By the late 1700s, the economics of slavery were so entrenched in the British Empire that only a handful of people thought anything could be done about it. That handful included the English aristocrat William Wilberforce, who was to write,
“So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the [slave] trade’s wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for abolition. Let the consequences be what they would: I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition.”
With this firestorm for injustice in his heart, Wilberforce and a group of trusted friends (called “The Clapham Circle”) mobilized the public and took on the slave traders and the British Parliament to end the slave trade in the British Empire — eventually leading to the Abolition of Slavery Act in 1833.
A few thousand years before, another well-educated, wealthy and powerful man had a similar conversion that brought about the eventual emancipation of a whole people group from the oppression of a powerful regime. Like Wilberforce, young Moses was accustomed to the finer things in life but, despite all his surroundings of being raised by the daughter of Pharaoh, Moses knew that he was a Jewish boy living the Egyptian dream. At Exodus chapter 2, verse 11, it says, “One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor.” Enslaved for 400 years, a thriving economy was being built off the backs of Hebrew slaves. Moses’ heart was ignited with rage as he witnessed firsthand the oppression of his people and in a passionate outburst, he killed an Egyptian slave owner who was beating a Hebrew slave.
Forty years later, having fled from Pharaoh and now living as an outcast in the desert, Moses noticed a bush that, although burning, was somehow not consumed by the flames. It is easy to have the misconception that the miraculous sight of a spontaneously and perpetually burning bush caused Moses to transition from shepherd to patriarch, from criminal in hiding to the leader and liberator of God’s people. I wonder if there was a little more going on? I wonder if it is possible that the burning bush was, in fact, the means by which God got Moses to slow down long enough for Him to get his attention and convey a level of empathy most of us never think to ascribe to God.
Might we paraphrase the Lord’s conversation with Moses in this way: “Moses, I completely understand the rage you feel. I too have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have felt their anguish as they suffer. And for what it is worth, I hate the sorrow and suffering as much as you do. If you can believe me, I hate it more. I am stirred in my Spirit, Moses. I have decided to intervene from heaven. I have chosen to rescue my people and I want you to help me. If you will participate in my plan, then I will harness the internal firestorm that rages inside of you and channel it into Holy action that will set my people free from slavery.” This encounter was a powerful, spiritual congruence or connection that linked Moses’ priorities to the priorities of God. We witness the same divine congruence over William Wilberforce’s life.
Does your heart burn with a passion for some local or global injustice? If so, is it remotely possible that God is meeting you in this place? If so, how would you know? In next week’s Saturday blog we will attempt to answer this question.