- There is an apparent contrast between Moses' account of his own life and Paul's version in Acts 7: 20-25.
- Moses clearly depicts himself in Exodus 3:10 as "...not eloquent...slow of speech...slow of tongue..." Whereas Paul considers Moses as "mighty in words and in deeds."
- Moses is held up as the example of faith in Hebrews 11:23-29-- By and through faith. Moses' reluctance and constant excuses does not conjure up the image of faithfulness.
Three potential reasons / explanations for these glaring contrasts:
- God always sees the good in all of us. Moses was humbled by his experience in Egypt and the 40 years as a Shepherd in Midian. And so the account of his life is one of humility.
- Lisa made a great point that Moses is painted in a light that we can relate to. Most of us are not eloquent and powerful in speech, confident, or faithful (all the time).
- Sure Moses questioned God's plan. Sure he made excuses and convinced God to send Aaron with him. Moses' actions at the burning bush lacked faith... but at the end of the day Moses showed up and led the Hebrews out of Egypt. Luke highlighted Matthew 21: 28-30 and the parable of the two sons. The first son tells his father he will not go work in the vineyards, but repents and goes --does the will of his father. Whereas the second son tells his father he'll go, but does not --does not do the will of his father. In Luke's words, the second son 'talks a good game', but doesn't produce.
- If we look at Exodus 1-4 in two acts, we see a (more) confident and connected Moses taking justice in to his own hands --Going it alone. His attempt to right the wrongs of his Hebrew brethren backfires and ends up running away to Midian. Bottom line, he was acting alone, without God behind him. In act two we see a humbled Moses who lacks faith and confidence. This is the Moses that leads his people out of Egypt. This highlights that it is truly God leading his people from Egypt and not Moses.
- The last thought we ended on was that of time. Why does God leave Moses in Midian for 40 years before he calls on him at the burning bush? Was it that Moses' time as a Shepherd prepared him for what was to come (patience)? Could it be that it wasn't about Moses? And entire nation of Hebrews had to be prepared for the Exodus.
Don't forget to look at the schedule. Our next meeting is Thursday 30 June. The dinner theme is Soup/Salad.
