Va'era | וארא | "I appeared "

BTW ~ I've enlarged the print here because my eyes are not what they

 used to be even with glasses... LOL

Torah Portion: Exodus 6:2-9:35    

This study today struck a chord with me because I have at times felt just like Moses must have felt when dealing with a group of people who don’t want to hear what you are saying.  There is much more in this scripture that I could go into but my focus will be in the following scripture from Exodus 6:2-13.  First, join in my thoughts so that you can see where I am coming from…

Have you ever been given a directive from a higher authority and had to address a group, but the group would not listen? This has happened to me.  I had been given a leadership position that had no powers attached.  My main responsibility was that of messenger.  I was never given good news to relay but always negative news and this news was never received well.  I recall even having one of my co-workers actually put their hand up to my face when I was relaying a message!  Can you imagine how I felt in that position?   But all the same, that information had to be shared and the duties had to be performed.  Somehow it had become  my responsibility to see to it that all went as planned from my superior. 

In my situation, I realized that my job was basically to keep negative reactions away from my boss with the expectation that whatever was demanded would be done. Needless to say, this position was not at all pleasant and I was happy when the responsibility was given to another after a year.  Thank God, we were on a rotation and others had to experience this dreaded responsibility. (FYI ~ there wasn’t even any pay, respect or reward involved for this demeaning duty and that made it all the more miserable!)

Well, in my study I see that Moses had a similar situation and reaction from those he was to give his message.  The thing that I must keep in mind (and express to whomever is reading this) is that I am not comparing God to my previous boss.  The only similarity is that the directive had to be carried out. 

So read with me the comparisons…

God spoke to Moses and said to him   “I am the Lord.  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.  I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.  Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.  Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.  I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.”

So with this I see that God was ready to bring His people out of bondage and lead them to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

How could they neglect the sincerity of this message? Why were they unwilling to believe?  Look again.  The scripture says their spirit was broken because of harsh slavery.  But, what does that really mean?  Basically it meant that their hopes had been crushed and they could not even hear good news.  This might be a time that we think that their faith was not strong enough, but the truth is that they had been in bondage so long that they didn’t know anything else.  It was difficult to grab onto faith that they had not seen in others...  But my unanswered questions are ~ where were the teachings of God’s faithfulness of the past?  Were the generations who had been so prosperous at one time so sure of themselves that they stopped teaching their children that it was all because of God? Were they so caught up in the Egyptian world that they were unwilling to examine their godly heritage and keep it alive within their families?

Questions like these help me to put a light on human behavior.  In my experience, I see that when things are going good, even faithful people stop teaching and sharing testimonies with one another and their children.  Why?  who really knows?  But it happens and God becomes a distant legend or some sort of fairy tale. He is no longer ‘real’ and no longer important... 

The amazing thing is that God knows all about us and our shortcomings.  He knows our laziness in regards to teaching.  He knows our stubborness to reach out to others whether it is family, friend or stranger. When we read scriptures we often find that God looks at us in pity. He often begins to move again becasue someone or a group of believers remember him and cry out.  He then shows his sovereignty once again and pulls us close to Himself. He knows we are as little children.  He looks at our deadness and sees our unbelief.  We don't even know what we need but He does.  He sees our anxious and hopeless response to circumstances.  He takes our broken hearts and makes them come alive again.  He comes in to rescue us even when we have little or no faith.  That’s God!!!  He is long suffering toward us...

God takes our broken spirits and loves us in spite of our poor behavior.  In this He brings glory to Himself and His glory spread all over us as a warming blanket!  God is not hindered by our discouragement, unbelief and anxiety.  I must remember to depend on Him rather than myself.  When I do this, it brings Him  glory and honor that reflects back on me.

So the Lord said to Moses, “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.”  

But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?”  

But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

So there we have it.  The call of Moses was nonnegotiable. The call to us from God is also nonnegotiable.  If we are weak and have a broken spirit, we are to pray and God will help us.  We can trust His promises.  If others are weak and can’t hear anything that we say, let us pray for them and know that God will help.  We can trust Him and in this way we are fighting for them when they cannot fight for themselves.

Lord, help me to do as you have called me to do.  May I remember to pray for others and minister as you would have me share the Good News of Salvation with a lost and dying world.  Give me the strength to carry on when I am weary and may I show You to others and not just tell about You.  Help me to be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only!   In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.