himself as their lost brother and forgives them for what they did because he knew that God was able to work through the situation to save his family from starvation. They bring dad out to reunite with his son, but he’s too old to travel home again so the whole family settles in Egypt under Joseph and Pharaoh’s protection. God blesses them - they multiply A LOT - and become a great nation of people there in Egypt. But they never lost the thought that this is not their home. Right before he dies, Joseph makes a prophesy to his brothers.

‘Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised an oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Gen. 50:24)

Joseph died. Time passed, and at the start of Exodus a new Pharoah came to power who did not know Joseph. He noticed the Isaraelites had become numerous and prosperous, and feared that if an enemy attacked, they would join the other side and conquer Egypt. So we have this common theme throughout history - powerful nation realizes there are outsiders that outnumber them living in the land, and if they got it in their heads to do so, they could rise up and overthrow the government. So Pharaoh makes the Israelites into slaves and starts to treat them REALLY badly to keep them under control and show them who’s boss. But the more he oppresses the Israelites, the more they multiply. No matter how they might suffer, God was still blessing His people. So Pharaoh takes it a step further and orders that all of the Hebrew baby boys should be tossed into the Nile river to drown.

The people of God are suffering, their children are being slaughtered - and God decides to step in and start working for their freedom. Turning to Ch. 2 - a Hebrew family gives birth to a son. They try to hide him from the Egyptians for 3 months, but as he’s growing it gets more and more difficult, so in a last, desperate attempt to save his life, the mother puts the baby in a basket and sets him adrift - trusting that God will protect him and send him somewhere where he’ll be safe.

God didn’t just lead Moses to safe place - He was adopted into the royal family where he would have the best care and education in all of Egypt! Not only that - but as we saw in these verses, God even worked it out so that Moses’ poor Hebrew family could earn some money while nursing their own son!

This is a really cool characteristic of God that I wanted to share with you because it’s both true and powerful.

If you look at Ephesians 2:20-21 it says: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

God is able to do IMMEASURABLY MORE than we could EVER ask OR imagine according to His POWER. Basically, God is able to go way past even what we think is way over the top. Moses’ family just wanted their baby boy to survive. But what did God do? He made him a prince! AND the family got to reunite and take care of their baby boy for a while. AND they, as mere slaves, got PAID to do it! How awesome is our God?

The cool thing about studying these stories in the Bible is that they’re not just stories. They’re histories. Moses may no longer be alive - but God is. And He never changes. He still has that power today - and is willing and able to use it to answer YOUR prayers. There is no limit to His power. So don’t limit God by only praying for small, manageable things. As long as what you’re asking for is within God’s will and character, you are encouraged to DREAM BIG!

Moses hadn’t quite learned this lesson yet - but he soon would. Because the baby didn’t stay a baby. He grew up and God started to open his eyes to what was really going on in Egypt. Moses finally witnesses the suffering of his people and is so overcome with rage at the injustice that he kills a man (Ex 2:11-15).

At this point, Moses wasn’t perfect. He didn’t run immediately. I don’t think he was really convicted of his sin until he realized that he was between a rock and a hard place. He had essentially rejected his adopted family by murdering the slave driver, but his birth people knew exactly what he had done and wouldn’t accept it. So he runs for his life. This is a good example of how sin in your life doesn’t only harm your personal relationship with Christ but it hurts your witness as well. Thankfully our God is merciful and able to use ANYONE - even the sinner and the outsider - as long as they are willing to repent and obey.

At the end of ch. 2 you see that Moses moves to Midian, finds a new job as a shepherd, marries the daughter of a priest, has a son, and kind of settles into a new, comfortable life. But his people back in Egypt were still suffering, and the time had come to set them free. With the death of Pharaoh, the charges against Moses would have been dropped and he was now free to return to Egypt. So God stepped in and got his attention. He did it by speaking to him through a burning bush.

WATCH BURNING BUSH CLIP FROM PRINCE OF EGYPT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VTH5SWDFq4

In this clip we see one of Moses’ many great spiritual traits: HUMILITY

When God tells Moses that He is going to send him to Egypt to set the Israelites free, Moses answers “Who am I to lead these people?”

Here Moses is - cowering before the burning, holy presence of the Lord, knowing full well who he is - former member of the oppressive royal family, now an outcast, murderer, not particularly gifted as a speaker or leader. He feels weak and ashamed and TOTALLY unequal to this task.

But Moses had a pretty special relationship with God. He knew God intimately, and understood exactly where He stood, which is what it means to be humble. So even though Moses knows that he is speaking to the God of the universe, he still has the courage to speak up and share what is on his mind. At first, God tries to comfort him by saying in v 3:12: “I will be with you.” But as Moses keeps trying to back out, God gets kind of angry. And what does he say in 4:11-12? 11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

This isn’t about Moses’ ability, it’s about God’s power. There’s a verse in the New Testament that sums up this idea, and it’s going to be this week’s memory verse because this is an important truth that you should carry with you at all time.

2 Corinthians 12:9: ‘But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.’

Not only can God use us IN SPITE OF our weaknesses, He can and often will use your WEAKNESS for His glory. The hard things we go through, or the traits we have that make us feel weak in the eyes of the world are often things that can help us relate to other lost and hurting people who need Jesus. Our so called “weaknesses” can build bridges to share the gospel. So never be afraid that God can’t use you in big ways because you’ve got this problem or have been through this thing. He can. He is able to do immeasurably more, remember?

Finally Moses starts to really consider going back to Egypt, and asks God who he should tell the Israelites sent him to them. God answers in Ch. 3:14-15:  “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”

As you were following along, did anyone notice that when God calls himself The LORD that ‘LORD’ is written in all caps? Capital LORD is what Biblical scholars call the Tetragrammaton. It’s the indescribable, unspeakable proper name of God - YHWH (Yahweh). The Israelites never spoke the name of the Lord out of reverence. One titles of God in the Jewish tradition is Ha Shem which literally means “The Name”. They had a lot of respect and humility when it came to addressing God.

But instead of just addressing himself to them as the Great Other, God also calls himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob which emphasizes His relationship to them. He’s reminding them of the covenant He made with their ancestors, and telling them that He hasn’t forgotten them. The promise is still in effect. He WILL rescue them and bring them into the promised land.

As you read through the rest of the story, you’ll see that it’s really a contrast between the humility of Moses and the stubborn pride of Pharaoh. Because the King of Egypt keeps hardening his heart and refuses to give in to God’s plan, God keeps sending plagues on the people. God says in Ex. 14:4 that all of these plagues and wonders were set up as a way for the people to see His power and to bring Glory to His name for the rest of time. He did it so we would understand who God is and what He is capable of - and that it would help us to have a right relationship with Him, even thousands of years later.

Keeping a proper perspective on who God is in relation to ourselves is not easy. So often we get wrapped up in our own lives and problems and suddenly our own importance and issues start to grow in our mind while God kind of shrinks into the background. Sometimes we have those big moments where God chooses to humble us and we fall flat on our faces before Him. But those moments might be a bit fewer and further between if we would work at knowing God better and having a more accurate view of Him and our relationship to Him at all times. One of the best ways I’ve found to do that is to set aside some time for reading about Him, focusing on who He is, and praising Him for it through song or prayer.

Here are a few names and traits of God to help you get started in your praise!

GOD IS:

Elohim - “Strong One” Sovereign God
El Shaddai - “God Almighty
El Olam: “The Everlasting God”
Jehovah Jireh: “The Lord Will Provide”
Jehovah Nissi: “The Lord is My Banner” - Rallying point, fights for His people, Victory!
Jehovah Shalom: “The Lord of Peace”
Adonai: Majesty
Abba Father
Alpha and Omega (beginning and end)
Bread of Life, Comforter, Counselor, Creator, Cornerstone, Deliverer, Friend, Head of the Body, High Priest, Holy One, Immanuel, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Light of the World, Lamb