We read in Exodus chapter 15 verse 24 that the people murmured against Moses. It should be pointed out, that for 40 years the people murmured against Moses. The question, that should be asked; how in the world was Moses able to put up with it or bare it, for those forty years? And , if the murmuring wasn't bad enough, they even tried to stone him. Num 14:10 "But all the congregation demanded to stone them (Moses, Aaron, Joshua, & Caleb) with stones. ..."

Num 14:11,12 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be before they believe me, for all the signs which I have shown among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a great nation and mightier then they.

Moses then pleads for forgiveness for the people. Now, you have to remember that our God is all knowing, he knows the future. Therefore, telling Moses that he wanted to destroy the people was more of a test for Moses and how he would respond to this statement. I wonder, how many of us would be able to pass this test, that Moses was tested with. Moses had many countless tests and his passing grade was 99%. Why did Moses have such a fantastic passing grade? Why was Moses so patient, forging, loving towards the people that wanted to stone him? Lets see, if we can answer these questions, by examining some of the things that we know about Moses.

Ever since, the burning bush incident, Moses was in continuous contact with God. Such that, it was said of Moses in Ex 33:11 "And the LORD spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto a friend.. ." It should be pointed out that Moses never saw God's face as it is stated in the Bible. However, God did speak to Moses audible, and Moses responded in kind. Quite often, as is stated in Ex 16:10 the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. One time, when Moses spent some considerable time with God, that his face began to shine. Ex 34:33 "And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him."

This reminds me of the glowing phosphorus that was used on clocks, watches, and key chain tags. In years past, when I was growing up, toys were not as plentiful and hi-tech as they are today. These phosphorus objects did provide some fun and entertainment. Here are some of the things that I have learned from these simple toys. For one thing, it would only glow or shine after it was exposed to an outside source of light. The brighter the light bulb the brighter the glow, the longer you exposed it to the light bulb the longer it would glow in the dark. This is a perfect analogy to what happened to Moses. Like the phosphorus, Moses face shone after he spent time with God. And after some time elapsed, like the phosphorus, Moses's face lost the shine. To keep the phosphorus object shining it was necessary to bring it back to the light and the longer it was kept near the light the longer it would glow. Moses, could not control the glowing of his face, it was the result of him spending time with God. Now, Moses's face didn't shine continually, but his character shone continually, as he spent time with God. By spending time with God, Moses couldn't help but radiate God's attributes of being considerate, compassionate, long suffering, and loving towards those he came in contact with. This, is then the answer to the questions asked, how Moses was able to be forgiving towards the people that murmured continually against him and even tried to stone him.

I challenge you, to spend time with God, and see if others will not notice the glow in your Christian character of being a little more patient, a little more caring, a little more considerate, and more loving towards others. As the glow wore off from Moses's face, and it does wear off, just as it does with the phosphorus. The glow will also wear of in our lives, and the only way to keep it glowing, is to repeatedly spend time with God. We too, will not be able to control it, but we will be showing some of the attributes of Christ, towards the people we come in contact with. There is no way to fake the glow in our lives, people can really tell. If you are finding, that your patients are wearing thin, you are being a little less considerate of others, you are not willing to forgive the offenses of other individuals. I, then again, challenge you to spend time with God and you will not be able to suppress the loving attributes of Christ. You too will be getting a passing grade with the small or big tests that God will send your way. And you will be responding the way God would want you to.

By

Pete P. Repich