Friday, May 13, 2011
As I have been studying the life of Moses I came across a verse that intrigued me. The verse is Exodus 2:22, Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become an alien in a foreign land." Moses had fled from Egypt and landed in Midian. He married Zipporah and felt compelled to name his first son Gershom. My study Bible notes that this name sounds like the Hebrew for "an alien there". I suppose it was customary to name your children based on your feelings at the time. Moses felt like an alien so he named his kid...alien. My kids should be grateful that we don't practice the same custom. Their names would probably be tired and hungry.
Moses felt like an alien because he was an alien. He was an Israelite living in Midian. He knew his homeland was somewhere else but for a period of time (40 years) he would live among the Midianites.
It's interesting to note that we too are resident aliens. Philippians 3:20 teaches us that our citizenship is in heaven. So we live here on this earth but we know that our real home is somewhere else.
Peter develops this theme in his letter. In 1 Peter 1:1 he addressed his audience as "God's elect, strangers in the world..." We find these words in 1 Peter 2:11-12, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."
Peter not only acknowledges the fact that we are aliens and strangers in this world, he also instructs us how we should live as aliens. Two ways in particular: 1) Abstain from sinful desires. In other words, there are desires that will wage war against our soul and we should steer clear of those things. 2) Live good and peaceful lives. Even though we feel like strangers we should be kind, loving, sharing and doing good deeds. Christan's should not be mean and vindictive. When we live good and peaceful lives God is glorified.
Later in the same chapter Peter introduces the ultimate example of living in a home away from a home. He writes, "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly (verses 22-23). Of course, he is referring to Jesus. If there ever was a resident alien, it's Jesus. And he left us an example of how to live - by entrusting our life to God.
I'm sure there were many times that Moses had to just trust God as he was living as an Israelite in Midian. That's how we must live as well - trusting God so that we show Him to be glorious!
Pastor Tim
Moses felt like an alien because he was an alien. He was an Israelite living in Midian. He knew his homeland was somewhere else but for a period of time (40 years) he would live among the Midianites.
It's interesting to note that we too are resident aliens. Philippians 3:20 teaches us that our citizenship is in heaven. So we live here on this earth but we know that our real home is somewhere else.
Peter develops this theme in his letter. In 1 Peter 1:1 he addressed his audience as "God's elect, strangers in the world..." We find these words in 1 Peter 2:11-12, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."
Peter not only acknowledges the fact that we are aliens and strangers in this world, he also instructs us how we should live as aliens. Two ways in particular: 1) Abstain from sinful desires. In other words, there are desires that will wage war against our soul and we should steer clear of those things. 2) Live good and peaceful lives. Even though we feel like strangers we should be kind, loving, sharing and doing good deeds. Christan's should not be mean and vindictive. When we live good and peaceful lives God is glorified.
Later in the same chapter Peter introduces the ultimate example of living in a home away from a home. He writes, "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly (verses 22-23). Of course, he is referring to Jesus. If there ever was a resident alien, it's Jesus. And he left us an example of how to live - by entrusting our life to God.
I'm sure there were many times that Moses had to just trust God as he was living as an Israelite in Midian. That's how we must live as well - trusting God so that we show Him to be glorious!
Pastor Tim
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