Believe it or not, almost all of our weekend teachers leave material on the cutting room floor. Although 30 minutes may seem like a long time to listen, we make choices each week about what we have time to share. Below are a few thoughts that got left out this weekend.
This past week I was thinking about Moses' attempt to end oppression in Exodus 2:11-15:
11In the course of time Moses grew up. Then he went to {see} his own people and watched them suffering under forced labor. He saw a Hebrew, one of his own people, being beaten by an Egyptian. 12He looked all around, and when he didn’t see anyone, he beat the Egyptian to death and hid the body in the sand.
13When Moses went there the next day, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. He asked the one who started the fight, “Why are you beating another Hebrew?”
14The man asked, “Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought that everyone knew what he had done.
15When Pharaoh heard what Moses had done, he tried to have him killed. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian.
Moses wanted to do a good thing. How did it end up working out so badly?
Maybe for some of the same reasons our attempts at controlling things go awry:
- We have a good idea, but don't stop to ask if it is God's idea. Moses is impulsive and responds out of anger. He doesn't seek God, but expects God to bless his impulses. Are we giving God a chance to speak BEFORE we act?
- We do the right thing in the wrong way. Ending slavery is good. Murder isn't. This isn't divine judgment, but human rage. The ends don't justify the means.
- We don't time it right. Why doesn't God bless Moses' attempts to free Israel? The timing isn't right. The people of Israel aren't ready. The Egyptians aren't ready. And Moses- their next leader- isn't ready himself. 40 years later the situation ripens considerably. Do we trust God's sense of timing more than ours?
- We think too small. Moses plan of killing one Egyptian at a time won't release a few million slaves. This problem will require 10 national plagues to fix. Where could God be thinking bigger than we are?
So this week, think of Moses as you face situations that beg for your intervention and control...and try not to kill anyone!
2 comments:
Fred, these are true 'pearls'. As one who has seen a few attempts fall flat, these are great things to think about. I just wish I would get a 'post mortem card' in the mail from God telling me what went wrong.
I needed to hear that stuff. I used to keep everything all bottled up inside. Now that I've grown a little and let myself get angry, I haven't had any practice in how to deal with it. I tend to do really stupid things. So I need to ask God what He would do, and what I can do to help the situation. Hopefully, next time I'll remember that. I guess I can expect to get angry again soon! God will want me to get some practice!
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