Mar 1 - Burdened But Not Blessed

Lessons in the Life of Moses: Burdened But Not Blessed

By Jim Laffoon

One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor.  He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.  Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.  The next day, he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting.  He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?"

The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us?  Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" 

Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known."  When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled...    Exodus 2:11-15

He was a prince of Egypt, the grandson of Pharaoh, and an incredible leader and mighty warrior in his own right.  Yet at the age of forty, the secret of Moses' own identity was becoming more than he could bear.  Born the son of Hebrew slaves, he had been miraculously rescued by Pharaoh's own daughter and raised as her own son in Pharaoh's court.  

Despite the glamour and privilege of his rearing, he had never forgotten the words of his biological mother who had been hired by the princess to nurse him. 

She had told him the Almighty God, not the strange "pretender" gods of Egypt, had rescued him from the jaws of death for a special purpose.  She had also regaled him with stories about the miraculous interventions of God in the lives of his ancestors--men like Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph. 

No matter how hard he tried to expunge these stories from his memory, they had continued to haunt his soul with a troubling conviction.  This time, when he had heard yet another account of Egyptian savagery toward the Hebrews, he finally had to seek the truth for himself.  What he saw broke his heart.

Everywhere he went, Moses saw men of all ages being brutally mistreated as they were forced to build the cities and monuments of their conquerors.  As he looked, one older Hebrew fell to the ground under the rays of the scorching sun. When one of the taskmasters began to viciously beat him, something snapped in Moses.  He knew in a flash that somehow he had been called to deliver his Hebrew people from their oppression. 

Yet, with no training in the ways of God or understanding of His true nature, Moses reverted to the only weapons he knew.  In the prime of his strength and raised to be a warrior, he easily killed the overseer and buried his body in the sand.  Much to his dismay, however, this act of violence made him an outcast to both the Hebrews and the Egyptians. 

Now, as a man without a country, he fled from the wrath of Pharaoh into the depth and ignominy of the desert.

What lessons can we learn from this tale of misguided zeal?  

First, it is not enough to have God's burden and to see His battle.  Moses had a legitimate burden and calling from God for the Hebrew people.  Unfortunately, because he had never been discipled or mentored, he responded improperly to the need he had been called to meet. 

It is no different today; I cannot count the times I have seen Christians respond wrongly to a divine opportunity because, like Moses, they lacked the training they so desperately needed.  Although they obviously do not murder people, in many cases they do spiritually murder their own testimony and make a mess of the very opportunity God has given them. 

Second, the improper conduct of Moses cost him the very credibility he needed to lead the people he was trying to help.  This principle also directly applies to Christians today; the lack of Christlike character and Christian maturity we display in our attempts to follow God will cost us the very reputation we need to fulfill our mission.

Because of this immaturity, the same question asked of Moses is still being asked of Christians around the world today: "Who made you ruler and judge over us?"
 
Last, the consequences of Moses' failure caused him to run away from the very people God had called him to rescue.  This may well be the saddest point of the whole story. 

The children of God had to spend an additional forty years in bondage because the very man chosen to deliver them ran away from his failure and hid in the desert for those forty years. 

I cannot count the leaders I have seen around the world who are hiding in the deserts of their own making to escape the consequences of their failed attempts to follow God. Whether their harshness or impatience hurt the very person they were trying to counsel, or their rigidity and inflexible attitudes crushed the spirits of a young believer, they have allowed the early failures of their ministry to define the rest of their lives. 

If that is you today, take heart,"...for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance."  (Rom. 11:29)  No matter how much credibility you have lost, or whom you have hurt, if you will find the restoration and training you need, God is well able to restore your calling. 

© Copyright 2005 by Jim Laffoon