Walk like an Egyptian
Moses spent his childhood and adolescent years living in Pharaoh's house as an adopted son. If you know what's in store for him, you see some obvious pluses, such as: later, when God tells Moses "go to Pharoah and say..." Moses will actually know how to go to Pharaoh. I mean, it might seem silly, but doesn't knowing what door to enter, what floor Pharaoh's throne room is on, how many steps to the podium, which person can notify the man in charge that you've arrived, where to park your camel - doesn't knowing all of those practical things remove a whole layer of fear regarding "go to Pharaoh and say"?
Moses is forming relationships with people who will remember him later, even if they don't recognize his grizzly desert shepherd appearance. He's learning the customs of Pharaoh's house and acquiring the manners of Egyptian court. However, while these are all great things, they aren't the showcase of this spiritual season for Moses.
The formative experience, the foundational truth God has for Moses in this season is twofold. It's waddling around his birthmother's home as she fills him with stories about the God of the Hebrews, and it's a teenager's anger.
Moses' first spiritual season held two invitations from God: know me and share my anger.
In Exodus 2, we see Moses respond to the second invitation:
Exodus 2:11-12
One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to his brothers and saw how hard they worked. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people, so he looked this way and that way. He did not see anyone, so he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
The formative experience, the foundational truth God has for Moses in this season is twofold. It's waddling around his birthmother's home as she fills him with stories about the God of the Hebrews, and it's a teenager's anger.
Moses' first spiritual season held two invitations from God: know me and share my anger.
In Exodus 2, we see Moses respond to the second invitation:
Exodus 2:11-12
One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to his brothers and saw how hard they worked. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people, so he looked this way and that way. He did not see anyone, so he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
I'm not saying God wanted moses to murder anyone; indeed, God's consequences for this murder are severe, but it does seem God created an environment for Moses' life that fostered a shared passion - anger at the treatment of the Hebrews.
Have you ever thought of your life in that way? Has God ever ushered you through a season of life in order to help you share his emotions? Has God fostered a passion in you in order that he might express his? We don't often think of the Christian life as a calling to share God's emotions. Ours lead to so much sin that we often strive for still water rather than allowing ourselves to be a hurricane, but part of being created in the image of God is reflecting the characteristics of God's emotional self.
Are you in a season of acquiring God's passion? Perhaps you are in a season of relearning. Perhaps you've acquired wrong emotional expressions, or are still lugging around misshapen or misdirected emotions from childhood. Perhaps you've suffocated a God-given passion with lethargy.
Does God have you in a season of invitation after invitation to share his anger? His joy? His longing? His compassion?
Our church has been encouraged to regain our passion for the lost, so hopefully were all in this season to some degree.
How is God fostering a passion for the lost in your life? How are you responding?
Does God have you in a season of invitation after invitation to share his anger? His joy? His longing? His compassion?
Our church has been encouraged to regain our passion for the lost, so hopefully were all in this season to some degree.
How is God fostering a passion for the lost in your life? How are you responding?
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