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The Call of Moses

We know from the Bible verses at the end of Exodus 2 that God had heard the cries of the Hebrew slaves and was very concerned for them. He decided to free them from their bondage. He chose Moses to be His instrument to get the task done. He told Moses in Exodus 3:7 that He was “concerned for their suffering.”

Exodus 3:2
“There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

God got Moses’ attention with a bush that was burning with fire but not burned by the fire. He then talked to Moses about what He wanted him to do. He told Moses to go to Egypt and tell Pharoah to let the Hebrews go.

Moses made five different excuses of why he couldn’t go. He even told God to “send someone else.” God became very angry at that statement. And yet, even though He was angry, God told Moses solutions for all his excuses. Moses finally went. And why not, God took care of all of the excuses.

Even though there is much more to the story of Moses, let’s focus on just the beginning of the story. Many of us are “called” by God to deal with issues in our lives, at home, work or church. These are issues we don’t choose to have, and we probably don’t even like. We may even make excuses as to why we are not the right person to deal with it. We may make excuses of being too busy, we won’t know what to say, or we think other people might handle it better. Moses tried all these excuses, too. God takes away the road blocks for our excuses and still tells us to go and do what he is asking.

With God’s help and strength we can do what He asks. This doesn’t mean it will be easy. This doesn’t mean we will feel “comfortable.” It just means that God has given us the equipment and the training we need to do what He asks of us. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live in us specifically for this purpose. The Triune God also gave us His Holy Word to guide and direct us. Just as Moses was God’s instrument, so are we.

Exodus 3:12
“And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.’”

The sign that God mentions came after the job was done. Being able to worship God should be a great sign to all of us that we are God’s children, we are in His care and He is with us. His Word and Sacraments are His sure signs to us.

Dear Father in heaven, we know we can do nothing without Your help. When there are issues placed in our lives, help us to not make excuses, but to know You are with us to help us do the job at hand. May we be able to say as Miriam and Moses did in Exodus, ‘The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.’ In the name of Jesus our Lord, Amen.