Notice that God gave Moses three signs to give to the Israelites if they didn’t believe. Important matters are never established by a single witness; Scripture says two or three witnesses. God is not stingy here with the signs He offers. And so He continues to be generous in His communication with His New Testament people, if we will only listen.
It’s also interesting that Moses was not yet prepared in God’s eyes when he seemed to us to be the best prepared, which is when he was part of Pharaoh’s household. No, it was when Moses was least prepared in his own eyes, after many years (possibly 40!) of living in the wilderness, that he was prepared in God’s eyes.
The account of the crisis on the way to Egypt is too lacking in details for us to understand, but that also is a good lesson for us: God gives us in Scripture the information we need, and sometimes that leaves us lacking all the information we want. Just because all the information is not available, doesn’t mean that what is available is incorrect. Our relationship with God does require faith.
Today’s reading gives us yet another account of God’s dealing with His people according to His plan, in which the way does not go as smoothly as His people expect. God tried to prepare Moses for that very occurrence, but Moses seemed surprised by it, and it discouraged him. Jesus prepared us for such occurrences, when He said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart: I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) We should be prepared to fend off discouragement by believing Jesus’ warning and by learning from the example given to us in God’s dealings with His people in the past. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4) So let us take courage from this account where we are today!
When God reminded Moses that the name which He had given to Israel was unknown to their forefathers, He was telling him that the nation would now know God in a way Abraham and Isaac had not. The crisis before them would give them a totally new experience with God, and thus a new way of knowing Him, an understanding of facets of God that the spiritual giants with whom they were acquainted, did not have. How exciting that God can use adversity for such good in our lives! This is why James could say, “My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” (James 1:2)
God had a purpose for not allowing the exit from Egypt to go smoothly for Israel: He intended to use the experience to reveal Himself as I AM to His people and to the people of Egypt. He would do this by judging Egypt and Pharaoh in ways no one of that day could imagine. For Egypt had been THE world power in the known world for as long as anyone could remember, for longer than history could remember. The kind of devastation that God would wreak on them was unimaginable from the vantage point of Moses’ return to Egypt.
Take heart from today’s reading, My Friend, and apply the truths about God’s power and higher ways and thoughts to your own life.