Moses Didn’t Do It Alone, Part 1

Scripture — Exodus 3:7-12

Then the LORD said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”

Devotion

Sometimes we are alone when God meets us and radically changes the course of our lives. That was certainly true of Moses. After growing up in the community of the king of Egypt, Moses ran away by himself into the wilderness in order to avoid the consequences of his having acted unwisely in anger. Though he attached himself to a family in a “foreign land” (Exod 2:22), Moses’s work took him further out into the wilderness. There, while he was alone one day (except, I suppose, for some sheep), God spoke to Moses from a burning bush (3:1-4). God told Moses to go to Pharoah and bring God’s own people out of Egypt.

Understandably, Moses was dubious about this assignment. “Who am I,” he said, “that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (3:11). Moses was no longer a person of influence in the Egyptian court, but rather a fugitive from Egyptian justice. He wasn’t a leader of people, only of sheep. He could not imagine himself as someone who could lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. What in the world was God thinking?

God, of course, saw Moses quite differently from how he saw himself. But God’s response to Moses’s question, “Who am I?” wasn’t to tell Moses about all of his excellent leadership potential. God didn’t explain that Moses’s history in the Egyptian court would be an asset for him or anything else like this. Rather, God responded to the “Who am I?” question by making a statement about God and God’s relationship to Moses: “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain” (3:12). Moses asked, “Who am I?” God answered, in effect, “You are someone I will be with. That’s who you are, Moses.”

Though in future devotions we’ll see that Moses didn’t do what God told him to do by himself, before we get to Moses’s relationships with other partners we must underscore his most important relationship with his most important partner, namely God. Of course, God and Moses were not equal partners. God was the senior partner you might say, by a long shot. But at the burning bush, God emphasizes not so much divine authority as divine presence. “Who am I?” asks Moses. But that’s not the most important question. Rather, God’s answer “I will be with you” points to the most important question. “Who will be with me so that I am not alone?” God’s answer, “I will be with you” makes all the difference in the world.

This devotional series, Can’t Do It Alone, emphasizes the crucial role of relationships with other people if we are going to flourish in our lives. We can’t live well, work well, play well, grow well, serve well, worship well, or even rest well by ourselves. But having people with us, as essential as this is, does not count more than having God with us. In fact, having people with us is one way God is with us.

Here’s some wonderfully good news: What God once said to Moses, God says now to you: “I am with you.” How is God with you? In so many ways. God is with you through Jesus, who is fully God and fully human. God is with you through the written Word of God. God is with you through the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit. God is with you through the community of God’s people as you worship, serve, and grow together. Yes, even our human relationships can be ways in which we experience the good news that God is with us. And this good news can embolden us to serve God in all of life with courage and vigor.

Moses needed even more reassurance than the fact that God was with him, however. We’ll look at this more closely tomorrow. For now, let me encourage you to reflect upon the following questions.

Banner image by Andy Watkins on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: God’s Call to Moses (Exodus 2:11-3:22).

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