Fulfill God’s highest purpose for our lives in our generation
In Chapters 1 and 2 of Exodus, we read of 5 different people who dared to stand against the King’s edict in order to do what was right in God’s sight and what was right according to their conscience as well! The first 2 were the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah, Exodus 1:15, who were told by the King of Egypt to murder the Hebrew boys while they were being born! Their consciences did not permit them to do this, and so, they lied to the king by telling him that the Hebrew woman being vigorous gave birth before the midwives got to them, vs 19!
Although, lying is a sin, they did so, before the law of Moses was given, and so, God did not judge them for lying, but commended them for refusing to murder because their consciences forbade them to do so. So, God blessed them and gave them families of their own , vs 20,21. The Pharoah, ofcourse, refused to stop at this, and passed an order which required all the Hebrew baby boys to be thrown into the river and killed, vs 22!
Then we see the 3rd person who refuses to obey this edict, viz Moses’ mother, Jochebed. She hides her baby for 3 months and when she couldn’t hide him any longer, she puts him in a specially prepared basket and lets it float by the edge of the river Nile, Exodus 2:2,3. The outcome of this being that since she did what she could, God did for her what she could not, and lets her baby live and fall into the hands of the daughter of Pharaoh, who happens to be the 4th person who defies the king’s edict, because even after guessing that it must have been one of the Hebrew children, she boldly decided to let the baby live and brings him up as her own son, while even paying wages to his very own mother to look after the baby until he was weaned, vs 9. This gave Moses’ mother an opportunity to teach him who he really was, which led him to be the 5th person who indirectly defied the king’s verdict when he saw a Hebrew being ill-treated by an Egyptian, whom he subsequently murdered, vs 11,12!
Of course, this is a sin in today’s day, but Moses did so before the law was given and according to his conscience, he didn’t think it to be wrong, as he murdered not to take vengeance on someone who was oppressing him, but rather on someone who was oppressing his people/God’s people. He did this at the cost of risking his own life and position, and subsequently, had to flee to the land of Midian, (and was there for forty long years), on hearing that the Pharaoh wanted to kill him!
In all these cases, the 5 people disobeyed the king, either directly or indirectly for someone else’s good at the cost of risking their own lives! In the long run, each one of them was blessed by God and was used either directly or indirectly as instruments to further a great plan of God which was to lead his people out of slavery into the promised land! This shows us how important it is for us to take similar stands, (ofcourse, without murdering or lying, since we are under a new and better covenant), because, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem at that time, God needs someone to be that go-between inorder to fulfill His highest purposes for that generation! The question is, if I am chosen, would I be willing to give what I cannot keep to gain what I cannot lose?
Would I rather choose to suffer affliction with the people of God, than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin for a season? And would I choose to esteem the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, Hebrews 11: 25,26?
In the day and age that we are living in, these are serious question that we need to answer, so that, when our time comes, we too will refuse to sit on the fence, but determinedly imitate the faith of these heroes of old, and thus, fulfill God’s highest purpose for our lives in our generation too.
Exodus 2:24 and Exodus 6:5 is proof enough that God hears the groanings of His people when they cry out to Him in line with His promises to them. So, we must refuse to settle for anything less than what God has desired us to have for ourselves and our families and our Churches and Nations too! In the case of the Israelites the answer took a long time to come because God was patiently waiting for the sin of the Amorites to be complete, Genesis 15:16.
The Israelites being delivered from their slavery was no small task and God chose simple people like Moses and Aaron to accomplish this, Exodus 6:26,27, not because God was partial to them, but perhaps because of the boldness of their mother to do all she could to do what was right in the eyes of God, irrespective of the outcome, and because of the stand Moses subsequently took, even at the cost of losing his life and position!
However, when God finally commissioned him for the task, Moses felt totally incompetent and pleaded with God to send someone else. God assured him of supernatural support and Moses reluctantly accepts the challenge at the end of a 40-year period of training, Exodus 3:11,12,20; Exodus 4:13. How different from many others who rush ahead to do what they feel God has indeed called them to do, but, without patiently submitting to the God-ordained training period and subsequent commissioning! As Moses and Aaron took their first steps in the ministry, they were met with enthusiasm and worship on the part of the Israelites as they saw God work miraculous signs through the hands of Moses and Aaron, Exodus 4:30,31.
However, this turned out to be short-lived and their enthusiasm quickly faded away, after the task masters of Pharaoh burdened them with work that was unreasonable and harsh, Exodus 5:19-21! Nevertheless, God compelled Moses and Aaron to continue with the plan of action, no matter how Pharaoh and the Israelites tried to dissuaded them from doing so.
God assured them that as they obeyed His instructions, Pharaoh’s resistance would only serve as a means to destroy Egypt completely! Had Moses and Aaron got sidetracked, because of the strong opposition that they met from both Pharaoh and the Israelites, chances are that their subsequent generations would have never seen the promised land!
All these facts teach us very important truths! God then gave them the blueprint of how to get the job done! *Moses was not to keep looking at his own incompetencies when God has already hand-picked him to fulfill the task!
All that he had to do was, to say and to do what God told him to and consistently keep commanding Pharaoh to let God’s people go, Exodus 3:19,20! God had already warned him that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and though he wouldn’t let God’s people go immediately, yet Moses’ consistent pestering and commanding Pharaoh to obey what God had said coupled with God backing him supernaturally was bound to get the job done.* As Moses obeyed God inspite of such strong opposition, and so, the task was finally completed successfully.
Even so, as we live in humility before God’s face, by humbling ourselves under His mighty hand, and knowing our authority in Christ, which enables us to resist the devil, James 4:7; as well as, understand that God has made us in His image, and given us the authority to tread over Satan’s Kingdom then, as we begin to use this authority just as Moses and Aaron did, we shall see the fulfillment of every promise that God has given us and our families and for our Churches and Nations too, provided we persevere and don’t give up wrestling with principalities and powers in high places until we see the victory!
Let us no longer be sluggish, but be determined to inherit God’s promises to us, through faith and patience, Hebrews 6:11,12, just like Moses and Aaron did!
Rowena Thomas
Mumbai, India.