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people of Israel has risen to me in
heaven, and I have seen the heavy
tasks the Egyptians have oppressed
them with.
Now
1
am going 10 send
YOU
10 Pharaoh, lo demand 1ha1 he
/el
vou
lead my people out of
Egypt!'
"(Ex. 3:1-10.)
How could Moses resist an offer
like that? Here was the very Creator
he worshiped speaking directly to
him, Moses, octogenarian has-been
from Egypt, and giving him the op–
portunity ofbeing tbe one to free the
Israelites from slavery and oppres–
sion. And more than that: to give
them a land oftheir own, equal to, if
not more impressive than, opulent
Egypt! Here was Moses' golden
chance, guided, inspired, empowered
and blessed by God Almighty - not
just to lighten the burdeos oflsrael (as
Moses had tried todo in that disas–
trous crisis of forty years earlier that
had led to his exile), but to make of
them a sovereign nation, under God!
This was Moses' own dream mul–
tiplied. How could he refuse? How?
How do you tell God, "No!"? Enoch
didn't. Noah didn 't. Abraham
didn't.
BuT M
osEs
om!
"But I'm not the person for a job .
like that!" Moses exclaimed .
What were Moses' thoughts about .
this revelation? Let's guess. First,
God says
He
is going to deliver the
slaves of Egypt. Then He says
MosEs is going todo it! How does a
simple, hireling shepherd of forty
years at the age of eighty go charg–
ing into the most powerful court on
earth where he is wanted for murder
and tell the king to let a ll his slaves
- the mainstay ofthe economy - go
free? Forty years ago things might
have been different. Then Moses
was familiar with all the proccdures
a t court, knew of all the intrigues,
had a power base of his own as a
popular prince and general, was still
young and daring, burning with a
desire for the betterment of his He–
brew brethren. His own people had
rejected his efforts then, how much
more so would they now - why,
they wouldn't even know
lhis
Moses, and if they did, would they
recogni ze any authority he might try
to exercise over them as a shepherd
when they had rejected his power as
prince? He'd be laughed out of the
ghetto!
26
And even if the lsraelites did ac–
cept him, the Egyptians certainly
wouldn't. Moses thought he had for–
gotten most of what he knew of
court protocol. Whom .could he go
to to even gain an audience with the
Pharaoh? Something like this was
just not done without long planning,
organization, powerful friends . ..
No
WAY,
thought Moses, and he
immediately conjured up a hundred
reasons why he was certainly "not
the person for a job like that! "
"Then God told him,
'1
will cer–
tainly be with you, and this is the
proof that
l
am the one who is send–
ing you: when you have led the
people out of Egypt, you shall
worship God herc upon this moun–
tain!"
Now, Moses thought about that
proof. He had certainly worshiped
God on this mountain, but what
"proof' was this, that he would
' 'worship God here upon this moun–
tain"
AFTER
he " led the people out
of Egypt"? Not that Moses doubted
God, he doubted himself. What
good was after-the-fact "proor' - it
was getting Israel out of Egypt that
he doubted possible.
So Moses reasoned with God.
"If
1
go to the people of Israel and tell
them that their fathers' God has
sent me, they will ask, 'Which God
are you talking about?' What shall
1
tell them?"
Unspoken Questlons
Now God was patient and sympa–
thetic with Moses - after all, He
had been preparing him for eighty
years. He didn't rebuke Moses for
his hesitance. He understood the
unspoken
qu~stions
in Moses' mind.
But He also knew Moses to be a
man of intelligence and character
and no small amount of experience.
So His answer was enigmatic: " I
Will Be What
1
Will Be" was the
reply. " Just say,
'l
Am has sent me!'
Yes, tell them
YHVH,
the God of
your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, has sent me to you.
"Call together a ll the elders of
Israel," God instructed him, "and
tell them about
YHVH
appearing to
you here in this burning bush and
that he said to you, ' I have visited
my people, and have seen what is
happening to them there in Egypt.
1
promise
to rescue them from the
drudgery and humiliation they are
undergoing. and to take them to the
land now occupied by the Canaan–
ites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites.
~-fi vites,
and Jebusites, a land "ftow–
ing with milk and honey." The
elders of the people of Israel will
accept you r message. They must go
with you to the king of Egypt and
tell him,
"YHVH,
the God of the
Hebrews, has met with us and in–
structed us to go three days' journey
into the desert to sacrifice to him.
Give us your permission." But
1
know that the king of Egypt will
NOT
let you go except under heavy
pressure. So
1
will give him all the
pressure he needs!
I
will destroy
Egypt with my miracles, and then at
last he will let you go. And
1
will see
to it that the Egyptians load you
down with gifts when you leave, so
that you will by no means go out
empty-handed! Every woman wi ll
ask for jewels, silver, gold, and the
finest of clothes from her Egyptian
master's wife and neighbors. You
will clothe your sons and daughters
with the best of Egypt!'" (Ex. 3:12-
22.)
But Moses still had doubts. Not to
be construed as a lack of faith.
but it all seemed very vague to him.
How was he to convince his slave–
brethren with promises? How could
he go and tell them: "'You'll Find
Out Who I Am' sent me. and He
promises us freedom and a new
country of our own that is presently
occupied by six powerfuL separate
nations. All we have to do is ask
Pharaoh to let us go for three days
and sacri fice to 'I WiU Be What
1
Will Be' in the desert. But Pharaoh
won't let us go until ' 1 Will Be' has
dcstroyed Egypt. Then all of you
can ask for aU the riches of Egypt
from your former masters; they will
gladly give you all their gold. silver,
clothes, jewelry - and we will all be
rich and free!"
Now who is going to believe a
story like that? If
1
tell them 1 talked
to God who was in a burning bush
in the desert , they'll call for the men
in white and rush me off to an in–
stitution. They'll say I' ve lost my
marbles, that I've been wandering
in the desert too long, that l'm just
an old man dreaming of restoring
my former glory, that l 've been hal–
lucinating after being alone so long
The
PLAIN TRUTH March 1977