Brokenness, the Path to GloryMostra

The example of Moses

Hebrews 11:26: “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”

The Jewish historian Josephus records ('The Antiquities of the Jews'; book 2, chapter 10) that when Moses was a young man in the court of Pharoah, the Ethiopians invaded and occupied Egypt. Pharoah asked Moses to command Egypt’s army, and by a great strategy, he surprised the Ethiopian army and routed them. He returned in great glory and honor, a national hero. Then he decided to help his fellow Israelites, and everything went wrong. He killed the Egyptian who was beating his Israelite brother and was caught.

Exodus 2:15, “When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian.” He went from a national hero to a fugitive – and spent 40 years as a nobody. Hebrews 11:27 gives us some insight into this: “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” He could have possibly patched things up with Pharoah, but he didn’t even try. Somewhere along the line, he decided he wanted to serve God more than he wanted to pursue all the good things in Egypt.

So, if he was dedicating his life to God, why did God let him spend 40 years as an outcast? God loved Moses’ change of heart, but He knew that not even Moses could fulfill his call without being broken. The way up is the way down in God’s way of doing things. Brokenness always precedes real usefulness. If we don’t recognize this as Christ-followers, we will be very confused about God’s workings in our lives.

Now, look at the difference between the Moses of Exodus 2 and the Moses of Exodus 3! In Exodus 2, Moses was sure of his own abilities to rescue the Israelites, he was over-confident that he could do anything. Here the Bible never mentions Moses relying on God. Trusting the supernatural wisdom and power of God to solve problems never seemed to have entered his mind, he knew nothing of prayer or waiting on God. He was trusting his own wisdom and strategies. He had lots of skills, but they were all rooted in his own abilities. He had been to Egypt’s university, but he needed the school of God. So, God took him out into the desert and when Moses graduated from God’s school, he was not the same man.

Moses is entirely different in Exodus 3. His education has been strengthened by God’s ways. No more self-assurance and self-reliance. Exodus 3:11, “...who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Now, Moses feels totally inadequate for the very same task he thought he could accomplish on his own 40 years earlier. No more fleshly zeal, but instead waiting on God to do God’s work. He was resistant to God’s call to go back to Egypt as the deliverer of the Israelites until God finally gave him no choice in Exodus 4:12, “...now go! I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

As we watch the obedience of Moses in the following chapters of Exodus, and as the miraculous plagues swirl around Pharoah’s court in the land of Egypt, we begin to see Moses relying on the power of God, becoming the deliverer of the Israelites that he was intended to be. Watch the power in these words from Exodus 14:13-14, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Is it worthwhile for you to wait on God, rather than trying to accomplish God’s work on your own? Can you see that it was God’s lovingkindness that made Moses wait?