The children of Israel groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help went up to God. God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. God looked upon Israel and was concerned about them (Ex. 2:23-25). God’s plan to rescue Israel from their plight involved a deliverer. What kind of man would God use to bring Israel out from Egypt?
Enter Moses. Moses was from the tribe of Levi. Part of Pharaoh’s plan to diminish Israel’s growth was to kill any newborn sons (Ex.1:15-22). It was in this perilous context that Moses was born. His mother hid him for three months, but when she couldn’t hide him any longer, she placed the child in a basket and put him in the Nile river. Pharaoh’s daughter heard the cry of the child, and rescued him. Knowing that it was a Hebrew child, she asked her servant (Moses’ sister) to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child. Unbeknownst to Pharaoh’s daughter, the nurse was Moses’ biological mother. When Moses grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son (Ex. 2:1-10).
It seems as if Moses is the perfect candidate to be Israel’s deliverer. In fact he attempted to help two Israelite slaves by killing an Egyptian. Rather than become their hero, they despised his efforts, and Pharaoh put a bounty on his head (Ex. 2:11-15). Moses, in fear for his life, fled to Midian, married a priest’s daughter, and worked for his father-in-law.
Moses was content working for his father-in-law, when the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush. God summoned him to be Israel’s deliverer. However, Moses was blinded by his own flaws. He didn’t believe that Pharaoh would listen to him. He knew Israel would question his authority. Then Moses explained that he had a speech impediment, keeping him from speaking clearly.
The Lord refuted each of Moses’ objections.The Lord had the right man for the job despite Moses’ feelings of insecurity. Undoubtedly, Israel’s deliverer was an imperfect man. Throughout the Bible, as we will discover, God uses imperfect people to accomplish His perfect will. You may feel overwhelmed by the task God has called you to do. You may even have feelings of insecurity. Keep in mind, Moses was only the vessel God was using. It would be God’s power, however, that brought about the results. Listen to the apostle Paul’s words of encouragement, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7).