What If Moses Wasn’t Necessarily the Most Faithful Person of His Era?
How’s that for a provocative title for my post? Let me be completely clear that, as, leader of Israel’s exodus from Egypt, recipient of the Ten Commandments, and author of the Bible’s first five books, Moses was clearly a supremely godly man. I in no way want to diminish his standing as one of the great men of the faith.
However, beyond the “known” heroes of the Bible, God has always had a multitude of other committed people even in darkest of times. Remember how, centuries after Moses, Elijah was in the depths of despair, thinking he was God’s only genuine follower in all Israel. But God revealed to him that there were 7,000 others who had not bent their knees to false idols (1 Kings 19). We know absolutely nothing about these 7,000 beyond the fact that God knew their hearts and that they remained true to him.
Similarly, we can assume there were many devoted “ordinary” Jewish people during the entire 430 years of Israel’s captivity in Egypt. I may be going out on a limb here, but I believe there could have been people in the generation immediately preceding Moses who loved God as much as Moses did. But one reason God didn’t tap them for the leadership role may have been because he wasn’t ready to move. When the time was right, he needed someone to lead the charge, and Moses was his man.
Expanding on this thought, perhaps there were truly godly people who died the very day before Moses first approached Pharoah to set the Exodus in motion. If that was the case, these people had no idea of the miracle that was about to unfold. But that didn’t mean God wasn’t pleased with them.
My point is that one reason we know about Moses is that he was the right man used by God at just the right time in history. The fact that others are totally unknown to us may be more a reflection of God’s timetable than it was of their “worthiness.” God had absolute discretion to use them – or not use them – as he saw fit. Their job was merely to be faithful. Whether they became channels for God’s mighty power was totally up to God. We tend to think the more holy someone is, the more God will bless and use them in spectacular ways. This isn’t necessarily so.
This concept has relevance for two groups:
“Ordinary” Christians who faithfully and quietly follow and serve God in their daily lives. The overwhelming majority will remain unknown to history. However, God may use them to touch others – perhaps just one – which, in turn, could ripple forward, changing hundreds or thousands of lives. So, don’t underestimate the potential impact you are having as a diaper-changing mom, a tenth grade boys’ youth group leader, or a diligent employee faithfully and appropriately radiating Jesus in the workplace. Who knows what eternal impact your efforts will yield!
Pastors or authors who labor year after year and never see the huge numbers or bright spotlight that some “celebrity” ministers or writers enjoy. I remember hearing about a missionary family that ministered for decades in Japan – one of the toughest “mission fields’” in the world – with virtually no changed lives to spotlight. Does that mean they didn’t measure up or missed God’s calling? Not necessarily. They did what God led them to do, and that’s what count. Pleasing him is measured by someone’s heart and diligence, not by statistics.
We need to redefine “success” as faithfully carrying out the role and tasks God has placed before you and leaving the results – no matter how big or small – to God. Although a very few may be like Moses, many will be more like the unknown 7,000, but all can be pleasing to God.