Moses is a type of God’s called ones today. Do not think, as many do, that Moses is vastly superior to us. Most Christians regard Moses as the highest servant of God in the Old Testament and Paul as the highest in the New Testament. Comparing themselves with Moses and Paul, they have a very low estimate of themselves. This attitude is mistaken. God’s calling of us is the same in principle as His calling of Moses and Paul. What Moses experienced in type, Paul experienced in reality. Today both the type and the reality should be our experience also.
In the Life-study of Ephesians we pointed out that all the saints can be perfected to do the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. Just as a mathematics teacher perfects his students to do what he can do, so the leading ones perfect the saints to do the very things that they themselves do. Paul was a representative of the members of the Body of Christ. No matter how great Paul was, he was still just one member of the Body. In principle, what he was able to do, all the other members should be able to do also. This indicates that all the members should be called as Paul was called. For this reason, we all must know the purpose of God’s calling.
The purpose of God’s calling is firstly to deliver His chosen people out of the usurpation and tyranny of Pharaoh and Egypt (3:8, 17). Pharaoh was a type of Satan, and Egypt was a type of the world. Just as Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt, so Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31). God is still seeking to deliver His chosen people out of the usurping hand of Satan and out of the tyranny of the world. As God’s called ones, we need a clear view of what the world is. The world is not a source of enjoyment; it is a place of tyranny. In the world Satan is keeping God’s chosen people, those destined for the fulfillment of God’s purpose, under his usurping hand.
Every aspect of the world is a form of tyranny. In Exodus Pharaoh kept the children of Israel under tyranny by forcing them to do hard labor. The same principle operates today. As people work, they suffer under various forms of tyranny. Even making a long drive to work on a crowded freeway is one kind of tyranny. Likewise, the competition for promotion and the insecurity about losing a job are also kinds of tyranny. Nevertheless, anyone who does not labor for Pharaoh in the world will not receive the supply of the Nile. In order to earn a living in the world, God’s chosen people must serve under the tyranny of Pharaoh.
Shopping is another form of the world’s tyranny. Many young women are held in tyranny in a subtle way through shopping for the latest fashions.
Recently some saints told me that they do not have the time to pray or read the Bible. I pointed out that they have plenty of time to make telephone calls or to read the newspaper. This indicates that even the telephone or the newspaper may be a means of tyranny.
It is easy to preach to people, but it is very difficult to bring them out of the usurpation and tyranny of Satan and the world. As we shall see, Moses did not preach to the children of Israel, but he was able to rescue them from Pharaoh. Today we also need to have the authority to bring God’s people out of the usurping hand of Satan. One aspect of God’s purpose in His calling is to use us to bring others out of the usurpation and tyranny of Satan and the world.