God wants us every one of us to have a really significant life. But how does He prepare us so that this happens?
In Exodus 3 Moses has a life-changing encounter with God that leaves him readied for the great things God wants Him to achieve. That’s what we want! So what does it involve, what am I looking out for?
What’s surprising is what God says first: ‘Do not come any closer! Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground!` (3:5). It seems the first equipment the prophet needs is to grasp, deeply, God’s glory and overwhelming holiness. `Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God’ (3:4,6). Strikingly, Isaiah’s commissioning as a prophet starts exactly the same way (Isa 6): he `saw the Lord, high and exalted`, and the angels calling ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.` `At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips!”’ So this must be significant! (And something similar happens to Joshua too in Jos 5:15.) It seems this vision is vital for someone God will use. Lord, please help me grasp Your glory and Your holiness….
The second striking thing God does, at this moment of apparently total defeat, is take Moses back to his roots, to how God has worked in the past: `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ (3:6; repeated in vv15,16). It’s the same today: Christ doesn’t come physically to earth in every generation, so grasping what God has done in the past is the basis for energizing our faith as to what He can do now – indeed, for grasping what He is actually like. (So, if we want to be used by God, we need to be soaked in His biblical records of what He has done!) We’ll find lots in Exodus about this. In chapter 12 God establishes Passover so that they will never forget how He saved them from Egypt – and when they do forget, catastrophe follows (32:4). (The family in particular is where these things are to be passed on, 12:26, 13:8,14; and see Psalm 78. If we’re seeking a partner, let’s seek one who will partner us in this!) It’s noticeable too how God ensures that they’ll never forget how they were fed in the desert(16:32); and after their first victory He tells Moses `Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered`(17:14). In contrast, Exodus links Pharaoh’s misdeeds to his ignorance of what God had done through Joseph(1:8). People who forget God’s history and His self-revelation there are apparently headed for trouble. (How many Christians have forgotten about Joseph? We must feed on Genesis – etc – if we want to be used by God!)
The third thing in this encounter is that – rightly, after these long years of failure – Moses brings to God his deep feeling of weakness, his self-distrust (3:11). (Showing us that sometimes God’s calling comes before we have any sense of the gifts to carry it out; Hebrews tells us God will give us grace to help in time of need, but not necessarily before!) God replies, `I will be with you.` But this reply is itself part of the training. It’s a challenge to faith; there’s an important choice here. Our self-distrust can do one of two things: it can drive us to prayer and dependence on this God – or to paralysis, which, once we’ve recalled God’s promise to be with us (and see Matthew 28:20), is actually unbelief. (God is far from pleased when Moses comes up with this again (4:10-14).) Which way do I tend to jump?
There are three more aspects to feed on next time. What a practical section. We want to be used by God, to do things that leave permanent footprints for His glory. Well, here is how He will train us, here is what we look out for. Three things to turn into prayer…!
