Introduction
‘Ordinary People’ was a movie back in the 1980s featuring Donald Sutherland, Alan Alda and Mary Tyler Moore. Its setting was suburban Chicago but could have been anywhere. The drama was a new one for Hollywood. It did not feature superheroes or super villains. It did not show leading men sweeping leading ladies off their Gucci-strapped feet. It zoomed in on four people who lived ordinary lives. And that was the whole show.
Obviously, there was more than that, as every good screen writer will tell you. It's not normal to think that our lives are normal. The world and the media and the sensationalists of the commercial marketplace want you to think that your being you is inadequate. You must become someone else. You must be remade into a celebrity in sports or on stage and screen. Being human isn't human enough; celebritism is required for notice. And by inference, if you are not an influencer, you should attempt to be so. Watch all the late night informercials and you will find that if you buy that product then your clothes will be fresher and your food will taste better and your body will be resculptured and you will find true happiness.
My question is, Is ordinary so wrong? Is being who we are so bad? Why are we so malcontent with ourselves and longing for something more? In today's story, our Jewish people are in the valley moaning. They have been doing so for 400 years according to the text. And up on the mountain, God is making provision to answer our prayers. What, you say? After 400 years? What took him so long? We'll have to ask him when we see him. In the meantime, we take it at face value. God is teaching us something about being content with him in ourselves.
The Biblical story of Excuses (Part 2)
Excuse #3: I’m not convincing
"What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say?" (:1) Moses is saying, “I'm not very convincing.” What is God's answer to his excuse? God gives him three signs to help. I’m guessing it surprised Moses right then! “My stick becomes a snake; my hand looks like I’m a leper, and some drinking water becomes blood!” And what is the purpose of this? The Lord is convincing Moses of God's power and presence. Moses ran away at the stick-to-snake manifestation. To Moses' excuse God says, "I am very convincing, even to you!" What is that in your hand? (:2). It's an ordinary staff. This stick is still used by shepherds walking on rough terrain who need to stabilize themselves over the unstable footing. God takes the ordinary stick and gives it significance. Why? “that they may believe” (:5) To me today, it’s as if God says that He will lead us out of the situations of pain and despair. He will be present. Do you understand? God will use you, just an ordinary person, reading this chapter for His purposes. Like with Moses, to cause the people to believe (:8-9) that He is able and present.
Excuse number 4: I’m not eloquent
After Moses made the startling assertion that the elders of Israel won't listen to him (:1), basically calling God unaware, we see Moses turn again to his own inability. "Lord, I have never been eloquent." (:10) His excuse is about his own oratory skills. Some of you will know the story of the legend of Moses' lisp. He may or may not have had a speech impediment. Stephen in his final defense says, “And Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds." (Acts 7.22). But the legend of Moses' lisp reflects something different. The young toddler Moses in Pharaoh's house was a worry to the ruler. Pharaoh was unsure whether Moses could be trusted and thus devised a test. They placed two bowls before the boy, one containing jewels and the other had hot burning coals. Each glowed and were thus an attraction to the lad. If Moses reached for the jewels, Pharaoh would take it to mean that Moses was reaching for Pharaoh's crown and could not be trusted. If Moses reached elsewhere, the king could relax.
So you guessed it, the boy reached for the jewels, but an angel moved his hand to take the coal. Just like every small boy he put the contents in his mouth. Thus the coals damaged Moses' lips and tongue, and he lisped to his dying day. So goes the legend.
Eighty-year-old Moses excuses himself but of course God answers again, not about Moses, but about Himself. The Lord replies "I made man's mouth. I will be with your mouth." It's not about you Moses; it's about God!
Excuse #5: I’m not willing
The final excuse is the most deadly. It's the one we never really want to admit. It's the one that will ruin all the relationship that God wants to have with us. It's about our will. It might sound so positive and yet it's violently negative.
Moses says, "Please Lord send the message by whomever Thou wilt." (:13) The nobility of the prayer is met by the anger of God. (:14) Why would God get angry at the zealous prayer of Moses? Moses is asking God to send laborers into his harvest. He is asking for God to orchestrate the exile of the Jewish people. He wants the hand of God to be visible, doesn't he?
Here's the rub. If you know the will of God, and you know the answer to the prayer and you ask God to do something else, then your deed may better be titled "rebellion" than prayer. It is the final excuse, the one of Reluctance, which causes Moses the most trouble. Moses has said, "I'm not anyone; I'm not smart; I'm not convincing; I'm not eloquent" but the summary of his excuses is here -- I'm not willing.
Conclusion: What do we learn as a result of reading this text?
Our ordinariness is not a surprise to God; He made us. He wants us to know Him and to love Him and at times to be used by Him to do a part of His work. Don't give Him an excuse; trust Him to help you do what He asks, and you will give God great praise as a result.
1) God wants compliance and humility, not excuses
2) The Lord will always honor himself in our lives, when they are given over to him
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