A Sobering thought

.... God uses anyone but compromises not

Moses the Prophet, a.k.a Prince of Egypt used to stammer. In his own words, he was “not eloquent, neither before nor since (the Lord had) spoken to ...him; but (was) slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Exodus 4:10).  Moses was also –in current legal speak- a murder suspect for he had killed an Egyptian who he found whipping an Israelite slave.  It seems that the law of Egypt was very strict with regard to killing.  It didn’t matter that Moses was a Prince (better put, he was raised as a Prince in the house of Pharaoh). For Moses did run away from the land of Egypt when he realised that he was wanted by none other than Pharaoh himself (Exodus 2:15).  This was the second time Moses’ life was in danger. The first time being when he was born (Exodus 1:15-22). Moses thus remained in exile until the men (probably relatives of the deceased) who wanted him dead had died that Moses would go back to Egypt. (Exodus 4:19) 

So there was Moses – a man who stammered and who was a fugitive running from the law(reminds me of the movie by a similar name acted by Harrison Ford). Moses also gave many other reasons as to why he was not the kind of leader or messenger that God wanted. (Exodus 4). He was such an ill equipped coward, with a plethora of excuses - even pleading with God to send someone else instead of him. At some point, the Lord was angry with Moses for his ineptitude (Exodus 4:14). If I were asked to choose a leader, I would not have chosen Moses. 

However, in spite of this seemingly horrible 'curriculum vitae,' God still chose to use this 'Prince of Egypt -cum- murder suspect.' You see, God is no respecter of persons. His favour is not fair. He sees beyond our incompetencies. 

Let us not forget that in addition to forgetting to have his sons circumcised (which also almost led the Lord to kill him if it wasn't for the intervention of his wife Zipporah- Exodus 4:24-26), Moses also had a nasty temper. (The same that got him into trouble with Pharaoh the first time). The Scriptures say -his anger burned- and he threw the “mosaic laws” down (Exodus 32:19). His anger also caused him to hit the rock twice instead of speaking to it ( Numbers 20: 8-12).  I actually think that during their conversations, God warned Moses about his temper. This inference is made because the Scriptures say that the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to a friend. (Exodus 33:11). What an amazing experience that was. Indeed when he would returned to the Israelites, his countenance would change – the skin of his face shone- and he had to wear a veil for the people feared him (Exodus 34:29). So Moses, in spite of his anger issues, was so close to God and God did use him.

Do not get me wrong. I am not trying to insinuate that our sins and shortcomings are of no consequence. My meditation here is that while God will use you regardless of your shortfalls, circumstances and personality, he will still expect his standards to be upheld.  In the case of Moses, God tells him in no equivocal terms that he will not see the promised land “because (Moses) didn’t follow (God), to hallow (God) in the eyes of the children of Israel ...” (Numbers 20:12). 

I suspect that God knew that Moses strongly desired to see the promised land and yet God was not going to allow Moses to see it as a punishment for his unbridled anger. In fact Moses tried on several occasions to ask God to reverse the decision but to no avail.  In Deuteronomy 3: 23, Moses writes thus -

²³ “Then I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying: ²⁴ ‘O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your ^[e]mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? ²⁵ I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’

²⁶ “But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the Lord said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter. ²⁷ Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. ²⁸ But command^[f] Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.’

²⁹ “So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth Peor.

The above Scripture shows that God was not about to compromise his standards simply because He was using Moses or talking to him as a friend. I suspect that we would all  have expected GOD to turn a blind eye to Moses’ error and probably excuse it in light of the many other things that Moses had already done. We often would expect the same treatment in case we are in similar situations.  However, God's standards are uncompromisable.  Even when Jesus would later be on the cross, carrying all the sins of the world, God turned away from his own Son. Jesus, feeling the rejection, cried out - eloi eloi lama sabachthani (My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22:1, Mathew 27: 46)

Similarly, in the case of Moses, the words of William Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar come to mind- “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones”. This painful reality means - that save for Jesus Christ – we were all short of the standard of God ( Romans 3:23) and whereas He will use us, it is only because of Christ that we stand before Him. Otherwise, we are unworthy regardless of our gifting. 

Similarly, in the case of King David, (the one who killed Goliath, the one God said was a man after His (God’s) own heart), the Almighty God went ahead to declare, through the words of Prophet Nathan that 'the sword will never depart” from David’s house because David had “despised (God) and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite (for his own) (2 Samuel 12:10). The Lord also decreed that David’s wives would also be taken from before his eyes in the sight of the sun and whatever he had done secretly would be repaid in full day light (Vs. 11-12). What a humbling and painful process that was for David.  In the process, David’s concubines would not only be defiled by his own son Absalom (who he dearly loved), (2 Samuel 16:22) but he would have to face rebellion engineered by this very son – and then lose the son in battle. What a price to pay!

Like Moses before him, David repented. He asked God to create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit within him. (Psalm 51) He also tried to intercede for the life of his new born son who the Lord had already decreed would die. In 2 Samuel 12: 16, he 'pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground' (Vs. 16) but 'the child died on the seventh day' (vs. 18). David’s actions were because he hoped that 'God would be gracious to (him) that the child may live”. (vs. 22).[1] 

David responded by asking God for forgiveness , just like Moses before him.  It is no wonder that the Lord had said David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

We can juxtapose the above examples with Eli and Hezekiah who were also used by the Lord in the positions of High Priest and King, respectively. These two didn’t respond like either David or Moses. For Eli, when the Lord warned him about his corrupt sons Hophni and Phinehas in 1 Samuel 2: 27 -36, there is no indication that Eli either repented on their behalf or did anything to either relieve them of their duties or chastise them in spite of hearing what they were doing (verse 22).[2] 

The second warning to Eli in I Samuel 3:11-17 only received a lacklustre response from the old Priest when, in answer to God’s fore coming judgement as told to Samuel, Eli only said – It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.  Similarly, Hezekiah – he who the Bible says was like no other King in Judah (2 Kings 18:5), having been told that the mistake he had made of showing his enemies the treasures of his Kingdom, would lead to their enslavement, only responded thus – The Word of the Lord which you have spoken is good! For he said  “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?” (2 Kings 20:19)

The aforementioned responses by Hezekiah and Eli certainly elicited unfortunate events. Take note that whereas David was restored to his throne and He did continue to commune with God, (in fact God loved the second son that was born to David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12: 24), and whereas after the death of Moses, the Israelites did go ahead to the promised land and Moses would later reappear to Jesus in Mathew 17:2, the same is not true for Eli – whose sons were killed in battle and –as decreed by the Lord and a new “faithful priest who (did) according to what was in (the Lord’s) heart and ... mind”(verse 35) was chosen to “walk before the (Lord’s) annointed forever”(verse 35). For Hezekiah, the Israelites would pay a heavy price of being enslaved to Babylon for very many years.

The lesson here for me is a powerful and sobering one. I might be used by the Lord and indeed the Lord uses us regardless. The Scriptures says that God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). However, we cannot be comfortable and think that our indiscretions will go unpunished or that they do not have consequnces.  ( O God help me). This is a powerful rebuke to me. It is also a humbling reminder. May the Lord help me to keep a clean house. May He help me to overcome my bad habits, my sins and anything else that so easily entangles. (Hebrews 12:1) Obviously, on my own, I cannot do it. I need the Lord Jesus Christ to be by my side.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, this revelation is a tough one. I know that you died for my sins. I know that I am your beloved. I know that you care about me and have blessed me in immeasurable ways. Father, thank you for the opportunity to see the greatness of who you are. I thank you for using me in many ways. I thank you for the opportunity to serve you and those you have put under my charge.  Lord, I pray today that you forgive me of my sins and all things in my life that fall short of your glory. Forgive me Lord. There is no excuse.  Give me strength and grit to be what you have called me to be. Help me to stand in purity, holiness, justice and righteousness. I repent of my sins and ask for your Holy Spirit to walk with me every day and help me to be the son that you will be proud of. In Jesus  Name. Amen.

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[1] Verse 14 states that since David’s act had “given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child would die. (vs. 14) It seems however that the Lord was trying to break an iniquity. Since David had been born out of wedlock, the Lord wasn’t about to let any of his (David’s) children suffer the same fate. This is probably why the Lord loved Solomon who he named Jedidiah. ( Verse 24)

[2] The Lord mentions this to the boy Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:11, to wit – For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.