LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Monday 8th November 2021
LEAVING FOR GOD’S MISSION
Scripture Reading: Exodus 4
So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt and see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” Exodus 4:18
When Moses saw the burning bush on Mount Horeb, he did not know it would be a major turning point in his life. Out of curiosity, he turned aside to see the rare sight of fire burning in the bush without consuming its leaves.
Out of the burning bush, the Lord commissioned Moses to go and liberate the Hebrew slaves. This was an assignment he had failed at, forty years earlier, yet the Lord sent Moses back to Egypt.
How should we respond to God’s mission and still act responsibly with our earthly supervisors? Jethro was both Moses’ father-in-law as well as his boss; Moses was an under-shepherd over Jethro’s flock.
1. Moses sought permission from Jethro. Moses, who had just had an out-of-this world experience with God, did not presume to just jump unto his mission. He understood his responsibility to Jethro.
Moses told Jethro that his mission was to go back and see how his people in Egypt were doing. It is a similar language that was used to describe his first mission in Exodus 2:11 that ‘he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens’. Indirectly, Moses was telling Jethro, ‘I’m going to complete what I started’.
Moses teaches us how to obey God and still honour those whom we serve.
2. Jethro gave his blessing to Moses. As a spiritual man, Jethro discerned the calling of Moses rightly and released him. He might have known that the hand of the Lord was on Moses and that his days in the wilderness would end one day.
Both Moses and Jethro acted in the right way. Each one was used by the Lord to bring deliverance to God’s people.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, give me the courage to obey your calling; and the wisdom to honour those you’ve placed over me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.