Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God

The story of Moses fleeing to Midian brings some important lessons to disciple-makers in how God views those that cause division. It is wrong and He reasons with us with a similar question that came from Moses’ own lips:

When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” – Exodus 2:13  ESV

Why do you strike your companion? Earlier the Egyptian who was violating a Hebrew was killed, and the two Hebrews that were caught fighting in this story were reprimanded. Whether rooted in malice or by sudden provocation, there is a difference between one offender and another. In this story, Moses is trying to make the Hebrews friends – a good example for us to follow for Jesus did the same. In fact, Jesus was a prophet in calling as was Moses, a healing prophet, a peacemaker and was designed to end division. So, why do you strike your companion? There is something wrong when we do so and do not think we are only talking about a physical strike, it could be by tongue as well. If we consider the person we are striking – is it a friend, acquaintance, associate, follower of Christ, at least it is one created in the image of God. If we consider our cause for the striking, perhaps there is no cause for it at all, or no just cause or at least, none worth speaking of.

I am encouraged that God is in the business of using people who have failed. The Bible doesn’t paper over the failures of its heroes. Noah got drunk and exposed himself. Abraham lied twice about his wife being his sister. Isaac did the same. Jacob deceived his father and cheated his brother out of the birthright. David sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband murdered. The disciples all abandoned Jesus at His crucifixion and then doubted the resurrection. Peter denied Jesus and later waffled on the gospel out of fear of the Judaizers. Mark bailed out on the first missionary journey. And in our text, Moses murders an Egyptian, is rejected by his countrymen, flees for his life, and lives in the desert for the next forty years. This story gives us hope that God can use us even after we’ve failed.

My part is to cry out to Him and to trust Him – trust in His faithfulness more than in my own; trust in His strength and put zero confidence in my own. That’s not to say that we don’t act. We’re called to action as husbands and wives, as parents and workers, as ministers of reconciliation and disciple-makers. But when we come to the place of recognizing our weakness – even our outright failure – in these callings, then we can come back to Christ with confidence, once again confessing our need for forgiveness and once again trusting that He gives it freely and will lead us by His power into the work He has for us to do.