Moses

Apart from Jesus, who is your favorite Bible character? Describe in detail how you've been personally impacted by the life and experiences of this character.


Moses is my favorite character in the bible. In different times and seasons of my life, the life of Moses influenced my values and transformed me.

My fascination with Moses began when I was a young Christian. As a young Christian, I wondered whether God ever called someone who was not eloquent to speak and to be His leader. The usual examples of leaders I saw were men and women who were charismatic with leadership qualities. Moses was one such person who was not eloquent when he was called. When he was first called, Moses said to God, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." (Exodus 4:10) I sat up when I saw this verse because I felt just like Moses. I had a vision to be a cell group leader, but I was not eloquent. I was easily intimidated by people, and whenever I spoke publicly, I would be very nervous. On one occasion in Junior College where I was supposed to make an announcement to the class, my voice was so soft and I was so nervous that no one could hear me speak. Such incidences made me feel very discouraged, and I felt that it was impossible for me to ever be a CGL.

But God said, “Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say." (v11, 12) This verse was a revelation to me. God could use anyone, and He would teach us the words to say wherever we went. At this point, Moses instead of being full of faith, asked God to send someone else. Moses needed his brother Aaron to communicate to the people. From this incident, God showed his graciousness toward men. Even when fear inhibited us from doing whatever He called us to do, He was patient and gave us time to change.

Moses overcame his fear as time went by and became a man full of authority and faith. He overcame numerous trials and problems which surfaced during his ministry. He parted the red sea, reprimanded the people, and God used him to perform many other miracles. As time passed, Moses began to address the people directly. As he came to the end of his life, he summarized all that had happened, and addressed the Israelites with a powerful speech (Deuteronomy). I was amazed by the source of his transformation. Moses overcame his fear because he walked so closely with God! It was as if the one leading the people was God and not Moses. All the instructions that Moses had for the people such as the 10 commandments came from God. Every instruction he gave was a fresh word from God. If Moses could overcome his sense of intimidation and low self-esteem, I knew that I could too.

The bible says that God spoke to Moses as if he were His friend. While the rest of the Israelites shrunk away from God’s presence (Exodus 20:18-21), Moses went into the cloud of God’s glory, and climbed up the mountain to seek Him. When he came down from Mount Sinai, the skin of his face shone. Moses had the confidence and authority to lead the people not on the basis of his own character, but because he had God on his side.

Moses was a man that sought after God’s presence before ministry. To him, it was either God or nothing. In 2003, the cell group I belonged to was not growing. I was then a helper in the cell group and I felt very burdened. It became tiring to be the one most on fire in the cell group, and being the one to encourage the people. I could not sense God’s presence. I was tired of ministry and wanted to give up. As I was reading the bible, I read a prayer that Moses made. Moses prayed from the depths of his soul. He said, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth." (Exodus 33: 15-16)

As I read these verses, I was touched by the way Moses put God’s presence above God’s promise to bring them to the promise land. Moses was essentially saying that it was either God or no ministry. In other words, the ministry in terms of bringing people to the promise land was only worth anything if God went with them. I was convicted that I had done things the other way round, I had been focusing on ministry rather than God. I told God that we wanted His presence in the cell group more than anything, and if not, there was no point in having the cell group, because we needed His presence. I cried as I prayed this prayer because I felt a release of the ministry to God. Almost immediately, the presence of God came into the room and touched me.

In 2004, I became a CGL, and the character of Moses still inspires me today. Recently, I read Drawing Near by John Bevere. In the book, Pastor Bevere expounded on the same passage in Exodus, and I had a greater revelation of Moses’s character. Pastor Bevere said that Moses wanted God’s presence more than God’s promises for him. Whereas the whole of Israel was looking for God to bring them to the promise land, Moses yearned for God Himself. Moses understood that God’s first calling was first to Himself and not to ministry. If our focus was on having our needs met by God, we would be discouraged and upset when He did answer our prayers. However, if we were really seeking after God, then being in fellowship and communion with Him was sufficient to satisfy us. Everyday, I cried out to God to anoint me as a CGL, but I missed out on the most important part of being a Christian, and that was to commune and to fellowship with God.

Not only was Moses seeking after God’s heart, Moses also loved the people he led wholeheartedly. Indeed, a good shepherd would lay down his life for his sheep, and Moses demonstrated time and time again, he was willing to die with the people if God wanted to punish them. Moses led a group of people who kept complaining and murmuring. Moses led a group of people, who had experienced God’s miracle in parting the red sea, providing manna and water within the desert. Nevertheless, they lived in a backslidden state and were always full of doubt. They were often prideful, challenging the authority of Moses, and at other times, they sought after other idols. Moses always pleaded before God for the people. In Exodus 32:32, God was angry with the Israelites for the golden calf they had made, and he told God “Yet now, if You will forgive their sin--but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." Moses identified with the sin of his people even though he had not sinned. At another time, God said He would destroy the Israelites and give Moses a new group of people to lead, but Moses refused. Any other leader would perhaps have pleaded with God to give them more teachable people to lead, but not Moses. Moses genuinely cared for the people and he loved them in spite of their sins. Whenever I go through a difficult time in dealing with members, I am reminded of how Moses loved his people. Whatever nasty person I experience, I am reminded that Moses had a much tougher time. Even though the bible does not describe how Moses felt, I could imagine the burden he felt and it was at least 10000 times heavier than whatever I felt in leading a group of 15 people in the cell group.

At the end, Moses committed a mistake that cost him his destiny. He could not enter the promise land. It would be easy for us to point fingers and accuse Moses for striking the rock two times. However, we as Christians also make mistakes of the same nature in being disobedient toward God. It is important for us to guard our hearts so that at the end of the day, we can obtain the prize. This mistake only showed the imperfection of Moses as a human, and how he struggled with his fleshly nature. Nevertheless, Moses remains my favorite character in the bible. Someone who was human, and yet someone who drew so close to God that he spoke face to face with Him, like a friend.