HEAVEN’S LIGHT OF PURPOSE (3)

“...God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “HERE I AM” – Exodus 3:4b

Moses’ divine encounter at the Burning Bush was another notable manifestation of HEAVEN’S LIGHT of PURPOSE: “So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “HERE I AM” (Exo.3:4). Every encounter with God’s Light of Purpose produces a sense of awareness, divine discovery, and relevance. In yesterday’s Capstone Capsule, we noted how Isaiah responded to the Lord: “HERE AM I! Send me” (Isa.6:3b). Now, we hear Moses’ response: “HERE I AM” (v.4).

Moses had always carried an inherent seed of purpose prior to this Burning Bush encounter with God’s Light of Purpose. He was a man with a deliverance instinct. He was born to be a deliverer. Even before he met God, he wanted to set people free. Once, when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, assuming no one was watching, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he saw two Hebrews fighting. When he asked one of them, “Why are you striking your companion?” the man replied, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” (Exo. 2:13-14). Hearing this, Moses fled in fear to Midian, where he shepherded his father-in-law’s flock. Now, years later, God visited Moses with the Light of Purpose, to awaken him to the reality of his predestined calling!

God reclaimed for His own purposes the deliverance potential and leadership skills that He had given to Moses. He called to send Moses to Egypt’s Pharoah, to free the Israelites from slavery: “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring the children of Israel out of Egypt” (v.10). This was Moses’ primary purpose in life, without which his existence would have been meaningless. God didn’t jettison the skills and talents that had been with Moses from birth, He simply renewed and redirected them to their intended use. Between the palace and Midian, the purpose of Moses’ life didn’t change; the use of the gifts that fulfilled his purpose were simply redirected toward the original intent for which God had given them. His gifts ultimately brought deliverance and liberty to the Israelites and Glory to God.

The life of Moses also exemplifies how purpose can be multi-faceted. This one man was: A spokesman for God to Egypt’s Pharoah (Exo 3-13); the warrior of God, who by his uplifted hands brought victory over the Amalekites (Exo. 17:8-13); the priest of God, who mediated between God and His people (Exo.19-31); the Intercessor, who pleaded for an idolatrous people (Exo. 32:1-14), and the lawgiver of God, who authored the first five books of the Bible. In all respects, Moses was equipped for his purpose, and so is every redeemed of the Lord.