EXODUS 4:1-17 TAKE SERIOUSLY GOD'S CALL In our journey through life we may have gotten so used to familiar things and the quietness of our existence that we forget our responsibility to God and other people. It is possible to be so contented and complacent that we do not want God to intervene and change us to meet the needs of others. I perceive the older I get the more prone to apathy I become. In the experience of Moses with God in the wilderness of Midian, everything he had become used to was about to change. And he was eighty years old. Life had become calm and peaceful as he had unlearned the ways of Egypt and had taken on the quiet life of one living almost like a mystic. God had to awaken His servant to the importance of a higher life. His life-history was not over. It was just about to begin.
Signs and wonders have a way of awakening people to something or someone important. "Wonders" are to reveal Divine Power and Majesty. Usually these are terrible to behold. We have witnessed recently the wonders of an unleashed tsunami taking lives and property of thousands of people. It moved ships on to land, and things on land into the sea. Cyclones, tornados, hurricanes and huge storms have caused quick destruction of the works of men. These wonders seem to be reserved for use by God in speaking loudly to nations that have forsaken Him and in arrogance, have made themselves other gods. Signs are those proofs of God used to reveal Divine Grace and Truth and are often blessings that make people realize the tender interest of God in us. God used these signs to give His reluctant servant, Moses, the incentive to move forward in faith and meekness.
Moses feared the negative response of God's people. Their refusal of his message of deliverance and their rejection of him personally, were his objection to the call of God. When God directs a person to do His will in His work, or to be the Lord's messenger in His message - that is a very serious matter. We dare not take lightly those things that are important to God. God is not limited in what He can use to carry our His plans. In the case of Moses, He was going to use what he already had. "What is that in thine hand?" On another occasion God used what a woman had in her house - a little flour and oil. The things God told Moses He would use were his rod, his own hand and river water. What could be farther from our preconceived idea of signs!
Moses had his list of objections to doing God's will and His work: lack of fitness, lack of words, lack of authority, lack of power in speaking, lack of ability to adapt, lack of success, lack of acceptance. It is not hard to apply these objections to ourselves when we don't want change to come in our lives. We have a desire to do what we have always done and be left alone to live out the rest of our lives in quiet retirement.
God used what Moses had in his hand, a rod: a dry, sapless, lifeless rod, to make him conscious of himself and who he was. He was an individual with personal traits that God could use. The very rod he held in his hand, probably lifeless for years, would be known as "the rod of God." A frail, fearful, mortal man can be made into God's servant. he began then to be conscious of the abilities God had given him. God gives us talents by our natural birth and spiritual gifts when we are born again to use in our service for Him. He does not send us powerless into the battle for the souls of men any more then He would send Moses powerless to work for Him in Egypt. The lifeless, dry rod became a fearful serpent. Moses was given divine power by God to take it by the tail and it returned to what it originally was. When we look beyond ourselves and our inadequacies, then we become conscious of the need that God has called us, and enabled us, to fulfill.
The sign of Moses becoming leprous would have caused real concern in him because it affected him personally. We need to be aware of the fact that the world contaminates those who are in it. It is impossible, apart from God, to be kept "unspotted by the world." In the tender mercy of God, Moses, was taught the grace of God reaches out to us personally and continually. Apart from our own efforts, God is able to provide the cleanness that is needed to serve acceptably. The cleansing power of God over the incurable problem of leprosy teaches us that God is able to use what He has cleansed.
It was necessary for Moses to understand that God was not limited to what Moses had or who he was. God is able to use the very creation He made above what is normal to produce an objective that is consistent with His will. He can change the water in a river into blood. He does not give us power over creation, but enables us to interpret and apply the acts of nature to divine purposes. Creation is affected by man's sin. We are expected to take action for God in spite of our inadequacy and our doubts. There are weights that hinder our faith, and unbelief can cripple us in our service. We are given the responsibility to lay these aside and take action by faith. God intends us to take His call seriously and in spite of our trepidation and inexperience, to go forward with Him in faith.
"I have never done that before, and I really don't know how." That is not your problem, yours is to God's will just bow. "I am not able to speak very well; my tongue often seems to be tied." You're not expected to do what you can't, just to in God's will abide. "I don't think people will listen to me; I've done some things wrong before." Just do what God says, that is enough, don't add to it any more. "I am sure they will reject me and maybe refuse to act on anything new." Leave the results to God to produce results, just do what He tells you to.
Making excuses is not an uncommon practice to avoid those things we fear. Just remember when God assigns a task, He doesn't ask for more than you can bear. It is not by might or personal power, but by the power of God alone - The Holy Spirit enables God's called one to do what needs to be done. Faith does not dictate the result; faith is in the One who commands. He controls the outcome of things, is the One who holds the world in His hand. Go ahead and do what God says, and leave the outcome completely to Him. Lay aside all the weights that hinder and remember that unbelief is sin.
The signs and wonders are up to God to use if He deems them necessary. Our obligation when called by Him is to take action and do not tarry. It is a serious thing when we are told to take a message and tell unto all. It is a serious thing if we neglect or wait to arise and answer God's call. When God says, "Arise and go," He doesn't mean for us to wait for our time. Any command He gives to me is much more important than any act of mine. Away with excuses! Wait no longer! Hear, arise and go forth in faith! Place all your confidence in His sovereign will, He supplies the needed grace!
"Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask today that this journey to the other side of the world we are about to make will be filled with evidence of Thy working in power and grace among Thy people and the unsaved. Thy servant does not know the language. May this not be a hindrance in any way to what Thou art going to accomplish. Amen."