Note: This is a devotion for the Grace for All podcast that aired last week. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, TN. It can be heard on the podcast plat
Exodus 7: 1-5 (NIV)
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.
3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt,
4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites.
5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
In this passage, we hear God speaking to Moses telling him what is about to happen with the Pharaoh of Egypt who is oppressing the children of Israel. In the words of Rabbi Andrew Mandel of Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, God seems to be a Hollywood director and casting agent, and He is giving the role of God to Moses.
Moses, we know from reading through Exodus, has protested to God that he does not want this role. He has a stutter, and he argues with God that this prevents him from being an effective leader. But God counters with the offer to Moses of Aaron, the brother who can, when necessary, speak on behalf of Moses. It is an offer that Moses cannot refuse.
I think this ancient story asks us today, “What role is God offering to us?” Does God simply want us to go about our business, keeping ourselves to ourselves, as they say? Our does God have something in mind – today – for us to do?
Our world is broken, divided, and in pain. So are the people around us. So are we on many occasions. We are prone to ask, “Where is God in all of this?” and then wait for God to show up. In this passage, God is asking Moses to play the role of God. Could he be asking us to do the same thing? Could he be asking us to say the kind word, to offfer a loving smile, to give assistance to someone in need, or to present the gift of our time and attention to a person or situation that is right in front of us?
It is not difficult to find those needs and people where we can be a loving and grace-filled God. We can play that role, as Moses did, if we respond to God’s casting call.
What role is God casting you for today?
Our prayer: Dear Lord, help us to hear your voice that calls us to be your voice, your hands, and your feet in the service of those around us. May we respond to that voice with joy and thanksgiving. Amen.
This devotion was written and read by Jim Stovall.
