Humble Authority – January 31, 2024

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites.
Deuteronomy 18:18

Humble Authority

God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of four centuries of slavery. Moses stood face to face with the Pharaoh of Egypt and won. He oversaw millions of people, handling their complaints, leading them through the wilderness, and judging their toughest disputes. Moses was important. He was the man. But he wrote of himself: “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3).

Isn’t that ironic? It certainly does not seem like a very humble thing to say. Until you consider what author C.S. Lewis wrote, “humility is not thinking less about yourself but thinking about yourself less.” That certainly was Moses. Moses did not care about rank or reputation. He put the needs of the Israelites ahead of his own and brought them to the Promised Land.

As humble as Moses was, his sin barred him from entering the Promised Land. And his humility could not save all the Israelites who died in unbelief in the wilderness.

It was the humility of another like Moses that got Moses into heaven. Jesus is the prophet God chose to lead his people out of spiritual slavery. As God, Jesus has absolute authority over everyone and everything.

Yet Jesus did not use that authority to his own advantage. He put our needs ahead of his own and gave his life on the cross. He used his humble authority to pay our sin debt with his blood. Victorious over the grave, Jesus is the way through the wilderness. All who believe in him have eternal life in the land that God has promised.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, give me humility like yours so I can be confident in my salvation and share your salvation with those in need. Amen.