In our last meditation, we learned about God’s call given to Moses to become the human deliverer of the nation of Israel from Egyptian slavery. We saw that Moses was totally unwilling to do what God asked him to do. It seems he had developed an inferiority complex caused by his past failures. God spoke personally to Moses on Mt. Sinai thru a burning bush when he was eighty years old. He had been living a quiet and peaceful life as a shepherd for forty years when God called him. Moses simply refused to accept the responsibility of dealing with the Pharaoh of Egypt even though he knew everything about Egyptian culture and the problems of Israel’s slavery. He attempted to get out of God’s call by making five excuses to God (Exodus 3:11-4:17). All of these excuses were bad reasons for not yielding to God’s will.
Moses’ first excuse was that he was a NOBODY and totally inadequate to do what God was calling him to do (Exodus 3:11-12). God told Moses He would certainly be with him and enable him to do all that He wanted done.
Moses’ second excuse was that he did not have an answer concerning whose authority he had to be Israel’s deliverer (Exodus 3:13-22). This was really quite foolish. God told Moses that He was Jehovah, the Self-Existent Creator, who was sending him to Egypt. The Infinite God of the universe would give him the authority to act in His Great Name: “I AM WHO I AM.” Moses was to tell the Israelites in Egypt that God was going to deliver them from slavery and take them to the promised land that He had given to their forefather Abraham. God would deliver Israel thru the display of supernatural miracles. Moses was still not submissive and gave God his third excuse.
Moses’ third excuse to God (Exodus 4:1-9). He raised the possibility that none of the leaders in Israel would believe that God had sent him. God’s response was that He gave Moses the ability to manifest three supernatural miracles, and this would prove that God had sent him. Moses was still belligerent and gave God another excuse.
Moses’ fourth excuse (Exodus 4:10-12). Moses said that he was not an eloquent speaker and had problems speaking. It is interesting to note that Acts 7:22 states that when Moses was in Egypt before his exile, he was “mighty in words.” Moses had either lost his ability to speak or was just making another excuse. God answered Moses and told him that He would enable him to speak and teach him what to say.
Moses’ fifth and final excuse. Moses simply told God that he was unqualified for the task and that He should get a better-qualified person to do it (Exodus 4:13-17). At this point, the Bible states that God got angry with Moses. God’s answer was that He would allow his older brother, Aaron, to assist him but that Moses would still be God’s choice to be Israel’s deliverer from slavery.
Moses finally submitted to obey God (Exodus 4:18-2). Moses is a great example of how God can initially take an unwilling and belligerent man and transform him into a very powerful and effective servant. Moses developed a very intimate and personal relationship with God.
Lessons to be Learned
- God gets upset and angry with people who make excuses for not doing His will.
- Disobedience to God can result in the loss of many of His blessings.
- God is Jehovah, the Self-existent, eternal, infinite Creator who can enable His servants to accomplish whatever He wills and asks them to do. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!
