Faithful on Fridays Blog

We’ve learned that Abraham received words from God that sparked empowering faith to receive and respond to God’s assignment. Moses was no different but his mission was much broader.

Here’s the story. God appeared to Moses and spoke to him from a burning bush (Ex. 3) declaring Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His assignment (Ex. 3:10) was to deliver God’s people from Egyptian slavery (lower story); Moses was overwhelmed and scared. 400 years of slavery (that’s longer than America has been a nation) and he was going to end it? Yeah, right.

However, God gave him the empowerment he needed to convince his people and eventually Pharaoh to let His people go: he performed unmistakable miracles. Ex. 4 gives us the account of the miracles for one purpose: that God’s people may believe (vs. 5). He was told that his words would be as God to them (vs. 16). 

The upper story is the truth that we’re also in bondage to the slavery of sin before Jesus, our Deliverer, sets us free as well so we may believe and walk in faith. As the people of Moses’ day believed (vs. 31) we also believe in the words or Word of God. Faith means you’re fully persuaded God will do what His Word promises but we also may need to take steps of faith and He’ll give us evidence along the way.

In John 3 we find the familiar verse, “For God so loved the world …” but we fail to concentrate on the former verses that set it up:

But if you don’t believe Me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.

John 3:12-15 NLT

Amidst the lower stories (earthly things) and upper stories (heavenly things) we  understand that Moses was His example. Numbers 21:4-9 describes a complaining people who met with poisonous snakes. After repentance they asked Moses to intercede for them. God’s instruction for healing was for the sinner to look at a bronze serpent on a pole; a lower story. The wonderful upper story is that Moses’ steps of faith caused the people to believe; it pointed to the Messiah becoming sin, pictured as the snake hanging on a cross, and receive eternal life.

The promise of eternal life, Jesus promised, is immortality and begins when faith is imparted to you by God. Eternal life begins now, it’s kingdom living, when you respond to His Word. We’re called believers because our faith rests in His promises whether or not we see them fulfilled today. Be encouraged, watch for the signs, keep believing: God isn’t finished yet.