14 September 2012

When Fear Steps In — Midian pt II


God tells Moses all the things He wants to do for Moses then tells him he is to lead the people out of slavery. At this point Moses objects. I can only imagine the questions and the fears running through his mind. Thus far everything in the conversation was risk-free. Now he had the option of crazy adventure that came with hardship or staying in Midian the rest of his life.
If Moses accepts the call, everything will change. Growing up in the palace he knew what Pharaoh was like. The last time he was in Egypt he killed a man and had to flee for his life. Returning to Egypt is returning to a death sentence and the charge of insurrection for trying to lead a people group out of Egypt. He was also in the desert for forty years and was coming back to civilization saying he had met with God. He would sound like a crazy person.
However, instead of being accused of insurrection he could stay in Midian. He was content there. He was part of a family and had a family of his own. He was content leading sheep around the desert. The Egyptians and Hebrews already rejected him. He would be returning to two cultures he thought he would never interact with again.
God's response to Moses’ fear is “But I will be with you...” He gives Moses a sign, power to back up what He is saying. God’s words always come with power. Moses isn’t going into this by himself. When he is still fearful God says the elders of Israel will go with him and will listen to him. However, Moses’ fear is not quieted. He still doubts God despite the promises of success.
 God does not get angry at Moses for doubting God’s promises. He gives Moses several signs to prove he met with God. God was definitely having fun with these. Moses throws his staff on the ground and it turns into a snake. He responds in the same way I would—he runs from it. I wonder how long it took Moses to pick up his staff again. God then tells him to put his hand into his cloak and it turns leprous. Again, another freaking out, what-are-you-doing! moment. God says that if the people don’t believe these he can always turn water from the Nile into blood.
Now Moses’ complaint isn’t that the people will not listen to him but that he does not have the capability to speak. At this point God gets angry. Growing up in the palace Moses was trained in public speaking. He also knew how to speak to Pharaoh. Despite his training, Moses still did not want to do it.
I seem to be standing near a crossroads right now where I could walk faithfully toward what I believe God is calling me or I could again yield to fear. I’ve seen God hand opportunities to other people when I say no out of fear. I don’t want that to be the case anymore. It only leaves me with regret and more fear. I worry that I am no longer following plan A but moved to plan B or Z. My worry goes directly against all God has said; in fact, do not worry is even a command in the Bible. When I am staring my fears in the eye I need to take my eyes off themand turn my eyes toward God. Focusing on fear is idolatry. I’m saying it is more powerful than God and deserves my attention.
If I keep saying no I will be living as a shepherd in the desert forever, but if I say yes to God I know there is great adventure awaiting. It will be hard and I do not see the full extent of what I am agreeing to, but I also know there is great joy that comes with it that will greatly outweigh everything else. We may take a detour in the desert, but it is there that God renews and refines us. He doesn’t leave us there but will bring us out of the desert into the calling He placed in our hearts.

11 September 2012

Content in Midian part I


My generation likes to think we can change the world, and many of us have discovered we can. Major internet companies such as YouTube (2005) and Facebook (2004) are the projects of young entrepreneurs. Organizations such as Charity: Water (2006) and Kiva (2004) have recent starts as well and are vastly changing the lives and communities of those they work with. The moment the ideas sprung into being, I do not believe any of these founders knew the impact they would have. Imagine if the founders of these companies and organizations never sought to bring change. Businesses in impoverished nations would not exist. Communities would be without clean water.
So, how did I start thinking about this? Believe it or, from reading Exodus. I think Moses felt a strong desire to bring about social justice, though he did not entirely know why or what that meant. I wonder if he thought he would make a difference as part of Pharaoh’s household. When he fled for his life from that very household, he must have wondered if God had a plan for him at all. Not a whole lot in his life made sense just yet.
One thing we learn about Moses is he becomes content in Midian living as a shepherd, looking out for sheep in the desert (2:21). The Egyptians found shepherds detestable so this is quite the occupation switch for Moses, especially since your identity is in your family and what your family does. He’d given up on standing as a protector for the people of Israel.
Moses is having a normal day and sees a bush on fire in the desert. This isn’t too abnormal in the desert. When he saw the bush wasn’t consumed by the fire he went to look at it. It is here that he has a powerful encounter with God. God calls Moses and tells him who He is. He says He has seen the affliction of His people and is going to do something about that. I can only imagine how Moses is feeling at this moment. He’s standing in the presence of God; already this is a pretty momentous moment. Memories of old dreams that still leave a deep ache in his heart and memories of old lives that never made sense come flooding back with each word God speaks.
Yet again this post was originally rather long so it will be in two parts (and explains the lack of transitions). Intertwined in this Exodus series will be more on what I believe God is calling me to and my responses to this. God is always so timely by leading me to the right places in Scripture and encouraging and challenging me with His faithfulness. We are on a journey and only God knows the destination.

03 September 2012

Wrong Response (Exodus 1-2)


Have you ever had the right intentions but the wrong response? Know you are not alone. Even the great men of faith in the Bible had these moments. I often think of the people in the Bible as these great people of faith but they had no idea what they were doing either. They were trying to rely on God and did not always have the correct response. They had moments of fear and of exhaustion and of doubt but also of joy and of victory, just as we have.
In the first chapters of Exodus we see Moses wants to follow God and stand for justice but goes about it in the wrong way. However, this is preceded by two stories. The first story tells of the midwives’ fear of God. The Israelites kept increasing in number so Pharaoh told the Israelite midwives to kill the baby boys. They let the babies live and had to answer to Pharaoh as to why they allowed this. This was breaking Maat. Because they feared God more than Pharaoh (who ordered them to against God) God blessed them with families of their own (1:21).
Side note: In ancient Egyptian society, Maat (ma-aht) is right or correct behavior (which is personified by a goddess). It is justice and truth, law and order (but much more than can be described in a paragraph). It is obeying those over us and treating those under us in a good manner. The opposite of Maat is greed, ruthlessness, lying, and violence. You have to learn Maat. Pharaoh was to preserve Maat and resurrect Maat if it was lost. When you die and go to judgment you are to give the negative confession (in the book of the dead). You are to say you fed the hungry, clothed the naked, helped some cross the river, saved the weak and didn’t inflict pain or make man weep.
The second story is of Moses’ mother. She refused to kill her son as Pharaoh commanded and hid him instead. When he was too old to hide in the house she hid him in a basket in the Nile and had his sister watch over him. Pharaoh’s daughter found him and took him as her own child. However, she first had Moses’ mother nurse him (and paid for her to raise her son!) (2:10). Because Moses’ mother did not kill her son like Pharaoh had commanded, God blessed her and allowed her to be paid to raise her son.
The next story in Exodus tells a time when Moses went and watched his people working as slaves. He saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite and killed the taskmaster to protect the slave. Like the previous two stories of the midwives and his mother, Moses wants to stand for justice but goes about it the wrong way. He wants to stand up for the underdog but kills someone in the process. When it was discovered he fled for his life.
Moses flees to Midian and sits down by a well. I imagine he is feeling pretty defeated right now. Soon, seven daughters of a priest come to draw water for their flock but the shepherds try to drive them away. In ancient societies women were not even considered people. Shepherds were the lowest in society. Nobody trusted them and they trusted few people. The shepherds are driving away the women, viewed as a step lower than the shepherds. It is at this point that Moses steps in and rescues the women.
Moses tried to bring peace and justice for the underdogs. He would have heard stories of how the midwives and his mother saved the baby boys and were blessed for it. He also wanted to stand for justice. While murder is never the right response, he began to learn what it meant to stand for justice.