2018: My year of divine manifestation
Exodus 3:1-15
The encounter that changed the course of history
The world is looking for moral leaders. The worst plague or disease that has affected every generation of humanity is abusive leadership. Abusive leadership has caused conflicts, underdevelopment, poverty and disease, which have turned many communities into refugees and displaced people. Going by biblical numerology, “seven” is the number of perfection. As we begin a new count of seven from 2018 towards the number of perfection, I am convinced that God will raise a new breed of leaders, by divine manifestation, and strategically position them to change the world. This new generation of leaders will arise in the church, government, education, medicine and healthcare, agriculture and fishing, science and technology, manufacturing and commerce, social and charity work, transport and communication, the security establishment, sports and positive entertainment etc. And may they take up their leadership mantle to make the world a better place than it is today!
- Life is made up of processes and events.
Your biography is made up of processes and events. In a rather fascinating way, these events and processes feed into each other; a process may lead to an event, and that event will in turn trigger another process. For instance, the process of getting formal education up to the university level may take years to accomplish, which is normally celebrated with the event of graduation. The graduation then begins another process of seeking a job and settling down to work; one thing leads to another, doesn’t it?
The birth of Moses was the main event that set in motion the process leading to the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt. More than that it reveals the redemption plan of God to deliver us from the house of bondage to sin in this world and guide us safely to the new Jerusalem. It is significant to note that when Moses was born, baby boys were being killed, but God miraculously preserved him for the mission. Similarly, when Jesus was born, Herod committed infanticide targeting Jesus, but God preserved him as well, by sending His family into exile in Egypt. Egypt again! God has a sense of pattern. The prophet Hosea connected the exile of Israel in Egypt and that of the child Jesus, when he declared:
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
(Hos 11:1)
To render the wisdom of Egypt foolish, God caused the Egyptian royal family to sponsor Moses’ upbringing and education, without being aware that he would one fight against the Egyptian establishment and liberate the Hebrew slaves. Although Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s house he grew up conscious of his mission to deliver Israel. He however jumped the gun when he killed an Egyptian who was oppressing a Hebrew man (Ex 2:11-15). He fled to Midian for safety, and became a shepherd until God called him at the burning bush event. The life of Moses is neatly divided into 3 segments of forty years; he spent the 1st forty years in Pharaoh’s palace, he spent the second set of forty years in Midian, and he spent the 3rd segment leading Israel in the desert.
God often calls diligent and industrious people. Moses was called when he was shepherding, Elisha was called when he was ploughing, and Peter was called when he was fishing. Shepherding was humbling work for Moses, someone brought up as a prince in Egypt. Sometimes when God gives you a vision you maIy find yourself going far away from the vision. That is the preparation stage, whatever you find doing, no matter how menial, do it at full capacity. Let your sense of devotion and commitment to God be as high as it can be, and do your work with all the passion and dedication you can muster. For one day, God will show up! And when God shows up things would never be the same again.
- The divine manifestation
Moses went out with his sheep one day, it looked like a normal day, but that day was pregnant with mystery. All the days are not equal, some days are set aside for divine manifestation. One day can change the course of person’s life, it can change the situation of a family, it can change the story of a community, and one day can change the course of human history. And this particular day in Moses’ life was a destiny changing moment. That was the day God broke into history to call Israel as the prophetic nation and launch His redemption plan for the nations.
God made His invisible presence manifest in the burning bush encounter. God speaks to us through images and symbols. The lamb symbolises humility and sacrifice, the lion stands for dominion and conquest, the thorn symbolises pain and suffering, etc. In this case God choose fire to announce His presence. The word “fire” occurs 459 times in the NIV of the English Bible. Fire is a symbolic expression of many conditions, but I will stick to two here, which are; fire symbolises destruction, and purification. The most first significance of fire is that it can burn and destroy other objects. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was done with fire. By manifesting His presence in fire, God is clearly stating that His presence will certainly destroy evil. According to Heb 12:29″God is a consuming fire. Secondly fire is used to purify objects and to test their value and durability. Any thing that goes through fire and survives it will last for a very long time. In a metaphorical interpretation of the trials Christians experience, Peter compares it to the fire used to refine gold in 1 Peter 1:7, “These [trials] have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (NIV).
However, the fire that caught Moses’ attention in the desert was a different kind of fire. It was a benevolent fire, a fire that did not consume the host. Later, God was to lead Israel through the desert by a pillar of fire, which did not consume them. And in Acts 2:3 the fire of the Holy Spirit appeared on the head of the disciples without burning them. Moses’ attention was caught by an unusual sight of the bush burning without being consumed. And he approached the strange sight for a closer look.
When God wants your attention, He excites your sense of wonder. Moses was captivated, enthralled, enchanted, mesmerised. The divine manifestation possessed, controlled and directed His attention for the whole period of the encounter. Matthew Henry describes it as “an extraordinary manifestation of the divine presence and glory” And God spoke, calling Mosses by name to commission him for the task of delivering Israel. The manifestation was such a mysterious one that the writer of Hebrews refers to it as “seeing the Invisible One”. “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible” (Heb 11:27). The Invisible One cannot be seen, but for Him to manifest Himself to Moses was an unprecedented act of divine grace and favour directed at Moses. The fire of God will burn this year to call, commission and set people apart for specific tasks. The fire of God is burning in our midst, and in the heart of sinners who do not serve Him, calling them to faith and repentance.
- The divine commission
When God realised He had captured Moses’ full attention, He called Him by name and commissioned him to go and deliver Israel from Egypt. The omniscient God, knew Moses was the man for the job, and He had no alternative. But Moses thought he was not cut out for that assignment. Has it ever occurred to you that God has more confidence in you than you have in yourself. God knows what He has deposited in you. He knows the experiences you have been through by way of preparation. He knows your strengths and weaknesses, and He has selected you; the task is customised for you, no one else has the capacity for it. God is not going to conduct a selection interview, He knows everything about you, and He has favoured you with a divine appointment.
Moses had potential, he was knowledgeable in the culture and court life of Egypt. Besides he was bold and courageous. But most importantly he had a heart for God, and that was the most important qualification God was looking for. Whilst God focused on Moses’ potential, Moses was looking at his own limitation. When human potential meets divine opportunity, something creative is emerges. There is inspiration to confront your challenges, there is inspiration to overcome your fears, there is inspiration for concepts and ideas, there is inspiration to write that book, there is inspiration to compose that song, there is inspiration to prophecy, there is inspiration to go on a mission, there is inspiration for a project, there is inspiration for an invention, there is inspiration for signs and wonders, there is inspiration for witnessing, and there is inspiration for service.
It so happens that some individuals are appointed as channels of solution to human problems. Just as Moses became the solution to Israel’s problems to liberate them from bondage, God sees you as a solution to many human difficulties. And may you live up to your calling to accomplish your divine-given purpose.
The promise and the revelation
There is human response to every leadership assignment; the person must be willing and available for the mission to be successful. But Moses’ initial response was negative: “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Ex 3:11-12) This is an understandable concern, one, in appreciation of the magnitude of the task, and secondly because of Moses’ criminal record in Egypt. But God had a more than adequate response to Moses’ objection. And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (Ex 3:12). “I will be with you”, does not mean that God had been absent from Moses’s affairs up until then. “I will be with you,” in this context means God will provide the courage, wisdom, guidance, protection, all the virtues, and all the resources Moses needed for the mission. In this instance, Moses secured a promise from God that is ringing throughout eternity, that God will surely be with His people.
Then Moses went further to ask for God’s identity card, (Ex 3:12). And God was ready with it. Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you, (Ex 3:13-14). This was God’s covenant name that He did not disclose to Abraham, but He chose to reveal it to Moses. And it implies God’s self-existence, His independence, and His self- determination. But God went further to present His resumé:
“God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob — has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation (Ex 3:15).
With the two pronouncements, God’s promise and God’s covenant name, Moses had all he needed to change the course of history. And he did change the world, didn’t he?
- In 2018, some people’s preparation period would be over, and they would be called to take up a special assignment, duty and responsibility.
- In 2018, the manifest presence God will touch your life in a special way for heaven to captivate your attention. Your devotion, commitment and service to God will be on a different level altogether.
- Something creative will emerge as divine opportunity meets your human potential.
- God has more confidence in you than you have in yourself. He is looking at your potential, and not your limitation. May you be the answer and solution to some of the numerous human problems.
- God’s promise and the power in His name is all you need to change the world. You’re a potential world-changer, aren’t you?
Enjoy your year of divine manifestation!