Digging Deeper: Be a Humble Servant
“When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses”
Exodus 14:31 (ESV)
BE A HUMBLE SERVANT
The Israelites are safely on dry land, and the Egyptians lie dead on the shore. The story concludes with:
“When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses” (Ex. 14:31, NLT).
God heard their cries, and they were redeemed. Their faith in the Lord—and in Moses—was restored. Unfortunately, this faith did not last. Because of their sins, the current generation (including Moses) would not live to inhabit the Promised Land.
The phrases “fear the Lord,” “fear God,” and “stand in awe” occur more than fifty times in the Bible (ESV). We, who are His creation, should have a healthy fear of the One who is all-powerful and who spoke the world into existence. Oftentimes, the word “fear” in the Bible is rendered as “awe” or “reverence.” God should be held in awe, and we should be humbled by the chasm that exists between the God of the universe and our helpless selves. Fortunately, as we saw in Part 1 of this series, God provided a way to bridge that chasm through the person of Jesus Christ.
We should be in reverent fear and awe of our powerful God. In love and obedience, we should humbly serve Him. As the writer of Proverbs notes:
“The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor” (Prov. 15:33).
Jesus came in the flesh not only to provide a way to salvation and give us a glimpse of the character of God, but also to give us an example of a humble servant. As the apostle Mark wrote:
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Webster’s Dictionary defines humble as:
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not proud or haughty; not arrogant or assertive;
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a spirit of deference or submission;
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ranking low in a hierarchy or scale.
Do you know someone who thinks they are the humblest person they know? (For those of you who know me—no pointing fingers in my direction!) Humility is advanced Christianity. Humble servitude is post-graduate-level stuff. Paul reminds the church in Philippi:
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3–4).
Moses is described in the Bible as a “humble” man, a great “prophet,” a “man of God,” and a “friend of God,” who spoke “face to face” with God.
Let the lessons from the life of Moses be:
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God will equip you for the task He has at hand;
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When God calls, do not waver;
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Trust in God—He will provide a way;
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Get off the bench and get in the game;
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Humbly serve in the role that God has placed you in.
Digging Deeper (er):
John 4:34; 1 Samuel 12:24; Deuteronomy 10:12
Phil Meade is a father of 3, and grandfather of 5. He has a Masters Degree in Theological Studies from Liberty University, and lives in Acworth. He has led various small groups throughout his more than 20 years attending NS. He retired after 8 years as an Air Force pilot, and 33 years as a Delta pilot.