The Everlasting Covenant - 8.0 Moses: Called to Lead

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8.0 Moses: Called to Lead

by Hubert F. Sturges, www.everlastingcovenant.com, February 15, 2010

Topics:
Afflicted in Egypt
Prepared to Lead
The Call of Moses
The Covenant in Egypt
Moses Leads the People

Afflicted in Egypt

The story of Joseph and of Jacob’s moving to Egypt are recorded in Genesis chapters thirty three to fifty. This happened about 1660 bc. The Hyksos who ruled Egypt at the time (1730-1580 bc) were friendly to the Hebrews who lived well during their reign. This marked the beginning of the second half of the prophesied 430 years. Oppression and slavery of the Hebrews began with Thutmose I in 1525 and continued 80 years until the Exodus in 1445 bc.

The Chronology of the Exodus is easiest seen in tabular form. Dates are all bc. and are approximate. Each king reigns from his accession year to the accession year of the next king.

         Hyksos kings of Egypt 1730 - 1580  
    1660 bc Jacob moves to Egypt
  Sekenenre begins revolt    
  Kamose drives Hyksos to eastern delta    
  Ahmose expels Hyksos from Egypt    
  Thutmose I 1525 Asiatic slaves in Egypt
    1525 Moses born
    1513 Moses to palace at 12
  Thutmose II had short reign 1508  
  Hatshepsut, daughter of Thutmose I 1504 Moses' foster mother
  Thutmose III co-regent with Hatshepsut    
    1485 Moses flees to Sinai
  Thutmose III also had asiatic slaves 1482 Pharaoh when Moses fled
    1447 Moses returns to Egypt
  Amenhotep II Pharaoh of the Exodus 1450 Crown prince disappears
    1445 bc The Exodus
  Thutmose IV, a younger son 1425  
  Amenhotep III 1412  
    1405 Invasion / occupying Canaan
  Amenhotep IV 1387 - 1366  

Prepared to Lead

Moses was born about 1525 bc. He was specially prepared by God for the work of leading the people out of Egypt. He was brought up by his own mother for about twelve years, then taken into the royal palace to be the “son” of the princess (about 1513 bc. See Exodus 2:1-10). He never forgot his early training or the faith instilled in him by his faithful mother. He would have been 21 years old when his foster mother became queen of Egypt.

    “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
    “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:24, 25).
In the palace he received the best of the world’s education and became mighty in word and deed. That he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter might be evident in his name. “... she called his name Moses:.... Because I drew him out of the water” (Exodus 2:10). To become a ruler, especially to be Pharaoh, it was expected that he would join the priestly caste. His name might then be prefixed with the name of one of their gods, such as Thutmose, Ahmose, Ramose. There was probably some tension as Moses refused the offers of the Egyptian priests, choosing to identify rather with the people of God.

While he remembered what his mother taught him, he was also influenced by his education. It would be natural for Moses to use the “military option” to solve problems. But that is not God’s way. Moses’ tendency to take into his own hand the work that God had promised to do was not God’s will.

This was first shown when he killed the Egyptian (about 1485 bc when he was 40 years old. (See Exodus 2:11-15). God did not intend to deliver His people by warfare but by manifestation of His own mighty power that people might look to Him alone. Moses fled to the desert to spend forty long years herding sheep. There he learned to be humble and to unlearn much of what he learned in the schools of Egypt.

Jethro was a descendant of Abraham through Keturah (Genesis 25:2). Quite likely he was well versed in the stories and legends of creation and the flood. How fascinating would it be to hear the long conversations around the campfire between Moses and Jethro. Moses, trained in the highest science of his day, listened humbly as Jethro described the interactions of God with men.

The Call of Moses

After forty years (about 1445 bc), God came to Moses in a burning bush that did not burn up (Exodus 3:2)! God called Moses to return to Egypt. It would not be easy. He would have to call the elders and renew the hopes of the people for deliverance and for return to Canaan. He was also to go into the presence of Pharaoh, the most powerful king on earth and ask, no demand, that Israel be allowed to leave.

How would you feel if you were asked to go before a powerful reigning monarch, one who had enslaved the Hebrews for his own advantage, and ask that those slaves be set free!

Moses hesitated. He doubted his own capabilities, and the success of the mission. Also, it was dangerous. He expressed these doubts to God. God made extravagant promises of what He would do through Moses. Still, he all but refused to go. Finally, “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses,” and He promised to send Aaron to go with him. During the 40 years herding sheep, Moses learned humility, but he also became weak in faith.

When God gives an order, He also makes it possible. First of all, it was God Himself that sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh (Exodus 3:10). It was God who would give them words to say (Exodus 4:11,12). It was God who intervened directly in supernatural ways to bring on the plagues that Pharaoh would be persuaded to let the people go.

The Covenant in Egypt

When God called Moses from the burning bush, He identified Himself in relation to the covenant given to Abraham and repeated to Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 3:6, 8). He staked His character (“my name”) and reputation (“my memorial”) on fulfilling this covenant with Israel.

     “And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations” (Exodus 3:15, KJV).
Aaron had come to see Moses, and together they returned to Egypt, and repeated these words to the elders of Israel. They knew from prophecy that the time for their deliverance was near. They also knew that they had no power of their own to effect this deliverance. Their rejection of Moses forty years before was well known among the people. Cooler heads had prevailed as they realized that they would never be delivered if they rejected the very means for their deliverance. Now Moses had reappeared as out of nowhere! The people responded in faith and gratitude.

      “The people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped” (Exodus 4:31).
Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh with the message from God, “Let my people go.” Pharaoh immediately replied in determined rebellion against God. From this response, Egypt has come to symbolize atheism, hatred of God, and open rebellion against Him.

     “And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2).
Pharaoh commanded that no straw be provided as before, yet the people were to make the same number of bricks. The people became discouraged. They expected an “easy deliverance.” They hadn’t yet learned faith. But God is merciful and in very specific terms He renewed the covenant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He promised “and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God;”

      “And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Jehovah I was not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, wherein they sojourned.
      “And moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments: and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
      “And I will bring you in unto the land which I sware to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am Jehovah” (Exodus 6:2-8, ASV).
Moses presented these words to the people, but their discouragement was harder to dislodge than their previous elation. “They hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage” (Exodus 2:9).
The elders initially showed faith and trust in God. However, the people were weak, under stress and discouraged. The Exodus story which followed is a story of frequent mistrust, lack of faith, murmuring, and even rebellion during their trek to the promised land (see Psalm 106). Major crises included worship of the golden calf at Mt. Sinai, refusal to enter the Promised Land at Kadesh-Barnea, the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and participating in heathen worship at Baal-Peor.

Where were the elders at these times? Had they lost faith too? Did they take part in rebellion too? Or had the influences for evil gotten the upper hand and the elders had no voice? It was probably both. Under stress the people lost faith, blamed Moses, yearned for the supposed comforts of Egypt and were enticed by heathen practices. At the same time, the elders and the committed followers of God likely did not take a strong stand against evil and may even have compromised, as did Aaron. The result in such cases was disaster.

They had “lightly esteemed” what God had done for them and His promises for the future.

Moses Leads the People

The story of the Exodus follows in article #8.1, “The Exodus.” Before then we need to look at the character of Moses.

During the march through the desert to the Promised Land, Moses’ patience was severely tested by the ignorance and infidelity of the people. In most cases he immediately plead with God, often interceding for the people. In the case of the rebellious, heathen party in Sinai, his patience broke and he threw down the tables of stone, written with the finger of God. This was the ten commandments, the covenant of what God would do for the people through grace. The everlasting covenant can not be broken. The old impatience showed itself again. God required Moses to make his own tables of stone for a replacement. He then wrote again the words of the covenant.

      “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips” (Psalms 89:34).
      “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto” (Galatians 3:15).
When there is a fault in the character, God will test that person over and over again until the victory is gained, or until that person chooses to hold onto his sin and is lost. Moses, in this event, was again showed his defect in the hopes that he would learn in time.

Near the end of their forty years wandering in the desert, the people again were without water. Again they chided with Moses for bringing them into the desert from the gardens of Egypt. They had completely forgotten their sore bondage. Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the Lord, and He spoke:

      8 “Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
      9 “And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
    10 “And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
    11 “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
    12 “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them” (Numbers 20:8-12).
Moses was under great stress. God had given him specific instructions, but his anger was too great. He called the people rebels, and instead of speaking to the rock, he smote it with the rod. He had again taken into his own hands the work that God purposed to do. The rock which produced water for the people represented Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). For their sins, Christ would be sacrificed once. Thereafter, a sinner could come into His presence by prayer and seek forgiveness. To strike the rock a second time destroyed this symbol.

It was an impetuous sin but grievous because Moses was a leader. Moses and Aaron were denied entrance into the land of Canaan as a lesson to the people.

Can one blame Moses and Aaron? They had dealt with complaint, rebellion, and lack of faith in God over and over again on the forty year journey through the desert. Now the land of Canaan was within sight. Water would soon be available for purchase. Should not the people have learned faith in God by this point?

Humanly speaking, one cannot blame Moses and Aaron. However, there is no excuse for sin. Not even fatigue, frustration, and stress. And for a leader to directly disobey a command of God made the sin more grievous. It was a public sin and the reprimand must be public. Moses and Aaron would not be allowed to enter the land of Canaan. First Aaron “went up into Mt. Hor in the sight of all the congregation” where he died and his son Eleazar took his place. Later Moses would go up Mt. Nebo and lay down his life.

The people would see that even if sin is repented of, and forgiven, there are consequences that must be borne.