Our story finds Moses on the far side of the desert, a strange place for the son of a people who were brick-making slaves to the Pharaoh in Egypt. Moses’ birth is an oft told story. His parents hand crafted an arc made from reeds and placed him in the Nile river to protect him from the Pharaoh’s paranoia and was then found by one of the Pharaoh’s daughters. She named him “Moses” because his name sounds like the Hebrew word “to draw out” and raised him as her own son.
When Moses grew to be a man, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave and he killed the Egyptian. The story got out and a price was put on Moses’ head. Moses fled to the desert in Midian and found a well used by shepherds. At that well he met and protected the daughters of priest named Jethro from the local shepherds and drew water out of the well for them.
Moses married one of those daughters and had a son whose name was the same as the land in which the Hebrew slaves lived in Egypt. Moses was living as an alien in a foreign land tending a priest’s flock in the desert. In chapter three, Moses has traveled with the flocks to the far side of the desert and God has Moses exactly where he wanted him.
There is the burning bush. There is the voice of God calling, “Moses! Moses!” Why the far side of the desert? Why does God say Moses’ name twice?
We aren’t very good at listening. There is something about the far side of the desert in our own lives that helps us attend more closely to God’s voice. There are times when God calls us to spend time in the desert so that we can hear him more clearly. There are times when God leads us into the desert so we won’t be distracted when he speaks to us.
God often has to call our names more than once. I suspect there is more going on here in Moses’ case. Remember that Moses’ name sounds like the Hebrew word for “draw out.” God wasn’t just saying Moses’ name, he was starting a conversation about what he wanted Moses to do. God was calling Moses to return to Egypt to draw out his people from slavery and bring them back to that place and worship him.
Moses responds to God by saying “Here I am.” But upon hearing the details of God’s call he immediately objects saying, “who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?”
But it isn’t about who we are. It is about who God is and what he is about in our world. God says to us, “I will be with you.”
God’s call resonates deeply with us just as God’s call for Moses to draw his people out of slavery resonated with Moses birth. God wants to start a conversation with us—perhaps he already has—that is rooted in who he has created us to be, who he is in truth, and what he wants to do in our world.
I know God is calling. Will we participate in the conversation?
September 2, 2008 at 6:37 am
Great thoughts, Mike. I love that Moses was doing common tasks and being a faithful tender of the flock when this significant event happens. Sometimes it is in a very normal moment that God does something out of the ordinary. It depends on us being faithful and listening attentively.
I think what strikes me most about the call of Moses (as well as many others) is that God gives them something concrete and tangible as a reminder of their calling. God points Moses to the mountain and tells him that one day, when he fulfills his mission to rescue the Israelites from slavery, they will worship the Lord on that very mountain.
I am too quick to forget what God has done in the past, or what promises He has made. Sometimes when God does something important in my life, it is helpful for me to find an item as a tangible reminder of that event. I have pictures of the camp where I gave my life to Christ, a little hammer to remind me of God’s calling to build His church, and wooden cross that reminds me who I am and what God did for me, just to name a few. These common items hold significance for me, just as that Mountain would serve as a reminder to Moses of what the God calling and His faithfulness to Moses.
Does this resonate with anyone? Any other thoughts?
September 3, 2008 at 9:29 am
Yes it does….recent events in my life have caused great consternation.
My “flock” has been scattered, my home was lost, my companion along with it.
In the midst of this a blessed coworker pointed out the Lord’s will that I move forward, releasing things and love of the past in order to be ready to move ahead. This has become my Prayer, to ask for guidance..His plan.
I think we get comfortable sometimes and as my former companion put it ‘absorb the gifts without using them for His work…” So we always should be ready to “move forward” with His Work, looking to see who less fortunate might need a share of our many blessings. Share them.
I think it’s natural human reluctance to accept this Call, and this message of God’s assurance is a good one…..