Faith, and God's Call (Exodus 4)
The part of Exodus 4 that always fascinates people is the section from 24-26 where Moses almost dies until his son is circumcised. It is indeed a strange passage, one so strange that it helps convince us of its truth. (Why else would it ever have been told?) But the real spit-take inducing passage is verse 13.
Moses has seen miraculous things—a bush that is on fire but does not burn up, God speaking to him overtly, his staff turn into a snake and back, his hand infected with leprosy and healed—all things that would assure anyone of belief. And yet, when God tells Moses His plan and commissions him, Moses has the audacity to say, “send someone else.”
That looks like astounding arrogance on the part of the creature standing before the creator. But what it really is is unbelief. Oh, Moses believes in God, but he does not have faith. But faith in the Bible is always more than intellectual assent. When you read faith in the Bible, you should always replace it with “trust and obedience.” And that is what Moses does not have yet. Never mind if he is not well suited to be delivering speeches. God made Moses and God will enable Moses to fulfill the plans He has for him.
The worst thing is that we in Western Christianity have almost totally replaced the biblical idea of faith with an idea that lines more up with the sort of “belief” that Moses had here in Exodus 4. “Believe that God exists, and you are saved.” That is NOT the biblical understanding. God does not call us to “salvation.” He calls us to a relationship with our Creator and Lord. His calling always involves a plan for our lives. It always involves a life of trusting God’s desires and following in His plans.
Misunderstanding of God’s sovereignty is one of they key areas where this is evident. We think, “if God has a plan to reach people with salvation, it will succeed whether I do my part or not.” True. The only problem is that, while He will succeed with His plans, you will have negated your place in His Kingdom by demonstrating a faith that is not the sort of faith that is effective in your life. It will be a dead faith.
Fortunately, (but not pleasantly or happily) God, as He did here with Moses, does not let His people off the hook so easily. If we don’t go along with His designs wisely, He will use circumstances in our lives to nudge us in the right direction. The life of a resistant subject is not the easiest! Maybe that is what we see in the illness of Moses later in the chapter.
Moses has seen miraculous things—a bush that is on fire but does not burn up, God speaking to him overtly, his staff turn into a snake and back, his hand infected with leprosy and healed—all things that would assure anyone of belief. And yet, when God tells Moses His plan and commissions him, Moses has the audacity to say, “send someone else.”
That looks like astounding arrogance on the part of the creature standing before the creator. But what it really is is unbelief. Oh, Moses believes in God, but he does not have faith. But faith in the Bible is always more than intellectual assent. When you read faith in the Bible, you should always replace it with “trust and obedience.” And that is what Moses does not have yet. Never mind if he is not well suited to be delivering speeches. God made Moses and God will enable Moses to fulfill the plans He has for him.
The worst thing is that we in Western Christianity have almost totally replaced the biblical idea of faith with an idea that lines more up with the sort of “belief” that Moses had here in Exodus 4. “Believe that God exists, and you are saved.” That is NOT the biblical understanding. God does not call us to “salvation.” He calls us to a relationship with our Creator and Lord. His calling always involves a plan for our lives. It always involves a life of trusting God’s desires and following in His plans.
Misunderstanding of God’s sovereignty is one of they key areas where this is evident. We think, “if God has a plan to reach people with salvation, it will succeed whether I do my part or not.” True. The only problem is that, while He will succeed with His plans, you will have negated your place in His Kingdom by demonstrating a faith that is not the sort of faith that is effective in your life. It will be a dead faith.
Fortunately, (but not pleasantly or happily) God, as He did here with Moses, does not let His people off the hook so easily. If we don’t go along with His designs wisely, He will use circumstances in our lives to nudge us in the right direction. The life of a resistant subject is not the easiest! Maybe that is what we see in the illness of Moses later in the chapter.
Great theology lesson!
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