Last Sunday, my son came home from church and asked if we could watch “The Ten Commandments.” I first watched the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille epic with him last year. He loved every bit of it, especially the part where Moses parts the Red Sea and when God reveals the 10 commandments to him.
Just like the year before, Ryker, Mandy and me sat down and watched the entire three-and-a-half-hour movie. There were some occasional attention drifts during long talking scenes, but for the most part, they stuck with it through the entire thing.
As a father, Ryker’s love for the story of Moses does my heart good. It’s a sign that all my efforts to teach them the gospel is succeeding and it’s fun to pass on a beloved tradition that was part of my childhood. I grew up watching “The Ten Commandments” with my family every easter. While the film is not entirely accurate (that’s a story for another time), it’s instilled in me a love for this Bible story and I can’t help but picture Charlton Heston when I read it.
As I studied the first part of the story in the Bible this week, I realized how much shorter the scriptural account is and how much detail was added to the movie. You’ve heard the oft-quoted phrase, “The book is much better than the movie.” In this case, I’d say the reverse is true.
Exodus 3
But there is one piece of the story in the scriptures that was particularly insightful to me. A few weeks ago, I discussed the meaning of Joseph’s name and how that defined who he was. Continuing on that same theme, it struck me that Moses’ name means “to draw out of the water.” Like Joseph, his name defines his life.
Moses was raised in the house of Pharoah, yet he spent most of his life not really knowing who he was. And how could he? His biological mother sent him down the river in a basket as a baby to protect him from being killed. With such a mysterious beginning to his life and the eventual discovery that he is, in fact, a Levite (a descendant of Joseph’s brother, Levi), it causes him to run away.
He ends up in Midian, where he meets Zipporah, the woman who becomes his wife, and his father-in-law, Jethro.
Eventually, he ends up at the top of Mount Sinai for that iconic encounter with Jehovah in a burning bush.
In Exodus chapter 3, verse four, it says,
“God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.”
It’s significant to me that God called him by name. One might ask, what else would he call him? But the fact that God, the creator of the universe, would call Moses by name is proof that even though Moses didn’t know who he was, God did.
After telling Moses to remove his shoes, the Lord continues in verse 6,
“I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
“I have surely seen the afflictions of my people … and have heard their cry,” the Lord says in verse 7. “I know their sorrows.”
“I am come down to deliver them … and I will send thee unto Pharoah that thou mayest bring forth my people,” the Lord says.
So God begins to teach Moses who Moses is by identifying himself as “the God of Abraham,” thereby introducing the principle that in order to know yourself, you first need to know who God is.
He also assures Moses that he’s “seen the afflictions” of his people and heard their cries. If God saw the afflictions of those people, what does that say about you and me? He is aware of everything that happens in our lives and everything that happens to us is part of his plan.
One day, he will deliver us from our trials and as the Lord reminded Moses numerous times, “I will be with thee.”
Moses 1
This scriptural episode parallels another encounter Moses had with God in Chapter 1 of The Book of Moses. This account does not specifically state when this encounter occurred but it does indicate it was on a mountaintop after the burning bush incident.
On this occasion, Moses “saw God face to face and he talked with him.” In verse 3,
“God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?”
“Behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.”
“I have a work for thee, Moses, my son,” the Lord tells Moses in verse 6.
Shortly after this conversation, Satan appears to Moses and tries to deceive him. Satan tells Moses he is a son of man and commands Moses to worship him.
“I am a son of God,” Moses responds in verse 13. “Get thee hence, Satan, and deceive me not.”
After attempting to frighten Moses, Satan eventually departs “with a loud voice with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
The voice of God returns and reassures Moses that God has chosen him and shows him “the inhabitants of the earth” and his works.
Back in Exodus, Jehovah told Moses he “would stretch out (his) hand and smite Egypt with all (his) wonders” through Moses. In Moses 1, God told Moses he had a work for him to do and the miracles Moses went on to perform are now iconically portrayed in “The Ten Commandments.”
But after reading each of these accounts and pondering in my heart, it is clear to me that the greatest miracle Moses achieved was learning who he was and none of the others would have been possible without first learning that lesson.
I want God to teach me who I am so that I can understand my purpose and become who he wants me to become.
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