Nougat 17

Hi

If ever we find ourselves on the backend of the wilderness (of doubt, debts or despair); I pray that today’s Holy Nougat will remind us that we serve a God Who still cares.

“He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” Exodus‬ ‭3:6‬ ‭NRSV‬‬

Moses’s meeting with God in the backend of the mountain was profound. His life had undergone three profound cycles and he had now adjusted to the third. His early years were shaped by a mother he could not acknowledge; as he was adopted into a family that was as culturally different as they were socially and spiritually.

His birth mother was ‘just a Hebrew slave’ (as was his dad): his adopted mother was an Egyptian princess. Life at the palace was probably different from Life among the peasants. And it was markedly different from his Life in the sheep pastures. he was the Same fellow; living in very different seasons.

We assume that he was told about his spiritual heritage by his Hebrew mother as he was not unfamiliar with the names of patriarchs when God spoke with him. And his passion for social justice may have been honed during his years as a prince. It seems that he had adjusted to life with his in-laws, as we find him in the wilderness working in the family business.

He had lots of time to think. He might have mulled over the different seasons of his life and marveled at how things changed over time. He might even have questioned his purpose, having found himself in the pasture! Yet it was only after the pasture experience that he met the God of his forefathers face to face. Not among the peasants, not in the palace, but in the smelly pasture.

And when he met God (again) right there in the pasture, God CHOSE to be defined by the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Why? He didn’t meet the God of his father-in-law nor did he meet God, the pharaoh-god. There must be something about those three.

Might I propose that they had one thing in common with Moses – each had received a profound promise from God. A promise that had already been fulfilled in ways that Moses would have known and could relate to. Enough that Moses KNEW that he was in the presence of the Most High.

For Elohim, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; our God, is a promise keeping God. And whether we are in the palace, among the peasants or pasturing sheep; God sees us and remembers the promise made to us. Individual and collective promises. Our God, Who met Abraham, Isaac and Jacob wherever they were, was willing to meet Moses at his smelliest. I am convinced Our God will meet with us right where we are.

So we take our cares and our joys God-ward today, believing that God keeps promises – to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and also – to us.

In Christ’s love and grace . . .