Moses - Servant of God - The Meekest Man in All the Earth
1 - By Faith
In this series of Discovery talks we will look at the life story of one of the greatest national statesmen and leaders that the world has ever known. Moses was chosen, and appointed in a most unusual and dramatic way, to become in God's hands the deliverer of the nation of Israel. Moses' life spanned 120 years, in which he faithfully served God and His people. God's choices are always good ones, and His chosen servants do great exploits for Him.
Moses' story begins in the land of Egypt, and it is recorded for us in the Old Testament book of Exodus. In chapter 1 of that book we are told that the children of Israel had become slaves to the Egyptians and were suffering terribly at their hands. This was the situation into which Moses was born. He was the youngest son of a godly couple named Amram and Jochabed. They were of the family tribe of Levi that later would be appointed as priests to lead the people in their worship. Moses was born in the year 1571 BC. His name is interesting because it means "drawn out, or taken out of the water, and, as we shall see, this name was very appropriate.
Because the Hebrew people had become very numerous, Pharaoh was worried that they might join with Egypt's enemies and overthrow him and so he ordered that all Hebrew male children were to be drowned at birth. Knowing this and, like any parents, wanting to save their infant son's life, they hid him for three months and then placed him in a floating cot among the bulrushes along the river bank. Now it was not just fear for their child's life that prompted them to do this, as we read in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 23:
"By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict."
This was both an act of courage and an exercise of true faith and reliance upon the Lord their God. It has been recognised that Jochabed was one of the great spiritual mothers that we read about in the Scriptures. She was responsible for bearing and raising three of the foremost leaders of the nation of Israel - Aaron, Miriam and, of course, Moses. It is evident that in that family God was trusted and given His rightful place. This should be a reminder to all of us who have children or grandchildren of the responsibility we have to instruct them in the things of the Lord and how they should reverence Him. This we will only ever do by godly example lived out in our own lives.
After placing the infant Moses in his cot among the bulrushes, his mother and his sister, Miriam kept watch over him and tended to his needs. Before long we see the next step in the sovereign purposes of God for this special child. Pharaoh's daughter, a Princess of Egypt, went down to the Nile to bathe, and walking by the river she saw the cot, and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened the cot and saw the baby, who was crying. Moses' sister acted quickly and cleverly. She took the opportunity to speak to the princess and offered to get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child. Who did she get? None other than Moses' own mother! In this way the young child was brought up to know the things of God and the faith of his parents - the godly Amram and Jochabed.
We see the hand of God at work in this, making provision for the child's welfare and preserving his life, because in the purposes of God this child would become the leader of the Children of Israel - his chosen people. In these events God was working his purpose out for the deliverance of the Hebrews from their slavery under the Egyptians. What a picture this is of a loving and caring God. This same God even now desires the deliverance of all who live in slavery to their sin and He has made provision for this through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
So Moses, the infant child was nursed and cared for by the one who loved him most, his mother. The Bible tells us further, that when the child was older his mother took him to Pharaoh's daughter, the Egyptian princess, and he became her adopted son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water." Moses lived and grew up in Pharaoh's palace and was educated and trained as a prince of Egypt.
In our study of his life, we will discover that it divides conveniently into three equal periods of 40 years each:
40 years living in Pharaoh's palace as a prince - learning to be SOMETHING.
40 years living and working as a shepherd in Midian - learning to be NOTHING. 40 years travelling in the wilderness as Israel's leader - learning that God is EVERYTHING.
Before we close this study, we need to remember that, like every great servant of God, which he turned out to be, Moses was a man of faith. This we will see was demonstrated throughout his long life. In Hebrews Chapter 11 verses 1 and 2 we read, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for." They were commended for their absolute trust in God and His word. It would be good if that could be said of each of us who is a Christian believer.
Like all His great servants, Moses had a very intimate relationship with God. It has been said that "Moses' position was unique, as no other person of his time, and no other leader after him, had the face-to-face relationship with God that Moses had", We pause here to recognise the importance of all of us in the present day, having such a relationship with God on an individual basis. This only becomes possible as we realise the fact, that we were born sinners, and it is sin that separates us from God who is righteous and holy.
The Bible teaches, in 1 John chapter 1 verse 9, that if we confess our sins, "God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." When that takes place, we become sons and daughters of the living God and members of His great family for eternity. In Paul's letter to the Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 he says "For it is by grace you have been saved (from your sins) through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God". And in Romans chapter 10 verse 17, "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."
My prayer for you as a listener to the "Discovery" programme is that, if you have not already done so, you will respond in faith to the good news of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, and see God work in your life as He did in the life of Moses.