Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication

by Charles R. Swindoll

Listen to his counsel: Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household . . . “When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians.” (46:31, 33–34) Joseph told them, “Whatever you do, guys, don’t tell Pharaoh you’re shepherds! Keep that part under your hats, all right? Just tell him you’re keepers of livestock.” Now, why would he say that? Because Joseph knew that shepherds were “loathsome to the Egyptians.”

“Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8).

“The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help . . . went up to God” (Exodus 3:23, NIV).

God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out [Exodus!] with many possessions.” Genesis 15:13–14

“But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly” (1:12–13, NIV).

Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah. . . . (1:15)

But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?” The midwives said

to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.” So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. And it came about because the midwives feared God, that He established households for them. (vv. 17–21)

Hard times don’t erase God’s promises.

Harsh treatment doesn’t escape God’s notice.

“I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians. . . . ” (vv. 7–8, NIV)

Heavy tests don’t eclipse God’s concern.

“It doesn’t matter how great the pressure is; what really matters is where the pressure lies. Whether it comes between you and God or presses you nearer His heart.”

Do all that you can to prepare yourself for battle, understanding that the ultimate outcome rests with the Lord God.

That’s what impresses me about Jochebed. She trusted the Lord so fully that the Holy Spirit includes her in the

Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith.” What Moses drank into his life, he most likely imbibed from his mother.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it.

You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book! How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me! (Psalm 139:13–17, TLB)

But all the while, God waits for you to seek His counsel.

Invariably, when you act in the flesh, you have something to cover up.

When the flesh rules, however, you can’t even bury the consequences. They haunt you! They dog your steps! That is why Moses “looked this way and that.”

But as painful as it may be for us to admit it, goals not bathed in prayer or brought in humility before the Lord turn out to be downright useless.

You have run far enough. You have stood long enough. You have fought, pushed, and manipulated your way for too many years. God has finally grabbed your attention. He is saying, “Quit! Stop! Let Me handle it! Sit there on the hot sands of the desert where you have brought yourself. Look at what lies next to you. It is a well, full of fresh water.” Soon it will be God’s delight to bring that bucket up and refresh your soul. Sit still. Stay there. Be quiet. Perhaps for the first time in your adult life, obey His words: “Cease striving and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Cease all the striving. Relax. Be contented by that well, and drink deeply.

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. (v. 67) It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (vv. 71–72)

It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn . . . .(v. 71, NIV)

The fact is, you cannot sow a fleshly seed and reap a spiritual plant.

Failure, you see, teaches us a servant’s attitude. And what does a servant do? He does “the next task.” She does what is available and ready for her to do.

Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of {their} bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them. (vv. 23–25)

It mentioned how we learned to trust in Jesus and to trust in God by going “through it all.” Not around it. Through it. Through it all. That’s the ticket! Through the victories and the failures. Through the Egypts and the Midians. Through the brilliant days of accomplishment and the broken days beside the well. Through the heady days of laughter and success and those nameless intervals of setback and blank despair. Through it all, He is with us, leading us, teaching us, humbling us, preparing us.

In Deuteronomy 32,

“He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye” (v. 10).

First, He encircles us. Second, He cares for us. Third, He guards us as the pupil of His eye. Isn’t that beautiful?

Note the two verses that follow verse 10: “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. The LORD alone guided him. . . ” (vv. 11–12).

But whatever your emotions may be telling you, the Bible says you are not alone. God is there. He encircles you. Cares for you. Guards you like the pupil of His eye. And He promises to guide you through that strange habitation with neither landmark nor path. You have not left Him, nor has He left you. In fact, He may be closer to you at this moment than He has ever been before.

Listen to what Moses told the Israelites as they were about to enter the Promised Land: “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not” (Deuteronomy 8:2).

When it comes to walking with God, there is no such thing as instant maturity. God doesn’t mass produce His saints. He hand tools each one, and it always takes longer than we expected.

As David acknowledged, “Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom” (Psalm 51:6).

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

That is the way God works. Without even a hint of warning, He speaks to ordinary people, on ordinary days.

In the common, ordinary, everyday circumstances of our lives, He occasionally does something altogether extraordinary.

There is a God-arranged plan for this world of ours, which includes a specific plan for you.

When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” (v. 4)

“Then He said, ‘Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground’” (v. 5).

“Moses, I want you to separate yourself from your past. Futhermore, I want you to remove from your mind your immediate responsibilities. Give me your undivided attention. I want you to listen only to what I am saying right now. Separate yourself from every human thing. Draw an imaginary perimeter around yourself and stand still, Moses.”

At the bush, Moses was hearing a voice saying, “Remember Me? I’m the One who told you that you would redeem My people Israel someday. I’m the God of your fathers.”

“The LORD said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and

have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians. . . . ’” (vv. 7–8). Linger over the phrases of this passage. If you’ve ever doubted the heart of God for His own, read these words until the Holy Spirit convinces you otherwise. “I have surely seen . . . ” “I have given heed to their cry . . . ” “I am aware of the sufferings . . . ” “I have come down to deliver . . . ”

“Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt” (v. 10).

And all God is waiting for is to hear you say, “I’m here, Lord. I’m Yours, thorns and all. Just set me afire.”

God told him that he would be an instrument in the deliverance, but God Himself would be the deliverer. Huge difference. In God’s calling, He has a plan; but He never expects you to carry out that plan. He’s going to pull it off. He simply wants you to be the instrument of action. After all, it is His reputation that’s at stake, not yours.