Lesson 1 - 3/6/22 - Ex. 3:4-14; 4:13-16 - Reluctance
INTRODUCTION: Today we start a new quarterly study in the Books of Exodus and Leviticus. While we won't be covering every chapter and verse, our program of study will be enough to give you a good, overall understanding and refresher course on these two OT books. Exodus and Leviticus are both about life, and they really go together. You could say that Exodus tells the story of the birth and early childhood of God's people and Leviticus covers their schooling. As we start with Exodus this morning, I'm going to skip Chapters 1 and 2 and instead, give a quick summary. Chapter 1 reports that in Egypt the "Israelites...increased abundantly...grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them" and "there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph" (1:7-8). Seeing that the Israelites were growing strong, the king-Pharaoh-enslaved them and ordered mid-wives to kill all the male Hebrew babies (1:15). Jochebed, mother of the infant Moses, hid him in a basket among the reeds in the Nile River, and the baby was discovered by Pharaoh's daughter, who raised him in the palace, where he lived as a prince of Egypt for 40 years (2:1-10). During this time, Moses became distressed over the treatment his Hebrew kinsmen were suffering under their Egyptian oppressors. Then one day when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, he killed him and hid the body in the sand. (2:11-12). Afterward, he was forced to flee for his life and escaped to the land of Midian (see map, located near the SW coast of modern Iran today) (2:15-16). In Midian, he became a shepherd for the next 40 years. At this juncture, Moses was content with his life as a shepherd and had married the daughter of Jethro, owner of the flocks he tended. Listen to the final verses of Chapter 2: Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.
Read Ex. 3:1-6 - MINDING HIS OWN BUSINESS
1 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 Then the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. 3 So Moses said, "I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!" 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 6 And He said, "I am the God of your father-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
vv. 1-3: We find that Moses had led Jethro's flock (= sheep and/goats, not cattle) to an area in the southern Sinai to Horeb, "the mountain of God." Horab and Sinai are the name for the same mountain, the exact location of which is not certain. Now, there is no indication at all that Moses knew this was the mountain of God or that he came there seeking it. To all appearances he was simply looking to find good grazing land for his father-in-law's flock. We don't know his exact age here, but we'll learn a little later on in Chapter 7 that he's 80. In v. 2, when the angel appeared as a burning bush, there's no indication that Moses saw the angel, but that his curiosity was aroused because the bush was burning fiercely without being consumed by the fire, and he goes for a closer look. When God manifests His presence in nature-e.g., a burning bush, a whirlwind, a pillar of cloud or fire, etc.-it's known in Scripture as a "theophany" (Gk. theophaneia, lit. God appears).
v. 4: "When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" - Notice that it is God who calls Moses, not the angel. Using the repeated name, "Moses, Moses!" God displays both importance and familiarity with Moses.
v. 4b: "And he said, "Here I am" - Moses' reply indicates that (1) yes, I am Moses (2) and I am listening to You very, very carefully.
v. 5: "Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." - God issues two commands here: (1) For Moses to come no closer and (2) to remove his sandals. The reason is that Moses is standing on holy ground and must show reverence and respect. The time and place are holy, not because of the locale but because of God's presence. What we are seeing here is a watershed event, not only for Moses, but for his people and ultimately, for the entire world. We are here today, studying this text, because of this event and the chain of events that would ultimately lead to the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Do you see this? The beginning of God's redemptive plan after 400 years of silence?
v. 6a: "And He said, "I am the God of your father-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" - The "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" is a common Biblical formula often repeated in the OT. But notice that God first identifies Himself as the God of Moses' biological father (singular case - whose name was Amram). This is a very a personal approach. Although impressed by the reference to historical figures like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses would have been touched by mention of his father.
v. 6b: "Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God" - Moses' fear is natural and well-founded. It was the fear of an inferior in the presence of a superior, and the fear of the unholy in the presence of the most holy. It was the fear of a mortal and frail man that this was going to be decisive-a make-it or break-it-moment in his life, but he has no earthly idea what's coming next.
Read Ex. 3:7-12 - THE CRY OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL HAS COME TO ME
7 And the LORD said, "I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" 12 And He said, "Assuredly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain."
v. 7: "And the LORD said, "I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings" - Notice the three verbs God uses to identify the problem: I have seen, I have heard, I am aware. Taken together, it means that God knew everything there was to know about the condition of the Israelites, whom He identifies as "my people."
v. 8a: "So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up" - Notice that God has "come down" to "bring them up," telling us that He had entered the human world in order to correct the affliction of His people (it's been over 400 years).
v. 8b: "from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey" - This promise has it roots in the covenant that God made with Abraham years earlier (Gen. 15:18). This is the first reference to "a land flowing with milk and honey" but won't be the last.
v. 8c: "to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite" - This is a list of the people who then occupied this land-who they would have to conquer.
v. 9: "And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them - God has not only heard their cries of woe, but has heard their prayers for deliverance. He has seen the injustice rendered by their Egyptian overlords.
v. 10: "And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt" - Ever since God had addressed him from the burning bush, Moses must have wondered why God had established contact with him, a simple shepherd living in the middle of nowhere. When God answered his unspoken question, we can well imagine it must have hit him like a bombshell-that he was expected to lead approx. 3-4 million people out of Egypt! Impossible, he must have thought! He was content to be a shepherd of sheep, but to shepherd an entire nation!
v. 11: "But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" - With the reply, "Who am I?" In other words, "Why me"? Moses honestly saw himself as woefully inadequate and ill-equipped to accomplish a task of such magnitude. This is just the first of five objections Moses raises in an attempt to avoid God's call.
v. 12a: "And He said, "Assuredly I will be with you" - This is the same promise God made earlier to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the OT context, when God is "with" someone, it confirms that God's infinite power will enable that person to carry out whatever task God commands him to do.
v. 12b: "and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain" - God also confirms that the place on which Moses is standing-Mt. Sinai-will be a "sign" when Moses leads the entire Israelite nation out of slavery in Egypt to this place. In Scripture, a "sign" is something made known, a revelation of god.
Read Ex. 3:13-15 - I AM WHO I AM
13 Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" 14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 God furthermore said to Moses, "This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is the name for all generations to use to call upon Me.'"
v. 13: "Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" - Here, Moses basically asks "Who are you?" In Moses' day a name was more than a common label used to identify someone; to know someone's name meant knowing what was important or unique about them. Moses' chief need is to know God's name for the purpose of authentication when he faces the Israelite people. He hopes God's name will give him authority.
v. 14: "And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" - The name "I AM WHO AM" (Heb. 'eheyeah 'asher Yahweh) is a cryptic title that literally means someone who is indefinable. By His name, God declares His eternal, unchanging, and uncreated self-existence. In ancient Hebrew script, it's spelled YHWH (no vowels). In modern translations it appears as LORD (upper and lower case).
v. 15: "God furthermore said to Moses, "This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is the name for all generations to use to call upon Me.'" - God now proceeds to identify Himself as the God of Moses' ancestors-the God of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This will be meaningful and evocative to the Israelites who, despite centuries of captivity, will know and revere these names. They will also be familiar with God's dealings with these patriarchs in the past, which should give them assurance with regard to how God will deal with them in the present. Finally, God declares that YHWH (LORD) will be His name for them and for all generations (i.e., permanent-forever).
NOTE: For the balance of chapter 3 and on into Chapter 4, Moses replied to God with a litany of excuses why he wasn't up to this job. In response, God showed him miracles and demonstrated how he would be empowered to perform signs and miracles with his shepherd's staff. In Ex. 4:10-16, when Moses expressed doubts about his abilities as a speaker, God told him that his brother Aaron, a gifted speaker, would meet up with him and serve with him on God's behalf; and in all of this, God gave Moses the guarantee that He would be "with him" the entire way.
Read Ex. 4:13-16 - PLEASE SEND SOMEONE ELSE (ESV)
13 But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else." 14 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, "Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.
v. 13: "But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else" - Here, Moses is done with excuses and shows the real state of his heart: Very simply, he would rather that God send someone else instead of him. His problem wasn't concern over lack of ability; it was a lack of willingness. God wasn't angry with Moses earlier when he expressed reservations about his abilities. But God was angry when Moses was plain unwilling. Notice that God wasn't asking Moses to volunteer; He was giving him an order.
v. 14: "and He said, "Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart." When God agreed to bring Aaron in, it was actually an expression of discipline, not giving-in. As events would turn out, Aaron was more of a hindrance to Moses than a help.
v. 15: "You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do" - This is a graphic description of someone who functions as a "mouthpiece" for someone else. God is telling Moses that he, in effect, will be a "god" who will speak his revelation to Aaron, who will function as his prophet. Aaron was only authorized to say, word-for-word, whatever Moses tells him to say. Nothing else.
v. 16: "He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him" - Aaron was never God's spokesman but only a spokesman for Moses. There was a precedent for this in Egypt in which an official called "the mouth of king" would speak on behalf of Pharaoh, who himself was considered to be 'god.'
APPLICATION-God Sends and Saves
