If Moses had only lived 80 years his legacy would have been one of waste, of little consequence, with nothing to remember that stands out from those around him. He would have merely been the Israelite who was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, killed an Egyptian, ran away and got married in the desert. But in God’s timing, everything changed.
For forty years Moses lived in Egypt, but did nothing to relieve the suffering of his people until coming to the rescue of an Israelite and killing an Egyptian. “Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.” (Acts 7.25) In fear he ran away.
For forty more years nothing happened. Sure, life went on – he got married, had two sons, lived with his father-in-law and worked for him. But God was silent and apparently absent.
Moses must have been wrong; God wasn’t actually going to use him to deliver the Israelites. Finally, after eighty years God spoke to Moses from a burning bush, sending him back to Egypt to deliver the Israelites to the Promised Land. For all those years there does not appear to be any communication or indication that God was doing anything.
Where was God?
Whether God was waiting for Moses, Israel, or circumstances to change – He was not hurried, nor was He absent. God was involved in the life of Moses, and He is present in the lives of His people today. The same God who put Moses in a desert may put you in a ‘desert’ and seem absent, but it doesn’t mean He’s done with or ignoring you.
When God seems silent, distant, or even absent, remember Moses who felt the same way for eighty years. Moses, who wrote the Pentateuch, saw God, radiated His glory, and penned His Laws was first ‘ignored.’
Author: Pastor Kaleb Kemper