Moses, the Old Testament Jesus

Exodus 32:7-14 (New King James Version)

7 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”
11 Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: “LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”^[a] 14 So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.

The more I read about the Israelites, the more I see me and everyone else I know.  We have been blessed by God and we still turn our backs on him and worship other things; idols.  This is something that I drilled into the youth group kids last year: anything that distracts you from the presence of God is an idol.  It does not have to be a golden calf or a wooden man statue from a tribe in Africa, it can be another person, a class at school, a dream to do something, a movie, cd, an ipod (technology)…you get the point.  Even after God, the God of the universe, brought them out of Egypt, the Israelites couldn’t worship Him alone at all times!  They doubted Him so many times that they just got to the point where they needed something else to worship. 

God sees this and calls them what they are: “still-necked people” (v. 9).  God’s wrath is burning and seems to get to the boiling point until Moses intervenes on behalf of the Israelites.  He pleads with the Lord not to harm His people!  In this light, Moses is to the Israelites what Jesus (and His blood on the cross) is to us.  Moses continually had to plead for mercy on the Israelites as they continued to sin, just as Jesus’ blood does for us! His death and resurrection on our behalf protect us from what we deserve: the wrath of God.

Be thankful for what Jesus did. His crucifixion has been so watered down that I do not believe that it has the affect that it should.  Same goes for his resurrection!  He died, and three days later came back to life…and then he rose up into the sky and joined His father in Heaven.  Think about that and realize that it actually happened! 

Just as we deserve the wrath of God, He deserves our devotion and worship.  GIVE IT TO HIM! Spend time with Him on a daily basis and trust in Him always!

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Count Your Blessings

Exodus 17:7 (New International Version)

7 And he called the place Massah ^[a] and Meribah ^[b] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

The last statement (“Is the LORD among us or not?”) really stood out to me and struck me as odd. The context of this is the Israelites in the desert; hungry and thirsty. They complain to Moses and God provides…and they question if He is with them or not?!

And then i began to wonder, how many times have i questioned God’s presence in my life? Plenty. I miss all of the miracles in my life (just as the Israelites did) and doubt that He is even with me sometimes. This got me thinking, in what ways is God evident (and obvious) in my life:

• I wake up every morning
• I have a wife and family who love me unconditionally
• I have enough money each month to pay for living expenses and sometimes extra to put away
• I hardly ever go hungry and never am thirsty without water nearby
• I have a car that runs well
• A church family who supports my wife and I
• Close friends who keep in touch
• Clothes to wear
• His word to meditate over

This list could go on. After explaining to my wife my confusion on this verse she very simply put it in perspective for me: “as we live our day to day lives we get so caught up looking for the ‘big’ miracles to happen that we miss all of the ‘little’ ones.” How true is that? Very true, I am guilty of just that. I miss God in all of the busyness of my life. I don’t look for Him, as i should, in everything that He has provided for me and that which he continues to provide.

I encourage you, take some time and “count your blessings”. You will stop looking for God and begin wondering how and why you’ve missed Him!

Do What Moses Did, Delegate

Exodus 18:17-26 (New International Version)

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 2021 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

I never took note to this passage but have taken note to it now! I believe a serious hindrance to happiness, closeness to God, peace (if you will), etc… all stem from feelings of being over whelmed and having overall discomfort about yourself. One way to get rid of these negative feelings is to delegate. Now, this particular passage, or it’s context, does not directly mention that Moses had any of the above symptoms, but one can assume based on the facts: if you have people coming to you from the morning to the evening, how are you supposed to find time for yourself, for time alone with God, or just time in general to get things done? You won’t. It can’t be done, not without putting additional stress on yourself.

So, we see here in this passage the concept behind delegation (which can be used by husband’s, wives, pastors, bosses, employees…you get the point, anyone can delegate tasks): select capable people who are passionate about what you are doing and who will not waver. Have these candidates take care of all the lesser tasks that arise through the course of any given day, coming to you (Moses) only for tasks, or advise, that are of greater concern.

With this system in place you now have freed up ample time and mental energy for the tasks that you need to do. Everyone is happy in this system if they are in the right place: the ones delegated to have a sense of ownership, the parties being assisted have someone who can virtually give them all day, and you (Moses) can keep moving, stopping only for issues that one of your delgatees cannot handle. If you do this and do it well you will notice a clearer mind that will not be bogged down by all the little things, you will be happier because things are getting done, they aren’t just sitting in your inbox waiting for your attention. They have been properly delegated.

Let God Work

Exodus 4:10-12 (New International Version)

10 Moses said to the LORD, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

This is exactly how i feel sometimes, “God, why me? I can’t do this!”, and i always ending up doing it, whatever ‘it’ is, and doing it well. I have been in so many different situations in my life so far, in so many different levels of leadership where i have felt inadequate, or not worthy of something. I can remember being worried about the turnout of an event or how i would sound during a certain speech and always saying a silent prayer to God before hand for His protection and His will to be done through me.

I can see the point Moses is trying to make in the passage above, but God’s point is much better (obviously!), “I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say.” God will do it. Moses is simply a tool for God to use in order to do what He wants done on earth. This is something that we all need to realize on a regular basis! God is in control…He is working through us to achieve His will. No matter how much we resist, if it is in His plan He is going to do it. That is why we need not worry (as much as we do). Like i have said before, giving up control of every area of our lives is the best thing, the best decision, that we could ever do/make. Not only will a peace come over us knowing that God is in control, but we will begin to notice His plan take shape in our lives.

When we move out of the way, GOD is able to do His best work in us.