213. GOD – SOMETIMES SILENT BUT EVER PRESENT

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(The Faith Forum Series – Batch 3)

God is not dead, disinterested in us or having difficulty after a long trip, finding his way back to us. He never left us and this world that he has created.

Even after long years of what seems like silence, turbulence, oppression, sorrow, difficulty and storm therefore, God is ever present. He still rules over the affairs of men and there is not one day that goes by, that he is not looking over all of us. He sees the good, the bad and the ugly. Nothing escapes him, not even our very thoughts and the intents of our heart.

When Moses was attending to the flock of Jethro his Father-in-law in Midian, his life thus far and the decisions he had made (including giving up the right to be called Pharaoh’s daughter’s son so that he could identify with God’s people, although they were slaves), revealed that:

1 – He had been told by his birth family as a child, (before he went to live with King Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him), of the existence of that great God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, his ancestors; and

2 – He believed every word of the supernatural encounters and conversations God had had with these forefathers and the power he had demonstrated so wonderfully and miraculously in their lives.

He most likely would have heard of how God made Abraham a promise, saying when he was old, that he would make nations and kings come from his own bowels, although his wife was also old, without child and had always been barren. He may have heard the true story about how God intervened to bring Isaac (Abraham’s son) a wife and how God worked providentially, in the lives of Joseph, Joseph’s father Jacob and Joseph’s brethren, taking a young Hebrew boy, planting two dreams in his heart, then developing him through the fire of his experiences while miles away from his family and finally, promoting him, a mere nobody, as ruler and second in command to Pharaoh and over all of Egypt.

While out in Midian and far away from where his fellow Israelites (Hebrews) were still being oppressed by the Egyptians though, it does not seem that Moses himself had yet had any personal, direct encounter with God.

By faith though, he knew, that it was not that this God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of his forefathers and by extension, his God was now dead, disinterested and therefore distant. It was not that he had gone on a long trip away from his people the Israelites and was now unable to find his way back.

Moses knew that this was a God, though silent during some seasons (and sometimes for years and years), even where he chose to withhold his power and to make no supernatural encounters with men, for a time, he (God) was still on the throne, still in control, still all powerful, still observing and coordinating everything providentially behind the scenes and this God reserved the right to step in as often or as irregular as he liked.

Moses knew enough about this great God, the only true and living God, to understand that his birth and preservation, when other babies born in his time had all probably been murdered was not by chance. He understood enough about God’s operations to know, that his being brought into Pharaoh’s palace to live with Pharaoh’s daughter as his adopted mother was not coincidental but a part of God’s divine plan. After all, he may have heard of what God had done with Joseph, that Hebrew boy who God elevated from slave, to prisoner to ruler over Egypt, second in authority to the then king Pharaoh.

Moses had heard enough about God to know that he was a God of purpose. In his own life and based on the circumstances surrounding his birth, Moses knew that somehow, he had been chosen by God to deliver the Hebrews (Israelites) of whom he was one, from the bondage they were enduring under the Egyptian rule. Acts 7:25 states “For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them…”

Moses was sure of this fact while he was living in Egypt as a Prince, although he may not have been sure as to how exactly God was going to execute the plan. Whether he continued to believe this after fleeing for his life from king Pharaoh to Midian and settling down there for years with a wife, children and in-laws, I do not know.

While attending to the flock in far away Midian, he may have well concluded that he had got it wrong and that God did not intend to use him after all. For, he was no longer in Egypt, he had been demoted, his name was now on the fugitive list (because he had killed an Egyptian) and being out of odds with the palace, he was stripped of his earthly power as a Prince.

Nevertheless, Moses must have known that irrespective of the outcome, even if he was not to be the deliverer of the Israelites as he had thought, from his vantage point of the palace, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was still very much present, even if his plans were not all clear.

For, this God that never lied, had revealed to Abraham, years before he had even had Isaac, that after four hundred (400) years of affliction, he would deliver the Israelites (which would come from Isaac’s loins), from the bondage they would be under and bring them out with great substance (Genesis 15:13-14).

Moses may have known of this timeline and been aware that, the 400 years having arrived, the time had come for this great God who he had never met personally, to make an appearance as he had promised.

How he was going to do so was anybody’s guess but Moses knew that this God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was all powerful and would honour EVERY word of what he said he would do. The Israelites were suffering tremendously, yes but Moses knew that this great God was looking down from heaven and seeing everything (including how much his children the Israelites were suffering under the hand of Pharaoh) and even when it did not feel like it, he was ever present and was bound to put in an appearance at some point.

This is why, when after so many years later, when Moses heard his name called out while attending to the flock in Midian and observing a burning bush that was not being destroyed by the flame and after having that supernatural voice identify itself as the God of his father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, Moses knew then and there, that this great God had decided, after seemingly many years of silence, to put in an appearance.

His self-appointed time to intervene again in the affairs of the Israelites with POWER and MAGNIFICENCE had come and Moses must have felt humbled, to know that this great God had chosen to make this grand appearance, after seemingly so many years, to him!

So in awe of his glory was Moses and all that God represented, the Bible states that “…Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”

Ironically, this was the same Moses, that would years later, as he walked with God, saw his miracles and relied continuously on his guidance to lead the people of Israel through, ask him to show him his glory (Exodus 33:18). At that point, he would have seen and experienced so much with this true and living God, that his hunger to see more would be insatiable.

(Written on 26th January, 2019)

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