A Lesson From the Life of Moses

Consider the experience of Moses. The education he received in Egypt as the king’s grandson and prospective heir to the throne was very thorough. Nothing was neglected that was calculated to make him a wise man, as the Egyptians understood wisdom. He received the highest civil and military training. He felt that he was fully prepared for the work of delivering Israel from bondage. But God judged otherwise. His providence appointed Moses forty years of training in the wilderness as a keeper of sheep.MHH 278.3

The education that Moses had received in Egypt was a help to him in many respects, but the most valuable preparation for his lifework was that which he received while employed as a shepherd. Moses was naturally of an impetuous spirit. In Egypt, as a successful military leader and favorite with the king and the nation, he had been accustomed to receiving praise and flattery. He had attracted the people to himself. He hoped to accomplish by his own powers the work of delivering Israel.MHH 278.4

Far different were the lessons he had to learn as God’s representative. As he led his flocks through the wilds of the mountains and into the green pastures of the valleys, he learned faith and meekness, patience, humility, and self-forgetfulness. He learned to care for the weak, to nurse the sick, to seek after the straying, to bear with the unruly, to tend the lambs, and to nurture the old and feeble.MHH 278.5

In this work Moses was drawn nearer to the Chief Shepherd. He became closely united to the Holy One of Israel. No longer did he plan to do a great work. He sought to do faithfully as unto God the work committed to his charge. He recognized the presence of God in his surroundings. All nature spoke to him of the Unseen One. He knew God as a personal God, and in meditating upon His character he grasped more and more fully the sense of His presence. He found refuge in the everlasting arms.MHH 278.6

After this experience Moses heard the call from heaven to exchange his shepherd’s staff for the rod of authority, to leave his flock of sheep and take the leadership of Israel. The divine command found him self-distrustful, slow of speech, and timid. He was overwhelmed with a sense of being incapable of being a mouthpiece for God. But he accepted the work, putting his whole trust in the Lord. The greatness of his mission called into exercise the best powers of his mind. God blessed his ready obedience, and he became eloquent, hopeful, self-possessed, fitted for the greatest work ever given to man. Of him it is written: “Since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” Deuteronomy 34:10.MHH 278.7

Let those who feel that their work is not appreciated and who crave a position of greater responsibility consider that “exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.” Psalm 75:6, 7. Every person has a place in the eternal plan of heaven. Whether we fill that place depends upon our own faithfulness in cooperating with God.MHH 279.1

We need to beware of self-pity. Never indulge the feeling that you are not esteemed as you should be, that your efforts are not appreciated, that your work is too difficult. Let the memory of what Christ endured for us silence every murmuring thought. We are treated better than was our Lord. “‘Do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them.’” Jeremiah 45:5. The Lord has no place in His work for those who have a greater desire to win the crown than to bear the cross. He wants people who are more intent upon doing their duty than upon receiving their reward—men and women who are more concerned for principle than for promotion.MHH 279.2

Those who are humble and who do their work as unto God may not make as great a show as do those who are full of bustle and self-importance, but their work counts for more. Often those who make a great parade call attention to self, interposing between the people and God, and their work proves a failure. “‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her.’” Proverbs 4:7, 8.MHH 279.3

Many become stereotyped in a wrong course of action because they have not the determination to take themselves in hand and reform. But this need not be. They may cultivate their powers to do the very best kind of service, and then they will always be in demand. They will be valued for all that they are worth.MHH 279.4

If any are qualified for a higher position, the Lord will lay the burden not on them alone but on those who have tested them, who know their worth, and who can understandingly urge them forward. Those who perform their appointed work faithfully day by day will in God’s own time hear His call, “Come up higher.”MHH 279.5

While the shepherds were watching their flocks on the hills of Bethlehem, angels from heaven visited them. So today while humble workers for God are following their employment, angels of God stand by their side, listening to their words and noting the manner in which their work is done, to see if larger responsibilities may be entrusted to them.MHH 279.6

God does not estimate people by their wealth, their education, or their position. He estimates them by their purity of motive and beauty of character. He looks to see how much of His Spirit they possess and how much of His likeness their life reveals. To be great in God’s kingdom is to be as a little child in humility, in simplicity of faith, and in purity of love.MHH 280.1

“‘You know,’” Christ said, “‘that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.’” Matthew 20:25, 26.MHH 280.2

Of all the gifts that heaven can bestow upon human beings, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in a dungeon. “To you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Philippians 1:29.MHH 280.3