WHAT WILL MAKE US HUMBLE?
Moshe said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the people of Isra’el out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:11
In this verse of Scripture, Moshe displayed his humility. Was this always so? If you read the previous teaching, you may have noticed the level of arrogance he showed, when he killed the Egyptian. What occurred, since then, which caused this change in perception?
During the 40 years Moshe stayed with Tzipporah, his wife, the daughter of Re’u’el, a Midian Priest (Exodus 2, 3), the former prince of Egypt functioned as a lowly shepherd. During this time, he defended the sheep against wolves, bears and other predators, as well as possible bandits attempting to steal the animals. Nothing will make a person more humble than working with these animals; they are not terribly intelligent. The common phrase, ‘they acted like sheep’, refers to the very docile nature of these animals, when they are calm. They will follow anyone they trust but will not follow strangers or those who treat them badly. Thus, it may be assumed, Moshe treated these animals very well.
Many of us may have wandered through our lives arrogantly, filled with pride, until something happens which changes our perspectives and assumptions about ourselves. In my case, it was coming to faith in Adonai Yeshua, the Lord Jesus. He brought me to face my arrogance and my pride; He drove me to my knees and placed my false self-assumptions before my eyes. I had spent more than 60 years on this earth with an arrogant heart and haughty eyes, when, in a twinkling of an eye, those spirits were driven from me and I entered an entirely new world.
Remember, yesterday, I shared with you ‘Humility involves freedom from arrogance and pride’. With this humility in our hearts, we cannot view others as inferior to ourselves. Indeed, we often view others as having greater purpose than do we. This does not mean we belittle ourselves; by no means, we just do not accept a high station for ourselves.
With humility also comes modesty. Humble people also recognize their limitations and, although they will often try to push themselves, will never do something which someone else may do better.
Have you ever received authority, of a position or a group? How did you approach that authority? A humble person will display very clearly those character elements, which constitute humility. Consider Moshe’s considered opinion, when faced with a difficult question, posed by the daughters of Tz’lof’chad, regarding the inheritance of their father’s land, when there were no sons. His response became the law for many hundreds of years. What a heady responsibility. Read the response he received from Yahveh, our Lord God, and passed onto his people, as we read in Numbers 27:7,8 – “The daughters of Tz’lof’chad are right in what they say. You must give them property to be inherited along with that of their father’s brothers; have what their father would have inherited pass to them. Moreover, say to the people of Isra’el, ‘If a man dies and does not have a son, you are to have his inheritance pass to his daughter.” This was a sea-change from common practice during this time and would have rocked the prevailing perception and assumption. Any man with arrogance and pride would have hesitated to share that perception with others. But, then, Moshe was not just any man. Here was a friend of Yahveh, the most humble man that existed.
How did Moshe display his humility? Even after leading his people 40 years through the wilderness, facing one trouble, complaint and aggression after another, he still relied more on the Word of Yahveh, than on his own opinions. This, beloved, is humility. When we listen to the still quiet voice within us, when we are quiet until the Ruach, the Holy Spirit of the Living God, speak to us, we display the humility Yahveh has implanted within us. For that we shall be eternally grateful. Praise His Holy Name.
May the God of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob bless you richly.
To read a preview of my book, “A Journey Through Torah: An Introduction to God’s Life Instructions to His Children, Volume One: Exodus,“click on the link, below