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Moses, the Leader of God’s People
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The Lord directed his journey, and he found a home with Jethro,
the priest and prince of Midian, who was a worshiper of God. After
a time Moses married one of Jethro’s daughters, and he remained
there for forty years as keeper of Jethro’s flocks.
It was not God’s will to deliver His people by warfare, as Moses
thought, but by His own mighty power, so that the glory might be
given to Him alone. Moses was not prepared for his great work. He
still had to learn the same lesson of faith that Abraham and Jacob
had been taught—not to rely on human strength or wisdom but on
the power of God to fulfill His promises. In the school of self-denial
and hardship he was to learn patience, to control his passions. His
own heart must be fully in harmony with God before he could teach
the knowledge of His will to Israel and exercise a fatherly care over
all who needed his help.
Doing God’s Work the Wrong Way
In Egypt Moses had learned much that he must unlearn. The
influences that had surrounded him had left deep impressions on
his developing mind and to some extent had molded his habits and
character. Time could remove these impressions. It would require
a life-and-death kind of struggle for Moses to renounce error and
accept truth, but God would be his helper when the conflict would
be too severe for human strength.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all
liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (
James
1:5
). But God will not give people divine light while they are content
to remain in darkness. In order to receive God’s help, they must
realize their weakness and need, they must apply their own minds
to the great change God wants to work in them, and they must be
moved to earnest, steady prayer and effort.
Shut in by the high mountain walls, Moses was alone with God.
In the solemn grandeur of the everlasting hills he saw the majesty of
the Most High, and in contrast he realized how powerless the gods
of Egypt were. Here his pride and self-sufficiency were swept away.
The results of Egypt’s luxury disappeared. Moses became patient,
reverent, and “very humble, more than all men who were on the face
of the earth” (
Numbers 12:3
), yet strong in faith.