I am weak, but...............

After Moses received his own dose of, "I am weak, but He is strong," (Exodus 4:1-17) he packed up his family and headed back to Egypt. Along the way, God told him to do all the wonders he was shown for Pharaoh- BUT- Take a look at verse 21 in Exodus 4.

"I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go."

Studying this I began to grasp the concept that the I Am is the Almighty and I am a weak vessel, often unfit for the Master's use. God not only hand picks His vessels of honor, but He also picks His vessels of dishonor, according to II Timothy 2:20-21.

"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work."

Notice the condition given in verse 21.

"If a man therefore purge himself from these,"

As hand picked vessels in New Testament history, we have been given the privilege to choose to obey or disobey God's commands. Follow me for a moment and let me paint a picture for you using the history of Moses to illustrate this point.

Pharaoh choose to have no regard for the God of the Israelites. After all, he was a god, and the Israelites had been oppressed with that visually for 400 plus years. Generation after generation had built massive images of the Pharaoh. They had felt the overwhelming burden of toil and struggle, laboring for their taskmaster. This was all part of God's divine plan to show the Israelites who he was. God could have destroyed Egypt with a natural disaster and allowed His people to leave without Moses' leadership or hardening the Pharaoh's heart. But, he chose both of these devices to grab the attention of the Hebrew people and begin a training process that would last some 40 plus years, so we could have an example to follow when we find ourselves feeling powerful and wanting to manipulate people to change our circumstances.

When the Lord began this process, He wanted Moses to issue a command to Pharaoh with a specific consequence.

Exodus 4:22-23- "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn; And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn."

God's divine plan had already been revealed to his messenger but, the messenger had to obey God completely to be a true vessel of honor. Read Exodus 4:24-26. In these verses we see a part of the story of Moses that is never told.

God sought the life of Moses because he had not obeyed him completely. Moses had not circumcised one of his own sons. Why? Because his wife, Zipporah objected to it. She knew the commands of God. Her father was the priest of Midian. She allowed her emotions about the process to cause her to disregard the practice as an act of true obedience to God. She whined to Moses, and he, not wanting to deal with her complaints and negative behavior, chose to disobey the Almighty and nearly died by God's hand.

Zipporah kept Moses from obeying God's command because of her selfish desire not to "feel" the child's pain, thus choosing to manipulate the plan of God. But, according to verse 25 of Exodus 4, Zipporah later choose to perform the circumcision herself, after she saw the consequences of her actions. This was obedience, however not from a heart of love. Her attitude was disgraceful.

As followers of Jesus Christ, in New Testament history, we have the privilege of being used by God as vessels of honor or dishonor. We can make choices that can remove us from a treasured position into one of disgrace. Learning to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives within, will enable us to live in true loving obedience to God.

God, through his divine will, chose to allow you to be born in this dispensation. Zipporah was not given that privilege. She was not indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the one who can help you bear the unbearable. Thank God for the privilege you have been given and yield yourself to the Holy Spirit today. You will then be able to realize where your weaknesses are and "purge" yourself from them, thus giving God the opportunity to use you as "a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work."