Thursday, August 22, 2013

Moses: At the Well

Have you ever been so thirsty that you were desperate for water to quench the dry thirst within?  Maybe your mouth felt so thick with the need for water that talking became difficult.  The need for refreshment becomes an all consuming thought and desperation begins to set in.  Have you ever felt that way spiritually?  Emotionally?  Times when your need for spiritual, emotional quenching and refreshment was so strong that it became an all consuming passion?  Moments when you just needed to know that God was real and active in your life and situations.... those very moments are rich with possibility because we are truly seeking Him.  He never fails us, my friend, never.   Moses, perhaps in physical desperation, but most certainly in a spiritual and emotional desperation, comes to the well in Midian.  God has a habit of meeting us at the "well" doesn't He?  Let's pick up where we left off....

"And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian. When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father’s flocks. But some other shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks. When the girls returned to Reuel, their father, he asked, “Why are you back so soon today?” “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they answered. “And then he drew water for us and watered our flocks.” “Then where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave him there? Invite him to come and eat with us.” Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, for he explained, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.” Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act." (Exodus 2:15-25 NLT)

After such a long journey, Moses was probably trying to rest his weary body and heart.  He had left in the midst of a real life treat as the Pharaoh wanted him dead due to his taking the life of the Egyptian taskmaster.  He had fled all that he had known and found himself as a foreigner in Midian.  Being a foreigner was not something that was "foreign" to him as he had never really found where he fit in Egypt.  Suddenly, a scene before him unfolds as a group of shepherds comes and starts to chase away some girls who were watering their father's flocks.  This had, apparently, become a regular occurrence.  Shepherds were not particularly known for their refinement, but rather as the working class of that society.  They often stayed with the flocks for days or weeks at a time and were very hard working as their lives were dedicated to the care of sheep- day or night, rain or shine, they were always on duty.  More than likely, they felt that they more right to the well than these "girls" and found no harm in forcing them out until they had finished watering their sheep.  So often as humans we get so focused on our own needs and situations that we "overlook" the needs of others.  We even begin to feel that we are entitled to extra privileges because of all that we have gone through, and yet, we do not extend that same grace to others. 

Moses watched this whole scene and steps in to aid the girls in their need.  Perhaps he thought back to all of his Hebrew people burdened by the yoke of slavery and as a result, could not allow this behavior to continue.  The girls' father was the priest for Midian and a believer in the One True God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  His name was Reuel (also called Jethro) and upon hearing of what Moses had done insisted that they bring Moses for a meal in their home.  My friend, that is what we are to do as well.  We need to give genuine thanksgiving to our Father when He blesses us, but to others as well.  Genuine thanksgiving, praise and encouragement is like a wellspring of water to a parched soul.  Moses was that parched soul and Reuel/Jethro delivered that wellspring of spiritual encouragement to him.  Moses may have stopped by the well in Midian, but Reuel led Moses to the well of our Father.  He brought Moses into his home and invested in his life.  As believers, we are to invest ourselves into the lives of others.  To serve, care and share our lives with them- God blesses us so that we can pour out those blessings into the lives of others. 

Eventually, Moses is no longer a stranger, but has reconnected with his Hebrew background through the genuine love and affection of his new family.  He marries one of Reuel's daughters named Zipporah and they have a baby boy who he names Gershom.  Gershom means "I have been a stranger in a foreign land."  I think this name is symbolic of the healing he has finally obtained through God.  He is no longer a stranger- a foreigner- He had found the God of his ancestors. He had found a family.  He had found a place where he "fit" and a world that he belonged in.  All was good, and that is often when God allows change to rock our world.  Why?  To continue to grow us and draw us to Himself......

Back in Egypt......the Pharaoh had died, but the Israelites continued to be burdened by a growing yoke of slavery.  Their desperate cries for help did not go unheard.... our precious Father heard every single cry and remembered his covenant to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  He heard every, single, cry..... and in overwhelming love prepared to draw His people out from the yoke upon them.  The fate of Egypt was sealed in that very moment......but He will draw Moses out from the "well" of Midian to do it.

Oh, God is really using this to speak to my heart!  How about you?  Praying for each of you!

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