The Debt of Moses

It has been said many times that "From those to whom much is given, much is expected."  There are many different variations, such as Spider-Man's "with great power comes great responsibility," but they all hold the same meaning: that those who have the ability to do good have the responsibility to do so.  Moses was a man who was given the best available resources, but God expected much in return for his privelege.

Moses was born into a bad situation, with the king of Egypt killing off all the male babies born to the Hebrews.  Moses only managed to escape by the providence of God; an act that would not only allow him to live, but to live, literally, as a prince.  Moses became the adopted son of the king of Egypt, living in the best possible home, getting the best possible education, being fed the best food, and (just because God is awesome) he even was raised by his birth mother.  Moses lived for forty years in the posh lifestyle of an Egyptian prince.  

When he was about forty, though, his life changed in a big way.  Knowing he was a Hebrew and desiring to help his people, Moses struck down and killed an Egyptian who was attacking a Hebrew slave.  However, instead off the great revolution he was hoping for, the Hebrews hated him for his actions and the king sought his life.  So Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he became a shephred and married his wife, Zipporah.  Moses lived like this for another forty years until a miraculous sight beheld him: a bush aflame but not consumed by the fire.  God spoke to him through this bush and told him the divine plan for the redemption of His people.  Thus began Moses' repaying of his debt.

God's plan had Moses going back into Egypt, marching into the palace and demanding the new king (for the old had since died, replaced by his son) release the Hebrew people.  But the plan was that the king would not accept and a large amount of plagues would be unleashed upon Egypt in an attempt to beat down the king's resistance.  The first several were more a manner of annoyance, frogs and locusts, but they eventually rose to the death of every first-born Eyptian boy.  Moses, obviously, did not want to do this partially out of his own desire to remain home comfortably, but also possibly out of his love for his brother.  Likely, Moses would have been raised with the now-king of Egypt.  He might have played with him as a toddler, chased him around the palace, and maybe even had chariot races with him around the city (a la The Prince of Egypt).  Going with this possiblity, this task would not only have demanded much bravery as he faced death, but also much emotional courage as he was forced to stand against his brother.  In the end, Moses chose to follow God and he led the Hebrews out of Egypt.  

Moses' labors would not end there, however.  At the ripe age of eighty, he would lead the Hebrews around the desert for another forty years, dying before he can ever reach the "Promised Land."  During this final part of his life, he was forced to lead a people that very much disliked him and made no qualms of displaying their dislike to him.  In his communion with God (another great blessing Moses enjoyed), he emerged with a physical glow about him, which further terrified the people.  Often, Moses dragged the Hebrews kicking and screaming down the right path.  In a single, great instance of disobedience though, Moses would be shut out from the great land promised to the Hebrews.  Instead of letting the glory go to God, he instead sought glory for himself and struck a rock he should have spoken to.  This single act shut him out from the land God had promised to His people.  In his final years of life, Moses would prepare the people to invade Palestine by capturing some of the lands to its east.  Finally, at the age of one-hundred twenty, Moses would die.

Moses is a great example for us today.  Many of us have been given a great deal of blessings that we often take for granted, but God has given them to us so that we might serve Him better.  So let us be like Moses and not sit back and simply enjoy the gifts of God, but use them for the greater good.  Maybe we won't be liberating people from slavery, but the work of all believers holds much significance, no matter how small it seems to the worker.