| “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian” (Exodus 3:1). |
| At first glance, this might not sound like a very interesting verse for us to consider, for it merely tells us how Moses kept sheep in the land of Midian. But if we think about it, we realize that it must have been a very different life than what Moses had been used to in the court of Pharaoh. One day he was an important man, looked upon as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and perhaps with some responsibilities in the government of Egypt. Then he has to run away to save his life, and finds himself in a desert place, keeping a flock of sheep. I grew up on a farm, but we did not raise sheep, and I never had to spend all day outside, looking after animals. I remember thinking that Moses’ job as a shepherd must have been quite boring! And it went on for a long time — forty years! |
| However, the Lord knew that Moses needed this time alone with Him, and the Lord used that time to teach Moses many things. First of all, Moses had to learn that he could not go out in human energy to deliver the people of Israel from Pharaoh. No, it must be in God’s strength, so that God received the glory. Also, he had to learn that for God to work, we must wait for God’s time. God has a right time for everything to happen, and He was going to wait until the king who wanted to kill Moses had died. Then another king took over, and it was with him that Moses had to deal. |
| More than this, Moses probably learned much simply from keeping the sheep. Sheep are interesting creatures, for on the positive side, they are rather hardy animals, and can put up with quite a bit of bad weather. They can survive in harsh climates, even where there is a lot of snow. But on the negative side, they are somewhat stupid, and get lost easily. Also, they tend to follow one another, so that if one sheep goes a certain way, all the others will often follow, even into danger. They do not do well on their own; they need a shepherd to look after them, to protect them, and to lead them to good pasture and water. |
| The people of God are often compared to sheep in the Bible, and they too need a shepherd. If Moses was going to lead the people of Israel, he would learn from keeping sheep what it would be like to be their leader. Forty years is a long time, but God knew that Moses needed that time away from a busy place. |
| It is sometimes the same in our lives. We too need to learn God’s ways, and sometimes He puts us in a place where we do not seem to be doing much of anything. But this may be God’s training ground for us, and we should not resent it. It might have seemed to Moses as if he were spending the best years of his life keeping sheep, but as we will see, the Lord gave him the strength to lead His people, even when he was older. |
