This time around, our search light is on Moses the lawgiver, prophet and servant of God. The bible described him as the most humble of all mankind that ever lived. Moses was born at a time when oppression was at its climax from the Egyptians to the Hebrews. Ex, 1: 22  – 2: 22. At the same time, Pharoah gave a decree that all male Hebrew children should be killed. By divine providence Moses was spared and was even brought up in Pharoah’s palace as a son of the Princess. He was recognized as a Prince of Egypt but he identified with his oppressed people. In practical terms he had a soft spot for the Hebrews, to the extent that when an Egyptian task master was manhandling a Hebrew man, he was filled with great anger. He attacked the task-master. Moses jumped on the oppressor and killed him in the process.

This led to his fleeing to Midian where he stayed for forty years. Exodus 2: 15-25. He also had a rare privilege of God’s call, through the burning bush experience, to liberate the Israelites. Ex 3: 2-5 God endowed him to cause plagues to ravage the Egyptians because of Pharoah’s intransigence. The Hebrew free slave labor was not to be lost because it provided cheap source of their prosperity. Since God had hearkened to the cries of HIS chosen people, Moses loomed larger than the size of “the young prince of Egypt from the slave stock”. In other words, Moses became greater than Pharoah. His “Let my people go” was an irresistible order that the king was forced to obey. Ex. 7: 14 – 12: 30

He led the Israelites for 40 years on their way to the promised land. He was liaison between God and his Hebrew people for the supply of all their needs for water and food (manna from heaven and supply of quail birds for meat). However, in spite of his spirit filled personality, his readiness to die instead of the hard-hearted Hebrews and his extreme humility, that which is human in him made him to incur the wrath of God. The incessant provocation of his people turned his anger on. He broke the first two tablets of the ten commandments because after 40 days on Mt Sinai his people changed allegiance from God their deliverer to molten image which they made Aaron to craft for them. Ex. 32: 19 (NKJV) He disobeyed God’s instruction to stretch forth his rod rather than striking the rock. It got him on the wrong side of God and was unable to reach the promised land. He was made to see it and was asked to hand over to his apprentice Joshua who was having the necessary anointing for the onerous task ahead.