Moses,one of three faithful men
Moses and Paul share something unique with our Lord Jesus. A brief overview of their lives shows that all these three demonstrate an incredible self-sacrifice.
Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s house and for 40 years was taught the wisdom of Egypt.
“And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel” (Acts 7:21-23).
Despite being surrounded by the comforts of the court, he decided instead to leave this environment and visit his brethren, in the hope that they would see him as their leader, so that he could set them free from their bondage to the Egyptians. God, however, had other plans for him.
“And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known” (Exod 2:11-14).
His brethren did not accept him as a ruler or judge over them, and so he fled the country. He left his family and comfort behind, and turned his life upside down. And during the next 40 years, God worked with him, training him to be a shepherd to lead His people out of Egypt. When Pharaoh finally let God’s people go, they followed Moses into the wilderness towards the Promised Land. Moses worked extremely hard at leading God’s people and at times was caught between God and His people. During this time Moses faced a lot of opposition from the people, who told him that it would have been better for them to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness into which Moses had brought them:
“And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness” (Exod 14:11-12).
It did not stop at grumbling and complaining; they even tried to kill Moses and those that stood with him: “But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel” (Num 14:10).
Even after all this, after facing so much opposition from almost everyone at one time or another, Moses was still willing to sacrifice himself for God’s people. In Exod 32:32 after the people committed the sin with the golden calf, he pleaded on their behalf: “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.”
What an incredible attitude of self-sacrifice Moses shows here for a people that at times resisted, openly opposed, hated and rejected him, even to the point of wanting to kill him.
Paul, an example for us
Paul, similarly to Moses, was raised in an elite society. He was a Pharisee, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the law. Even while he was still a young man, he was given a great deal of responsibility by the Jewish authorities. He was set in his ways thinking he would take care of God’s people by rooting out the heretics following the way of Jesus:
“And Saul, yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, nd desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2).
He, too, probably hoped to be among the leaders of God’s people one day. However, Paul, just like Moses, saw his life turned upside down when he thought he was doing what he was called to do. Instead of persecuting Christ, he preached Christ. During this time when Paul preached the Truth to God’s people, he too faced a lot of opposition. Paul lists the many hardships he faced in his life for the sake of the Gospel:
“Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one — I am talking like a madman — with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I have been beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2Cor 11:23-28 RSV).
Among all the things he suffered, one was “danger from my own people.” And we know that on many different occasions he was persecuted by the Jews for preaching Christ, to the point where his own people, his countrymen, even those who at one time would have been close to him, tried to kill him.
Through the suffering Paul experienced in his life, he developed a character like that of Moses. By God’s grace, he was turned into a humble leader, not by man’s standards, but by God’s. He developed a quality of self-sacrifice. After all that his people had done to him, he was still willing to sacrifice himself for their sake. “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen by race” (Rom 9:3 RSV). To remove any doubt of whom he was speaking, he specified who his brethren were in this case: “They are Israelites, and to them belong the son ship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ” (Rom 9:4-5 RSV).
According to Strong’s concordance, the word Paul uses for accursed has the meaning of a ban or excommunication. Therefore, Paul wished that he could have been banned and cut off from Christ, which would only lead to death. His wish has the same finality to it as Moses’ request when he asked for his name to be blotted out of God’s book. What an incredible attitude he had toward those who tried to kill him. He was willing to sacrifice himself. However, God decides to whom he shows mercy: “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Rom 9:15). Paul and Moses showed the spirit of self-sacrifice, but could not through their own human weakness, do what only the innocent Lamb of God could do.
Jesus, our supreme example
Jesus, like Moses and Paul, was living a life where he had his established place in society. He was raised as a carpenter in a small village and those around him viewed him as no different to anyone else. However, after 30 years, Jesus began his ministry, and the life he knew at home with his family was over. He knew what lay ahead of him, and that the three years leading up to that time were going to be the hardest years in his life. After his baptism, those that knew him as one of their own started to wonder, “From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?” (Mark 6:2).
Jesus worked tirelessly to turn the hearts of God’s people. He strove so hard, and faced so much opposition from those he was trying to save. The Jews were constantly looking for ways to accuse him of breaking the law, or trying to trick him into saying something they could use against him by asking “difficult” questions. After a while, when the Jewish leaders were so bitter and had hardened their hearts to their savior, they were looking for ways to kill him.
“So from that day on they took counsel how to put him to death… Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if any one knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him” (John 11:53, 57).
Despite all of that, the endless efforts Jesus made, the hatred he suffered, the threats of murder — he was still willing to lay down his life for them. Only he could do it, as he was the perfect sacrifice without blemish or defect, whereas Moses and Paul were not.
We must keep in mind that this self-sacrifice by Jesus was something that he wanted to do, but it was not easy for him! He prayed to God asking if the cup could be taken away from him. It was so hard for him that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood” (Luke 22:44), and God sent an angel to strengthen him. Nevertheless, he went ahead with this incredible act of self-sacrifice.
Are we that self-sacrificing in our lives? We are not asked to sacrifice ourselves for others in the sense that Moses and Paul were prepared to do and that Jesus did, but we can apply the same attitude of self-sacrifice in our lives as these three men showed. Sometimes it seems so hard for us to do something even for those we love and those in our families or ecclesial family, but Moses, Paul and Jesus were willing to give up their lives for the sake of those who hated them!
These three men, from different backgrounds and different walks of life, teach us incredible lessons of love for others, a desire to do the will of God and to give up their own lives in God’s service. These are lessons that we can apply in our lives in many different ways. We can sacrifice our time, our energy, and our resources — not for ourselves, but for others. Whether it is by preaching to those outside the ecclesia, teaching those in the ecclesia, or helping with whatever needs might come up, near and far, we can develop the same attitude in our lives.
This quality of self-sacrifice will benefit those around us, but more importantly, give glory to The Most High God. Moreover, by God’s grace and His mercy, we can hope be called good and faithful servants, and allowed to enter into the joy of the Lord.
Let us then, like Moses, look ahead to Christ and his coming, remembering the words Christ spoke: “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Rev 22:12).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One