The Spirituality of Moses

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The Spirituality of Moses 27/01/2021

Derrick Harrison 1/27/2021

The Spirituality of Moses Moses’ Experience of God - in his Own Words & God’s Words Moses’ spirituality, the word “spirituality” is a loved word among Christian writers and preachers of all traditions and can mean almost anything; we speak of Celtic spirituality, Patristic spirituality, Monastic spirituality, Pietistic spirituality, Pentecostal spirituality and so on. The word imparts a sense of sanctity when it is used. I will use “spirituality” in the context of authentic biblical experience – those genuine works of the Holy Spirit in relationship to the human heart and their inevitable outworking in life. We call them biblical experiences, but that might be confining the Holy Spirit who worked not only in Scripture, but now works outside of Scripture but always consistent with it. Certainly, what we read in Scripture about new birth and baptism in the Holy Spirit is essential to anything we have to say about spirituality, but they are entry points to richer pastures and deeper flowing rivers of life. For us, who live in post-New Testament times we still see spirituality in the context of Scripture and acknowledge the clarity and the diversity of the Spirit’s actions among men and women from the beginning of human existence. How often sincere Christians have put the Holy Spirit into a straight-jacket, the Calvinists at one end of the spectrum formulated a system of 5-points and thus misrepresented the truth of God’s great salvation which is available to all who will repent and believe and they misrepresented His generous character of love which is accessible to all who will come to God through Jesus Christ. The Holiness movement which found its original definition in John Wesley represented a spirituality focused on entire New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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sanctification (see Roger Forster’s book, Streams of Renewal); teaching that new Birth and sanctification are two separate experiences and the Pentecostals at the other of the spectrum to the Calvinists, took their hermeneutic of a 2-stage salvation and propounded an experience of new birth followed by baptism in the Spirit accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in tongues, (I am not suggesting that Calvinist’s do not speak in tongues because many do). These movements were each marked by a genuine spirituality and Roger Forster’s position is that each movement has its own unique spirituality, bringing to the fore a lost element of truth which contributes to the “whole counsel of God.” When we look at the lives of biblical characters, we can afford to let Scripture inform us about their unique spiritualties. Certainly, the calling of God has a direct impact on personal spirituality. As I read the lives of spiritual giants like Moses, I see that God continually takes initiative in revealing Himself and it is He who decides about how and when He will reveal Himself and what He will say and do.

Moses’ spirituality gives authenticity to his words. By spirituality I mean the consistent life he lived in fellowship with the LORD. The power of his anointing depended entirely on God. What a happy situation it is when there is consistency between a person’s godliness and the fact that he is God’s mouth-piece and God’s instrument.

Scripture is formed by God speaking His authoritative words to men/women and through men/women.

God also speaks revelatory words – before Moses takes up his pen to write, God reveals to him His name as “I AM THAT I AM” (Ex:3) and then His name as LORD (ch.6). He both speaks and reveals His unique and holy Name; no one had ever heard God orally speak forth His Name before this awesome occasion.

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I think we can say that spirituality focuses on being rather than doing, although authentic spirituality will always result in action, in that sense spirituality is not an end in itself. How many men and movements which began by the initiation, inspiration and moving of the Holy Spirit have ended up powerless, due to turning in on themselves, turning from mission to self-nurture. God chooses men/women to participate in His purposes. Christians must not put limits on how deeply and profoundly God can work in the lives of His saints in all generations, nor must we measure ourselves by these spiritual giants. If you adulate them you will demean yourself! Honour them, certainly, learn from them, but do not worship them so that when they fall from their pedestal your faith is not shaken. Never, follow one man as the oracle of God and never let a man usurp the Lord who speaks to you directly and through Scripture.

Remember, that Moses relating the history of Israel and his own story is inextricably bound-up with that of God’s people. When we read the book of Exodus, we are reading Moses’ own words about himself, but like John Wesley writing his Journal, he is so detached from himself that he does not intrude into the text, in other words, in writing his own story he is not indulging in a personal ego trip. The autobiography of Moses is one of the best documented lives in the Bible.

I think that dwelling in the presence of God is the path to humility. We are to listen to what God has to say about us when we are with Him. Moses actually heard God speaking amazing things about the intimacy of his relationship with God! His experience with God is deep and profound but his journey is marked by clear sign posts along the way when God spoke decisively into his life. As we high-light these particular occasions which mark the spiritual progress of Moses, we do

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not want to separate these visitations from God from the autobiography of his life. The objective of God’s visitation is not fostering and furthering the spirituality of His servant but it is to further His great objectives for humankind, in other words, to advance His own purposes. Obedience to the Great Commission brings further release of His Holy Spirit which directly impacts our spirituality. I said earlier that our vocation impacts our spirituality. With the apostle Paul, it is impossible to separate his calling and his missional activity from his dynamic experience of the Holy Spirit. For Moses, obedience to the call of God brought him into deep intimacy with the Lord, the two are part of one whole spiritual experience – being and doing.

Moses is the Elect Child who is Chosen by God At birth his parents immediately recognise this when they describe their new-born baby as, “a proper child.” This awareness caused faith to rise up in their hearts, “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment” (Heb.11:23), because they had the word of faith from God. We know the story of Moses’ miracle rescue and preservation, his upbringing in the palace of Pharaoh and his choosing to identify with his own people, the enslaved Israelites. Again, we read that this was an act of faith “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the

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recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”

Moses gives an insight into his thinking at the time of the murder of the Egyptian taskmaster, “And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand” (Ex.2:12), that verse spells guilt and then cover-up/ deception. However, Stephen has further insights into his thinking at the time, “And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel and seeing one of them suffer wrong he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: for he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, “Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?” But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, “who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Wilt you kill me, as you did to the Egyptian yesterday?” (Acts 7:23-28).

These words from Stephen show me that he had identified with his own people Israel and acted out of a sense of social injustice, which we might refer to as righteous indignation. However, in the eyes of the Jew he was viewed as an Egyptian. It is also clear that Moses had a keen sense of responsibility for his people by his behaviour, which was even recognised by the Israelite who witnessed the murder, “who made you a ruler and a judge over us?”

The writer to the Hebrews points to both Moses and his parents as living by faith in God. This vibrant faith must surely have characterized New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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his life not only at this crucial time, but also in his exile in the home of Jethro and beyond. This requires further investigation.

I think one of the most formative influences on his life was occasioned by his hasty departure from Egypt. I think there are 2 primary issues here, the killing of the Egyptian taskmaster and the changed life in Midian. Regarding, the killing he has to come to terms with his action, its cause (hate/anger) and his inevitable guilt (Gen.4:13; 3:8, 10; Ex.2:12; 2Sam.12:7, 13; Ps.51; Isa.6:5-8; Lk.15:18-20). Moses is silent about his sin and repentance just as he is silent about his marriage break-up, “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.

Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (Ps.130:1-4).

Moses’ lived in Midian in the house of Jethro for 40 years and therefore we must ask ourselves what God’s purpose was for him and enquire what God was doing in his life. Only Moses knew the tortuous temptations that assailed him - the former adopted son of Pharaoh, the successful military commander, the refined, cultured, and highly educated young man, dressed in kingly robes and with the ring of Pharaoh on his finger marking his royal status and his powerful authority. Now he is disrobed, disinherited, ring-less, he is nobody – but worse still he is despised in his own eyes and he is caught in a dead-end job with absolutely no prospect of change and he is being roasted alive each day by the sun as he leads – not men, but stupid sheep which don’t belong to him! His life is apparently without New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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purpose. How do you maintain your relationship with God under such circumstances? Did he have a relationship with God at all?

The Psalmist describes the suffering of young Joseph in prison and said that that his iron shackles dug into the flesh of his ankles – as temptation gnawed deep into his soul, “He (God) sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him. The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free” (Ps.105:17-20).

The margin translation in the KJV reads, “his soul entered into the iron.” Change this around and it reads, “the iron entered into his soul.”

Elsewhere the phrase, the furnace of affliction” provides us with a suitable description of the immense endurance of these men under temptations. Richard Wurmbrand spent nearly 15 years deep underground in a filthy and cruel prison in Romania and came out, broken in body but strong in God, an apostle of suffering and he declared to the world what was happening to Christians in communist countries.

After referring to Joseph in prison (the psalm began with Abraham and Jacob) the Psalmist then refers to Moses (Ps.105.17-34) and explains the cause of Moses’ sin which prevented him from leading Israel into the Promised Land (Ps.105: 32-33). The following Psalm 106, continues the history of Israel under Moses’ leadership (Ps.106:1-33), through to Israel’s apostacy in Canaan at the time of the Judges

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1. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses at the Burning Bush (Ex.Ch.3-4; Acts 7:29-30; Ps.105:26-45) This is Moses first encounter with God who commissions him to lead His people out of Egypt. Forty years after his departure from Egypt, God appears to him in the burning bush, bringing his exile/isolation to a close. Moses has 3 strategic meetings with God, Ex.3 and 6, and a later, a crucial meeting in ch.33 and ch.34 (I have counted this as one event). Of course, Moses spent two periods of 40 days alone with God in the mountain. At the end of the first 40 days (Ex.33/34), he encounters the LORD; this is his third specific and strategic meeting with God. God spoke His name: “I AM THAT I AM” (3:14) and commissioned Moses to declare to His people that “I AM” has sent you to bring My people out of Egypt and to bring them to this same mountain, but Moses sought repeatedly to excuse himself. He was not prepared to accept responsibility for a people who had formerly rejected his help.

The mere suggestion of a return to Egypt raised too many bitter memories of the past for Moses to handle such a commission. God told him to say to Pharaoh, “Israel is my son, even my firstborn” (Ex.4:22).

We do not read that Moses ever told Pharaoh this. These words of sonship/fatherhood are at the very heart of the covenants as they are at the heart of God Himself (2Sam.7:14; Ps.2:7; Lk.3:22; 9:35; Jn.10:30; Heb.1:5; Rev.21:7).

Between the first and the second revelation Moses makes his first visit to Egypt, he calls for the elders of the Israelites to inform them that the LORD is going to deliver them, he confronts Pharaoh requesting that the Israelites be given permission to go out of Egypt to worship New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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the LORD which results in his refusal and the increase of their work load. The whole episode appears as a failure.

2. Moses Second Encounter with God (Ex.Ch.6:1-8) Moses has a second meeting with God, when God reveals His name LORD/Jehovah/Yahweh to Moses. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures two chief names are used for the one true divine Being - ELOHIM, commonly translated God in our version,1 and JEHOVAH translated LORD. The importance of this name for God is translated in capital letters in the Bible as LORD throughout the Old Testament and is the central paradigm of Moses’ theology. The word LORD is the principal word for God in the Old Testament. It is not a title for God but God says that it is His actual Name. Moses was going to discover the power of this Name in his confrontation with Pharaoh and the evil powers which ruled Egypt. This name LORD henceforth will dominate Moses’ writing from Genesis onwards and is the proof of Moses’ authorship of the Pentateuch. It is the signet ring which represents God’s authority, declaring his credibility to write Scripture and is the reason why the stamp of God is on all his writings.

Now follows Moses confrontations with Pharaoh and the 10 plagues, or judgements. Significantly, Moses becomes the predominant person in Egypt, revered even by the Egyptians above Pharaoh (10:7; 11:3), He speaks the word of the LORD with absolute authority resulting in God’s acts of judgment and by his word they are initiated and by his word 1

Elohim is the plural of Eloah; it is often used in the short form EL (a word signifying strength, as in EL‐SHADDAI, God Almighty, the name by which God was known to the patriarchs (Gen.17:1; 28:3; Ex.6:3).

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they cease. By his raised hand the waters of the Red Sea are parted for the Israelites to pass over safely and then the waters return upon the Egyptians and drown them. Moses leads them from the Red Sea to Sinai and it is here he is visited by Jethro accompanied by his wife and boys. Here we face a further crisis which involves the personal life of Moses which takes us back to his years in the house of Jethro.

Mistakes and Danger Markers! A Failed Marriage and a Violent Temper Strange happenings had taken place on the road to Egypt between Zipporah and Moses, - what really happened? Now the facts emerge about their confrontation when Jethro visits Moses after he has delivered Israel from Egypt. Obviously, Moses had delayed circumcising his boys, probably to avoid the scene which now takes place due to the fact that he can put it off no longer.

Imagine the tension for Moses as he returns to the land of Egypt where he grew up, remembering the royal household, the horrors of cruel slavery and the guilt of living in such luxury and then his violent killing, are we right to imagine that he was deeply disturbed and distressed?

The call of God does not mean that we do not have to face our own actions and behaviour and grapple with our past failures and sin. I do believe that leaders need above all others to confess when they have hurt, offended and stumbled others by their attitudes, behaviour and words. Moses was vividly reminded of his killing and again confronted with his guilt. He was also burdened with his call by God to confront Pharaoh! Moses knew full-well the despotic and cruel power of the Pharaoh and the opposition he faced. On top of all that he now has to New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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face Zipporah who considers that to circumcise her boys is utterly abhorrent, she was deeply offended by what she considered this barbaric male mutilation of her boys. The crisis precipitated her departure and marked the break-down of their marriage. Does repentance contribute to our spirituality? Is our walk with God marked by continuing repentance? Surely, the fact that the blood of Jesus continually cleanses our hearts and consciences points to our constant need to live sensitively attuned to the Spirit of God which involves repentance over the least little things which meet with God’s disapproval.

Jethro visits Moses as he journeys to Sinai following the Exodus from Egypt, “Moses' father-in-law, brings Zipporah, Moses' estranged wife and her two sons” (Ex.18:2-3). Obviously, Jethro had one objective and that was to bring reconciliation between Moses and Zipporah. The original reference in Ex.ch.4 refers to what happened on their journey to Egypt, “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So, he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision” (Ex.4:24-26).

It was at this point of Jethro’s visit that Moses faced a very important personal decision regarding his wife and two boys. It is obvious that Jethro brought Zipporah back with the purpose of reconciliation but he failed to accomplish this. Moses gives us no information about the family discussion that took place or the fateful day of their decision to make their separation permanent (Ex.ch.18; see 4:24-26). Because we New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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are not given any information about their conversations, we are unable to make any judgment. However, Moses did refer to the original confrontation over circumcision and his action then, – “after he had sent her back” (Nu.18:2; cf. 1Cor.7:11, 15). One cannot begin to estimate the loss to all parties due to the failed attempt at reconciliation. How did this affect Moses’ leadership? It is clear from the observations of Jethro - at this early period of administering the Law that Moses is consumed by the demands of his work from morning until night – what a price to pay for a failed marriage!

Jethro introduces Moses into the principle of delegating responsibility.

Moses may not have given due attention to this most important matter of his wife and boys due to what he considered his first responsibility to serve his people. We will never know. The departure of Jethro (18:27) from Moses meant that his marriage was irrevocably broken, as described by Paul, “But if the unbelieving departs, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace” (1Cor.7:15; see vv13-16).

The following material from Numbers has been inserted here because it relates to Moses second marriage which comes later. Does his enforced celibacy have any bearing on his later marriage to a Cushite woman with black skin from Africa? (Num.12:1; 1Cor.7:2,8). It appears that Miriam’s objection was to the interracial marriage between Moses and a woman from Cush, a region south of Ethiopia, where the people are known for their black skin. We know this because of Jeremiah 13:23: “Can the Ethiopian (the same Hebrew word translated “Cushite” in Numbers 12:1) change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.” Attention is drawn to the difference of the skin of the Cushite people who originate from the

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area south of Egypt, and above the cataracts on the Nile, where a Black African civilization flourished for over two thousand years. In response to Miriam’s criticism, God does not get angry at Moses, but He gets angry at Miriam. The criticism was directly aimed at Moses’ marriage and the result was the undermining of his authority. The most explicit statement against Moses relates to his marriage: “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.” God strikes down Miriam with leprosy for which Moses prays and God says absolutely nothing about his second marriage.

You may be thinking – what has this to do with Moses’ spirituality? I say it has everything to do with it! It is like the irritant, the grit which eventually produces the pearl in the oyster. Forgiveness is a wonderful gift which follows repentance, but repentance does not eradicate memory and whenever Moses recollected his failure, his angry words, he wept again. Repentance and brokenness are part of genuine spirituality. What an awful price Moses paid for his sin. Shallow repentance and cheap grace count the past as irrelevant, covered by God’s benevolence. We must deeply repent for the past and wash ourselves continually in the bath of His amazing grace. Moses’ deep awareness of his failures drove him deeper into God, this may be the reason he dwelled so deeply in God.

Moses had a Recurring Anger Problem.

Its first outbreak resulted in the tragic and violent killing of an Egyptian taskmaster which precipitated his hasty departure from Egypt.

Secondly, he may have sent Zipporah home in a passion of anger. I also

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feel that there is something extremely tragic about his third angry outbreak when he kept on smiting the rock in the public view of all the people. The devastating outcomes of these three situations are incalculable. Moses paid a heavy price for each one of these failures; he committed murder, adultery and failed to accomplish the ultimate goal of God’s calling for his life.

What does this sobering picture tell me about spirituality? It tells me that even God’s greatest giants have flawed lives and it shows to me that those evident failures contribute to a deeper walk with God. Of course, failure and sin can produce opposite outcomes which result in further sin and deception. We must dwell in the wounds of Jesus, where there is rich and full cleansing; we must sorrow for our failures, our bruised pride, our selfishness and our real lack of love for others. I remember the Lord showing me the parable of the dying man on the road to Jericho and how he must muster the last shreds of his strength and incline his broken body towards the healing oil and wine. He inclines his broken body towards Jesus and becomes accessible for Jesus to pour into his open wounds the healing oil and reinvigorating wine. What a beautiful picture this is!

Moses’ outburst of anger led him too repeatedly to strike the rock in order to bring forth life-giving water, when the Lord had commanded him to speak to the rock. The incident happened against a background of repeated rebellions against the LORD throughout the book of Numbers which began with the incident of Aaron and Miriam, - his own family questioning his authority. The spirit of rebellion unfortunately affected him and eventually possessed him, we observe it rising in him before it’s out breaking in the act of striking the rock in front of all the nation of Israel, the enemy had, indeed come in like a

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flood and God’s name was dishonoured by Moses’ angry act of violence.

“Take the rod, and gather the assembly together, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and you shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so, you shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear, now, you rebels must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron, Because, you believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them” (Num.20:8-12).

I do believe that Moses found grace to accept God’s stunning verdict against him, God’s strong rebuke and His vehement refusal to allow him to lead God’s people into Canaan. Moses had been commissioned to lead God’s people from Egypt to Sinai but all through the bitter years of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness he had cherished the hope of leading Israel into Canaan. I do believe that he submitted himself to the LORD and found grace and strength to continue leading Israel despite his bitter disappointment. I know he found grace and strength because early in the book of Deuteronomy I read how Moses brought up the matter with the LORD and how the LORD rebuked him and yet Moses continues unerringly to prepare Israel for life in the

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Promised Land. When I realize that he submits to the will of God when it runs contrary to his own will I perceive that Moses is truly a man of genuine spirituality. There is a real comparison here with David, who also was refused by God to fulfil his deep longing to build a house for the LORD. Despite this fact he diligently prepared for the building of the temple providing vast resources. Similarly, Moses was refused his deep desire to lead Israel into the Promised Land, but it did not prevent him from thoroughly preparing the Israelites to live there (Deuteronomy contains everything he taught them).

The LORD Spells out His Relationship with Moses and His Esteem for Him Note again the context of this testimony which is spoken by the LORD, which was the criticism against Moses’ marriage – this was the focus of their criticism, but this was not the real issue. Aaron and Miriam were challenging Moses’ authority as the leader of God’s people on the premise that all God’s children have the word of the Lord to speak.

How deceptive is the argument, when one important truth is used to undermine another equally important truth? The fact was that Moses had been given by God a unique position of authority, a unique ministry of prophecy and teaching, and through him God had established Israel’s theocratic constitution, their legal, civil and sacrificial system, - absolutely everything had been done by him following his time alone with the LORD in the mountain. No other man in the entire history of the nation of Israel played such a pivotal role.

No one was to follow him and no other person fulfilled such a singular role in the nation, not even David or Solomon. Everywhere you look in the Pentateuch you will see the powerful and influential hand of New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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Moses, but alongside that amazing story there is another story which begins with Aaron and Miriam’s rebellion which spreads and grows throughout the book of Numbers, “And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth)” (Nu.12:13).

It is this third verse which declares Moses’ character/nature of humility, the verse is even written as a parenthesis! I think that when Moses was challenged by his siblings that he remained silent and it was at that moment that the Lord stepped in and vindicated His humble servant. We could ask ourselves the question where that humility came from? Where, indeed was he humbled? He was humbled by his sin in murdering a man, a sin which loomed large in his thinking as daily he led Jethro’s sheep to the foot of Sinai. He was also humbled by domestic failure with regards to his marriage; he was humbled by his lowly station in comparison to his upbringing and training in Pharaoh’s palace. In comparison, his ordinary life and his daily routine of work must have humbled him, - the absence of people, of books, of a future, the fact that he was self-emptied of all that was dear to him, all that was of value and worth to him, surely, these losses must have been at the root of his humility. Paul describes a similar experience when at the end of the process of humbling he declares,

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“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Phil.3:7-8).

Moses counted all things as loss to him and yet he did not have the magnet of Christ to attract him. I do believe that his humility was the fruit of those 40 years in Midian. It is humility that teaches us our true worth and the worth of the things around us. It is then that we recognise who we are truly and can then rest comfortably in who we are. God is pleased with us, but lots of people are not really aware of that fact and therefore do not enjoy contentment in God and in themselves, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Phil.4:11), 2 says Paul. He chooses his words carefully, because contentment does not come naturally, it is the fruit of the Spirit’s discipline, Jesus was perfected in His human nature by the things He suffered (Heb.2:10). Contentment comes from accepting God’s disciplines and finding grace in the trials of life.

In the face of Aaron’s and Miriam’s failure to honour Moses, the Lord speaks about His intimate relationship with Moses, “And He said, Hear, now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the 2

George Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment https://www.preachtheword.com/bookstore/contentment.pdf

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similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed” (Nu.12:69).

The LORD points to their intimacy by comparing the prophet who speaks God’s words, who sees visions and dreams of God and in contrast, Moses who knows God, “mouth to mouth” which reminds us of the Song of Songs, “let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth” (1:3). The kiss is one of the most intimate acts of love between the husband and wife; it is the most beautiful expression of intimacy most suited to express the intimacy of love between the LORD and His Beloved Bride, the church. This statement of intimacy regarding Moses and the LORD will come to a head in Ex.33-34; the occasion when Moses’ desire for intimacy finds powerful expression in his request: “Show me your glory!”

In the LORD’S rebuke to Aaron and Moses He uses two other words, “apparently” (plainly and surely) and not in dark speeches (parables or similitudes), and the “similitude” of the Lord shall he behold (not the face or essence of God, who is invisible (Ex.33:20; Col.1:15; Jn.1:18), but some unmistakable evidence of His glorious and holy presence (Ex.33:2; 34:5).

I am reminded of Moses’ teaching in Deuteronomy, “And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire: you heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only you heard a voice” (4:12, 15, 16). The word is repeated in v15 and v16. There can be no material or visual representation of God who is invisible, hence the lie of idolatry.

The first commandment prohibits idols, “any graven image” (Ex.20:35). We cannot visualize God who is invisible, but we can see Him New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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visually in the face of Jesus Christ. The tabernacle expressed the beauty of God’s character in a million ways but there was no picture of God hanging up in the tabernacle, nor in the home of any Israelite. I would like to draw your attention to the importance of the voice of the LORD, which comes to the fore here as throughout Scripture. Because there is on Sinai no material representation of the LORD, not even the sight of an angel, our attention is focused entirely on the voice and what the voice conveys to us and the words God speaks to us.

I include the 2 periods of 40 days with the LORD on Mount Sinai under the heading of “spirituality” because of the profound effect they had on Moses.

3. Moses Ascends Mount Sinai to Receive the Words of the Law This first period of 40 days was interrupted by the incident of the golden calf. The two periods of 40 days on the mountain (Ex.24:28) had a profound effect on Moses, “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex.33:11). As he emerged from this period of 40 days with the LORD, he was engaged in intense intercession regarding the presence of the angel of the Lord continuing with them (33:12-17).

Possessed by a deep desire to see the face of God, he cried out to God, “show me Your glory!” However, the Lord replied to him with a strong prohibition, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (Ex.33:20), but you may see Me from behind as I depart. In ch.34 we see what happened to Moses in response to his request,

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“Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” So, Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped” (Deut.34:5-8).

This experience must be put alongside his two previous encounters with the LORD (3:11-15; 6:1-8), when he heard the LORD speaking His name, I AM and later revealing the meaning of His Name, LORD. We read, “Now the LORD came and stood with him there, and proclaimed His Name as, the LORD. Note that three times we read, “the LORD.” Why, did the LORD stand so close to him? - for the same reason Jesus inclined His face to each of His disciples, in order to breath into them the Holy Spirit (Jn.20:22). Moses does not only hear the LORD’S Name as he did on the 2 previous occasions, but now the LORD proclaims His Name, its sound invades his entire being, the name reverberates through his soul and body, like a mighty gushing torrent of water, this is his baptism into the name of the LORD, when the river of God flows through him and thus fills him.

I am reminded of Charles Finney’s description of his experience of the baptism in the Spirit, “the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed, it New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love; for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me, like immense wings!”

Evan Roberts, the leader of the Welsh Revival in 1904 described his experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, “I felt a living power pervading my bosom. It took my breath away and my legs trembled exceedingly. This living power became stronger and stronger as each one prayed, until I felt it would tear me apart. My whole bosom was a turmoil and if I had not prayed it would have burst…. I fell on my knees with my arms over the seat in front of me. My face was bathed in perspiration, and the tears flowed in streams. I cried out “Bend me, bend me!!” It was God’s commending love which bent me… what a wave of peace flooded my bosom…. I was filled with compassion for those who must bend at the judgement, and I wept. Following that, the salvation of the human soul was solemnly impressed on me. I felt ablaze with the desire to go through the length and breadth of Wales to tell of the saviour.”

Both these men were very powerful revivalists and both described this experience of God invading their soul and body with rivers of living water – rivers of power is how Finney described this experience as waves and waves of “liquid power” and “liquid love” and Roberts speaks of “living power” which had invaded his bosom, which increased more and more in strength as people prayed. In the Welsh revival this mighty baptism took possession of men and women with such increasing fullness that they had to ask God to withhold his hand because they could take no more, New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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O Breath of life, come sweeping through us, revive your church with life and pow'r; O Breath of Life, come, cleanse, renew us, and fit your church to meet this hour.

O Wind of God, come bend us, break us, till humbly we confess our need; then in your tenderness remake us, revive, restore, for this we plead.

O Breath of love, come breathe within us, renewing thought and will and heart; come, Love of Christ, afresh to win us, revive your church in ev'ry part.

Porter Head (1850-1936)

Bessie

Moses describes this mountain-top experience with the LORD which he describes how the glory of God’s shining remained upon him, “So, he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments” (Ex.34:28).

We read also that when he returned, “all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him … And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the

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face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him” (34:33-35).

Moses would soon face 40 years of leading a rebellious nation through the wilderness and he could only do this by the enablement of the Holy Spirit. He had proved the power of God’s name in the 10 judgments/plagues on Egypt and the power of the LORD at the Red Sea but now he would face defeat, discouragement and isolation in the wilderness, depending entirely on the inward resources of God’s Spirit.

His spiritual life was nourished by living in continual fellowship with the LORD (Num.12:7-8).

Conclusion How can one possibly spell out the lessons we can learn from our examination of Moses’ spiritual journey? He was a chosen child and called to the most unbelievable tasks. To that end he was prepared, trained and disciplined by God and endowed with natural and spiritual gifts which contributed to his immense success. Let us not forget that he was a co-worker with God and that he could have done nothing if God had not been enabling him and working through him. Moses did not open up the Red Sea, he simply raised his hand by faith and the wind of God parted the Sea. He was called to a great task but he also was a man of spiritual stature, a fact that God bore testimony to, alongside the testimony of Scripture.

He was also a flawed leader, committing murder, adultery and failing to ultimately fulfil the will of God for his life but he still stands out as the predominant character in the Old Testament, just as Paul is the New Life Radio – Talk No 16

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predominant character in the New Testament. He believed God and he obeyed God throughout his life, in other words he was faithful to God and his calling (Num.6:7; cf. 1Tim.1:12). There was only one Moses, singled out by God to accomplish great things for him and he was anointed to fulfil those tasks. Similarly, Charles Finney had repeated fillings of the Holy Spirit and when he walked out into the community revival broke out, now that was sovereign God and was not in any way due to personal spirituality because he had none. Evan Roberts, prior to the revival was woken up night after night, caught up in intimate communion with God and he had no idea what took place during those night seasons alone with God. Let us rejoice in His calling, His choices, His remarkable ways with men and women. Thank you Lord for giving us spiritual giants whom we can applaud, emulate, honour but never adulate. Even God’s giants have clay feet, they have flaws, defects, hurts and prejudices like you and me, in other words they are truly human but they have a consuming passion for holiness and for God, and a driving passion to see the extension of His kingdom on the earth.

Moses did not realize that his face was shining with God’s glory! The Lord Himself said that he was the meekest man on the face of the earth, - and there lies greatness according to God’s criteria, it is character over accomplishments. Let these chosen ones encourage us to give ourselves to Him, assured that He is working in our lives to accomplish His eternal purposes.

We have identified the character qualities of this man of God, his personal qualities and his particular gifts, his encounters with God and his revelations of God. You need to look at this again for yourself, which will take some time and you will need to soak yourself in his life

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and in his writings (Genesis-Deuteronomy) and you will gain new and powerful insights.

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