Qualified For The Job

Exodus 3:1-15

When we look for a new job, one of the things that we check while reading the job descriptions is the qualifications that the employer is looking for.  There is nothing to be gained in applying for a job if we don’t have any of the qualifications. However, if the employer says he will train and help us each step of the way, then that’s different. That would be a job we should apply for. In our Scripture passage today from the Book of Exodus, God had a job He wished Moses to do, yet Moses did not feel he could handle it, and wanted to pass on the opportunity.

Most of us know the story and background of Moses.  The descendents of Jacob, who had come into Egypt, were now slaves. Pharaoh had given an order for all male children to be killed at birth. However, Moses’ mother saved her baby son by making a watertight basket and putting him in the Nile.  There he was found by the daughter of Pharaoh and brought up as her son in the royal courts of Egypt. Later Moses kills an Egyptian guard who was beating a Hebrew slave and flees the country, where he spends the next 40 years as a shepherd.  It is here in the land of Midian, while watching sheep, that God appears in the burning bush to Moses.

When Moses saw the burning bush that was not consumed by the flames he turned aside to see it (vs. 2-3).  He wasn’t too busy to bother, nor did he just shrug and keep on going. God was able to get his attention.  We should never be too busy or apathetic to hear when God speaks to us. When Moses came closer to check this out, God spoke to him, and the first thing He said was for Moses to remove his sandals (vs. 5).  Taking one’s shoes off was a sign of reverence, showing one’s unworthiness before God. God is a holy God.  To approach frivolously shows a lack of respect and sincerity. He is a holy God. It is true that if we’ve accepted Jesus as our Savior, He is our Friend, but He is also our Sovereign Lord.  We need to rediscover having a holy awe, respect, and reverence for Him.

God then proceeds to tell Moses what He would have him do, which is to go back to Egypt, to the courts of Pharaoh, and bring the people of Israel out (vs. 10).  When God called him, Moses didn’t think he was up to the job. Though he had been raised in the royal courts, and lived there until about age 40, it had been at least another 40 years since he had been there.  The Pharaoh was currently the most powerful man on earth, and Moses wasn’t pleased with the idea of going in and telling Pharaoh that he was going to free all of the slaves! In addition, Moses wasn’t much of a public speaker, possibly having a problem with stuttering (Exodus 4:10).  He felt that he was not qualified and was the wrong man for the job, telling God so (vs. 11).

What was God’s response?  He told Moses that He would be with him every step of the way (vs. 12).  Moses didn’t need to be filled with fear over this. It didn’t matter who Moses was, what mattered was who God is.  God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. We are qualified, not because of our talents or vast education, but because God calls us and is with us.  It didn’t matter who Moses was, nor what he felt he could or couldn’t do. It only matters who God is. Today we may feel unqualified for some task that God has called us to do.  If we believe God, and move forward in obedience, He will show us what He wants us to do, and energize us to get it done. We never have to take on His work in our own strength. God will never ask us to do anything that He will not enable us to carry out.

When Moses asked God what His proper name was (as all the false gods have names), God told him “I AM” (vs. 14).  I AM is a name describing God’s eternal power and unchangeable character. God will always be who He has always been.  God never changes (Hebrews 13:8). In the world, values, morals, and laws constantly change. The God who appeared to Moses about 3,500 years ago is the very same God today.  He will help us with the same wisdom, love, and power as He has helped all those before us. God is whether anything else remains or not.