No Perfect People Allowed: Moses
Texts: Exodus 3:1-12, 4:10-13
Pastor Phil Hughes, American Fork Presbyterian Church, Utah
February 18, 2024 First Sunday in Lent
Why is it that some people think if they walk inside a church the ceiling will cave in? Why is it that some who sit in churches look at people who have made some mistakes in life and look down upon them in disdain? They ask, “what’s that person doing here?” Or they think they aren’t dressed right or not “a church person.”
How did we ever come to think the church – the body of Jesus Christ – is a place for people who have don’t have any problems or blemishes but are purely good people who do everything well? People have said to me, “I had a bad week” or “I had a bad morning and didn’t feel like I could come to church today.” And they didn’t come. Somehow church has come to mean a place where you are supposed to have it all together, and if you don’t then stay away.
Read the Bible and we see a whole bunch of less than perfect people who God blesses, uses, and works through. Yes, it says Noah was righteous but he had an alcohol problem. Abraham was the one through whom God would begin his eternal plan of redeeming this world, but he was known to lie and turn in others – namely his wife – to save his own skin when the heat was on. Elijah struggled with serious depression. David took another man’s wife and had him killed. Jonah was a coward. The disciples lacked faith and abandoned Jesus in his darkest moment. Peter spoke before thinking and denied his Lord. The list goes on.
The fact is we are all imperfect. We all have blemishes. We have all made mistakes. We all have some ugly in us. We have lived hypocritically. We have not always done our family right. We have succumbed to temptation, suffer addictions, have lied or cheated at work or in business. We have been unfaithful to those dearest to us, or we have been divisive.
We are not excused in all of this, it’s just to say that just because we are in the church doesn’t mean we don’t have our imperfections. But the good news is that no one is perfect and it doesn’t disqualify us from God’s love or from God using us for his glory.
Lent is a time to remember our sins, our brokenness, and our need for God. So we will hear sermons during the weeks of Lent on people who were very flawed but also favored by God. We will hear that God never uses or allows perfect people. This morning we start with Moses.
The book of Exodus is the account of God bringing the Hebrew people out of slavery and misery in Egypt, and making them a people and nation of God’s own possession. And the LORD used a human being to lead this. He used Moses, a man of imperfect ability.
Moses was doing his thing one day as a shepherd, watching the sheep of his father-in-law. He sees a bush that is on fire but not being consumed. He goes to see it and the text says, “When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush…”
By the way, that was Moses’ first mistake. He shouldn’t have gone to look at the bush. It opened the door for God to call him. If you don’t want to serve the Lord or be used by him, don’t stop to look because God is going to use people who will stop to look and hear. Better to keep walking, don’t detour for distractions, and keep your own life safe.
The LORD tells Moses that he has seen the misery of his people in Egypt. He has heard their crying and he knows their suffering. He says that he has come to rescue them. Except his rescue will be him sending Moses. The LORD will send Moses to Pharaoh, the most powerful man in Egypt. Moses will demand the freedom of the Hebrew slaves.
This begins a back-and-forth between Moses and the LORD. And Moses tries every which way he can to get out of this. Moses’ first objection is “who am I that I should do this?”
Moses knows he isn’t anyone special, nor does he have the diplomatic qualifications to go to Pharaoh. He is not a public politician or royal ambassador. He’s got no clout. In fact, he had a record. One time he lost his temper when he saw a Hebrew being beaten by an Egyptian. Moses killed the Egyptian and buried the evidence.
If you read a little further the LORD doesn’t really answer Moses’ question, “who am I that I should do this?” The LORD just isn’t as big as we are on our self-discovery and finding out our identity and our authentic selves and so on. The LORD ends up telling Moses who He is. “I AM.” God answers Moses’ “who am I?” with “Moses, what you need to get is who am I and I am the LORD.” “I AM who I AM” says God. Or “I Will Be Who I Will Be.” Literally that is the name of the LORD – the LORD in all caps. It is related to the verb “to be.” Maybe you have heard the name “Yahweh.” That is the usual Hebrew rendering when God gives his name to Moses.
OK. So the LORD calls Moses. Moses wants to know what if the leaders of his people don’t believe any of this. And what if the Egyptians don’t listen to him? The LORD loads Moses with some incredible signs. His staff can turn into a snake. Moses’ hand can become full of leprosy by just putting it in his cloak. It becomes clean when putting his hand back in. And in case these don’t convince the LORD enables Moses to pour out water so that it becomes blood.
This stuff is loaded. Not to Moses. He is still looking for an out. He counters with yet another excuse. The biggest one: “I’m no good at speaking. I’m lousy at it.”
We might expect the LORD to tell Moses that this isn’t true. But the LORD doesn’t deny the truth of what Moses says. He doesn’t tell Moses that Moses has it wrong, that he really has gifts of persuasive speaking, and he only needs to go in the power of God’s Spirit to use them. Apparently, Moses isn’t eloquent. He is slow of speech and tongue. The LORD doesn’t correct his speech difficulties, nor does he correct Moses. “Moses you are right. You don’t speak well.”
Again, the LORD doesn’t dwell on Moses put points Moses to the LORD himself. He asks Moses, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” Again, the LORD points to himself. He is also telling Moses that he knows how Moses is made.
We get so engrossed in our own image-management and personality profiles and portfolios that we lose sight of God himself. God is a much bigger reality to live in than our small, cramped little egos. I think John the Baptist had a sense of this when he said, “I must decrease and he must increase.”
Maybe Moses worse sin was his excuse making. Maybe his real problem was taking himself more seriously than the LORD.
The LORD doesn’t overrule Moses’ slow tongue and ineloquence. Don’t we expect the LORD to correct Moses’ imperfections? Maybe zap him so that he becomes a speaker of great influence? No, the LORD will use Moses with his imperfections and limitations.
The LORD does promise to help and teach Moses.
There are some captivating exchanges between God and people in the Bible. The exchanges between Abraham, David, Samuel, Mary, even Job, and the LORD are pretty good. Those conversations range from gallant to courageous. Some are thoughtful, even wise under pressure. But I don’t get a lot of confidence listening to Moses. Is he the guy we want leading us out of Egypt? An excuse-maker? Doesn’t have any confidence that he can do this? Poor self-esteem?
Moses is called to be a leader. This is a big project the LORD has planned. Freeing an enslaved people from Pharaoh is going to take more than committee meetings. But the LORD doesn’t call perfect people to his service. It isn’t just that anyone can do the job, or that gifts and abilities don’t matter. They do. God blesses people with gifts to be used for the church, to serve, and to honor him. But we all have marks against us.
I am called and gifted to preach and teach and pastor. But my ability is not perfect. I can make mistakes. I have made mistakes. I see and know only in part. And I am still a sinner saved by grace.
Apparently, God knows something about Moses. Afterall, he created him. Even though Moses has a speech impediment God will work through him in spirit of this difficulty.[1]
The preacher and Methodist bishop Will Willimon said the story of Exodus raises the question if God is going to free “the Hebrews using a non-too-talented and untrained speaker like Moses? But that is the way God works, creating something out of nothing, a people out of nobodies, free women and men out of slaves. And he uses words to do it.”[2] It’s going to be Moses’ words.
We all have gifts and strengths, but we also have weaknesses. God may call you to do something you don’t believe you have the ability to do. You aren’t great at it. And you may be absolutely right. But the LORD isn’t hindered by our limitations. He can do this because he is the LORD. If he is with us and goes with us his purposes will be accomplished. He said to Moses, “I will help you and teach you what to say.”
Paul understood his own imperfections. He came to Corinth to preach Christ but he said he came with no eloquence, no superior wisdom, and he felt weak and scared. If we think the Bible is one big story of great people feeling great and doing great then we obviously haven’t read God’s story. I hope this sermon series cures us.
The LORD didn’t take away Moses’ imperfections. He did promise that he was with him in his going to Pharaoh. The point wasn’t even how Moses looked or if it would be a self-ratifiying experience. God wanted to demonstrate his own power to Pharoah, to Israel, to Egypt and the whole world.
And Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” To show that the all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Maybe the LORD uses the imperfect to show his might and power. God uses us in our weakness and brokenness to teach us. The LORD can teach us humility because it’s hard to be full of yourself when you aren’t that good. The LORD can teach us dependence on him because he have to lean on him and his strength. The LORD can teach us to trust him. We learn to believe his presence is with us even when not felt or seen. The LORD can teach us about him and his power. We learn the type of God this is who we are dealing with.
God is always more than our ability. We can’t always disqualify ourselves because we don’t have the ability. God can, God will, call and use us. And though he calls us, and is with us, and is working through us, that does not mean it will all be smooth or easy. Moses had a heck of a time. Pharaoh didn’t just lay down, roll over, and let everyone go. Pharaoh disrespected Moses. He did not listen. He was hard-hearted and at first made the burden upon the Hebrews even worse. On top of all this Moses’ own people turned against him.
But, LORD, you called me to this. Surely it is going to be a piece of cake. And the LORD says, “I am going with you. But I didn’t say everything would be easy.”
Jesus was in perfect union with the Father. But he didn’t have a smooth road as he did what the Father laid before him. But God’s purposes were accomplished.
I had a member in one of my churches one time who was away camping with her family when she got a phone call that her 49-year old brother had died suddenly and unexpectedly. He was not part of any church. As the family deliberated about the service one of Diane’s nieces said that Diane could do it. Afterall, Diane was a deacon in her church. Surely deacons have some clue about how to lead funeral services.
Diane led and spoke at her own brother’s service. Even as a trained, experienced pastor who has led hundreds of memorial services, I know how hard it is to speak at such times. It is even harder when you are closely related to the person. I have done five memorial services for close family members and that was another thing all together. It is so hard.
Diane was a nurse, not a preacher. And here the family was turning to her to speak words to bring perspective, hope and comfort. It wasn’t like she couldn’t speak but if this was where she thought she should be in life she would probably have gone into a different vocation and one that involved speaking. Some people would rather go talk to Pharaoh than speak at a memorial service.
Diane led the service for her brother. And she said it was God giving her the words because she said she could not have done it otherwise. She said it was as if the bible verses were just literally jumping out at her and were comforting. It had to be God directing the whole thing.
It had to be God telling Moses what to say. “Lord, I don’t know how to speak. I am slow of speech and stammering of tongue.”
“You’re right, Moses. I will help you speak and teach you what to say.”
Moses tried to shake the LORD with one last, desperate, final plea: “O LORD, please send someone else to do it.” Ever said that? Which is probably what he was saying all along. We’re told this made the LORD angry, but he didn’t let Moses off the hook. The LORD did allow Moses to use his brother, Aaron, who could speak well. But Moses is not discharged. And Moses is still the man. The LORD could have called Aaron who could speak, but he didn’t. Moses is the one for this.
In God’s purposes, no perfect people are allowed. In his church – in this church – we don’t have to be perfect. We don’t have to be perfect because whatever we are, God is God. “I AM.”
What if we don’t crush it? What if we are subpar now and then? We don’t know that Moses, a poor speaker, impressed Pharaoh or anybody else. In fact, his messages got thrown right back in his face. But we do read and we do know about the power, and the glory, and the hand of God, don’t we? Those Hebrews were freed. Israel became a reality. And isn’t it God who we want to see?
Imperfect abilities? Maybe. But our imperfections don’t limit the power of our God. Let him use you, flow through you, and do something for his glory in you.
Prayer: Almighty God, the great I AM, the LORD, maybe our greatest sin is not having a big enough picture of you. Become so great that when you give us a task we can trust your strength and power. In these days of Lent, help us to see our weaknesses but your strength, our brokenness but your healing, our smallness but your greatness.
Amen.
[1] Terence E Fretheim, Interpretation Commentary on Exodus, pp.71-72
[2] Will Willimon, Proclamation and Theology, p.11