Exodus 7:1-24
Tuesday, 09 January 2024
So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh....” -Exodus 7:1
The people of Israel were at the threshold of their great deliverance from Egypt. Moses, the man chosen by God had to be equipped for this great task. In previous chapters, we see Moses listing his many inabilities for the task. Surely but patiently God builds up his confidence with one assurance after another.
When we begin to read chapter 7, we see a great difference in Moses. God made him to be like God to Pharaoh. What a contrast between Exodus 6:30 and 7:1, from a man feeling his inadequacies, to a man with great powers over Pharaoh! When God sends us forth to do His will, we know we are weak and may feel the burden of this. But God who sends, bestows His power. 1 Corinthians 1: 27 reminds us: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
Though Moses confesses his weakness and doubts, God’s grace is sufficient to overcome the situation. God lifts him up in power—no longer do we see a man who is filled with doubt, but a man who is mighty in God. He will now go forth with the authority of God, to do the work of God!
What God said to Moses in Verse.1, “I have made you as God to Pharaoh...” In other words, Moses was to be the representation of the Almighty God to Pharaoh— the authority of God would be revealed to Pharaoh through Moses. Ephesians 3:10 speaks of the authority of the church empowered by Christ: “…to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places…” Similarly, Moses was to represent God before Pharaoh.
We no longer see the weakness of Moses, making excuses why he cannot do what God has appointed him to do. God filled him with courage and strength. When life fails to meet your expectations, you should expect God to do the unexpected! We become discouraged when life, people and God don't meet our expectations. Moses sought Pharaoh for the deliverance of his people. But Pharaoh didn't meet his expectations yet only increased the burden of the Hebrews. All his expectations had proved fruitless. When Moses became disheartened, God tells Moses to expect the unexpected.
God really can't deliver us from the enslavement of sin until we trust Him to do the unexpected in us. We Must Confront our problems in God's Presence and we Must Believe in God's Wisdom for God to do the unexpected with our lives. Many of us are looking to our natural abilities for the confidence to do the work of the Lord and live for the Lord. Instead, we should be placing our confidence in the Lord who can accomplish His purposes in our lives and do the unexpected.
Remember, great men aren't born, they are made— They are made as they yield to God's will, one step at a time. God is calling you to do His will, but you must take the first step in faith. God will never ask you to do anything that He will not enable you to do. When we become yoked with God we can depend upon His supernatural power and wisdom to accomplish His work in and through us.
Thought for the Day: “God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability.” ― Neal A. Maxwell