Moses was born a short while after Egypt in order to curb the growth of the Jews in the land, decided that all male Hebrew babies born should be killed. He was born when all survival odds were against him. Seems like the enemy had caught wind of the arrival of a deliverer and just like in the time of Christ, he chose to exterminate all male children. Moses like Christ, escaped the dragnet of the enemy and lived to accomplish what he was born to.
The fact that his real mother raised him up, might have taught him his roots, about his people and that was probably why he slew an Egyptian while trying to ameliorate the condition of the state slaves who happen to be his brethren. This premature act drove him away from the lavish palace life to the harsh wilderness life of a shepherd in the land of Median.
The book of Hebrews states “By faith Moses when he had come of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy pleasures of sin for a season” Hebrews 11:24-25. This asserts that by killing the Egyptian he had made a choice and it was not a mere accident but rather a calculated risk that he took.
Time after time God in His own way of doing things, has in many occasions chosen to prepare His great ones in solitude, Abraham was separated from his kinsmen, Jacob had to be driven away from home, Joseph was prepared in prison away from home, David was prepared in the wilderness and more when he was a fugitive living in caves, John the Baptist whose message herald the coming of the messiah lived in the wilderness and his food was wild honey and locusts. Now the most humble person who ever live (for he spoke face to face with God and was always down to earth), Moses, is driven to the wilderness of Median where the learned Moses was transformed into a wise masterful leader, statesman, lawgiver, poet and prophet.
40 years later, the Lord appears to Moses and officially call him to duty. In his younger years, Moses, being robust, full of energy and zeal to alleviate the sufferings of his brethren had committed a sin that haunted him for years. He was a fugitive fearing that one day his crime would be exposed and be brought to justice. He is now older and wiser, he is not ready to start an endeavor which he cannot complete by his own strength, he is afraid to go.
God having known what really troubled Moses, for He knows our hidden unspoken thoughts, knew that Moses was afraid to go back to Egypt because he feared what would happen to him on account of the murder that he committed years earlier hence when he assured him that all who sought him were dead, the man Moses was ready to go. God knows our deepest fears and concerns. He knows all things and nothing is hidden from Him.
We now encounter a Moses ready for the task, ready for the most difficult work ever, to lead a stubborn, stiff necked and forgetful people into the promised land, a task so daunting that even made Moses himself miss out in entering the promised land.
Moses typifies Christ and the journey from bondage to the Promised Land is definitely the journey of salvation. The deliverance from bondage in Egypt typifies the finished work of Christ on the cross. The Israelites did not need to fight for their freedom, they did not put any effort so that the plagues could fall in Egypt to persuade pharaoh to let them go, nor did help in the parting of the Red Sea, it was purely the work of God. It was God in action to save them.
They did not have to be “clean” in order for them to be delivered out of bondage, it was purely God’s merit. After their redemption from bondage they were given the law to enable them deal with their sinful nature. Although many of the Israelites died on the journey to the Promised Land, yet many more entered. This death in the wilderness symbolizes the death of our evil natures that we are commanded to put to death so that we attain that which Christ has promised us.
The story of Moses is not a past story, an event to be set aside as bed time stories but rather it is the story of our lives. It is your story and my story too. How God while we were in bondage, while were yet in sin, sent a deliverer to rescue us from the bondage of sin which we could not come out of through our own strength and deeds. A bondage so tough that it needed divine intervention in order for us to come out of. Are you aware that what Christ did on the cross is what set humanity free from the bondage of sin? Moses typifies Christ and Christ come to save man from sin. This is a story pointing us to the saving grace of our God. May God open your eyes to see the wonderful work which he accomplished on the cross on our behalf. May you accept the saving grace of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment