When Aaron struck the dust with his staff, the people of Egypt were covered with gnats. There are a couple of firsts in this, the third plague. This is the first one for which there is no warning. That happens for each set of three. There’s no warning given for the 3rd, 6th, or 9th plagues. This serves perhaps to draw attention to the last and deadliest plague. This is also the first plague that has to do with earth or land. The first two plagues, Nile and frogs, are related to water. The next 4 plagues have to do with land. The last 4 plagues have to do with the sky. As we talked about last week, the Egyptian ‘gods’ were related to either earth, or sky, or sea. This is also the first plague that the magicians cannot replicate. You have to believe Pharaoh was glad they could not use their magic to produce more bugs. 

Again, the Great I Am is striking a blow against a false god by showing that He is sovereign over all of life, right down to the very dust that we walk on. One belief popular in ancient Egypt was that Heqet, the frog queen (confronted in the second plague), had a husband named Khnum, who had the power to create new humans from the dust of the ground. He could shape them into people out of dust or clay but only Heqet, the goddess of fertility, could breathe life into them. 

When Aaron struck the ground, Moses wrote that “All the dust of the earth became gnats.” The last time that phrase was used, “the dust of the earth” was God’s promise to Abraham: “I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth.” In other words, Abraham would have more offspring than he could count. And Egypt was covered with more gnats than it could ever imagine. Most scholars believe these were not gnats, which are a nuisance, but they were mosquitoes, which are blood-sucking terrorists. Ligon Duncan tells the story of Alonzo Ramiriz working with a team of missionaries in the Amazon basin right off the river. When he got there, he saw the team going out to the river to bathe. Everyone went except for anyone who had cut himself shaving, because of the piranhas. The rest would risk the piranhas…because of the mosquitoes. Alonzo said that the sound of the mosquitoes around them around the clock was like a gigantic aircraft landing, and the sound of the swarms of mosquitoes would literally drive some people mad. The only relief from the mosquitoes was underwater, but the second they emerged, they were covered by them again. That gives you some taste of what happened in Egypt. They swarmed on every human being and every animal in the land. What was God doing in these plagues?

John Currid at Reformed Theological Seminary wrote that God was “de-creating Egypt.” God demonstrated His power and brought such chaos that He who created water and gathered it into seas on the second day of creation and made the waters swarm with fish on the fifth day of creation turned the Nile into blood in the first plague. He who made vegetation grow on the third day of creation obliterated almost all the crops and the fields of Egypt in the 7th and 8th plagues. He who made two great lights in the heavens for the earth on the fourth day of creation turned those lights out with the 9th plague. He who made man in his own image and gave him dominion over the earth on the 6th day of creation afflicted the men and women of Egypt with boils in the 6th plague. And then He took their firstborn in the tenth plague. The de-creation of Egypt reveals who God is to the people and results in the release of their captives. Remember, God told Moses, “The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

Maybe the magicians, even as lost as they could be, were the first to see the truth. They said, “This is the finger of God.” They may have added, And if this is God’s finger, we don’t want to see His fist. The magicians did not know God. But they had eyes to see His power. 

The Psalmist wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” On that day, so did the mosquitoes. 

The last time we saw Moses by the Nile was when he was drawn out of the water and handed to the Pharaoh’s daughter. Her actions changed his life as she saved the deliverer whom God had raised up. Now Moses is back at the Nile and what he will do, by God’s power, will change the Pharaoh’s life and family. God is about to show His sovereign control over every one of the Egyptian gods and over everything that is important to the people of Egypt. 

Moses carried his staff, the symbol of God’s presence, and he said what God had told him to say to Pharoah: “So far you have not obeyed. Thus says the Lord, ‘By this you shall know that I am the Lord.” He told Pharaoh he would strike the Nile with his staff and the river would turn to blood. The fish will die, the Nile will stink, and the people of Egypt will not want to drink it. Often in the Bible God tells his people or his enemies what He is going to do, what sign or wonder they can expect. The signs and wonders are given to confirm His Word, to demonstrate His sovereignty and might and His worthiness to be obeyed and to be believed. We see it in the 10 plagues here. We see it also in the seven signs Jesus performed in the Gospel of John. For example, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” and healed a man born blind. He fed the five thousand with 5 loaves and two fish and said, “I am the bread of life.” He said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and raised Lazarus from the dead.

 Aaron struck the Nile with the staff of God, and that river and every source of water in the land turned to blood, just as God had spoken. Even the water that was sitting in pots or buckets in people’s houses was turned to blood. They couldn’t drink it, wash with it, or bathe with it. The whole land stunk of dead fish and blood. God struck a blow against man’s worship of the creation rather than the Creator while also taking away easy access to something they took for granted they would always have. So-called self-sufficiency? Upended.

 The first plague points us to the tenth plague, when the blood of all the firstborn will be shed because of the disobedience of the Pharaoh and his people. We also see a horrific parallel in the third bowl of God’s wrath in the book of Revelations where the first plague in Egypt is magnified to universal proportions. “The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” 

The blood of judgment in Egypt was poured out on a nation that had spilled the blood of God’s people for 400 years in their enslavement. And how did the Pharaoh respond? Not a word. He walked into his house, and Moses writes, “he did not even take this to heart.” What a contrast. Moses and Aaron obeyed God, confronted the Pharaoh because of their love for God and their desire to see their people set free to go and serve God. The Pharaoh saw the devastation brought to his people who then had to dig wells to survive for 7 days, and he showed no concern, no remorse, nothing at all. 

It is the dividing line in Scripture, isn’t it? We hear the truth of God’s word and we say yes and respond with obedience and walk in faithfulness no matter the cost. Or we hear the truth and ignore His Word and the warnings of more and worse judgment, and we go our own way and live the way that pleases us. But as RC Sproul said, “Sin is cosmic treason.” We can only go our own way until that Day. 

The Day every person without Christ will stand before God. They will have nothing to say then, as well.

Moses interrupts his narrative in Exodus 6 for a genealogy. And if you read through it, you might think, this is not very interesting reading. Or you may think, who in his right mind would name his son “Mushi?” But remember Paul’s instruction, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” That includes the genealogies, and there are a lot of them in the Bible. This genealogy is intended to contribute to making us complete and equipping us for every good work. 

It starts with, “These are the heads of their fathers’ houses.” The genealogy is organized by families, by father’s houses. Families in the Old and New Testament were usually an extended family living in close proximity with one another and united by their shared blood and a father who was looked to for spiritual authority. A godly family is a means of grace, through whom God extends his blessing. If you are part of a godly family, that is reason for great praise to God. But God also rescues many from ungodly families and adopts them into His family. Tony Merida tells the story of a baby named Benjamin who was thrown into a toilet in a slum in Kenya. I have seen those toilets in Nairobi’s Kibera slum. They are rickety outhouses where you do what you need to do over a hole in the ground. Baby Benjamin was dropped 18-feet into one of those holes, landing in an unspeakable mess. A passerby heard him cry and spent hours digging through the filth to rescue him from death. Benjamin was taken to a ministry in Nairobi where he ended up in the home of Dennis and Allison Omondi, who were unable to have children. That’s a physical picture of the spiritual condition every one of us was in before God rescued us from the filth of sin and adopted us into His family.

 Notice that the genealogy in Exodus 6 starts with the first three sons of Jacob, who were Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. And that’s as far as it goes, because Moses’ intent seems to be to give us more information on Levi. That was the family God chose for ministerial duties in Israel. Levi was the priestly tribe and his descendants ministered in the tabernacle and later in the temple. We are told that Levi lived to be 133 years old and had three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. In his fourth book, Moses gave us more information about these three sons of Levi and what they were responsible for. Gershon and his family were responsible for guarding everything on the west side of the tabernacle and when they broke camp, they carried the screens and coverings that would have to be set up again where they settled next. Kohath and his family guarded the south side of the tabernacle and were responsible for the furniture: the ark, table, lampstand, and more. Merari and his family guarded the north side camped and were responsible for the structural elements: the frames, bars, poles, pillars, and more. If you’re concerned about the eastern side, the front entrance to the tabernacle, Moses and Aaron and their families were camped there. It was a division of labor much like we have today in healthy churches. Antioch. Elders and deacons and many others who serve the church in various ways help make the church flourish, by God’s grace. 

If you read the genealogy on Exodus 6, you will notice two cautionary tales (don’t follow their example) and one worth imitating. Nadab and Abihu sought glory for themselves rather than God and were consumed. Korah was jealous of others’ authority and was swallowed up, literally, along with 250 others who followed him in his rebellion. The zeal of Phinehas was praised by God as he intervened for the name of the Lord and His holiness. 

We can learn a lot from these men of Levi. 

When the Israeli foreman heard that their people had to now find their own straw to make bricks because of Moses and Aaron, they were fit to be tied. In a confrontation with their spiritual leaders they said they hoped the Lord would judge Moses and Aaron for making their lives miserable. What is Moses to do, now?  We find out quickly as the deliverer of Israel, confused if not downright angry, confronts the Lord. Life is hard, we all know that, and we can learn what to do and what not to do by considering Moses’ reaction. 

“Then Moses turned to the Lord.” Ok, that’s a good start. Moses had just been rebuked by the foremen, but instead of blasting the foremen, he turned to the Lord. Good job, Mo. I admit that when someone is critical with me, my first response is too often to defend myself rather than accept the correction with grace. Moses did not do that but notice what he did: he questioned the great I Am, he complained to him, he even accused him. These appear with words he spoke to God which include, “Why have you, why did you, you have not!” 

His first question for God was, “Why have you done evil to this people?” We know the Lord God cannot do evil. But the same word used here is used in Numbers when Moses said to God, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant?” I don’t think Moses is questioning God’s righteousness, but he is asking that age-old trope, “Why are you allowing bad things to happen to good people?”  The second question is a complaint: “Why did you ever send me?” Moses seems to be making this about himself and questioning God’s wisdom at the same time! I told you I wasn’t the right person to do this and I told you they wouldn’t listen, so… why did you send me in the first place?

The third thing that came out of Moses’ mouth was an accusation: “You have not delivered your people at all.” Moses heard God’s promises and now he is questioning God’s credibility, because God has not followed through and delivered on Moses’ timetable. Wow. I am tempted to ask, “How is Moses not a greasy spot before all those words even finished falling out of his mouth?” Simply this: God is not afraid of our questions. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” 

I also think we see Moses here becoming like that grain of wheat Jesus talked about, falling into the ground to die, so that he could bear much fruit. Moses had to die to himself, his pride, his thinking that he knew best and that this deliverance ministry God gave him should be easier. But no. Life is hard. We all understand that.

Do you have questions? Turn to the Lord. Ask him questions. Search the Scriptures. Life is hard. But there is hope in the Lord, in his word, and in those who know him. Ask people who have walked with the Lord longer than you have who have evidence of good fruit in their lives. Moses didn’t have anybody on the planet like that. But you and I do.

When it comes to our relationship with the Creator of the universe, there really are no dumb questions. Just plenty of dumb and deadly assumptions.

When Moses and Aaron first walked into the palace to confront Pharaoh, they knew they were meeting with a man who thought he was a god. Truth be told, he did have unimpeachable authority to have them drawn and quartered on the spot, without question. But these men confronted him anyway. They were ordinary men upon whom the grace of God was abundantly poured out for such a time as this. Notice how Pharaoh responded.

He said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?” That’s a question for the ages! A question every single one of us, every person who has ever lived has had to answer. Or will eventually answer with the truth. Who is the Lord? Why should I obey Him? The Pharaoh had the wrong heart but he asked the right question. And every single person on the last day, the day of judgment, will either enter into heaven because he or she has bowed the knee by faith to Christ and obeyed His voice, or will enter into eternal damnation after he or she has bowed the knee to Christ. The Bible says, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The Pharaoh then says, “I do not know the Lord…and I will not let Israel go.” It is an honest answer. At least the Pharaoh knows what he doesn’t believe. How many people know that? The hardest people to reach with the Gospel are the people who think they believe in Christ but really do not. They are cultural Christians who know about Jesus and may even go to church, but they do not know Him. Their lives do not bear the marks of repentance and faith and obedience to Christ.

Moses and Aaron persisted and told Pharaoh they spoke for the Lord, the God of the Hebrews. They asked him again to let the people go worship God, and added, “lest he fall upon us with pestilence or the sword.” This first warning was given to the Pharaoh to let him know there would be consequences for his disobedience. Again, the courage and confidence of Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh is critical here, and it comes from their relationship with God. Moses was just a man, but a man who had been with God, had heard His voice and seen His power, and now was ready to do God’s will. It was the same with the Jesus’ disciples.

They were ordinary men and we can easily catalogue their selfishness and sinfulness and betrayal in the Gospels. But these same men, filled with the Holy Spirit, would stand before rulers and leaders of Israel and astonish them with their boldness. “They were uneducated, common men…(but the rulers of Israel) recognized that they had been with Jesus.” You and I, too, have been with Jesus. Though we have not seen Him, we know Him and we are in Christ, and He is in us. When Spurgeon preached on the life of Moses, he had this to say to his listeners: “Do you still stutter? Are you still slow of speech? Nevertheless, go on. Have you been rebuked and rebuffed? Have you had little else than defeat? This is the way of success.… Toil on and believe on. Be steadfast in your confidence, for with a high hand and an outstretched arm the Lord will fetch out his own elect, and he will fetch some of them out by you.”

Ordinary men and women who know and are known by our extraordinary God: that is who we are. Go, speak in His name and with His authority!

“It is time to go.” How many times do we use that phrase in our daily lives? “It is time to go on vacation” makes us happy. “It is time to go home from vacation” is a mixed bag. Some are deeply saddened by that, but some are overjoyed that they can go home and rest. How about, “It is time to go to work?” Or, as I heard last week from a young couple, “It is time to go to the altar and get married.” I One of my favorites is, “It is time to go to church.” I love that one. As the Psalmist said, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” 

It came time one day for Moses to go. Back to the land of the pyramids and the Pharaoh. Back to the slave drivers and the people they are oppressing. Back to Egypt. God had work for him there. 

God’s call on his life took precedence over everything else for Moses, as it does for you and me. Jesus made that clear to us when he said in essence that anyone who loves his father or mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters more than he loves Jesus is not worthy to be his disciple. Moses was commissioned by God to go; that meant he could not stay in Midian. But…it was important for him to leave in the right way. The first thing Moses did was speak to Jethro with great respect. He asked him for permission to leave, and he did so because this was his father-in-law and his employer. Moses told him he needed to go back to see his brothers. He may have looked like an Egyptian when he first arrived in Midian, but Moses clearly understood who he was and who his people were. Jethro spoke a blessing over Moses, telling him to go in peace. 

Moses packed his bags and took his family and the staff of God with him on the journey, which represented God’s presence and divine authority. This is a wonderful reminder that we who are in Christ travel through life as a family. Even if you are a spiritual orphan as far as blood relatives go, you are part of a universal family of brothers and sisters in Christ. And more importantly, you are part of a spiritual family in a local church, or should be, where you know your family members and are known by them, and you are known by your heavenly Father and his Son. You are not alone. 

Moses was not alone, either. He went to meet with his brother, Aaron, for the two of them were being sent to the Pharaoh. We serve a sending God! They met at the mountain of God, a long way from Egypt. One of the questions I had was, “How did Aaron get out of Egypt?” I mean, he didn’t have any vacation days as a slave. The answer is simply, God made it happen. 

Moses was 80 and Aaron was 83 so here they are, two octogenarians, but still in their prime. Let it be so for me, Lord! And look at this: they kiss. Their brotherly affection was restored after 77 years of absence from one another. Moses didn’t add this because it was embarrassing but I’m pretty sure that after Aaron kissed his younger brother, he put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie. Because that’s what big brothers do! This moment of affection and brotherly love was deeply needed, because these two were headed into the hornet’s nest. Only by the grace of God would they, or we, be able to do what is required.

Let’s go!

“Oh my Lord!” That was how objection #4 started. I cannot do this, Moses said, because I am not a good speaker. I am not eloquent. I am slow of speech and of tongue. Much has been written about what he meant by this, and the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, says that Moses stuttered and stammered. We simply don’t know. I am glad we don’t, because it really doesn’t matter. Moses’ excuse is one of the most prevalent among Christians since the cross first came up as a matter of conversation. When it comes to proclaiming the truth of the Gospel, we say we cannot do it, we are not confident, we don’t know what to say, we don’t know how to answer objections, we aren’t wise or powerful or noble or… “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?… For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong…” That is how God responds to us.

In Moses’ case, God answers his excuse with a question, a deeply theological one: “Who made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” Profound truth here, that our abilities, our inabilities, and our disabilities are all ordained by God. But not one of them is a problem for God, just for us until we reconcile them with the sovereignty and the mercy of God. It reminded me of John 9 when the disciples asked why the man born blind was born blind. Was it his sin? His parents’ sin? Surely someone is to blame for this! Jesus said the man was born blind “that the works of God might be displayed in him.” 

I am God, the Lord said to Moses. I made each person as I made them. No mistakes. Donald Grey Barnhouse used to tell the story of a pastor’s wife he knew who had given birth to a baby with Down’s Syndrome. And the pastor was deeply ashamed, devastated, and he told Barnhouse the news and said that his wife didn’t know yet. The nurse had only told the father the news. He said, “I don’t know what I am going to tell her.” Pastor Barnhouse said to him, “My friend, this is of the Lord.” He turned to this same chapter in Exodus and read to him this text. “Who made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” The he said, “My friend, you know the promise of Romans 8 that all things, including this child with Downs Syndrome, work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.” The man returned to the hospital and told his wife, “My darling, the Lord has blessed us with a child with Downs Syndrome.” After she cried, she asked him where he got that from and he shared with her the same passage from Exodus 4. Later when she called her mother, she shared the news, “Mother, the Lord has blessed us with a baby with Downs Syndrome.” Word spread in the hospital of the pastor and his wife rejoicing over this gift from God and the next Sunday more than 70 nurses from that hospital attended this pastor’s church, and thirty of them came to faith in Christ that day. 

Who made your mouth, and mine? The Lord God did.

Every living thing grows. That’s why we have to keep our grass mowed in the summer time, lest we
lose small children in the backyard. God created the earth and started civilization in a garden, one
that was already growing when man was created. You plant seeds in your garden, and you water
them with the expectation of growth. Otherwise, what’s the point? But, let’s be honest: you and I can’t
make the tomato plant grow. Only God can. Jesus said it himself: “The kingdom of God is as if a man
should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and
grows; he knows not how.” Gardens grow, and so do people. We started life as a zygote, a fertilized
ovum. After we were born, our parents took care of us as we grew from an infant in arms to a baby
trying to turn over and to crawl. We learned to crawl, and then to walk. That is expected growth and
maturity. If you walked by a church nursery and saw a few babies crawling around in diapers, you
wouldn’t think twice about it. Babies do that sort of thing. But if you glanced in there and saw a
couple of the adult leaders sitting on the floor and wearing onesies, pacifiers in place, playing with
toys, you would have every right to be alarmed. Babies in the nursery are normal. Fully functioning
adults in a nursery? That’s tragic.
There is an expectation of growth because God, the creator of all things, made us to grow up. We
expect it. We also desire it. Though some of us might like to go back to our childhood and have the
energy of a ten-year old, none of us wants to go back and have the stature of a ten-year old. Or the
wisdom of a 5-year old. It is natural and normal for a child to want to grow up to be a teenager, and
it is normal for a teenager to want to grow into an adult. Yes, ‘adulting’ is hard, but God created us for
growth and maturity. We do not want, nor should we want, just to maintain the status quo. Even
worse, we do not want to regress, to go backwards in our growth. Stephen Um writes, “Now the only
thing more fearful than stasis (not growing) is regression, decline, and death. We go to great lengths
to hide the ways in which we decline and regress. What is clearly known in the universe is that the
principle of decay clearly exists. As it has been said, ‘Gravity isn’t just physical, it’s also historical.’”
Growth is part of God’s plan. So is regression and decay of all things physical. Every living thing has a
growth cycle and then it begins to move towards death, quickly if it’s a fly, and very slowly if it’s an
oak tree. You want to hear some really good news? Incredible news? That is not the case with our
spiritual being. Paul wrote, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner
self is being renewed day by day.” Continual spiritual growth for the Christian is as much the plan
and purpose of God as the life cycle of an apple tree. Our bodies may break down, and they do, but
our life with Christ grows stronger every day.
This is why Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians. The church there was a spiritual nursery.
Instead of growing to maturity, the church was filled with jealousy and strife and factions. The people
were fighting like 3-year-olds, and Paul asked them, “Are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a
human way?”
God hard-wired us for growth, so we do not have to be ‘merely human.’ In Christ, we can grow into
spiritual men and women, fully equipped to do all that God has created us to do.
So, how’s it growing, church?

When God called Moses by name out of the burning bush, Moses answered “Here I am!” But when God told Moses He was sending him to Pharaoh, Moses said, “Who am I?” I love the honesty of Moses. Because you and I can relate to it, right? We have each had a “Who am I” moment when confronted with something we believe God is calling us to do. I ask that question of myself often, and am comforted by the fact the Paul, the mighty apostle, asked the same thing. He said, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.” We are sent to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God. Then Paul asks, “Who is sufficient for these things?” What’s the answer? Christ is! It is Jesus who leads us in triumphal procession as His sent ones. Yet we often say like Moses, “Who I am?” 

The good news is that Moses was asking GOD that question. Listen, dear reader. If you have a “Who am I” moment, have it with God. He will answer and has answered that question clearly in His word. I believe what we see in Moses’ story is true for every believer. We are called first to faith (salvation) and second to service. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling because as Paul said, “It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” 

It is God who works in you, not you who work for God. Notice that God didn’t say in response to Moses’ concern, “Oh no, no, you can do this, Moses. You were born a Hebrew and you clearly love your people. And you were raised in Pharaoh’s house and have clearly learned how to be a prince of Egypt and speak truth to power. You are the perfect man for this. Not feeling it? Here, Moses, read this book I found at the bookstore on how to imagine yourself into a way of feeling powerful. ‘Cause it is in you, man!” 

No. God said, essentially, “You are dead right, Moses. You cannot do this. And good news, you’re not doing this. I am.” God said, “I will be with you.” You are being sent but I am going with you. And it is I who work in you both to will and to do. We can start every day that way because God does not change, so we say with confidence, “God is with me.” The call of service to God is always accompanied by the promise of God’s presence. One of my favorites is where God said to Isaiah (and you and me), “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” 

“Moses,” God said, “I will be with you.” And then he gave Moses a sign! “When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Think about that one. Moses may have thought, “Hey, wait a minute. Whoa. God, are you saying I will know I can do this when all the people of Israel are here, free, serving you on this mountain?” “Right.” “But, but, that’s not a sign is it? I mean, that’s a sign I won’t see until…” Shhh, yes, Moses. What I am telling you to do is to believe My word. To trust. Me. 

Moses was still not convinced so he said, “What if they ask me the name of the God who sent me, what do I say?” Moses went from “Whom am I?” to “Who are you?” He was still trying to deal with his own fears of inadequacy instead of trusting in God’s all powerful sufficiency. 

Now, not to be too hard on Moses, we all struggle with the same questions at times. But here’s the positive side of what Moses was doing. In his trembling before God, he was working out his salvation, not working it in or working for it, but working it out. He was wanting to know the God of the universe. Who are you, God? It is the most important question we can possibly ask. And God delights in answering that question. Our God has made Himself known to us. 

Who are you? God. My King and my Lord. Who am I? I am yours.

When at the age of 40 Moses went out to see his people, who were slaves, he witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses took matters into his own hands, killing the slave master and burying him in the sand. Almost as though he had decided right then to deliver his people from bondage, one at a time. But that was not God’s will at the time, and not God’s way at all. 

One of the keys to growing up is learning from our mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, each one of us, and with regularity. But do we learn from them? Not just that we did something wrong. More importantly, are we willing to recognize what we did wrong and then change accordingly? Otherwise we are like people Paul wrote about who were burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, but were always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Moses had to flee Egypt and the Pharaoh because he committed murder, a crime of passion fueled by his anger and his overblown reaction to injustice. Will he learn from that? Will he change? God gives him an opportunity almost as soon as he arrives in Midian and rests near a well.

While Moses sat there, seven daughters of the priest of Midian came to water their father’s flock, but shepherds also showed up and started to run the women off. Apparently, this was a daily occurrence, but Moses was there this time. We have seen this movie before, haven’t we, where Moses sees oppression taking place and he takes out the oppressor? But this day was different. He stood up when he saw the aggression and took care of the shepherds himself. We don’t know how many men there were, but it didn’t matter. Moses’ skill and training was more than a match for them. How do we know that Moses learned from the last time he responded to oppression? He didn’t kill the shepherds! The story of rescue was told to their father, Reuel, when the seven daughters got home and he asked how they could possibly have gotten the flocks watered so quickly. An Egyptian protected us, ran off the bad guys and then watered out flocks! 

They were as amazed that Moses watered their flocks as they were that he protected them from the shepherds. This just was not done. For a man to serve a woman in those times and in such a way, drawing water for her flocks, was unheard of. This is Moses pointing us to a greater prophet, the greatest of all. Jesus taught his disciples, and you and me, that we are not supposed to be like the Gentiles who lord it over the people, “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.” Then while the disciples were scratching their heads over that one, Jesus added, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Like Jesus, when confronted with evil, Moses stood, saved, and served. 

When Reuel heard this from his daughters, he rebuffed them for leaving their rescuer in the wilderness. So they found Moses and fetched him to the house. He stayed for a meal. Then he stayed for a good night’s sleep. Then he stayed for a wife, as Reuel gave him his daughter, Zipporah, to marry. She then gave Moses a son. And Moses, the prince of Egypt and one-day deliverer of God’s people became a shepherd for 40 years. Perfect training for what lay ahead.

What can we learn from this event in Moses’ life? God’s plan and timetable are perfect, but they often do not match ours. We want it now. We want it easy and convenient. We want it our way. But God patiently prepared this man as he cared for sheep and learned how to live in the wilderness and learned how to protect his flock and learned how to lead stubborn sheep even when they didn’t want to follow. Hmmm. Sounds like God was preparing Moses for what would happen in the last 40 years of his life.

Hey, young people, don’t be in a hurry to figure out your whole life. But do not delay in preparing your heart to follow God. Commit to doing hard things. Commit to reading the Bible and listening to God’s voice as he speaks through his word. Commit to serving others. Hey, older people, the same is true for us! It is never time to sit back and say, “My work here is done.” Or to believe that God cannot use you and your time, talents, and gifts in his service.