Angering
the Almighty
Moses is one of the greatest figures
to have graced the pages of scripture. He was reputed to have spoken
with God face-to-face on a regular basis as a man would speak with a
friend (Exodus 33:11). His meekness was unmatched by any of his fellow
mortals (Numbers 12:3). In his gospel message to the Jewish council,
Stephen affirmed Moses was a “learned” man who was “mighty in
words and in deeds” (Acts 7:22). The writer of Hebrews tells us that
Moses, as a man of faith, had his spiritual priorities in perfect order
(11:24-26).
Moses was without doubt the spiritual
man’s man. It is difficult to imagine the Old Testament scriptures
without his ministry included within its pages. Yet all his miraculous
service, spiritual prowess, and sterling example of faith were nearly
lost over a single act of disobedience. Moses found himself on God’s
Death Row with his life and future ministry hanging in the
balance!
Our story begins at the burning bush
where the Angel of the Lord appeared to him (Exodus 3:1-6). As he
turned aside to behold the display, the words “Moses, Moses” emanated
from the bush, to which he responded: “Here am I.” God’s supernatural
presence had sanctified the Sinai sand, and so Moses, upon instruction
regarding the holiness of the ground upon which he stood, removed his
shoes from his feet, and hid his face in fear as the Lord further
identified himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So far, so
good! Moses had responded perfectly.
The Lord continued the dialogue by
explaining to Moses the purpose behind his appearance—the “affliction”,
“sorrows” and “oppression” of his people over a fourhundred-year period
(3:7-10). The Lord had seen enough! It was time for him to bring his
people out of Egypt. He called upon Moses to get the job done, and
confirmed that call with these words: “I will send thee unto
Pharaoh.”
I suspect that phrase struck
trepidation in the heart of this shepherd, who had found safety and
contentment far removed from his Egyptian past. This commission meant
an inevitable confrontation with the political forces than once sought
to take his life. Moreover, it represented a major disruption to his
routine as well as the dislocation and relocation of his family to a
hostile environment. How many of us would have replied: “Okay, Lord!
When do we get started?” Not many…and neither did Moses. But he is not
yet in spiritual trouble notwithstanding his less-than-enthusiastic
response, as we shall now examine in phase two of our story.
Moses responded by disqualifying
himself for the mission, citing a four-fold list of inadequacies. Shall
we call them excuses? I can identify with Moses on the matter of
inadequacy. After God called me to preach, I spent the next three
months trying to convince him that he made a big mistake. I finally saw
things his way and made my call public. Now let’s consider the excuses
offered by Moses as reasons for God to reconsider his
selection.
Excuse 1: No Reputation (3:11-12)
Moses declared: “Who am I?” He was
basically appealing to the passage of time as that which had erased any
remembrance of his former formidable stature in Egypt. But
now, in his mind, he that was once a 'somebody' is now a virtual 'nobody'. God’s
rejoinder: “I will be with thee.”
It turns out God's presence WAS sufficient to get the job done.
Apparently Moses learned this truth well. For after the Exodus
from Egypt, the miraculous Red Sea crossing and the return to
Sinai, as the Angel had told Moses beforehand, he told the Lord: "If thy presence go not WITH ME, carry us not up hence" (33:15).
As Moses contemplated all the future challenges (getting to Sinai
was just the beginning), he knew the ONE deciding factor that
would spell the difference between success and failure would be the
PRESENCE OF GOD. The Lord Jesus gave his Church the same assurance: "Lo, I am WITH YOU alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). Blessed is that individual who comes
to learn the PRESENCE OF GOD is the ONE critical factor in his or her life and ministry.
Excuse 2: No Message (3:13-22)
Moses asked: “What shall I say unto
them?” Moses claims to be unequipped in terms of message and therefore
unable to make the case. God’s rejoinder: “I AM THAT I AM” and “I AM
hath sent me.” He assures Moses that they will listen to and follow his
message based on an authoritative word from their God. And every
God-called preacher in this age has sixty-six inspired, infallible and
preserved books of unadulterated truth with which to feed the people of
God so they might believe and follow HIM!
Excuse 3: No Credentials (4:1-9)
Moses openly contradicts the Lord
with: “But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my
voice: for they will say, ‘The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.’” He
claims it will be his word against theirs…that he lacks the credentials
to win the day. Moses actually questioned the veracity of God’s
prophetic word, yet the Lord continued to deal patiently with him.
God’s rejoinder: Three displays of transformative power—(1) The rod that
transformed into a serpent, (2) The hand that
transformed into a leprous one, and (3) The water from
the river transformed into blood when poured upon dry land. Brethren,
if we fail to preach the Word in power with the result that lives are
overtly transformed for a lost world to see, are not our ministries
failures? Is transformative power on display in your church? If not,
it’s your word against theirs!
Excuse 4: No Talent (4:10-12)
Moses declares: “O my Lord, I am not
eloquent…but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” He claims to
have had a speech impediment long before the burning bush caught his
attention and that nothing had occurred since their meeting began to
alter his articulative handicap. God’s rejoinder: “Go, and I will be
with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” The Lord appealed
to Moses on the basis of his creative ability to enable him for
ministry. And so he appeals to us…never sending any servant on a
mission without providing the talent—gifts and abilities—to get the job
done! Now to phase three.
Four excuses were offered and
answered with a word of provision. Having reached the end of his
excusatorial rope, Moses erupts with this: “O my Lord, send, I pray
thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send” (4:13). Now, it’s clear
to me that Moses was expressing one of the following sentiments: (1) If
you’re set on sending me, although I’ve made it clear that I have no
desire to do this, then go ahead and send me! (2) Can’t you take a
hint? You need to find and send another messenger boy! As a result of
this shift in attitude, the “anger of the Lord was kindled against
Moses” (4:14). God then enlisted his brother Aaron to serve as
spokesman (4:14-17).
Point of instruction: God will reason
with one of his own with great longsuffering up to the point where a
sense of unworthiness shifts to a spirit of unwillingness. When the
recipient of special REVELATION responds with RELUCTANCE, he or she
will likely anger the Almighty! And RELUCTANCE spawns
DISOBEDIENCE!
Our story now moves into the fourth
and final phase. Moses returned to Jethro his father-in-law to secure
his blessing. Jethro provides it (4:18). The Lord informs Moses that
those who sought his life are now dead. With that word of assurance,
Moses heads for Egypt with his wife, sons and the “rod of God” in his
hand (4:19-20). One detail, however, was left undone—the circumcision
of a son. In reading the text of 4:24-26, it is clear to me that wife
Zipporah had objected to the circumcision, causing Moses to back down
from the Abrahamic rite. He may have reasoned: “Surely the Lord would
rather have my family united for ministry than divided by this ritual.”
Or as Christian comedian Jeff Allen would say: “Happy Wife, Happy
Life.” But no amount of accommodation manward can compensate for
disobedience Godward.
Therefore “it came to pass by the way
in the inn that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.” The
scripture does not provide the verbal detail of this meeting, but I
sense the Lord said something akin to this: “Moses, I want that boy
circumcised or you’re a dead man! You are not indispensable to this
mission! I will not tolerate disobedience in my leader! Tell your wife
that it’s either a circumcised son or widowhood! No other options
exist!” Zipporah opted for circumcision, but not without twice
expressing her disgust with Moses. Her problem, however, was with God.
Nevertheless obedience pleased the Lord and assuaged his anger, so that
“he let him go.”
Having therefore exited death row,
Moses and his brother Aaron met with the Jewish leaders and enjoyed the
measure of success God had predicted (4:27-31). Moses angered the
Almighty with his reluctance and faced execution by reason of his
potential disobedience. What set him free to experience all the power and
privileges God had in store for his future was OBEDIENCE TO THE KNOWN WILL OF GOD! May the Lord enable us to go and do likewise!
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