LET GO AND LET’S GO (EXODUS 3:1-4:17)
My wife always teased me about my resistance to change. When we first met, I declared to her that I already had a Master of Theology degree and that I did not need more study to do the work of ministry. Within a year, I left Los Angeles for studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. When she asked me to obtain an e-mail account when the Internet was the rage in 1998, again I simply brushed aside the suggestion, remarking, “Is that the way to communicate?” Now I wonder how people can live without it! Another time she referred a Bible software program (PC Study Bible) to me, I looked at her funny, thinking out loud, “Why do I need computer software to study God’s word?” Now I use it for sermon preparation without fail and require my students to learn it.
The list goes on and on, from refusing to replace a problem car to replace worn-out clothes. I go from ridiculing or lampooning the suggestion to stonewalling and resenting the person. Usually the emotional and mental wall of resistance crumbles by itself within a few minutes, a few days or, at worst, a few weeks after groaning and moaning.
Of all the people receiving God’s commission in the Bible, Moses’ resistance was unmatched. He was an expert in saying no; he began with a submissive “Here I am,” but the moment he heard the word “go” he dug in his heels and resisted like a mule. He said the Hebrew “No” four times (4:1, 1, 1, 10). In the beginning he protested, “No, not me!” and at the end he whined, “Anyone but me!” (4:13) He argued cleverly, passionately and fearlessly, portraying himself as a victim, a failure and a misfit, but through it all God showed His mercy to Moses, His faithfulness to Israel and sovereignty over all things.
God desires His people to let go of past circumstances, unpleasant history and lame excuses. For forty years Moses had severed his ties to royalty, his sense of justice and his aspiration for reformation, but God directly said “Go” to Moses three times in their exchange (3:10, 3:16, 4:12). Altogether, the word “go” occurs ten times in chapters 3 and 4 – four times in chapter 3 (3:10, 16, 18, 19) and six times in chapter four (4:12, 18, 18, 18, 21, 29).
How does God unchain us from the past? What is His use for us in the present? Why is trust in Him never a letdown?
God’s Deliverance is Present
10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’" 15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, ‘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, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. (Ex 3:10-15)
Several years ago Charles Killian, professor at Ashbury Theological Seminary, admitted that he had failed to understand God’s unconditional love, Christ’s atoning death and the meaning of grace. Many nights when he was young, he cried himself to bed, apologizing for failing to measure up to God’s standards, including failing to read the Bible, praying enough or being the right kind of person. He was raised in a godly but strict home, attending church twice on Sunday and once during the week and often stepping forward when the altar call was given.
One day he heard an evangelist preached a powerful message that hearers like him were the ones who nailed Christ to the cross. That image stuck in his mind and that evening he cried himself to sleep, apologizing to God for killing his Son. For the next twenty to thirty years, he aimed for perfection, mastered spiritual disciplines and served God faithfully as a seminary professor.
One time, during a difficult period in his life, his wife tried to help him see the meaning of grace. He came home and found yellow ribbons wrapped around the family coat rack that was placed in the middle of the hallway, with a note attached to the tree that said: “So what if it’s not a real oak tree. Any old tree will do. I love you.” For the first time he saw that God loved him unconditionally. (Leadership, Fall 1993 “Spiritual Disciplines for the Undisciplined”)
Moses was a murderer, a traitor and a fugitive. His talents, abilities and passion were effectively silenced by what took place forty years ago. However, God’s deliverance was before him presently, but first Moses had to acknowledge God, his past and his destiny.
The real problem of Moses now was not Pharaoh; it was himself. The king of Egypt had died (2:23), but Moses was not free – free from the rejection of a single fellow Hebrew, free from the threat of Pharaoh on his life (Ex 2:15) or free from the label, the baggage or the mistakes of the past. Times took flight, but Moses stood still. “Who am I?” was a good question Moses asked (3:11) but never answered. The real Moses was a prince, not a shepherd; a Hebrew, not a Midian; a champion, and not a coward.
No one is perfect. No one should bear with forty years of shame, guilt and denial. The church father St. Francis de Sales said: “Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself.” No matter how awkward, unworthy or incapable he felt, God was not mistaken in His choice of Moses. Moses did not feel right, powerful or convinced, but he was always the one in God’s mind, and God would use Moses with or without his personal approval, others’ popular support or team leadership skills. God saw and tapped the potential in Moses because He knew Moses better than Moses knew himself. He calls, corrects and changes those who have failed and those who are fallen.
God’s Design is Prudent
13 But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.” 14 Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it.” (Ex 4:13-17)
Lucy went up to the pitcher’s mound after the game was over and apologized to the dejected Charlie Brown who had pitched a brilliant game in another loss, explaining why she had missed an easy fly ball that cost the team the game in a narrow loss to their opponents: “Sorry I missed that easy fly ball, manager. I thought I had it. But suddenly I remembered all the others I’ve missed. The past got in my eyes.”
It’s been said, “A Christian is not perfect; he is just forgiven.”
For the first time God revealed His name - “I AM WHO I AM.” Some say that “I AM WHO I AM” is in the present tense, others argued that it is in the future tense, and still others say it is both, but for sure it is not in past tense. Better, the name of God attests to His presence, His promise and provision.
God vowed His presence with Moses in his task. God said to Moses, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (Ex 3:12) God assured Moses of His presence not only before Pharaoh and out of Egypt but up the mountain, until his task was done.
God’s word never fails. His promises are the same from age to age. The promise He had declared in the past to the fathers (Ex 3:6) was relevant to Moses in the present and to all future generation. God said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob (past) - has sent me to you (present).’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation (future).” (Ex 3:15)
God had the power to fulfill His promise to the Israelites. He was forever, faithful and fearsome (Ex 3:20). He was a God of wonders (Ex 3:20), signs (Ex 4:8) and miracles (Ex 4:21), and He had the power to give Israel the Promised Land that was attractive to the eyes, vast in size and good for the stomach. The land was described as good and spacious (Ex 3:8), flowing with milk and honey (Ex 3:8, 17).
God’s Determination is Perfect
10 Moses said to the LORD, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” 11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” 13 But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.” (Ex 4:10-13)
Moses’ crisis was like a Charlie Brown situation in the middle of the night. One night he couldn’t get to sleep and Snoopy was sound asleep on his tummy. After tossing and turning for a long time, He sighed to himself, “Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, “Who, Why, What and Where?” Then a voice comes back to me that says, ‘Wait a minute...I think you’ve lost me.’” (Los Angeles Times 6/2/94)
No one feels 100% ready or fit for a task.
Martin Luther King, the civil rights leader, said, “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve, you don’t have to make your subject and verb to agree, you don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve, you don’t have to know Einstein’s’ Theory of Relativity to serve, you don’t have to know the Second Theory of Thermodynamics and Physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” (Susan Nieberg Terkel, Ethics 20, Lodestar Books quotes “Drum Major Instinct” sermon given at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia 2/4/68)
Moses’ replies to God consisted of a “Who” (3:11, “Who am I?”), two “What” (Ex 3:13 – ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?), and a “Behold” when he ran out of questions. The Hebrew text reads: “Behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice.” (Ex 4:1) Moses practically said, “I am a Nobody, Everybody won’t believe me, and You find Somebody else!”
God is never mistaken in judgment, deceived by appearance or hesitant to correct.
Amusingly, God answered Moses using his choice of words. God began with a “What” (Ex 4:2 “What is that in your hand?”), two “Who” (Ex 4:11 in NASB, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind?”) and also a “behold” (Ex 4:14 in NASB, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you.”)
If the word play wasn’t enough, God also provided the means, the message and a messenger. He gave Moses a staff (Ex 4:2) and the power over all creation, whether beasts (snake - Ex 4:3), disease (leprosy - Ex 4:6) or nature (Nile - Ex 4:9). When Moses declared that he was never eloquent and that he was slow of speech and tongue (Ex 4:10), God responded by saying that He will provide the content of the message, the command of words and the confidence and composure needed (Ex 4:12).
Finally, Moses’ request for a substitute was not met, but God provided a helper. Unfortunately, Moses’ request was bitter sweet. Aaron, Moses’ brother, turned out to be an encouragement, but yet an encroachment and an endangerment to Moses’ leadership as well.
Conclusion: The Lord is understanding, forgiving and caring. Have you been trying to flee Him, fool Him or forsake Him? Letting go means leaving behind the past, learning in the present and looking to the future. Are you dwelling on the past, bitter with the present and grudging of the future? Is there an immediate task, a long-term project and a regular ministry that you can engage in? Just as Moses had consultation with Jethro (Ex 4:18), do you need a second opinion? Is God’s first step for you to lead, follow or co-labor with others?
Victor Yap
Other sermons in the series and other sermon series:
www.epreaching.blogspot.com
