Moses' Hands and some more British Lessons

We've been studying Moses at church the last few weeks, and it seems like each week I'm impressed; not by the man, but by the men. And since I really do have a point, even if you don't read the rest of this post, please jump to the end.

The children of Israel have revered Moses for aeons, and Christians as well. And rightly so, as only Enoch could be argued to have walked more closely with God.

But what has really stood out to me on this trip through the book of Exodus is the men that made Moses' ministry possible. In the Israelites' first battle after leaving Egypt, it was Joshua who led the army into battle, while Moses stood above the battle on a hillside, holding the staff of God.

Seems easy enough.

However, they soon realized that God had chosen to decide the outcome of the battle based on whether Moses was holding the staff aloft (which God made sure to point out to Joshua later). But we also read that Moses couldn't do it... he couldn't stand there and hold his hands up all day long until the Amalekites were defeated. Aaron and Hur had to get a rock for him to sit on and then hold his hands up for him.

Joshua couldn't win the battle without God's blessing and Moses couldn't convey that blessing without Aaron and Hur literally "holding his hands".

In the very next chapter, Moses receives a visit from Jethro, who promptly sits him down for a stern talking to. Moses is attempting to minister directly to over a million people (possibly as many as 2 million). And he's not doing the best job of it. People stand around from morning till night waiting for Moses to judge their disputes and answer their questions about spiritual things. In addition to running Moses ragged, this is wearing on the people as well. And so, by the end of the chapter Moses has learned to delegate and (by my rough estimates) at least 123,000 new judges have been appointed within the children of Israel.

So Moses had been trying to do the job of at least 123,001 people by himself. No wonder he was tired.

The point that the Holy Spirit has been driving home to me is just how many men it took to make Moses' ministry possible, and how many people God has used to bring us to this place and time in our ministry.

If you're reading this, I can just about guarantee that you are one of those people. Whether you've birthed us (Hi Momma!), taught us, encouraged us, supported us financially, or sat us down for a lecture, you're part of the reason that I'm writing this post while looking out over a British city and getting ready to dig back in to the job God brought me here to do.

So, thank you.... Thank you for making our ministry possible. Thank you for your friendship, your prayers, and your financial gifts. No ministry, and no minister or missionary, stands on their own. It's only the power of God working through many people that allow us to be here. Like Aaron and Hur, you are holding up our hands, and together we are supporting the work of the gospel in places like Ghana, Spain, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Scotland, Russia, Singapore, and dozens of other places across Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Again... Thank You!
You mean an awful lot to us.


British Expressions for the Day

Sent to Coventry - ignored by a group. Here's a definition from 1811

To send one to Coventry; a punishment inflicted by officers of the army on such of their brethren as are testy, or have been guilty of improper behaviour, not worthy the cognizance of a court martial. The person sent to Coventry is considered as absent; no one must speak to or answer any question he asks, except relative to duty, under penalty of being also sent to the same place. On a proper submission, the penitent is recalled, and welcomed by the mess, as just returned from a journey to Coventry.

Done and Dusted - Finished, completed successfully.

And now that this blog post is done and dusted, I hope it won't be sent to Coventry.