Food for Thought
Im not
the one you want to send.
by David Churchill
[see study outline]
Often, while reading the Scriptures
or listening to a sermon or attending Bible class, we realize
that God is commanding a service of us. Depending upon
the task, we may squirm a little or a lot and present some objection
to God as to why we cant do it. And, of course, were
not the first to tell God, Im not the one you want
to send.
When Samuel tells him that he is
Gods choice as Israels king, Saul objects that his
tribe has no reputation and that his family has no reputation
in the tribe. God makes him a king anyway.
When God tells him that he is to
be a prophet for God, Isaiah objects that he is a man of unclean
lips surrounded by people of unclean lips. God makes him
a prophet anyway.
When God tells him that he is to
lead the Hebrew people out of Egyptian bondage, Moses raises
five objections, the same sort that we might raise. Lets
briefly look at what those objections might be.
Im
a nobody of no importance (Exodus 3:11).
Who am I that I should go to Pharoah,
and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? God responds He will be
with Moses and that Moses success will be proof that God
was with him.
I
dont have all the answers (Exodus 3:13).
... and they say to me, What is
His name? what shall I say to them?
God answers that particular question and proceeds to inform
Moses about what to expect during the mission.
I
cant handle rejection (Exodus 4:1).
But suppose they will not believe me
or listen to my voice; suppose they say, The Lord has not
appeared to you.
God provides Moses a means to prove he is proclaiming Gods
instructions.
Im
not a good talker (Exodus 4:10).
O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither
before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow
of speech and slow of tongue.
God replies that He will be with Moses as he speaks and
that He will teach Moses what to say.
Please
send somebody else, anyway (Exodus 4:13).
O my Lord, please send by the hand of
whomever else You may send.
This is the point where God gets angry with Moses. God
then sends Aaron for Moses to speak through, but makes it clear
that He will still speak through Moses and teach him what to
do.
Think
of the particular tasks or services that you see God requesting
from you through His Scriptures, but that youve been objecting
to do. Do Moses objections look familiar? If
God is no respecter of persons, then why would He give you any
different sort of answers than what He gave Moses?
If you have entered into Christ,
then you gained Gods promise of life which is in Christ
(2 Timothy 1:1). Living in Christ causes us to be
Gods workmanship, created in Christ to do good works (Ephesians
2:10). He has promised that if we keep his commandments,
He will dwell in us
i.e. live in us (John 14:23-24;
2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 3:17). Through His written
word, He has given to us everything pertaining to life and godliness
(Colossians 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:1-15). The Bible
offers its own proofs of being Gods instructions. The
Scriptures tell us what we should teach.
God tells us in the church that
we are to be servants for God. Can we say we have better
objections than the eighty-year-old Moses? No. Can
we expect answers any more accommodating than what Moses received?
No. God made Moses a leader anyway. Lets
plan on God making us servants anyway. |