When Moses was a man, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave.
So he struck and killed the Egyptian. The next day, Moses saw two
Hebrews fighting. "Why do you hurt your brother?" he asked.
"Why do you judge us?" demanded one of the men. "I didn't you
just kill a fellow Egyptian?" Moses realized that li is secret was
out, so he ran to hide in a region called Midian. And there he
became a shepherd. One day, as he tended sheep in a lonely place,
he saw a bush that was on fire. But even though the flames leaped
high, the bush didn't burn up. Moses drew closer to examine this
strange sight.
"Moses! Moses!" called God. "Stay right there, and take off your
sandals, for the ground where you stand is holy. I am the God of
your people." Moses obeyed. He fell to his knees and hid his face
in fear.
"I have seen my people suffering," said God. "I have heard their
cries and felt their pain. I have come to deliver them out of
Egypt, and into a land that flows with milk and honey. And you,
Moses—you will go to Pharaoh. You will lead my people out of
Egypt!"
"But who am I?" asked Moses. "Why me?"
"Because I am with you," said God. "Go and tell Pharaoh to set my
people free—to let my people go."
Moses obeyed God. He gathered his family and returned to Egypt.
Finally, he stood before Pharaoh, with his brother Aaron at his
side. God used Moses and Aaron to perform fantastic miracles. But
Pharaoh had a cold, hard heart. Pharaoh refused to listen to God.
God Restores Failures
God had not given up on Moses. Although Moses had disobeyed God's laws, God was not finished with him. After Moses had spent forty years in the desert, God told Moss tat he was still the one who would lead the Hebrews out of slavery.
We all have disobeyed God. Sometimes out peers do not overlook or orget our sins, which ca make us feel inadequate. But God does not give up on us. If we allow him, God will pick us up and put us back on track.
Who Me?
I
magine how Moses must have felt when God told him again that he would be the one to lead the Israelites outof Egypt. He had already tried once to rescue the Hebrew slaves, and he failed. It's no surprise that hwen God told Moses to return to Egypt, Moses immediately begun listing his excuses for not going.
Moses wasn't simply trying to disobey God. He probably felt inadequate. Have you ever felt that way? " I don't have a lot of talent. I am not a person of influence. What can I do?"
We all feel insecure at times. But we don't have to depend on our own strength. God had promised to be with us, just as he was with Moses. When God asks us to do something, he will give us the ability and the resources to do it.
deliver them out of
Egypt, and into a land that flows with milk and honey. And you,
Moses—you will go to Pharaoh. You will lead my people out of
Egypt!"
