STRESS OUTSIDE of VOCATION

STRESS OUTSIDE of VOCATION

Psalm 90

This is a famous psalm that “determines” the length of human life. 70 or 80 years – a good span of life. Lot’s can be done within these years. Thou people often miss that the subscription for the psalm attribute the text to Moses. And we know that Moses himself lived 120 years. This raises the question: what was he doing when he passed 70 years mark?

We know it – the answer is very simple – he was a shepherd herding the flocks for his father-in-law. Verse 10 says that 70 years is a sure mark a man can plan for. For sure, Moses was aware of sicknesses and wars that carry away the lives of the young men and women. Yet, under “normal” circumstances this is what one can expect. Then Moses pushes the boundaries a little further – maybe 80…

This makes me think that he wrote it in the wilderness during his long nights being far away from his family: from his wife, from his boys… He thinks of the span of his life and a realization happens – as he prays (note that the superscription begins with the word “prayer of Moses”) about the fate of Israel, his brothers by blood, he understands that the disaster they got themselves into is rooted in rejection of God (cp. Joshua 24:14-15). Therefore, his statement about the length of life is bracketed within the passages about anger of God (vv. 7 and 11) and surrounded by the statements of repentance (vv. 3-4 and 13-15).

This brings us to a personal question – where is a place for Moses in this journey of the people of God? And that’s my take on this: I think Moses felt that the death is near, passing mark of 70 years and going toward 80, right before the call [Ex. 3]. I’m not sure that he was afraid of death of a snake bite or a scorpion… I think he realized that he is not doing/fulfilling his vocation as a leader of Israel. I wouldn’t dare to call him coward because he ran away from an upset pharaoh (Ex. 2:15). No, but he understands the disconnect between his understanding of his vocation and the reality. He should’ve been the shepherd for the Sons of Jacob, yet he is a shepherd herding the sheep from hill to hill. This disconnect is a [de-]pressing issue for man’s heart…   

And here comes God! He met Moses at the burning bush when Moses was about 77-78 years old (do your own math 😉). God extended him a call to lead the people, to defeat the pharaoh, and to spend 40 (!) more year [in the wilderness].