The Bible in Art: God Calls Moses
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Verses for Consideration: Exodus 3:7-14; 4:1-5,10-13
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey-the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
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.”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.'” …
1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob-has appeared to you.”…
10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
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“What if they do not listen?” asked Moses. “I am slow of speech.” “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.” A pastor once confessed that he had been unable to understand how Moses could stall and make excuses when God called him to lead Israel. “How did Moses have the gall to resist the very call of God?” this pastor had often wondered.
Then one day the pastor was asked to go overseas to do mission work. His initial reactions? “What if they do not listen?” “I’m not very good at all with foreign languages.” “O Lord, please send someone else instead of me.” In an instant the pastor understood Moses and his excuses.
Eventually God led the pastor to accept this call even as Moses eventually accepted his call to lead God’s people out of Egypt. Though separated by thousands of miles and thousands of years, both men, because of their faith, followed where God led them. They had faith in a wise God who knew they were suited for the task. They had faith in a powerful God who would equip them with needed strength. They had faith in a faithful God who would never leave them or forsake them. They had faith in a loving God who had made them his dear children and given them a message of love to share.
We can be eternally thankful, not only for the faith God has given us but also for the faith he has given over the centuries to missionaries, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. God called them to lead us to heaven-our promised land-by teaching us that Jesus is our Savior.
Like Moses, these leaders often faced daunting obstacles. But by faith they persevered and proclaimed the message of forgiveness and life. May God, when he calls us to serve, grant us all such faith.
Prayer: Lord, when you present me with opportunities to serve you, embolden and encourage me so that I gladly take up the challenge. Amen.
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Title: Moses Before the Burning Bush (1613-14)
Artist: Domenico Fetti