The Life of Moses the Prophet, Part 2
Pope Shenouda III speaks about Moses the Prophet, explaining that his life was not the life of an individual separated from his people, but was connected to the life of the entire people of Israel, because he led the people, endured their weakness, and delivered God’s message to them.
Moses’ mission began with his awareness of the suffering of his people and his desire to save them from slavery and humiliation in the land of Egypt, and afterward came his spiritual leadership of the people.
The Pope explains that the Exodus of the people from Egypt carries a spiritual meaning: Pharaoh symbolizes sin or Satan, who enslaves man; Moses symbolizes spiritual leadership; the Exodus symbolizes repentance and liberation from the slavery of Satan; while the Promised Land symbolizes the sweetness of fellowship with God.
He emphasizes that the danger is for a person to leave the slavery of sin but not reach fellowship with God, remaining as though wandering in the wilderness between sin and life with God.
Spiritual Message
The Pope presents the life of Moses as a clear example of the transformation that God brings about in a person through spiritual training.
At first, Moses tried to intervene through his human strength and personal wisdom, so he failed and fled to the land of Midian, but God did not reject him because of his failure; rather, He looked at his holy zeal and prepared him for service.
Moses spent forty years in the wilderness, during which he changed from a prince and leader who relied on himself into a shepherd who recognized his weakness and relied on God.
He also changed from a man who used violence into a very meek man, and from someone confident in his abilities into a person who said, “Who am I?” and felt unable to accomplish the task through his own strength.
Through this awareness of weakness, Moses became ready for God to work through him rather than relying on his personal strength.
Educational Lesson
The Pope explains that God works at the proper time, and that a delay in fulfilling something does not mean that God has rejected a person or forgotten His promise.
He also explains the difference between someone who refuses service because he does not care about others and someone who feels his genuine weakness and apologizes for serving because he sees himself as incapable of it.
Moses’ apology came from his genuine feeling of weakness, not from a lack of holy zeal or from a desire to protect his own dignity.
When Moses felt unable to speak, God gave him Aaron to help him, showing that the success of service depends on God’s work and not merely on human abilities.
Practical Application
This teaches us not to rely solely on our own strength and wisdom in service or in our spiritual life.
It also teaches us that a period of training and waiting may be necessary for God to prepare us for the responsibility He wants to give us.
When we experience genuine weakness, this feeling should not become an escape from God or from service, but rather lead us to depend on Him more deeply.
Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush also emphasizes the importance of reverence before God, for spiritual reverence is accompanied by bodily reverence, as shown when God commanded Moses to remove his sandals because the place where he stood was holy ground.
Thus, the goal is not merely to leave the slavery of sin, but to reach a life of fellowship and communion with God.
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