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The Patriarch Joseph relocated his father Israel (Jacob) and family members from Canaan to Goshen in Egypt. “The Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them”. 400 years passed and a new Pharaoh, who did not know about Joseph, made the Israelites to be slaves of the Egyptians. Ex. 2:1-10 records of a baby boy born to one of the Israelite slaves. Rescued from the river and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, the boy Moses grew up as a Prince of Egypt. At age 40, he fled to Midian after killing an Egyptian man and ended up as a simple shepherd. Fast forward another 40 years and we come across Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush (Ex. 3:2). God gave him the mission to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses gave many excuses to avoid the mission. Finally, realising that God will be with him all the way, teaching him what to say and do; Moses obeyed (Ex. 3, 4). The Lord was with Moses every step of the way in the final 40 years of his life from the time he confronted Pharaoh, led the Israelites in the wilderness and until his death. Moses continued to be faithful even after the Lord punished him for his disobedience at the waters of Meribah (Num. 20:1-13).
We need to acknowledge God for who He is and who we are in our relationship with Him. Then everything else in life will diminish in importance in comparison with the Lord’s will and purpose for us (Tit. 3:3-8). God will also prepare, equip and enable us to complete the work He has for us for His glory (Acts 4:13; Pro 3:5, 6). We must be wise to follow Moses’ example by responding to God’s call whole-heartedly, single-mindedly and sacrificially. All the way! One man responded in obedience to God’s call and a great nation, on the move to God’s Promised Land in Canaan, was born!
The Israelites, as God’s chosen people were an ungrateful lot (Ex. 3:7-10). Their lack of faith and blatant disobedience to God almost resulted in their annihilation (Ex. 32:9, 10; Num. 14:12). God’s plan was to set His people apart from the world to worship Him, so that the world will come to know Him but the lives and behaviour of the Israelites did not give glory to God. Therefore, God spent 40 years to prepare them to be His holy people (Lev. 19:2) and transform them from a disorganized mass in Goshen into a disciplined Nation – ready to claim the Promised Land (Ex. 3:8).
Are we allowing the Holy Spirit full access into our lives to prepare and equip us for the Lord’s work? If not, what are we doing about it? Preparation must lead to intentional obedience to Jesus’ command to take the gospel to others (Mk. 16:15).
