MOSES

This morning I heard on the BBC news about a remarkable rise to fame of a basketball player in New York (USA).  It seems that he was a “reject” just a few weeks ago but is now a super-star!  Apparently he has spoken openly about his belief that he owes it all to God being at work in all kinds of ways (20 or 30 – he says) that have brought about his current situation.

Well, I reckon Moses would say much the same thing.  He would point to many factors – great and small – that brought him to the Burning Bush and the commission from God that transformed the history of the Israeli Nation. 

The Michelangelo sculpture of Moses depicts him with two horn-like protuberances above his forehead.  The ancient idea was that Moses’ experience in the presence of God had given him these horns!  However, it was a mistranslation of a word and should have read “glorified”.  We know that Moses face shone when he returned from the mountain.  However, the idea is sound – that Moses was special, anointed, made capable of amazing things.  Otherwise, we will struggle to see how he could rule over a million nomadic people.

God had a plan from before time began.  This included Moses as leader of the Hebrew slave people – bringing them out of Egypt.  God’s purposes culminated in Christ Jesus!

Just think about the mammoth task Moses had.  He really needed miraculous help and assurance that God had called him to it!  I think this is reflected a little in every church leader’s experience.  We may lead just a few people in comparison but there are many similarities between Moses’ experiences and those of church elders or leaders.

First we see that the Hebrews had a “slave mentality” – they expected everything done for them – good or bad.  They were swift to blame Moses for their conditions rather than see faith in the Lord as the remedy.  The people were “carnal” (or at best infants) and were easily swayed by physical problems and needs.  We might read in amusement how they longed for the cucumbers they could eat in Egypt in preference to the Manna provided by God!  Then there was the battle with Amalek soon after their escape from Pharaoh’s armies and the crossing of the Red Sea.  This is usually taught as a picture of the way the “flesh” (the old nature) and the world can try to discourage the Christian in his or her new life.  The people were ambushed!  Moses need to pray through this and needed the help of other leaders to keep his arms up!

All these experiences have their parallels in the local church.  Leaders, like Moses, need to be clear about their calling and be anointed through being in God’s Presence.  They need to be able to see the hand of God in their experiences and have faith that he has brought them into leadership of their particular group.  They need people to help them in prayer for the people – especially from being ambushed by sin, the flesh and the devil.  Then there is the need for clear teaching about being the children of God and free in Christ – bringing the people out of slavery.  Of course, this requires a clear purpose to bring the people into maturity in Christ – realising their inheritance in Him and the fact that they will be brought to glory as “sons”.

dvc

The Staff of God

In our recent teaching we have been looking at the call of Moses and the signs God gave him to show the Hebrew slaves in Egypt.

In particular we saw how Moses staff had to be thrown down.  This staff would have been a status symbol, a statement about Moses.  It was his – it would have his name carved on it (maybe other things too).  It would have been cared for, carved and full of character.  On the ground it became a venomous snake!  Moses was allowed to pick it up again – by the tail – and it became a staff in his hand.  From then on it is called the Staff of God and Aaron’s staff!  Moses names it “the Staff of God” – see Exodus 17.9.

Later, this staff springs to life and bears leaf, blossom and fruit in testimony that God had chosen Aaron to be High Priest.  After this it is kept in the Holy Place in front of the Ark.  We are brought into the Presence of God and see that the Staff is now a picture of the Lord Jesus and his resurrection.

Now, Moses had two other signs – one was that his hand would become full of leprosy if he just placed inside his jacket and then drew it out again.  This is a reminder of the danger of serving God in the flesh.  Also, he was told to take water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground where it would become blood.  The word  “blood” tends to take us straight to the Cross of Jesus but, maybe here, the context is very different.  The sign is that something the people depended upon would become unpalatable to them!  In fact all three signs declare the warning that what we depend upon can quickly lose its value and leave us – poisoned and plagued.  So, the Hebrews would need to learn to depend on God alone – equally, the Egyptians would be made to see that their power and wealth were impotent in resisting God’s will.

I hope that we can learn something from all this?  After all, the Scriptures are given so that we can learn, be corrected, rebuked and trained in the way of life.

In my experience, church life can become unpleasant when people with  responsibilities use their “staff” in pride or in the flesh.  Every believer has an anointing and is a priest of God – but not all have roles that involve leading or organising others.  It is these duties where a servant decides to act as a “lord”. The reason for this is probably something to do with finding value in what we do rather than in who we believe in and who we are in Christ. A worldly character of criticism, defensiveness and domination develops that usurps the authority of God.  The work becomes “my ministry” rather than belonging to God.  The staff is snatched away from God!

Take a look at how Pharaoh responds to the command that he let God’s people go.  He makes them work harder, he is cruel, he belittles their efforts.  He makes them find their own straw.  Later, he tries to demonstrate how powerful he is and that his regime can do what God can do .  By this I mean that he tries to show by turning sticks into snakes, or water into blood, or frogs in their beds, that he was doing God’s work!

It is possible for sincere Christians to serve in their own strength, bringing stuff out of their fleshly natures.  People like this are mentioned all through the New Testament.  The extreme versions are likened to Cain, Balaam and Korah.  However, Paul writes about fellow-Christians who had become, “false apostles, deceitful workers”.  At the very basic level Paul warns about serving with confidence in the “flesh”.  By this he means that a Christian can start to build a ministry around the idea that he or she is earning God’s favour and is attaining some kind of superiority.  This is usually accompanied by some “hobby-horse” or other – some claim to special revelation or superior knowledge.  It can also show itself in an extreme expectation on others to conform to their idea of what “ought to be”!

I realise that I must challenge myself about all this.  Do I serve with the “Staff of God” or have I made it “my” rod to control and hurt the people of God?  What about you?

 Dave Chapman Feb 2012

About Genesis

Many of you will have read through Genesis. It is a remarkable book containing the origins of what we believe as Christians.  Here we read how sin and death came into the world.  We read about God’s love and justice, about faith and obedience, about the purposes of God for Israel and the world.

With all this we read a lot of very strange things!  We read about human weakness and depravity.  Against this we read of encounters with mysterious beings like Melchizedek.  For someone with little or no faith in God this book is a minefield; a disaster area – even plain nonsense!  However, through eyes of faith – through knowing Jesus Christ – everything comes into focus. 

First we need to see that Moses wrote this book.  Where did he get his information?  Well in Exodus chapter 24 we read that Moses spent 40 days and nights up a mountain communing with the Lord. In Deuteronomy chapter 10 we discover that Moses spent a second 40 days and nights in God’s presence.  This second time was to do with interceding for the people because they had sinned.  During one or both of these times, Moses received all kinds of information from God that we call “the Law”.  Moses was commanded to write these things down.  We have 5 books written by him [the PENTATEUCH].  The first of these is Genesis [meaning BEGINNINGS].  Moses writes what God showed him about the origins of Mankind, the development of Covenants with God and the emergence of the nation of Israel (among many other nations).

Moses did not see everything – nor was he able to describe everything he saw in ways that would suit us 21^st Century people.  All through the Bible God speaks through the limitations of human beings who have faith in him.  He does not make them into robots.  He does not give them words to say that they did not know or understand.  It would be remarkable for Moses to have described the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as an “atomic blast” or “laser beams of destruction”.  He describes what he was shown in words that he knew.

It is wonderful and amazing to read the accounts of ordinary people in that ancient world.  They show the same weaknesses and sins that dominate our modern world.  Yet, we see God working with them and through them because of their faith in him!  He is not fazed by their weaknesses and his purposes stay on course in spite of Abraham’s “ups and downs”, Isaac’s wilful ignoring of God’s word about Jacob and Esau, Jacob’s wheeling and dealing, the attempt to do away with Joseph and the various sinful things that might have messed up the pure line of Israel.  And why did God want to keep Israel “pure” and special as a nation? His purpose was to produce the Saviour of the World through that nation.  All this is seen in a nutshell in the experience of Joseph.  This is all made clear in Genesis chapter 45 [and chapter 50 v.20].  God was behind everything so that Israel would have a safe place to last out the famine and, later become a distinct nation. 

Genesis has several covenants made by God.  These are promises (or oaths) that God made with people of faith.  Some have conditions others do not.  All of them remain because they are God’s Word.  We may be weak and changeable but God does not change and his word endures for ever.

·  Genesis ch.3 – several promises here – the main one being that the seed of the woman will crush Satan.

·  Genesis ch’s. 8&9 – here the word covenant is used and the promise relates to preserving and honouring life – signified by the rainbow.
·  Genesis ch.12 – here and elsewhere are covenants made with Abraham.  These all relate to a chosen nation out of which would come the Saviour of the World [MESSIAH].

The covenant with Abraham extends through Isaac and then Jacob.  One might feel that these men did little to help the promises along!  However, God remained faithful and his word stayed steady and true.  God could bless all Abraham’s children yet remain on course to bless the world through Isaac.   Right up to today we have trouble in the world because of Abraham’s children.  Not just the enmity between Ishmael (Arabs) and Isaac (Jews) but other nations like Iraq and Iran are descendants of children of Abraham. All the strife seems only to highlight the power and promises of God.

Let us take courage and hold on to faith in the Lord knowing that serving him is a privilege and that his grace will see us though.  We may feel weak, or silly, or sinful BUT GOD is able to lift us up and strengthen us for his work.  We must not worry about weakness but realise that his strength can be perfect in our weakness [2 Corinthians 12.9].  Just look at what God did in the Book of Genesis!