The Life of Moses 2- Getting Ahead of God

Getting Ahead of God

Series: The Life Of Moses

Scripture Reference: Exodus 2:11-15; Acts 7:20-29

Date: 31 April, 2015

Scripture Reading

Let us Rise to our feet and together read

Exodus 2:11-15

¹¹ And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

¹² And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

¹³ And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?

¹⁴ And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.

¹⁵ Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

 Acts 7:20-29

²⁰ In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:

²¹ And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

²² And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

²³ And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

²⁴ And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

²⁵ For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

²⁶ And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

²⁷ But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸ Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?

²⁹ Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

This is the word of God. Thanks be to the LORD. May the sweet Holy Spirit add His manifold blessings to our text this morning... in our hearing. Amen! You may be seated in God's Presence.

Introduction

Last week in our first in the series on the life of Moses we examined how Amram and Jochebed, the parents of Moses, passed on to their son a heritage of faith. The time came that they had to hand their son over to the daughter of Pharaoh.

According to Exodus 2:10, “And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

When Moses was weaned he was taken into the household of the Pharaoh, were he was raised as the son of the princess. She named the boy, Moses, a name that was rooted in the event of her finding the baby, meaning “to draw out” as she had drew him out of the Nile.

God had given the parents of Moses more than they could ask or even imagine. Not only was his life spared, and protected by none other than the pharaoh’s daughter, but they are allowed to keep him and train him in the ways of God and they were even paid to do it. What a gracious God we serve.

Between verse 10 and verse 11 nearly 40 years are passed over in silence. The account in Exodus throws no light on the nearly 40 years Moses spent in the courts of Egypt. We left off with Moses as a baby and now we see him as an adult. 

 

Sermon

In the intervening years there are several facts that we need to understand about the life of Moses. 

I Wisdom

But Stephen in his account before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:22 tells us, “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.” Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince and was given a remarkable education in the courts of Pharaoh. He was likely educated at the “Temple of the Sun” which was known as “the Oxford of Ancient Egypt". He would have studied the various sciences, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, medicine and religion, philosophy and the law. It appears that he was a great student for the verse says that he was “mighty in words and deeds.”

(Note: The prime prerequisite for leadership is wisdom, for wisdom comprises all other learning skills. David taught Solomon the value of wisdom in Proverbs 4:7, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

In Daniel 1:4, those who were chosen from among the children of Israel to stand before the king of Babylon were required to have the following qualifications: “Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.” Wisdom is vital for leadership positions, and for being in the presence of a king.

There are three essential areas in life: time, finances, and people. Each of these areas requires much godly wisdom. As believers (and especially as leaders), we must watch those time commodities very carefully and treasure them, for there are tremendous demands upon our time. You will never see a real leader frittering his time away. Moses prayed in Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” A wise man has the ability to manage time well, making the most of it (Eph. 5:16, Col. 4:5).

In the area of finances, leaders must have financial integrity and good judgment. Moreover, they must be able to appreciate and care for the people God has given them. Sometimes God grants all three essentialities to a person, but the unwise will squander them all. He will fritter away his time, finances, and drive people away by his attitude.)

II. Secular Training

The fact that he was “mighty in …deeds” seems to indicate that he also had some military experience. The Jewish historian Josephus in his “Antiquities of the Jews” gives an account of how by the time he was thirty Moses led the Egyptian army to victory in a battle against the invading Ethiopians.

One of the pitfalls of revival is that people, especially those in their late teens and early twenties, who have been touched by God, assume that the only thing that counts in life is preaching or witnessing for God. Their mentality is that they will give up their training, their secular jobs, and just live by faith. What they do not realise, though, is that faith itself comes from God alone. God does not give faith for that which is not His will; He only gives us faith to accomplish His will. He has preordained our secular employment for a purpose.

I am not saying that God does not call some people to quit their secular employment to serve Him. As soon as Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John, they immediately left their fishing nets and followed the Lord (Mt. 4:18-22). Levi quit his job as a tax collector the moment Jesus called him to the ministry (Mk. 2:14). We must walk in the will of God and stay in our secular employment until God tells us to enter the ministry full-time.

Isaiah 28:23-26 speaks of the fact that God gives skills in the secular realm as well as in the spiritual realm, and they are both very important. God was speaking to the farmer: “Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.”

In verse 27 and 28 of this chapter, we see further aspects of farming but it is Isaiah 28:29 which states my point, “This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.”

It is God who gives the farmer the necessary and appropriate wisdom to raise his crops, and teaches him how to sow seed and harvest, and which instruments to use. Wisdom for farming does not sound very spiritual, but it is very necessary for life.

Think for a moment of all the people in Scripture who were renowned for wisdom. Moses, Solomon, and Daniel are just a few examples. Moses’ training was in a secular court in Egypt. Daniel’s training was in a secular court as well, in Babylon. Solomon did not have that advantage, and he failed in life. Thus, I am stressing the importance of secular training, and we are to pray through with our young people until they secure the occupations God has appointed for them. 

We should pray for everything in life, particularly for our employment. How can we determine what occupation God has ordained for a person? Often the key lies in one’s desire. It is God who places the desire for a certain occupation in a person’s heart, and He will also give the person the skills and the temperament to perform it. These three things are a very good rule of thumb for determining which occupation God has ordained for a person.

III. Refusal of Egyptian Sonship

Preceding the events of verse 11 and those that follow is a decision that Moses made in his heart described in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews (vv. 24-26). “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, (25) choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, (26) esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”

This seems to tell us that during that time Moses had made a critical decision to identify with the Hebrew people.

At some point Moses had come to believe that he was to be Israel’s deliverer. Once he understood this divine calling upon his life he made his decision to give himself sacrificially to his people, he was ready for action. As we have already seen Hebrews 11: 24-25 records, “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, (25) choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,” 

 

Moses was an amazing man! He refused the honours and privileges of Egypt, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God. While he was growing up in Pharaoh’s court, surrounded by people who served pagan gods, the Lord revealed his call to him. From a very early age, Moses nurtured that call in his heart, and made a commitment to the will and call of God for his life. This is what is so important—the call and the commitment.

This is one of the difficulties we experience in leadership. There are so very few people who make an all-out commitment to the call of God on their lives. They will acknowledge that God has called them, and they are willing to follow the call of God but they are not willing to endure all the reproaches, difficulties, and hardships the call of God brings upon their lives. Our commitment to the Lord’s call for our lives is very important. 

Not only had Moses recognised and acknowledged the call of God, but he had also committed to God’s will such that he refused the pleasures of Egypt and chose to suffer affliction with the children of Israel. The result of that decision can be seen in the narrative of Scripture — he became one of the greatest men who ever lived.

The decision that Moses made was truly remarkable. God did indeed intend for Moses to be the deliverer of His people from bondage in Egypt. Even though Moses was schooled in all the knowledge of the Egyptians there was much hat Moses had to learn yet. There would be a time when he would know the ways of the Lord, but for now he was too full of his own ways. In a later time he would be empowered by God, but now he was acting in his own self-energy. Moses was rash, impatient, headstrong and headed for trouble.

IV. Defense of His People

We take up the biblical account of the life of Moses in verse 11, “Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.”

Verse 11 in our text sets the stage for the coming events by saying that it happened when Moses “was grown.” According to Acts 7:23 Moses was, “…forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.”

According the later part of this verse, “ he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.”

When Moses saw the abuse and oppression that his fellow Hebrew’s were under his heart went out to them. He clearly saw the need for a deliverer and he wanted desperately to help them. Finally one day as he witnessed a one of the Egyptian taskmasters beating one of the Hebrew slaves he could not sit still any longer. Acts 7:24 says, “And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.”

Not only did Moses know the call of God upon his life long before he was 40 years old, but others must also have had knowledge of Moses’ call. Acts 7:25 says that Moses “supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand, would deliver them.” This phrase leads us to believe that there must have been a general knowledge of the call of Moses among the children of Israel. When God has called a person, He confirms it to other people as well. For example, it must have been known by many throughout all Israel that David was anointed by Samuel to be king.

It is tempting to think that as Moses witnessed the abuse to his fellow Hebrew that something just snapped. But scripture portrays that this was all a part of a preconceived plan on the part of Moses. He decided that is was time to take action so according to verse 12 of our text, “…he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” He looked this way and that but unfortunately he never looked up. He knew God’s will. But the problem was that he did not bother to seek God’s way and God’s timing. He was trying to do God’s will in his own way and in according to his own timetable.

That is the problem when we understand what God’s will for our lives is but things are not happening fast enough to suit us, we become anxious. We try to give God a hand.

Did the cruel taskmaster deserve to be punished? Yes! Was it wrong to beat the Hebrew as he did? Of course. But when Moses stepped in began his own “Operation Deliverance,” he was energized by the flesh not by the Spirit of God. Invariably when you act in the flesh you will have something to cover up. But it is just a matter of time until the truth catches up with you. The sand always yields its secrets, and corpse was not as hidden as Moses’ has supposed.

Charles Swindoll puts it this way,

 “Neglecting to ask God’s counsel, neglecting to seek God’s timing, you step in to handle things. And by and by, you’ve got a mess on your hands. Your stuck with a corpse, with a shovel in your hands and a shallow grave at your feet.”

[Charles Swindoll. Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication. (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1999) p. 43]

Moses’ motivation was right but his timing and his methods were all wrong. The significant thing here is that Moses’ plans are not the same plans made by God for the deliverance of the Hebrews. Moses did not see himself as a murderer but as one striking the first blow for the freedom of God’s people.

Moses desiring to carry out God’s plan for the deliverance of the Hebrews, eager to do great things for God, forced a situation that led to a personal disaster. There is a principle that we need to recognize, God will not bless what he has not designed.

V. Flight from Egypt by Faith, Not Fear

Exodus 2:13 says, “And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?” (14) Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”

What a terrible put down. Moses knew he was to be the deliverer and he supposed that everyone else would recognize it to. Acts 7:25 gives commentary, “For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.” But instead when he tries to stop a fight between two Hebrews he cannot believe the response. They say. “Hey, Mr. High and Mighty, Who died and left you in charge? You’re not our leader. What are you going to do kill us if don’t do what you say?”

Moses was both astonished because his secret was out and afraid because if they knew then Pharaoh either knew or would know shortly. The remainder of verse 14 says, “…So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”

It appears that Moses was right for the very next verse (15) says, “Then Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.”

One would assume that Pharaoh already knew of Moses’ decision in rejecting his Egyptian upbringing. To Pharaoh this must have seemed the grossest kind of ungratefulness. And now he hears the Moses has actually killed an Egyptian official. This is only one remedy for a disloyal and out of control prince, have him killed.

 

I would like to consider now an interesting situation recorded two different ways in Scripture. We read in Exodus 2:14b-15, “And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian.” Depending on how you read this, it would seem as if Moses fled just to escape from Pharaoh.

However, observe the way God recorded it in another
portion of Scripture in Hebrews 11:27, “By faith [Moses] forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” God’s record of Moses’ flight from Egypt is quite different from Moses’ record of the same incident.

Man often looks at an action and hastily concludes, “Oh, that’s a failure.” Many have assumed that Moses fled to get away from the king, but God looked into the heart of Moses and records that he fled from Egypt “by faith.” God always sees the real reason behind a person’s actions. He looks at our response to what He speaks to us. In heaven, we will be shown the record of our lives, and I am sure it will be quite different from what people think of us upon earth.

We will leave the lessons learned in the school of desert till next time but for now suffice it to say, it is when we have come to the end of self-lead life that God can begin to work in our lives. It is when we have come to the end of ourselves, having push hard enough and manipulated long enough, that God finally gets your attention. It is then that you discover that God is saying, “Cease striving and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10).

After Moses returned from the enforced exile in the desert of Midian years later he was a different man, one fit for years of selfless and obedient service.

Invitation And The Final Challenge

Perhaps the only good thing about failure is that God uses our failures to teach us important things.

First, we learn through failure is that no matter how talented we are, how educated we may be, without Him we can do nothing. Jesus tells us in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” The prophetic words taken from Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:9 speak to us when she said, “for by strength no man shall prevail.”

The second thing God teaches us through our failures is that we are capable of terrible things if we persist in our way instead of pursuing His way.

Third, Hiding our wrongs doesn’t erase wrong: it only postpones its discovery.

According to Exodus 2:12, Moses hid the body of the slain Egyptian in the sand but by next day the deed is known. When we have done wrong some very human instincts kick in; deny it, excuse it, rationalize it, reinterpret our shortcomings. But the best and only real way to hand it is to “fess up.” To call failure, failure. To call sin, sin. To admit we were wrong so that we can be cleansed and restored and go on with our lives.

The final lesson that God can teach us through the failure of our own plans is that he is capable of working for us and in us, in spite of us. People may think, “Oh, he failed in this situation or that situation.” God often records it quite differently. One of the privileges and responsibilities of leadership is to care for others. Leaders and pastors who counsel others must see them through God’s eyes and understand their motives.

Pastors should ask the Lord: “Lord, why did they do that? Please allow me to see this person as You do.” When you understand why a person does the things he does, then you can accurately address his actions, as well as the source of the actions. If a tree produces bad fruit, it is not enough to deal with the bad fruit. You must deal with the source of the bad fruit.

Moses the man who botched things so bad on his own was used mightily of God. His name is mentioned 700 times in the Bible. He was used by God in a greater way than any other Old Testament character, when he through failure learned to follow God’s plans rather than his own. If Moses can raise from his failures to be used by God so can we. 

If you have any problem come forward as we sing...