By Russ Ramsey
A wise friend of mine once told me, “Beware the man who makes himself the hero of his own story.”
Throughout this study on the life of Moses, we are going read about a man who bears all the marks of a hero. He leads an entire nation of people out from under the grip of one of the most powerful rulers in the world. He stands before the mighty Pharaoh and warns the king of Egypt that if he doesn’t let the Israelites go, he’ll reap a world of hurt. And those words prove not to be empty.
Frogs fall from the sky and the Nile River turns to blood. Locusts consume Egypt’s crops and a plague kills her livestock. Moses raises his hands and the Red Sea parts, giving an otherwise trapped nation of refugees a path to freedom. He strikes a rock in the desert and enough water to quench the entire nation’s thirst comes rushing out. He ascends a mountain and meets with the God of all creation. Then he comes down from that meeting bearing two tablets of stone written in God’s own hand—a Holy Law to govern them all.
As all this happens, we may be inclined to cheer for Moses, our brave-hearted gladiator whose weapon is the power of God and whose shield is the Lord’s divine protection. But if we make Moses our hero, we have misplaced our hope. As admirable, inspirational, and fascinating as Moses is (and he certainly is all these things and more), he is not the hero of his own story. God is.
We only need to look at Moses’ failures—his anger at God (Exodus 5:22-23), his occasional disdain for his own people (Exodus 17:1-7), his murderous heart (Exodus 2:11-12), and his reluctance to lead (Exodus 4:10-17)—to see that he is, at best, a deeply flawed hero.
But it isn’t even Moses’ character flaws that show us he isn’t the hero of the story. It is the providential way Moses came to find himself in this position in the first place. The Lord, making good on a promise He made to Abraham 400 years earlier (Genesis 15:13), spared Moses’ life from Egypt’s brutal campaign to exterminate all male Hebrew children under two (Exodus 1:22). Moses’ mother floated him down the currents of the Nile but the Lord guided the baby in the basket straight into the heart of Pharaoh’s own daughter, who raised the slave as her prince.
God is the architect of this story, which means He is the true hero. This is good news for us. It reminds us that God is in the business of using flawed, fearful people as agents of redemption in this world—limits, imperfections, and all. As we dig into the fascinating life of Moses, look for the providence and power of God on display throughout, and remember that this same wisdom and strength is at work in our lives today.
You do not have to be the hero of your own story. You have a Hero. This study tells His story.
written by Russ Ramsey
81 thoughts on "God Raises Up a Deliverer"
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Scott Schulman says:
Thank you Lord, for your wisdom. You are able to do great and mighty things for yourself, and I pray that you will do those things through me.
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AL ARAKAKI says:
Pharaoh- because of his fear of man / the fear of losing the power and reign he had, he resorted to sin.
Moses – though he tries to help his people, he ends up killing an Egyptian. In his pursuit of justice he cannot execute that justly. In his guilt he tries to cover it up. Then in his fear of being found out he himself does not want justice to be bestowed upon him.
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Our tendency may be to find hope in ourselves by looking to Moses as a great hero. We may think that Moses was so great because he did so many miracles and delivered a nation from the hands of pharaoh. The reality that the only good thing about Moses is that a great God worked through him. God is the one that chose Moses to work through. It was God that brought the signs and miracles. God is the hero and he displays his power through weak people.
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I will not allow my own abilities or others perception of me be the standard at which qualifies me to be used by God. It is God who qualifies all. Even more so, recognizing that I am weak and broken, all the more should I praise God for the work he has done in and through my life. There is hope for me that comes not from me.
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It is by God’s grace that Moses was chosen to lead the Israelites out of slavery. One murderer delivers gods people from the hands of another murderer. It was nothing of Moses’ own doing that gave him favor to be used by God. We see the grace of god played out even through Moses.
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I pray that God will show me more and more of my weakness so that I can depend on him more to be my strength. I pray that I will have confidence to live for God because he is faithful to use weak people.
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Daniel says:
The God who gave up His son for me is actively involved in my life. He’s the same God who promoted Moses’ mother to place him in the river and lead Pharaohs daughter to the basket. My Saviour hasn’t left me on my own. He gave His Spirit, word, power to guide me each day.
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Man likes to look for the man who makes big things happen and respect him. Pharaoh was the big name who seemed to be directing the lives of the Hebrews. I’m reality, it was all part of God’s plan.
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God is the hero of Moses’ story and will be the hero of every mans story. God uses people, however messed up we are, to complete his mission and make His name known.
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Tyler Rowe says:
This teaches me that GOD is always who it comes back to. Yes, Moses lead an extraordinary life, but it is the Lord who guided and shaped that life to be what it was on Earth. This reminds me that I do not have to make my own story and that I need to trust the Lord with what he is doing with my life. He is consistently shaping my life and purpose on Earth and I need to have an open heart to listen when He is telling me to go or move or something if that nature. Obedience.
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It teaches me that man can do all the “cool” or “extraordinary” things they want but they are nothing without God being the reason. As sinful people we are prideful of our accomplishments and want recognition, but Moses’ life shows me, though he had his flaws, he wanted to ultimately glorify the Lord with his life no matter what.
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I will respond by being in prayer more. I feel the Lord is trying to make big changes in my life right now and I need to pray and open myself up to Him so as to really receive the direction He wants for my life.
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I will pray with an open heart and mind and pray hopefully. Hopeful that Christ will show me where he desires me to be. Where he feels my talents will best glorify him.
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Dakota Anderson says:
Test
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Malachi says:
This teaches me that God is going to give me plans. He will reveal Himself to me in ways I haven’t thought possible. He sent me to other parts of the world. All for what? That I may gain, no, but that He would gain all the glory.
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That man is meant for adventure. That a man such as Moses was so obedient to the call that Christ gave him. I want that obedience.
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That like Moses he lead his people out of “death” and into life. Just like Jesus who literally lead people out of death and into life by the cross.
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Braden Condray says:
We are not the center, the focus, or the hero of our story. In spite of our limitations and our depravity, we have been invited, by God’s sovereign grace, to play a part in His story.
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God is in the business of rescuing and reconciling people to Himself for His glory and His good pleasure. He providentially works all the moving cogs of our seemingly random existence to bring about His plans and purposes in and through us.
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The Gospel shows us the extent to which God is willing to go to rescue us from ourselves and reconcile us to Himself. Just as Moses was God’s agent in delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, Jesus has delivered us from our slavery to the power of sin and death, and now He has given us a role in His mission of reconciliation.
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