Back in Egypt the reign of Joseph as Pharaoh’s second in command is forgotten. The new Pharaoh fears the Hebrews and makes them slaves. After an unusual series of events Moses is adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter. 40 years later Moses fleas Egypt and meets a shepherdess and her father. 40 years later God calls Moses to go back to Egypt.
One of the things we often miss out on as we read the Bible is a sense of time. We read the story of Moses and fail to realize the incredible lengths of time God used to prepare Moses for his future. Moses spent 40 years growing up within a powerfully family in Egypt. During this time it appears that Moses knew of his Hebrew roots, but Moses would have also learned how to act and speak before the Pharaoh and other dignitaries.
Then Moses spent 40 years herding sheep and learning about God from his father-in-law Jethro. So it is not until Moses is 80 that God calls him with the burning bush to return to Egypt and ask the Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. Imagine how much Moses would have protested without the 80 years of preparation. When Moses complains that he is not a good speaker, God asks Moses, “who makes mouths?” God is saying I made you just as you should be and I have prepared you for this task.
In the same way God is preparing each of us for our task. It took Moses 80 years to be prepared (and even then he did an awful lot of complaining), how long will God prepare you? 20 years? 30 years? 40 years? In my first year of seminary I had a professor who told us that the first 30 years of ministry were preparation to do what we really wanted to do; I believe he was right. God takes time to prepare us; try not to be impatient.
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