God Manifesting Himself to Moses

[Book of Jeremiah]

6. This whole history is most replete with instruction for us. If those arguments used were good in his mouth as reasons for God's revealing himself to him, they are equally good for us.

He pleaded God's call of him and acceptance of him for a great work, and said--Lord, since thou hast called me, now make me fit for the labor. "I beseech thee show me thy glory." Young man, go and do likewise.

If God calls you to lead his church up out of the wilderness, see to it that you insist before you set out that the Lord be with you and show you his glory. Nor is this truth applicable to young men destined for the ministry alone.

Every Christian is a priest of God, and should in some sense preach the gospel.

Every man needs grace to fill the station to which God calls him.

And every Christian should seek this grace even as Moses sought the grace he needed.

6. [7.] The disinterestedness of Moses is worthy of all commendation. He never once thought of lifting himself up.

Do you suppose he was continually saying in his mind--How people in future generations will honor me and reverence my name! No, not thus--he is all swallowed up in another and a very different great idea;--how shall this nation honor God?

How may I do something to magnify his dread, his glorious name?

If we ever expect or hope to be great men, in mercy, don't let us aim at it.

We shall pluck down ruin and disgrace on ourselves if we do; and as far as in us lies, on the cause of God also.

I once knew a young man who had considerable trouble in getting license to preach. He was not thought to be very promising. This difficulty seemed to set all his ambition on fire. He declared--"I am determined to get to the head of the heap." Someone said to him--You never will by aiming at it.

But he gave no heed to this warning, and set off on his career of attempted greatness. I don't know where he is now.

Gone I suppose, sunk from public observation into that obscurity which alone forms a fitting place for unholy ambition. "He that exalteth himself shall be abased." So it must ever be. This is the law of Christ's house.

How remarkable that Moses seemed never to care for himself or for his family.

On one occasion some persons began to prophesy, and some of his friends seem to have been jealous for his honor. But Moses felt no jealousy of this sort. "I would to God, said he, that all the people were prophets."

How noble!

God could make Moses a great man without his making himself a great fool.

Not so with some men, God cannot make them great without their making themselves fools.

GOD MANIFESTING HIMSELF TO MOSES by Charles G. Finney

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

7. [8.] All these features of the character of Moses should be distinctly studied. They are features of the character of Jesus Christ.

Are you not in the habit of studying the character of those great men, such as Moses, Daniel, Job, Paul and John with the distinct design of drinking in their spirit and conforming your own to theirs? This is your true wisdom.

8. [9.] The urgency of Moses is well worthy of special notice. How strongly he insists upon God's giving him the blessing he asks for. On one occasion the Lord put his serious earnestness to the test most fully.

The Lord said--Let me alone--go get thee down, for thy people have corrupted themselves;--let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them and that I may consume them, and I will make of thee a great nation."

But no, Moses could not let the Lord alone. He seemed to seize right hold of his hand and insist that God should spare and forgive the guilty people.

The Egyptians will hear of it and will say, "For mischief did he bring them out and to slay them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth. Then what wilt thou do for thy great name? I cannot let thee go.

What will become of thy glory?

Blot out my name, but blot not out the name of thine Israel."

Thus did Moses hold fast upon the hand of the Lord as it was uplifted to smite the nation. And what was the secret of his power with God? His disinterested love, and his zeal for Jehovah's honor.

Let this be our example. Surely it is most worthy of all imitation. How noble to be thus swallowed up and filled with zeal for the glory of God.

GOD MANIFESTING HIMSELF TO MOSES by Charles G. Finney

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

9. [10.] The great faith of Moses constitutes another point worthy of distinct consideration. Where every body else's faith would fail, that of Moses remains firm. Yet he had his sore trials. Once he cried out--"What shall I do, Lord, for this people are almost ready to stone me?" But remark that under this great trial he runs at once to God and hence is safe. So every man should do. If a man only has such faith as to run at once to the Lord, he cannot fail to get strength for all emergencies of trial.

10. [11.] His implicit obedience also was wonderful. He knew no law but the will of God. This spirit of universal obedience was one condition of those remarkable manifestations. He could not have had them without his obedient spirit.

When first appointed to his work, he felt great reluctance to go. He pled that he was slow of speech. But God overlooked the objection; Moses yielded and seems never afterwards to have shrunk from duty.

11. [12.] Moses seems always very careful to do all that God required of him, so that he could always have near access to God. It was very common before the Lord made any manifestations to the people, for him to say--"Sanctify yourselves;"--ye are now unfit to meet me.

But Moses seems to have been always in a state of readiness to meet God and receive any manifestations. It is of infinite importance to maintain this state of sanctification--to abstain thoroughly from all iniquity and never fall into such a state of defilement as to feel your need of penitence, pardon, and cleansing before you can meet God.

GOD MANIFESTING HIMSELF TO MOSES by Charles G. Finney

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

I once knew a Christian who had been eminently a man of prayer--who had lived for years so that he could pray daily with acceptance before God, and whose conversations and prayers had created quite an interest in the subject of the prayer of faith.

Yet this man sadly declined from this state and the Lord at length recalled him in the following way. I had, said he in his diary, an intimate friend who was impenitent, and who in raising a building was suddenly crushed with a fatal blow.

I rushed to him. The dying man begged me to pray for his soul.

That is all, said he, that you can do for me; pray for my soul lest I sink at once into hell.

But I could not pray if it had been to save my own life.

I was away from God and I could not get near him to pray a word.

O my agony of soul was perfectly inexpressible. But that was the last hour of my quiet in such a state. I could not live so.

GOD MANIFESTING HIMSELF TO MOSES by Charles G. Finney
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Christian! Do you see why it is so important to live a clean life, stay out of sin and keep close to God every second? Look at what happened here! Is your backsliding wide road sin your way to heaven attitude going to give you confidence toward God when others need your prayers the most? - In a split second you could find yourselves in this same situation! What then?

You cannot have confidence towards God in prayer when you are living a sinful life. It's impossible. You're either all in or all out - with God. Look at Moses, Daniel, Job and Noah. Live like they did.

If your hands are not pure, your prayers won't deliver others.

It is written:
He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
Job 22:30

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Moses could not get away from God. His circumstances demanded ceaseless watchfulness and permanent sanctification.

Only once afterwards was he overcome and then by the sin of impatience.

For this sin the Lord took him up on Mt. Nebo to let him view the land of promise and then die without ever going over.

This was a sore affliction; yet for one sin the Lord sent it upon him; yea for one sin only. But this in Moses was a great sin.

His light had been so great and the sin itself had been so public; God could not do less than to put his mark of intense displeasure upon it.

So, beloved, must you keep your heart pure and your hands pure, if you would be always ready for communion with God, and if, having enjoyed these seasons of communion you would not fall under the marked displeasure of a jealous and holy God.

But if you are content to live so that you must go and repent and cleanse yourself from present sin in order to be prepared to commune with God, of what use can you be to the world?

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GOD MANIFESTING HIMSELF TO MOSES by Charles G. Finney