God Calls Men

MEMORY VERSE: “Be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” —II Timothy 1:8,9

EXODUS 3:1-14

GOD’S call is frequently limited by many to the idea of becoming ministers of the Gospel, but the thought is not thus limited in the Bible, for the record is that God has called his servants to various types of service. He called Noah to build an ark in which he and his family could be saved from the waters of the Flood. David was called to be a king, and Gideon to be a judge. Moses was called, not to be a minister in a congregation, but to lead the Hebrew people out of their bondage in Egypt.

Moses had the interests of his people at heart, and forty years before he was actually called by God to deliver them he endeavored to take some matters into his own hands, and in the undertaking slew an Egyptian and was forced to flee from Egypt to save his life. He went to Midian, married a daughter of Jethro, the religious leader of the Midianites, and a raiser of sheep. There he served his father-in-law by caring for the sheep, and had been doing this for forty years when God’s call came to him.

God spoke to Moses at the burning bush. He said to him, “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” What a meaningful introduction this was! Doubtless Moses’ mother had instructed him concerning the promises which God had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and now that the God who had made these promises was speaking to him it gave Moses a measure of confidence.

Later, in connection with his commission to deliver the Israelites, Moses was instructed by God to explain to the Israelites that the great “I Am” had sent him. This name, or title, seems to suggest the great eternal One: the One who had revealed his purpose to Abram, and was now carrying through with it in the deliverance of Abraham’s children from Egyptian bondage.

But Moses was not too sure, in view of his experience in Egypt, that he was prepared for such a mission, and said to the Lord, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” In Numbers 12:3 we read, “The man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” According to Prof. Strong, the basic meaning of the Hebrew word here translated “meek” is “depressed.” The dictionary gives one of the meanings of “meek” as “spiritless.”

Moses’ sister and brother had just criticized him for marrying an Ethiopian woman, and added, “Hath the Lord spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us?” Surely this must have been depressing to Moses, as were many of his other experiences, particularly his failure through his own efforts to assist his people, and his long servitude as a shepherd in Midian. Thus we find the man who once was bold enough to slay an Egyptian in order to help his people, saying, “Who am I, that I should … bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

The Lord’s reply simply was, “Certainly I will be with thee.” This is the assurance that the Lord gives to all those who hear his call and enter into his service.

And, as our memory verse reminds us, the Lord’s people of the present Gospel Age are a suffering people, and those who are truly faithful to the Lord partake of these “afflictions of the Gospel.” God has also called us to a “holy calling,” even to be associated with Jesus, the antitypical Moses, in delivering the whole world from bondage—not the bondage of Egypt, but from bondage to sin and death. This is the divine purpose on behalf of all mankind.

QUESTIONS

To what great purpose was Moses called of God?

What is the purpose of God’s calling to his people during the present Gospel Age?

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