Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, (Exodus 3:1 ESV)
As I read this verse a couple of weeks ago, it hit me. No corporate recruiter would have hired Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land—
- He had questionable people skills. In the first two recorded social interactions, he killed a person and was rejected and ridiculed by another. (Exodus 2:13-15)
- He was a fugitive with a criminal record. (Exodus 2:15)
- He seemed to have lost any drive and initiative he showed earlier in life. After forty years, he doesn’t even have his own flock.
- His only connection with the people of Israel was genetic and theological. He was separated by his social status for the first forty years of his life and by distance the subsequent forty years.
- By his own admission, he lacked communication skills—“I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue” (Exodus. 4:10 ESV).
- He lacked self-confidence. He gives the LORD all kinds excuses why he is the wrong man for the job.
- He was 80 years old.
(To be continued)