God's Sovereign Grace

Scripture Reading: Exodus 2:23-25

Key Verse: So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them (Exodus 2:25)

Meditation: Accounting to today's actuaries, the life of Moses had already peaked when God called him by the burning bush. The first third of his life was spent as the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter learning to be future leader of Egypt. The next 40 years were spent as a fugitive from justice in Midian, "unlearning" many of the Egyptian ways. From a human perspective those 40 years as a shepherd seemed to be wasted.

Forty years is also along time to reflect over one's failure. "If only I had not lost my temper and killed a man". On the other hand, it may have taken Moses that long to forgive the man who reported him, or to forgive himself and to accept God's forgiveness. Many people carry the spirit of unforgiveness to their graves. But the fact remains that God cannot trust with leadership as long as we carry the burden of unforgiveness in our hearts. The repressed emotion will erupt in circumstances unrelated to the original source of anger. 

In God's encounter here with Moses, He does not rehearse past failures, Moses' sin, no matter how serious, does not put him outside the purpose of God. While we should never soften the scriptures hard line against sin, neither should we stumble over the richness of God's grace and mercy to the sinner. If the God of the Old Testament dealt in sovereign grace with sinners, how much more should we, who have received that grace?

Thought for the Day: Help me, God, to realize that Your overflowing grace is available to everyone who does not trust is his own merit