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PART2
ATALE
OF
TWO
PROPHETS
byJon
Hill
The first article In this series
introduced some striking sim-
1/arities between Moses and
Jesus. Moses ' personal rela–
tionship with the One who be–
carne our Savior is a 120-year–
long story more fascinating
than the we/1-known epic of
history that is Moses ' lite to
most. In this article Moses
tries in every way possible to
avoid performing the commis–
sion God created him for, and
for which you and 1know him
so
we/1. Moses ' attitudes, ar–
guments and pleas - God's
response in kindness, /ove
and anger - help us /ove both
more/
M
oses' first forty years was a
piece of cake. A miraculous
answer to the prayers of
Pharaoh's daughter provided her
with the son she sought. Boro on the
bosom of the great god-Nile, a tiny
ark of bulrushes ftoated the new
Prince of Egypt into her arms. She
dubbed him "Drawn Out" (Moses).
because she drew him out of the
water - he who was born to "draw
out" the whole nation of Israel from
slavery to sovereignty and make
"exodus" a household word.
Reared in the lap of luxury un–
imaginable, honored , praised. loved.
lauded. protected. pampered, edu–
cated and prepared to become a
Ph araoh himself. Moses struck trag–
edy at age forty. Through a careless
act of his own, and undoubtedly
The
PLAIN TRUTH March 1977
spurred by palace intrigue from his
royal Egyptian semi-siblings who
hated him in jealous rage. Moses
fled into exi le to save his life. A
fugitive from the justice of Egypt.
Moses plummeted from the pin–
nacle of riches and honor into an
unknown future.
Cloak of Humility
That future stretched another forty
years. preparing him for the com–
mission God had prepared for him.
The prince became a pauper. and
cratched out a living in the searing
sands of Sinai as a shepherd for a
Midianite mogul named Jethro.
Trading his bejeweled. golden staff
which designated him pr ince of the
greatest nation on earth for a crude,
gnarled, hardwood shepherd's staff,
Moses began his forty years of
humbling hard work. Moses mar–
ried Zipporah. eldest daughter of
his boss. They had two sons. Moses
wandered through the woeful wil–
derness of Sinai for forty years, yet
won no wealth. Unlike his own great
grandfather Jacob. who hired out as
shepherd for Laban and in twenty
years became rich and a sheik in his
own right, Moses remained a shep–
herd, virtually penniless.
Moses put on the cloak of humil–
ity in the place of princely robes.
Long. endless hours under desert
sun and stars were spent in con–
templation and soul searching.
Alone in the empty waste. Moses
had time to mature. He became
both hardened - and softened.
Ha rdened physically, following
his father-in-law's flocks for limitless
leagues, trudging sandal-clad, sleep–
ing in the open where nigbt would
find him. yet ever alert for predators
or bandits that might do harm to his
charges. Hardened in self-reliance,
because there were no longer eager
servants available to answer whim
or need. Hardened in character,
spi rit. faith - hardened with bands
of steel in his relationship with the
as yet unseen God of his fathers,
Abraham. Isaac and Jacob.
Softened with the compassion so
necessary for a successfu l shepherd,
tenderly caring for little lambs and
kids. foals and calves. Softened with
solitude and inward search, seeing
the real helplessness of humanity in
a harsh world. Softened with memo-
ries and nightmares of the condition
of his real kin. the slaves of Egypt:
Israel in ignominy. Softened in mal–
leable obedience to the demands of
aman of Midian. Softened in a per–
sonal relationship with a family of
his own. Softened with time.
Moses. general of the armies of
Egypt. now had for troops only
sheep to command. Moses. builáer
of massive monuments in the cm–
pire of Egypt. lived mostly in the
open, with no shelter - his best
building at homc with Jethro and
his family. a tent. Moses. the hand–
some prince. became old man
Moses. weather-beaten. wrinkled
and burned by sun and sand.
Forty years of opulence and
everything- forty years of austeri ty
and hardly anything: eighty years
all told, and God felt he was finally
ready. Ready for another forty years
so fabulous they would seem like
forty lifetimes. Ready for the great
commission God was about to con–
fer upon him.
God knew Moses was ready -
but Moses had his doubts!
Offer Refused
Allow me to quote from
The Living
Bible, Paraphrased
and mix in a
little of my own: "One day as Moses
was tending the flock of his father–
in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian,
out at the edge of the desert near
Horeb. the mountain of God. sud–
denly the Angel of Jeh ovah
[
YHVH]
appeared to him as a ftame
of fire in a bush. When Moses saw
that the bush was on fire and that it
didn't burn up, he went over to in–
vestigate. T hen God called out to
him. 'Moses! Moses!' 'Who is it?'
Moses asked. 'Don't come any
closer.' God told him. 'Take off your
shoes, for you are standing on holy
grou nd. 1 am the God of your
fathers - the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob.' (Moses covered
his face with his hands. for he was
afraid to look at God.) Then the
Lord told him,
'1
have seen the deep
sorrow of my people in Egypt. and
have heard their pleas for freedom
from their harsh taskmasters.
l
have
come to deliver them from th e
Egyptians and to take them out of
Egypt into a good land. a large land.
a land flowing with milk and
honey .... Yes. the wail of the
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