We once had a very sneaky Lhasa Apso (that’s a dog that looks like a mop) who loved to hide things between his paws until he could chew, without interruption, on whatever it was. Whatever he took was always well-hidden under his fur, so I’d regularly ask him, “What’s that in your paw?”
He never willingly gave up what he clutched.
We’re much the same—but with God. We get a tight hold on what we have and often refuse to open our hands to God.
This is the story of one such person.
A Troubled Beginning
He had a troubled beginning, probably more so than any of us—abandoned by his mother and father and then raised by rich and powerful foster parents who must have put great pressure on him to succeed and eventually take over the family business. Yet this man came to feel like an alien in their home—and ended up murdering one of the family’s employees and then burying—literally—the evidence.
You may have figured out I’m talking about Moses, who was raised in the royal family after his parents hid him in the Nile River due to Pharaoh’s decree that all Hebrew male babies had to be killed. Josepheus, the Jewish historian, quoted tradition in his writing that when Moses’s mother went into labor, there was little pain, and very few knew she had delivered (Antiquities II, 9:4).
For three months—with total faith in God—the family kept the baby a secret. When things got to the point that they could no longer keep Moses hidden, they demonstrated their faith by putting the child totally in God’s hands (Hebrews 11:23).
Josephus tells us that Moses became a general for the Egyptian army and was admired by both the Hebrew slaves and the Egyptian people (Antiquities II, 10:1). He writes that the Egyptians were aware that a “deliverer” would be raised up and free the Israelites and that some warned that Moses was this person, even when Pharaoh’s daughter brought Moses before Pharaoh.
By Whose Hand?
So when it came into Moses’ heart when he was 40 years old to visit his own people, he probably already believed that God had called him to deliver the Hebrews from slavery.
Acts 7:24 describes how Moses approached this calling: “Seeing one of the Hebrews being wronged, Moses defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.”
Instead, Moses had to flee for his life, running to the desert. He became what the Egyptians most despised—a shepherd. Instead of leading mighty armies, he led sheep. Instead of being a great orator to thousands of people, he spent days in silence with the animals. Most likely, his visions of being God’s chosen one faded into the sand.
Fast forward 40 years—and God has come to Moses in Midian and has called him to deliver the Hebrews–not by Moses’s own hand but by his own. He says to Moses, “I know that the King of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.” And he meant his own hand, not Moses’s, whose hand had already brought tragic results.
Moses is on his third excuse as to why he can’t answer God’s call now when God asks him, ”What is that in your hand?”
Moses no longer holds a scepter in his hand—nor does he have any illusions of his own power. Forty years in the desert have so humbled Moses that the once-great orator tells God that he is now too slow of speech and tongue to answer God’s calling. He cannot believe that he can be of any use to God, and only accedes after God promises him that his brother will be his helper.
Tight-Fists or Open Hands?
It wasn’t an easy or quick process for Moses to open his hand and release control to God, to trade a scepter for a shepherd’s staff. The process reminds me of the way we are born—with clenched fists that don’t open for several months. (It’s actually a reflex called the palmer grasp reflex.)
We’re all born with a tight grip, but humility comes only when we open our hands to God and give up our own sense of control. Look to Jesus, who not only opened his hands but also stretched out his arms in total submission to God. That is the only way that God can work his power through us—when we recognize who we are—and aren’t—before God. Moses had 40 years to learn that.
Indeed, Moses is described in the Bible as the most humble man ever to live on the earth. He learned true humility, which isn’t thinking of yourself as a modest person—which is just a perverted form of pride.
True humility, as displayed in the life of Moses, is to know and to submit to the one from whom and for whom and through whom all things are possible. Only a truly humble man could have led the horde of complaining people through 40 years in the wilderness.
The Moses who gripped the scepter was an impulsive army general who wanted to right the wrongs of the world and who could have never been the leader God needed for the Israelites to know him and obey him.
Only one psalm, 90, is attributed to Moses, and it talks about God using our hands:
Here’s a portion of it (vs. 16-17):
Let Your work appear to Your servants And Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.
May the beauty of the Lord be upon us—and our eyes upon his beauty—so that he can establish the work of our hands as we answer his call upon our lives.
Lord, help us to see what we hold tightly in our hands–and to know when we need to open our hands so that you can use us in your Kingdom. We pray for total submission to you and true humility as you establish the work of your hands.
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