MOSES BECOMES A PLAYER

By Jill Roberts and Michael Canalé

 

Michael writes so astutely that,

 

“The building blocks to thought are not always wins. Some of the biggest disasters are the best learning curves to the ultimate win.”

 

Last week, God had Moses and Aaron in recovery mode after an enormous disaster in their initial dealings with the Pharaoh. As you recall, their first encounter with this King of Egypt, resulted in not only the Israelites not being allowed to leave Egypt and their lives as slaves; it had, as its consequence, their work being greatly increased as this evil ruler no longer provided straw for brick making, all the while requiring the same quota of bricks as when he provided the straw.

 

But, as Michael says, just such a disaster often produces an exceptional learning curve. As we studied, God found this to be a teaching moment that helped send them back into the fray better prepared than they would have ever been without it.

 

In one of the clearest examples of God Strategy, He gave Moses and Aaron, (along with us, students of Scripture), a God-sized lesson while using love and strategic finesse to build up our brother protagonists so that they were much more effective soldiers in rescuing their People for God.

 

Specifically, God revealed anew to them that the saving of the Israelites from slavery was tantamount to saving themselves. This was accomplished through God’s stressing their family lines, right down to naming, by actual name, Moses’ and Aaron’s closest relatives.

 

Now, with a more personal connection to their mission in Egypt, these men were transformed from being discouraged to being, at least,  increasingly committed to what they were to be about, i.e. convincing the Pharaoh to let God’s People, the Israelites, go so that they could worship God.

 

Michael says of this transformation of spirit in Moses and Aaron:

 

“The clearest sky will be clouded and the most clouded sky will clear up.”

 

What an insight as God, in his strategy of love, instead of criticism, changed the thoughts of

two men who had been ready to throw in the towel and back away from as important a mission as Scripture recounts.

 

Were there still issues? Yes. Moses continued to complain of “faltering lips,” something God remedied by, IN THE BEGINNING, asking Aaron to take the lead. These were God’s instructions:

 

“Then the LORD said to Moses…’your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country…The LORD said to Moses ‘When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle, say to Aaron, take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”

(Exodus 7:2,8-9) NIV

 

The Bible then records a series of signs and plagues. Aaron’s staff becomes a snake, but the Pharaoh’s wise men and sorcerers were able to match this. However,

 

“Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staff.” Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them.”

(Exodus 7:12-13) NIV

 

Next came the plague of blood. Here, God asks MOSES, not Aaron, to take the staff in HIS hand. (Exodus 7:15) NIV. God is slowly, gradually, moving Moses into leadership.

 

How important it is to remember that God will meet us where we are, even if, as here, it is His Plan B. God did not appear to Aaron in the Burning Bush. He appeared to Moses, alone. He tapped Moses and only Moses for this mission. It was after Moses basically refused to carry it out that Aaron’s name arose in the conversation. God had to compromise.

Now, God is, again, on task, gradually moving Moses back to the forefront.

 

Aaron would get the next nods from the LORD:

 

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell AARON, take YOUR staff and stretch out YOUR hand over the waters of Egypt…and they will turn to blood. Blood will be everywhere..,”

(emphasis added)

(Exodus 7:19) NIV

 

Aaron did this and it was a catastrophe for Egypt. The fish died and people were hard pressed to find drinking water.

 

Pharaoh brought in his magicians who “did the same things.” (Exodus 7:22) NIV. Still, the Pharaoh would not release the Israelites! As Michael says,

 

“Pharaoh’s nonsense was of Biblical proportions!”

 

Why, we ask, if Pharaoh’s sorcerers had so much power, did he not instruct them to turn the bloodied waterways back into water? As Michael says, “nonsense of Biblical proportions.”

 

The LORD speaks to Moses:

 

“Tell AARON, ‘Stretch out YOUR hand with YOUR staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.”

(emphasis added)

(Exodus 8:5-6) NIV

 

The Egyptian magicians did the same… and there were more frogs and there was more nonsense from Pharaoh! Frogs were in every house, bed and kitchen and yet, the Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go.

 

God spoke again to Moses:

 

“Tell AARON, ‘ Stretch out YOUR staff and strike the dust of the ground and throughput the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.”

(emphasis added)

(Exodus 8:16) NIV

 

Gnats were everywhere and the Egyptian sorcerers could not recreate this. The Pharaoh began to weaken but ultimately went back to having a hard heart.

 

Following this, came the plague of the livestock. The Pharaoh stayed firm. The Israelites were still slaves.

 

However, something was about to change. When the next plague was visited on Egypt, the plague of the boils, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

 

“Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and HAVE MOSES toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”

(emphasis added)

(Exodus 9:8-9) NIV

 

The results were the same, but God was moving Moses up and placing Aaron in a secondary position.

 

In the next plague, that of hail, God told MOSES to confront the Pharaoh. Furthermore, when the Pharaoh, again, would not acquiesce, God said,

 

“…to MOSES, stretch out YOUR hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt.”

(emphasis added)

(Exodus 9:22) NIV

 

This time, the Pharaoh,

 

“…summoned Moses and Aaron. ‘This time I have sinned,’ he said to them. ‘The LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the LORD, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”

(Exodus 9: 27-28) NIV

 

After this, we see Moses as God knew Moses could be:

 

“Moses replied, When I have gone out of the city, I WILL SPREAD OUT MY HANDS IN PRAYER TO THE LORD.”

(emphasis added)

(Exodus 9:29) NIV

 

Significantly, there is no mention of Aaron. Moses is stepping into leadership. God’s Burning Bush choice is answering God’s call.

 

Remarkably, the Pharaoh refused again! Once again, it is God’s move:

 

“Then the LORD said TO MOSES…”

(emphasis added)

(Exodus 10:1) NIV

 

There is Moses, standing on his own. And so, at the next plague, that of the locusts,

 

“…the LORD said TO MOSES… (alone), stretch out your hand over Egypt…Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt..,”

(emphasis added)

(Exodus 10:12-13) NIV

 

In the next plague, the plague of darkness,

 

“Then the LORD said TO MOSES (only) stretch out your hand…So Moses stretched out his hand.”

(emphasis added)

(Exodus 10:21-22) NIV

 

The Pharaoh appeared to acquiesce but, again, reneged. This time he told Moses that the next time Moses saw the Pharaoh’s face, he, Moses would die. Following this death threat, Moses said,

 

“Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I (not Aaron and I) will never appear before you again.”

(Exodus 10:29) NIV

 

One might initially wonder why God caused so many plagues when He knew that all these preliminary disasters would not convince the Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. Of course, Michael and I would say that He is the God of many chances. Nothing is truer than this.

 

But, there is another compelling reason. Through each plague, God was developing Moses as the great leader he would become. Moses did not start out in this posture. He wanted nothing more than to bow out of God’s mission before it had even begun. God knew he was weak. But, as Michael says,

 

“God picked the weak ones.”

 

We have seen this time and again in this Old Testament study. Certainly, it is apparent here.

 

Michael poses the question and answers it:

 

“How did Moses become a player? He became a player because God brought him along through God’s limitless power and love.”

 

Oh, the lesson for us today! Scripture teaches us on so many levels. We will close out this week’s study with the following profound insight of Michael’s:

 

“We are in our seasons on Earth. Depending on the season you’re in, determines what you hear when you’re studying the Bible. People read into it, depending on their season. What verses do you take to heart? What verses do you hold dear? It’s according to your season. It’s now the season for these words for somebody.”