MOSES – Part 1 – The Making of A Leader

Apart from Jesus, no person in history has made as deep or lasting an impression on the world as Moses. You can consider famous men in history, yet there, Moses stands alone, the great lawgiver, and the deliverer of Israel. 

The Bible mentions Moses almost 700 times. Deuteronomy 34:10 describes him so intensely as this: “No prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face (NIV).” Only Moses has the privilege of meeting God face to face as Exodus 33:11a mentions: “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend…” (NIV)

But the Bible also presents us with a different picture of Moses. While showing us he was a great man, it didn’t cover up his weakness, especially his self-doubt. He faced massive problems and didn’t always handle them well. Born into slavery in Egypt, he rose to become the leader of Israel. Millions looked to him for guidance. Although he led his people out of Egypt and through the wilderness, he could not enter the Promised Land because of disobedience. He was fearful, failing, and had anger management issues. He killed a man and tried to hide the evidence. He was a fugitive from the law for 40 years. And yet, he was a friend of God. He was not a perfect man, but the Book of Hebrews said he was faithful in all of God’s house. He saw God face-to-face and lived to tell a story.

 

WORD

 

Exodus 2:1-10 talks about the events surrounding the birth of Moses. 40 years had passed when Exodus 2:11a stated, “One day, after Moses had grown up…(NIV).” By the time he was forty, Moses looked, acted, and spoke like an Egyptian. He enjoyed a life of luxury.

But all that is about to change. Hebrews 11:24 tells us what happened: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter (NIV).” This is the great refusal. Moses had to say NO to Pharaoh’s daughter to do God’s will. Friends, there are times when we have to say NO to the world before we could say YES to God. This might seem to be an act of ingratitude since it was Pharaoh’s daughter who saved him. She found him in the basket floating in the reeds along the bank of the Nile. She paid his mother to be his nurse. She protected him when her father, the Pharaoh, had ordered the killing of all the Hebrew baby boys.

But, here is the irony of it all. When he got to the height of his power, Moses gave it all up. Refused it and let it all go. It was not an easy decision because he knew that no one would understand. It seemed like he was throwing away his whole future. Moses knew what he had to do. Though he looked Egyptian on the outside, he was 100% Jewish on the inside. This is very important because it teaches us that you can’t corrupt a man from the outside. You can change a culture but not a character. When Moses made his choice, it cost him 40 years of his life. Exodus 2:11-25 shows us how it unfolded. Moses had THREE CRITICAL LESSONS TO LEARN before he would be ready to deliver the Jews from Egypt.

 

DON’T MOVE AHEAD OF GOD

 

Exodus 2:11-12 – “11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand (NIV).” When you look at the verse, what he did seemed justifiable. Who could fault Moses for standing up for his own people? But the question is: Why did he hide the body? 

Exodus 2:13 – “The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew (NIV)?” That’s a good question. But he didn’t get the answer he expected.

Exodus 2:14-15 – “14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.” (NIV)

To understand what happened, we need to add one fact from Stephen’s account in Acts 7:25. Acts 7:25 – “Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.” (NIV)

God had already been stirring in Moses’ heart. When he saw his own people, he knew he had to do something to deliver them from slavery. The Lord was raising up Moses, but he was not yet ready to lead his people. He had a long way to go (forty more years, to be exact).

When we move ahead of the Lord, we say foolish things, and we make foolish mistakes. Moses had no right to kill the Egyptian, and he was wrong to hide the body. His foolishness guaranteed the Jews would not follow him. At that moment, Moses made a life-changing decision. Even though he acted out of fear, his journey to Midian was part of God’s curriculum to prepare him for leadership many years down the road. There is a principle here we all need to consider. God knows what He is doing, even when nothing around us makes sense.

 

SERVE WHERE GOD PUTS YOU

 

He can’t go back to Egypt. If he does, he’ll be arrested and put to death. So now, he finds himself by a well where seven daughters of a Midianite priest have come to draw water. Some shepherds thought the women shouldn’t be there, so they tried to drive them away. But Moses drove the shepherds away and drew the water for the women.

Exodus 2:21-22 – “21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.” (NIV)

This sets the stage for the next forty years of Moses’ life. Moses is now enrolled in the School of the Wilderness. He will receive his degree in forty years. First, he must learn to be content taking care of the sheep in the desert. Though forgotten in Egypt, he now has a family and a new career. He has a wife and a son and a job to do. He will become intimately acquainted with the desert. That will put him in a good position when he leads the children of Israel through the wilderness.

 

TRUST IN GOD’S PLAN

 

Exodus 2:23-25 – “23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”

No king lives forever. The king who wanted to kill Moses was gone. Now an even worse oppressor sits on the throne. No wonder the people “groaned” under their slave labor. They groaned as they wept and prayed to God.

They begged God to remember the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The prayer that touches God’s heart must be rooted in God’s Word. We must take God’s promises to heart. We all love to be believed in. Why should God be any different? The prayer that changes the world begins and builds on what God has already revealed. When you pray, stand on the promises of God. That’s what the Hebrews did when they prayed. They were tossing God’s promises back in his face.

Notice the words used in Exodus 2:24-25: God heard. God looked. God was concerned. God remembered. Though the Jews felt forgotten, behind the scenes, God was working to deliver them. Moses left the winning side for the losing side. That man has been a shepherd for 40 years. He is now 80 years old. His time has finally come.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Hebrews 11:24 – “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter (NIV).” Consider what that means: He made his choice at the height of his powers. He had everything to gain in Egypt, but he gave it all up. He left the winning side for the losing side. He threw away the glory of Egypt to join God’s suffering people.

Do not hate the value of daily obedience. The road to the Promised Land goes through the desert. God knows who you are and where you are. God sees the big picture when you don’t have a clue. God knows what He’s doing when nothing in your life makes sense. God doesn’t keep time the way we do. Sometimes we say, “God is never early, never late. Always on time.” Okay, but 80 years seems like a long time to wait. God doesn’t keep time the way we do. Trust Him. Take the next step. Let God take care of everything else.

 

 

LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION:

1) What is one thing you learned from the sermon?

2) Is there a past sin or failure in your life that you feel would hinder God from using you? What do you need to do to move forward?

3) Does God have to take us through a “desert” experience before He can use us? Explain your thoughts. How does God work in your life during a “desert” experience or after a failure?