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Week VIII - The Call of Moses
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Now a certain man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman who conceived and bore a son. Seeing that he was a goodly child, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took a papyrus basket, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the river bank… Pharaoh’s daughter said to her (the child’s mother), “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will repay you.” The woman therefore took the child and nursed it. When the child grew, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son and called him Moses, for she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
– Exodus 2: 1-3, 9-10 BIRTH AND ADOPTION OF MOSES:
The Book of Exodus begins with an immediate connection to Abraham. His descendants, specifically his grandson Jacob along with his twelve sons and their families, migrated to Egypt and settled there. In time they prospered and increased greatly in the land. Hebrew power and influence caused great concern to the reigning Pharaoh who knew nothing of Joseph and his outstanding service to the country. Through cunning and intrigue Pharaoh enslaved the Hebrews. God’s people remained in slavery for about four hundred years when Moses was born.
Moses’ story is similar to that of many others who were called by God. By choosing a most unlikely leader in Moses, God is making a clear statement that He is the Deliverer of His people and not Moses. Moses’ circumstances clearly point to God’s power and love as the reason for his incredible accomplishments in Egypt. Moses’ parents were Levites. After his birth they hid their child for three months. Along with the Hebrew midwife they broke the law of the land which was to slay any newly born Hebrew male child. When it became impossible for them to hide from the law they made the painful decision of hiding their child among the reeds in the river Nile, leaving their daughter to watch over her little brother. Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the baby when she came to the river to bathe. Moses’ sister intervened and suggested a Hebrew woman, her mother, who could nurse the child. When the boy grew up he was brought to Pharaoh’s daughter who named him Moses.
MOSES’ FLIGHT TO MIDIAN:
Life at Pharaoh’s palace is an ambivalent and difficult experience for Moses. He is well aware of his roots and suffers greatly to see his people being abused and reviled as slaves. One day in exasperation he comes to the defense of a slave and ends up slaying the Egyptian guard. Moses knows his secret is out when he tries to act as peace-maker between two Hebrews who are fighting among themselves. One of them creates a panic in him when he asks whether Moses intended to kill him as he did the Egyptian. Soon after Pharaoh himself heard of the incident and sought to put Moses to death. Consequently Moses fled for his life and hid in the land of Midian. He married Zipporah and had a son whom he named Gershom; for he said, “I am a stranger in a foreign land.”
THE BURNING BUSH:
The call of Moses is intimately linked to God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants. In Exodus 2 we are told that “a long time passed, during which the king of Egypt died. Still the Israelites groaned and cried out because of their slavery. As their cry for release went up to God, he heard their groaning and was mindful of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He saw the Israelites and knew (Verses 23-25)….” God makes the decision to send Moses into Egypt as His spokesperson to bring His people out of slavery from the land of Egypt. Moses was tending his flock near Horeb, the mountain of God. “There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed (Exodus 2: 2-3).”
THE CALL OF MOSES:
Moses then decides to investigate. As he approaches the burning bush, God appears to him. God identifies Himself as “the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob (Exodus 3: 6).” Moses is overwhelmed. He hides his face as he is afraid to look at God. From his point of view he is given the impossible task of going and telling Pharaoh as God’s messenger to let the enslaved Hebrew people go into the desert to worship their God. Moses is filled with dread and anxiety. He makes several attempts to refuse the summons. He cites many obstacles: his questionable credentials, the people’s understandable doubts about God’s appearance to him, his own lack of eloquence, among others. God is not easily persuaded. God is persistent with Moses, and very confident that their partnership will work. And God provides Aaron as an able Assistant to Moses. Finally, hesitant and relenting, Moses ventures forth into Egypt to confront Pharaoh’s might and obduracy.
Clearly, Moses is no match for this impossible mission. In his eyes he is an insignificant presence before the force and cunning of Pharaoh. In slow increments Moses realizes that God is the real architect of the people’s liberation. He plays his subordinate but significant role as a malleable instrument as God engages in another incredible transformation. The Exodus story has a sweep similar to the Creation story. It brings order and harmony out of chaos and confusion, and liberation from bondage and ignominy to security and community.
Upon their liberation from Egypt, Moses and the Israelites sang of their jubilation and rescue at the hands of God: “I will sing to the Lord, for his is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. He is my God, I praise him; the God of my father, I extol him (Exodus 15: 1-2).”
After crossing the Red Sea, it is tempting to think that the Israelites would put the worst of their trials and tribulations behind them. Yet now they are facing a different type of bondage, the slavery of their own sinfulness and wickedness. Now it is their stubbornness and rebellion that Moses has to confront. His commitment to his people and God’s faith in them are severely tested. There is that poignant moment in the dialogue between God and Moses when he reminds God that destroying His people would only result in the Egyptians making fun of Yahweh: “ ‘With evil intent he brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains and exterminate them from the face of the earth’? Let your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’ So the Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people (Exodus 32: 12-14).”
In the midst of their fickle murmurings and idolatry, God’s everlasting love, constancy, and faithfulness to the Israelites shine forth. As God’s faithful messenger Moses is subjected to much suffering. Gradually, through trials and tribulations, his leadership and holiness are acknowledged. He is recognized as the Law Giver and intermediary with God. In his later years he is recognized as God’s beloved. His countenance is radiant with God’s holiness. He successfully leads his people to the boundary of the Promised Land. He himself will enjoy a panoramic view of the Promised Land from a mountain top but it will be Joshua who will lead the Israelites into it (Numbers 20: 6-13).
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HELPFUL ATTITUDES FOR PRAYER:
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Moses’ story is similar to that of many others who were called by God. By choosing a most unlikely leader in Moses, God is making a clear statement that He is the Deliverer of His people and not Moses.
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Moses fled from Egypt and hid in the land of Midian. He married Zipporah and had a son whom he named Gershom; for he said, “I am a stranger in a foreign land.”
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Moses is filled with dread and anxiety. He makes several attempts to refuse the summons. He cites many obstacles: his questionable credentials, the people’s understandable doubts about God’s appearance to him, his own lack of eloquence, among others. God is not easily persuaded. God is persistent and very confident that their partnership will work. Finally, hesitant and relenting, Moses ventures forth into Egypt to confront Pharaoh’s might and obduracy.
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The Exodus story has a sweep similar to the Creation story. It brings order and harmony out of chaos and confusion, and liberation from bondage and ignominy to security and community.
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In the midst of their fickle murmurings and idolatry, God’s everlasting love, constancy, and faithfulness to the Israelites shine forth.
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As God’s faithful messenger Moses is subjected to much suffering. Gradually, through trials and tribulations, his leadership and holiness are acknowledged. He is recognized as the Law Giver and intermediary with God.
GUIDELINES FOR PRAYER:
Be faithful to your time of prayer, and make it between 20 and 30 minutes daily.
Begin every prayer session with an earnest prayer to the Holy Spirit like the one I have composed for you: Come, Holy Spirit, and overshadow me with your gentle wisdom and power as I endeavor to sit at the feet of Jesus during this period of prayer. Purify my mind and heart as I seek to make the teachings of Jesus my priority in life, thinking, speaking and doing as He desires. You are the keeper of my soul, leading me into God’s heart. May I be docile and submissive to your wisdom and guidance. And may my life be a pleasing offering in your sight. Amen.
Take one of the passages suggested for the week for your prayer. During the week you might want to ponder the question, “What has God’s call been to me and how have I responded?”
Lastly, during your prayer make sure that along with reflection you also address God directly and listen for answers that you need.
You can end your prayer with the following: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I thank you for your gracious companionship. I praise you for being my Creator, Savior and Lord. May I take your blessings to my day, and may your presence envelop and permeate all my thoughts and actions. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PASSAGES FOR PRAYER:
Exodus 1: 1-22: The Oppression and Command to the Midwives
Exodus 2: 1-22: Birth and Adoption of Moses and his Flight to Midian
Exodus 2: 23-3: 1-22: The Burning Bush and Call of Moses
Exodus 4: 1-31: Confirmation of Moses’ Mission and his Return to Egypt
Exodus 5: 1- 6:1-13: Pharaoh’s Obduracy and Renewal of God’s Promise
Exodus 7: 1- 8: 1-11: The First and Second Plagues
Exodus 8: 12-28: The Third and Fourth Plagues
Exodus 9: 1-35: The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Plagues
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| Old Testament:
Exodus, chapters 1-11; 33-34: The Story of Moses
Exodus 15: Canticle of Moses
New Testament:
Hebrews, chapter 11: Faith of the Ancients, like Moses
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- Journal for a few minutes daily about your experience with God in prayer and during the day.
- Your journal will help you with your sharing in spiritual direction
- Gradually patterns of insights, themes, consolations, and resistance to God’s promptings will emerge.
- Your journal will help you appreciate the Holy Spirit’s action in your being
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