Day 40 with Moses: Sometimes we have to be stirred to keep from settling.

“Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭1:8-11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I used to sing the song, “Just as an Eagle Stirs Her Nest.” Here are some of the lyrics:

So often when men are blessed

With prosperity

The goodness and mercy of God

They no longer see

They seem to say within

My soul take thine ease

And they turn away from God

And do just as they please

But as an eagle

Stirreth her nest

So that her young ones

Will have no rest

God in His own

Mysterious way

Stirs up His people

To watch and pray

This song seems to have been inspired by a passage of scripture referencing how the Lord dealt with His people:

“As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings, So the Lord alone led him, And there was no foreign god with him.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭32:11-12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Interestingly, this scripture is reflecting on how an eagle actually operates with its young. You see, the eagle builds its massive nest using sticks, thorny vines, even rocks, but then carefully covers the inside of it with soft materials such as feathers and animal fur. Now, as the eaglets begin to get close to the time that they need to learn to fly, the mother will begin to gradually remove the soft elements of the nest exposing sticks, stones, and other hard materials. In so doing, she makes the nest considerably less comfortable and the eaglets more willing to get out and fly.

King Nebuchadnezzar had been warned to pay attention to God and turn from his self-exalting ways. But he was at ease in his situation and had to be stirred from his comfort.

“The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.””

‭‭Daniel‬ ‭4:30-32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If you have read the rest of the story you know that this disturbance of Nebuchadnezzar’s world, ended with him recognizing God as being the Most High.

Jesus told a parable concerning one who was at ease and paid for that ease with his soul.

“Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:16-20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah, warning the women who were at ease among His people, that destruction was headed their way.

“Rise up, you women who are at ease, Hear my voice; You complacent daughters, Give ear to my speech. In a year and some days You will be troubled, you complacent women; For the vintage will fail, The gathering will not come.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭32:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

On this our 40th day of “40 Days with Moses,” we return to the beginning of the story.

The children of Israel, having prospered in Egypt, began to be oppressed by a pharaoh who didn’t know—or care—about the great deeds of Joseph. Now they were under a terrible burden and cried out to God for help.

You see, before they began to be oppressed, the people prospered and most certainly were content to live out all of their days in Egypt. But as we know, the Lord had another idea. The Lord had separated out Abraham from whom would come a great nation, a nation separated unto Himself.

“But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt till another king arose who did not know Joseph.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭7:17-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Let’s look at the Lord’s promise to Abraham:

“Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭15:13-14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The time had come for the children of Israel to come out of Egypt and go to the Promised Land. But the people weren’t willing to leave their comfort, so their comfort left them.

As counterintuitive as it may seem, and as difficult as it proves to be for those experiencing the stirring, God can and does use contrary circumstances to make our place of settling, less comfortable. In so doing, we just might be shaken from our ease, and try to fly!

For today let us discover what Moses discovered:

Sometimes we have to be stirred to keep from settling.

#40dayswithmoses