Our story today is a special one-- it's of when God, and Moses, meet. But this is not just a meeting. It's also a calling.
Now, some of you may know parts of this story. I'd encourage you this morning to pretend you don't. Assume that you are missing something, that there is something new here for you. And even if there's nothing new, that there's a helpful reminder here for you.
Verse 1:
(1) Now, Moses was a shepherd of the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law-- the priest of Midean--,
and he led the flock to the west of the wilderness,
and he came to the mountain of the Elohim/God, to Horeb,
One of the curiosities of Exodus is that the name of Moses' father-in-law changes. For the rest of the book, it's no longer Ruel. Now, it's Jethro. There's a lot of explanations, but this is the kind of thing I find boring, and can't make myself study. So, it's Jethro. He's still the father-in-law. He's still the priest of Midian. And you can tell that Moses has become a full partner in his family. Moses is being trusted with the family's wealth-- its sheep.
Now, conditions for sheep herding apparently aren't very good. Moses finds himself a very long way from home-- at Mount Horeb. This is God's mountain-- He's claimed it for himself, apparently. But we read this, and we find ourselves prepared for some type of encounter. Sometimes when you go to God's house, or God's mountain, you meet God.
Verse 2:
(2) and the messenger of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush,
and he saw,
and LOOK! The bush [was] burning with fire,
and the bush wasn't being consumed,
(3) and Moses said,
"I must turn aside,
and I must see this great sight.
Why doesn't the bush burn up?",
God has lots of ways to get people's attention. He gives dreams, and visions. He can give you words, and inclinations. He can give you this powerful tug to do something, or talk to someone.
Here, God tries to get Moses' attention, by using Moses' curiosity. A burning bush is quite a sight. Everyone stops for a fire. And if the bush doesn't burn up? That's the kind of thing that you find an excuse to stop, and take a closer look at. God uses a clever way to get Moses' attention.
Now, there's two things we should note. The first, is the identity of the one in the flame: It's "the messenger of Yahweh." You can also translate it "angel of Yahweh" if you want-- angel and messenger are the same thing, and this is obviously some type of heavenly, divine being.
The other thing we should note, is that the messenger is inside of the flame.
Verse 4:
(4) and Yahweh saw that he had turned aside to see,
and God/Elohim called to him from the midst of the bush,
and He said,
"Moses, Moses!,"
and he said, "Here I am.",
Let's pause here. Who calls to Moses from the midst of the bush in verse 4?
"God."
And who calls from the bush in verse 2?
The "messenger of Yahweh."
We read verse 2, and then verse 4, and then verse 2, and are we confused? There is some sense in which the messenger of Yahweh is God. And he's not simply a divine being-- some type of elohim. He is the Elohim. He is God (so also Gen. 16:7-13; 22:11-12; Judges 13:21-22; in Zech. 1:12, he is, at the same time, clearly distinct from Yahweh).
The easiest explanation for this is that the messenger of Yahweh is Jesus. Jesus has come in the flesh, and appears to people as God. You can take this or leave it; I don't want to make the whole sermon about this. But the simplest explanation, is that whenever you see the messenger of Yahweh in the OT, you are seeing Jesus.
So the messenger/God calls to Moses from the bush, and Moses says, "Here I am."
Don't miss Moses' response here. Moses here expresses an openness to God. He's available to God.
Verse 5-6:
(5) and He said,
"Don't come closer here.
Remove your sandals from on your feet,
because the place that you are standing on it, holy ground it is,
(6) and he said,
"I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,"
and Moses hid his face because he feared to look at the God/Elohim,
Let me just stop, and make the obvious point. There is something to look at in the fire. There is Someone to see. But this Someone, is terrifying. And so Moses covers his face.
Much later in the book, Moses is going to ask to see God's glory (Ex. 33:18; also Exodus 24:9-11). He doesn't ask to see God's face-- just his glory. Moses will want another shot at this. And maybe a few of you have been brave enough to pray for the same thing-- you want to see God, or see his glory. But if you pray this, or if you sing the now-old song about wanting to see God's face, remember Exodus 3:6. God is scary to look at, because of his glory. His glory is overwhelming.
So think about what you're asking for. It's not a prayer to be prayed lightly. (add 1 John 3:2? once we are like him, we will be able to see him. And, actually, it's through seeing him, that we become like him).
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William Propp quote, Exodus 1-18, 201:
"Moses has not yet achieved his matchless familiarity with Yahweh."
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Now, why does Moses have to take his sandals off?
Maybe, it's because if you're a shepherd, following sheep all day, your sandals are filthy. You can't track filth into God's presence (H/T Duane Garrett).
Maybe, it's because priests served God barefoot in the OT (Exodus 28 says nothing about footwear). It's a mark of humility and mortification to be barefoot; it would be arrogant to wear shoes (2 Sam. 15:30; Isaiah 20:2; Ezek. 24:17, 23; H/T William Propp).
Let me say one more thing about verse 6-- about who God is. God describes himself as the God of Moses' own father, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What God is doing here, is reminding Moses of who he truly is. Moses may be an Egyptian by adoption, and a Midianite by choice, but he is Hebrew by birth (William Propp, Exodus, 221). Nothing in Moses' life has changed who he truly is. It hasn't changed his God, or his people.
Verse 7-9:
(7) and Yahweh said,
"I have surely/actually seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt,
while their cry I have heard on account of their taskmasters,
because I know his suffering,
(8) and I have come down to deliver him from the hand of Egypt and to bring him up from that land to good and spacious land-- to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and Hivvites and Amorites and Perizzites and Hivvites and Jebusites,
(9) and now, LOOK! The cry of the sons of Israel has come to me,
and, what's more, I have seen the oppression that Egypt is oppressing them,
It would be natural for Moses to wonder if God has actually see his people's afflictions. When you are suffering, or your people are suffering, you wonder where God is, right? You wonder if He sees, and if He knows.
And so God begins by telling Moses that He has surely seen their affliction, and heard their cry, and that He knows their suffering. What we are getting here is a little echo from last week, Exodus 2:23-25 (read it).
What's new here, is in verse 8 (although it's all new to Moses; he is catching up to us). God has come down. He's left his heavenly palace, "come down," to do two things. The first, is to "deliver" Israel from Egypt. This verb, "deliver" is the same verb used to describe Moses "delivering" Jethro's daughters from the shepherds. God is about to do for Israel, what Moses did for the daughters.
The second thing God is about to do, is "bring him up" to a good and spacious land. This verb, "to bring up," is the key verb of the Exodus.
So God has this great plan for his people-- a plan rooted in the promises to Abraham. God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would be with them, give them descendants, and land. And here, he announces that He is keeping his promise.
All of this is good news. God is on the move. God will free you from your enemies. God will give you a new, wonderful home.
Amen?
In verse 10, things shift in an unexpected direction (H/T Brueggemann).
(10) And so therefore, go!,
and I shall send you to Pharaoh,
and you shall bring out my people-- the sons of Israel-- from Egypt,
Who will do all of this? Before verse 10, the answer was clear: God is going to do this. But here, in verse 10, God points at Moses, and says, "You will."
At this point, if we were Moses, most of us would have some questions. Maybe some objections. This started with a burning bush, and a little curiosity. And now, suddenly, I'm being asked to do the impossible?
Verse 11:
(11) and Moses said to the God/Elohim,
"Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt?",
Moses looks at himself, and he knows that he's inadequate. And so he asks God, "Who I am to do this job? Look at me!"
Verse 12:
(12) and He said,
"Because I shall be with you,
and this to you [is] the sign: when I have sent you, when you bring out the people from Egypt, you (plural) shall serve the God/Elohim upon this mountain,"
In verse 12, God doesn't disagree with Moses. And God doesn't impart Moses with a spirit of strength, or wisdom. He doesn't give him anything, except a promise. God will be with him. And if God is really, truly, reliably with you, then what's possible?
What's possible?
If God is with you, then you can free an entire people from the superpower of the day. Anything is possible.
God then offers him a sign that will prove all of this. One day, when Moses brings out the people from Egypt, all of them will serve God upon this mountain. On that day, Moses will be able to look back to this moment, and see what it looks like, when God is with you.
Now, this is not normally how signs work. Normally, you're given some type of small sign that serves as evidence that a bigger promise will happen. Like with Gideon, God will make a fleece dry and the ground wet. Or like with Hezekiah, when God gives him the sign of a sundial going backwards (Isa. 38:7-8).
The sign God gives Moses is different than this. I like Duane Garrett's explanation:
"God wanted Moses to keep the vision of Israel gathered at Sinai to worship God as the “proof” that would sustain him as he embarked on his difficult mission. That is, the greatest sign one can have is a guiding vision. By keeping in his mind’s eye the vision of a free Israel worshipping God at the mountain, Moses should have been able to set out on his task and to endure the setbacks along the way."
In verse 13, Moses raises question #2:
(13) and Moses said to the God/Elohim,
"LOOK! I have come to the sons if Israel,
and I have said to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you,"
and they have said to me, 'What is his name?",
What shall I say to them?"
(14) and God/Elohim said to Moses,
"I will be who/what I will be,"
and He said,
"Thus say, "I will be" has sent me to you,"
(15) and God/Elohim said again to Moses,
"Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel:
"He will/shall be (= Yahweh)"--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 how I will be remembered from generation to generation.
There are many divine beings in the OT. We've talked about this in the "sons of God" series; Psalm 82 is a nice place to start. In the OT, these divine beings are all called "elohim," which we translate as "gods." Different peoples worship different gods. And so Moses can't simply go to the people and say, "Elohim" has sent me to you. The people need to know which "elohim" Moses is talking about. They need a name.
And so Moses asks for one. And the answer he gets, is... interesting?
God says, verse 14, my name is, "I will be what I will be."
"I will be, what I will be."
Or, "I will be, who I will be."
Some people (scholars) look at this name, and think that this is a name that hides who God really is. God can't be put in a box. He will be, what He will be. Uncontrolled. Unsafe (Narnia). A mystery, in some ways.
I don't know. But this is also a name that's a promise. Let's reread verse 12:
"Because I will be with you." It's the same verb. So what's the meaning of God's name?
God will always be there, with you.
God will be enough.
That's who God is.
You will never find yourself in a situation that's too much for God. And whenever we think about the name "Yahweh," we are reminding ourselves of this. God will be, what God will be. This gives us confidence, and courage. God will be.
In verse 16, God repeats himself, giving Moses the same command that He started with. He's answered Moses' two questions, without complaint, without any frustration. They were good questions. But now it's time for action. Let's just read through verse 22:
(16) Go!,
and gather the elders of Israel,
and say to them,
"Yahweh, the God of your Fathers has appeared to me-- the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying,
'I have surely visited (="intervened for) you and what has been done to you in Egypt,
(17) and I said,
"I shall bring you up from the afflictions of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites, and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites-- to a land flowing with milk and honey,"
(18) and they will heed your voice,
and you will go with the elders of Israel to the King of Egypt,
and you (plural) will say to him,
"Yahweh the God of the Hebrews appeared to us,
and so then, let us go, please, on a three day journey in the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God,"
(19) while I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go,
and not with a strong hand,
(20) and I will stretch out my hand,
and I will strike Egypt with all my wonders that shall do in his midst,
and afterward, he shall send you,
(21) and I shall give favor to this people in the eyes of Egypt,
and then, when they go, they shall not go empty-handed,
(22) and a woman/wife shall ask from her neighbor and from the foreigner staying in her house vessels of silver and vessels of gold and clothing,
and you shall put them on your sons and upon your daughters,
and you will plunder the Egyptians.
God has plans for Egypt-- plans to harm them, and not prosper them. Plans to destroy their hope and their future (Jer. 29:11 twisted). God will strike them with wonders, just as Moses struck the Egyptian. And He will make it, so that the Egyptians willingly let themselves be looted.
What right does God have to do this?
We find it easy to forget that the Egyptians are murderers. They have been actively killing Hebrew babies, murdering people made in God's image. And this is bad by enough by itself. But Israel is God's chosen people. They are murdering God's special possession.
You mess with God's people bad enough, and God reserves the right to make you his plaything. At that point, it's open hunting season on you, and God will strike you with all of his wonders. And when it comes to wonders, God has quite the toolkit. So I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for Egypt here. When God decides it's time for your day of judgment, it's time. And murderers are right near the top of the list of who people who will get theirs, if they don't repent (Rev. 21:8).
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For an application this morning, I want to focus on verses 7-10. [Otherwise, 1 John 3:2 would be great]
(7) and Yahweh said,
"I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt,
while their cry I have heard on account of their taskmasters,
because I know his suffering,
(8) and I have come down to deliver him from the hand of Egypt and to bring him up from that land to good and spacious land-- to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and Hivvites and Amorites and Perizzites and Hivvites and Jebusites,
(9) and now, LOOK! The cry of the sons of Israel has come to me,
and, what's more, I have seen the oppression that Egypt is oppressing them,
(10) And so therefore, go!,
and I shall send you to Pharaoh,
and you shall bring out my people-- the sons of Israel-- from Egypt,
Who will deliver Israel from Egypt?
God will. And Moses will.
Everything that God is going to do in the book of Exodus, will be done through Moses. Moses is the main weapon in God's toolkit.
And when we see this, we need to understand that this usually how God works. God does very little in the world independently of his people. If God is going to do big things-- healings, signs, and wonders-- it will be through you-- people who have faith for that, who seek those things, who take risks, and try to do those things in Jesus' name.
If God is going to bring people to Jesus, it will be through you (Romans 10:14).
If God is going to bring revival, it will be because of you-- because you far more fully committed yourself to God, and you prayed for revival day and night until it came.
Pretty much everything God does, He does through you.
And if God isn't doing very much... where is the problem? The problem is probably with us. God says "go" (vs. 10, 16) and we don't "go."
Maybe we think, God will do great things apart from us. I doubt it.
Maybe we think, "Who are we, that God would do great things through us? Why us? Why me?"
The question isn't, who are we? I know my flaws. I know my weaknesses. But who I am? I am someone, who God is with. God is with me. God is with us. And that's what matters.
God will be, what God will be. God is enough. And He will be enough, no matter what situation we find ourselves in.
When I read about God and Moses in chapter 3, I find myself thinking about my own calling. What is it that God wants from me? And truthfully, I'm not sure. For now, I'm trying to "lead the life that the Lord has assigned me" (1 Cor. 7:17), obeying his commandments (1 Cor. 7:19). I'm laying hands on people as I feel led, and seeing healings. I'm sharing the good news about Jesus, as I have opportunity. I'm doing my best to be faithful with what I've been given (John 3:27).
I want more. Not selfishly, I don't think. I want to be used more. I want to do more.
And I think God will honor my request. I think it's coming. I'm just not sure what "it" is yet.
When you read about God's call to Moses, I'd encourage you to wrestle with it, and think about your own calling.
What is it that God wants from you? What has Jesus given you, as a way to serve and build up the church? Each of you serves Jesus very differently. We are a unity, but a complex one. And Jesus designed his church in a way, that you are needed. We can't serve God the way we should, without you. Something will be missing.
Maybe you're a little like Moses. You think, "Who am I?" You think, "Someone else is more qualified." But Jesus chose you. He wants to use you.
And as you try to figure out what specifically Jesus wants from you, if you find yourself thinking about something that's scary, and too big-- that's probably it. God specializes in giving people big and scary and impossible jobs.
But remember that He is Yahweh. He will be, what He will be. And He will be with you.
Translation:
(1) Now, Moses was a shepherd of the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law-- the priest of Midean--,
and he led the flock to the west of the wilderness,
and he came to the mountain of the Elohim/God, to Horeb,
(2) and the messenger of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush,
and he saw,
and LOOK! The bush [was] burning with fire,
and the bush wasn't being consumed,
(3) and Moses said,
"I must turn aside,
and I must see this great sight.
Why doesn't the bush burn up?",
(4) and Yahweh saw that he had turned aside to see,
and God/Elohim called to him from the midst of the bush,
and He said,
"Moses, Moses!,"
and he said, "Here I am.",
(5) and he said,
"Don't come closer here.
Remove your sandals from on your feet,
because the place that you are standing on it, holy ground it is,
and he said,
"I am the God of your father-- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,"
and Moses hid his face because he feared to look at the God/Elohim,
(7) and Yahweh said,
"I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt,
while their cry I have heard on account of their taskmasters,
because I know his suffering,
(8) and I have come down to deliver him from the hand of Egypt and to bring him up from that land to good and spacious land-- to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and Hivvites and Amorites and Perizzites and Hivvites and Jebusites,
(9) and now, LOOK! The cry of the sons of Israel has come to me,
and, what's more, I have seen the oppression that Egypt is oppressing them,
(10) so therefore, go!,
and I shall send you to Pharaoh,
and you shall bring out my people-- the sons of Israel-- from Egypt,
(11) and Moses said to the God/Elohim,
"Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt?",
(12) and He said,
"Because I shall be with you,
and this to you [is] the sign: when I have sent you, when you bring out the people from Egypt, you (plural) shall serve the God/Elohim upon this mountain,"
(13) and Moses said to the God/Elohim,
"LOOK! I have come to the sons if Israel,
and I have said to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you,"
and they have said to me, 'What is his name?",
What shall I say to them?"
(14) and God/Elohim said to Moses,
"I shall/will be what I shall/will be,"
and He said,
"Thus say, "I shall/will be" has sent me to you,"
(15) and God/Elohim said again to Moses,
"Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel:
"He shall be (= Yahweh)"--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 how I will be remembered from generation to generation.
(16) Go!,
and gather the elders of Israel,
and say to them,
"Yahweh, the God of your Fathers has appeared to me-- the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying,
'I have surely visited (="intervened for) you and what has been done to you in Egypt,
(17) and I said,
"I shall bring you up from the afflictions of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites, and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites-- to a land flowing with milk and honey,"
(18) and they will heed your voice,
and you will go with the elders of Israel to the King of Egypt,
and you (plural) will say to him,
"Yahweh the God of the Hebrews appeared to us,
and so then, Let us go, please, on a three day journey in the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God,
(19) while I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go,
and not with a strong hand,
(20) and I will stretch out my hand,
and I will strike Egypt with all my wonders that shall do in his midst,
and afterward, he shall send you,
(21) and I shall give favor to this people in the eyes of Egypt,
and then, when they go, they shall not go empty-handed,
(22) and a woman/wife shall ask from her neighbor and from the foreigner staying in her house vessels of silver and vessels of gold and clothing,
and you shall put them on your sons and upon your daughters,
and you will plunder the Egyptians.
