"Moses' Father" (Part 2)

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up." When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:1-6 NIV).

Yesterday we started this short series looking at Moses’ father. Most of us are very familiar with some of the other patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. However, Moses father, Amram, is relatively unknown. In fact, even Moses didn’t know much about him. Remember that had been raised under Pharaoh's ruling. He was trained as an Egyptian. It was only later in life that Moses realized he had to be true to his Israelite heritage.

Moses' father must have been quite a man. Being a Levite, we know that he was from the priestly line. As we look at today's verse, which occurs as Moses stood before the burning bush, we realize that Moses' father, whose name we do not even know until later in the Book of Exodus, is given equal status with the likes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the father, son, and grandson of the Israelite faith. God evidently wanted Moses to understand his family background. Moses didn’t have the advantage of growing up under his father's care, but Moses had a father of stature within the eyes of God, and that must have meant something to Moses. He must have been proud to hear God speak of his father in such a way.

As we approach Father’s Day, I am called to evaluate what kind of Dad I’ve been. I know this is a tough subject for some. We live in a culture where every father/son or father/daughter relationship isn’t as strong as it should be. If yours is one of those, then make a firm commitment today to be the kind of dad that God would add to the list of great patriarchs in the Scripture. The way to insure that is to love your children unconditionally, spend both quality and quantity time with them, and teach them the ways of the Lord by both words and actions in your life.

Then, if you are a child and had a great Dad, tell him so. Those words of encouragement go farther than you could ever imagine! I know that when I get a card from my boys and they express that kind of appreciation to me, it means the world to me!