Topic: Redemption of Moses
In Marvel’s Ant-Man, Scott Lang had a criminal past, like Moses. Yet, Dr. Hank Pym attempted to recruit Scott, fresh out of prison, to become the new Ant Man. When Scott hesitated, thinking himself undeserving, Hank said, “Scott, I believe that everyone deserves a shot at redemption.” He later added, “This is your chance to earn that look in your daughter's eyes. To become the hero that she already thinks you are.”
Forty years after Moses’s misguided murder, the Lord gave him a similar shot at redemption and the chance to become a hero in the eyes of Israel. For decades, Moses lived a life of obscurity in the land of Midian. He met and married a young woman named Zippora. They had children and Moses made his living as a shepherd. Then, while Moses tended his flock near Mount Sinai, something extraordinary happened. A flickering light caught Moses’s eye. He turned to see a blazing fire engulfing a nearby bush. Even though the dancing flames surrounded the bush, it didn’t burn up. As Moses cautiously moved in to get a closer look, a commanding voice emanated from the flame: “Do not come any closer… Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:5-6).
God saw that his people were suffering and needed a hero. God’s answer to the plight of his people: “I am sending you, Moses.” God chose Moses to become a hero to his people. But Israel’s future hero didn’t exactly jump at the chance. In fact, he came up with every excuse not to go: “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of slavery? I’m not good with words. You’ve got the wrong guy, God, please send somebody else.”
Moses made multiple excuses because he felt inadequate for the job God called him to do. It was natural for him to feel that way. He was inadequate all by himself. But God wasn’t asking Moses to work alone. God answered all of Moses’s objections, saying, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12).
God often calls us to tasks that seem too difficult, but he doesn’t ask us to do them alone. God goes with us and he enables and empowers us to do what he asks. That’s what he did for Moses. God empowered Moses by giving him the ability to perform wonderous miracles through the use of his shepherd’s staff, making him the first human hero with actual superpowers! As a demonstration, God told Moses to throw his staff down on the ground. So, Moses threw down the staff and it turned into a snake. Moses jumped back, but when he grabbed it by the tail, it instantly transformed into a staff again. Moses eventually used the same staff, which he called “the staff of God” (Exodus 4:20), to transform the Nile River into blood, to call down lightning and hail on the Egyptians and to part the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to cross the sea on dry ground in a daring escape from Pharaoh’s army.
Despite his reluctance and repeated excuses, Moses experienced redemption and a second chance to become the hero God made him to be. The same can be true in your life and mine. If you’ve made a mess of your life, rest assured God still offers redemption. He still hands out second chances and high callings. He still empowers ordinary people to do extraordinary things. When God searches for people to serve him, he rarely looks for those who are already strong and heroic. Rather, he frequently finds feeble and faulty people whom he can make into heroes by his power. That’s what God did for Moses, and he can do the same for you.
See you Sunday,
Dr. Scott Kallem