MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH

He was an Israelite who grew up in an Egyptian palace. While all other Israelites were slaves, Moses had everything. He had no lack for anything. He ate royal food and had fine clothes, lived in a palace and was well educated.

Bu then Moses made a mistake. He saw an Egyptian fighting with a Hebrew. Moses killed the Egyptian.

But the Hebrew turned hostile towards him. “Will you kill me too?” he asked

Now Moses knew he was in big trouble. He had to flee from Egypt and hide in the wilderness.

And that was how a bright, smart, talented Hebrew with huge potential began tending sheep. He went from the palace to the pastures. A downward slide into oblivion.

But Moses never ever wished to return to Egypt. He was perfectly happy where he was placed, looking after his father in law’s sheep.

And then one day, God spoke to him from the burning bush and commissioned him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He was literally shocked out of his senses, nevertheless he managed to blurt out, “I am not a great man! How can I go to the king and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?”

Now that was the million dollar question. Why did God choose Moses, of all the people? And why did God wait till he was eighty-years old? He could have used him much earlier…. Say 40 years back. When he was still in Egypt, when he was at his peak. Back then he had been brave, capable and confident.

But at 80 years, he was too old, too weary and had none of his earlier capabilities, enthusiasm nor zeal for leadership .In fact he had a feeling that he was no good. How on earth could he impact the mighty Pharaoh??

He was a “had been”.

He had been well educated, he had been well trained for battle and he had been in the good books of Pharaoh. And at 40 years he had been the perfect man for the job.

Besides Moses was not too keen to deal with the Israelites. He had been frustrated and disillusioned once. He was perfectly happy to live with his sheep and did not want to get entangled with the Israelites again.

That in part explained his reluctance to go back. But God was just not going to take ‘No’ for an answer.

So what was the logic? What qualities did he have now that he didn’t have back then?

2 Points-

Point 1: He knew all the ways of the sheep. Moses tended to his flock diligently and after so many years he knew everything that there was to know about shepherding. And if he was going to lead an unruly, disobedient, murmuring, complaining bunch of Israelites out of Egypt, he needed to have good shepherding skills.

Point 2: Moses knew all about life in the desert. He knew the deserts inside out. If he was going to lead the Israelites out into the wilderness, he needed to know the basics of desert life.

 God had been perfecting him for 40 years and now he was perfect for the job.

 So it is with us. Many times we think that we are too old or past our prime or we are not strong enough for God’s purpose. Sometimes we may feel frustrated and disillusioned. Or sometimes we may feel that we are not good enough for anything. But that’s not true. God is perfecting us all the time. He does not look at our age. He does not care about how strong we are. He is not bothered about whether we are able, capable, suitable or notable. He only wants us to be available when he calls us and speaks to us to fulfill His plan and purpose in our life.