Explore God’s Call to ServanthoodSample

God’s Servant Moses

Moses is another important example of a figure in the Old Testament who embodied servanthood. Moses’s life is both fascinating and central to Judaism and Christianity.

After hearing the cry of His people and remembering His promise to Abraham in Exodus 2:24, God called Moses to serve Him by confronting Pharaoh and leading Israel out of Egypt.

Moses struggled to trust God in the initial moments of this calling, but as the book of Exodus and the entire Pentateuch make clear, Moses was obedient to the Lord and did what he was called to do. As a result, he is called God’s servant in Exodus 14:31 after he brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea.

He is called a servant again in Deuteronomy 34:5 near the end of his life. A servant to both God and Israel, Moses is used by God to deliver His people from Pharaoh’s bondage, to give the Law to God’s people, and also to serve as Israel’s most important prophet. In moments where the people rebelled against God and caused His anger to burn against them, Moses stood between God and man, pleading for God’s mercy and calling on God to remember His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exod. 32:11–14).

Moses obeyed instead of making his life about himself. On behalf of God and His people, Moses forsook the luxuries and comforts of Egypt, yielded to God’s will, and was used by God to liberate His people from the most powerful man in the world at that time.

The author of Hebrews 11:24-29 specifically notes the cost of Moses’s obedience to God. Instead of living a life filled with pleasure and ease, Moses set it all aside as an act of worship, choosing to give himself in service to the one true God.

Like Abraham, Moses wasn’t perfect. There were times when his anger got the best of him, and he resisted doing what God called him to do. Also, like Abraham, Moses embodied the characteristics of a servant. Specifically, in the moments described above, and in many more, Moses exhibited humility, obedience, sacrifice, trust, and devotion. When all was said and done, he was faithful to do what God called him to do. He forsook comfort and luxury, and he trusted God to do what only God can do.