2026.01.11. Sermon Notes. “From the Backside of the Desert to Holy Ground” Exodus 2.15-3.22
William Akehurst, HSWC
SCRIPTURES: Exodus 2:15-25, Exodus 3:1-22, Genesis 15:13-14, Acts 7:22-34, John 8:58, Hebrews 11:24-27
KEY WORDS: Deliverance, Covenant, Holy Ground, I AM, Calling, Obedience, Redemption
BIG IDEA
GOD often prepares HIS servants in hidden places before revealing HIS power in public deliverance. The GOD who sees affliction, hears cries, and remembers HIS covenant reveals HIMSELF as I AM, the eternal Deliverer WHO sends HIS servant to redeem His people.
INTRO
Having been found out about killing an Egyptian who was beating one of his Hebrew brothers, Exodus 2 ends with Moses running for his life. Exodus 3 begins with GOD revealing His Name. Between those two moments lies 40 years of silence, obscurity, and preparation.
GOD is never late. HE is never rushed. HE prepares the man before HE performs the miracle.
I. GOD’S PREPARATION IN THE WILDERNESS (Exodus 2:15-22)
Exodus 2:15-22
15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”
19 And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”
20 So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”
21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. 22 And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”
MOSES FLEES EGYPT
“When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses…” (2:15)
Moses leaves Egypt as a fugitive, not a hero.
He was trained in Pharaoh’s court, but was still not ready for GOD’s calling.
POINT: Deliverance cannot be accomplished in the flesh, even with good intentions.
MIDIAN: FROM PALACE TO PASTURE
Moses settles in Midian, marries Zipporah, and becomes a shepherd.
• From commanding servants - to tending sheep
• From royal robes - to desert garments
• From public strength - to private humility
“And she bore him a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, ‘I have been a stranger in a foreign land.’” (2:22)
HEBREW INSIGHT:
Gershom - “a stranger there”
Moses learns what it means to live as a sojourner - just like Israel will.
APPLICATION
• GOD often removes us from what we know to prepare us for what HE has planned
• Hidden years are not wasted years
• Shepherding sheep prepared Moses to shepherd people
II. GOD HEARS THE CRY OF THE OPPRESSED (Exodus 2:23-25)
Exodus 2:23-25
23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to GOD because of the bondage. 24 So GOD heard their groaning, and GOD remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And GOD looked upon the children of Israel, and GOD acknowledged them.
Four key verbs define GOD’s response:
“GOD heard… GOD remembered… GOD saw… GOD knew.”
POINT:
• GOD was not absent - HE was working unseen
• The covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still stood
• Israel’s suffering had reached GOD’s appointed time
APPLICATION:
Your prayer may feel unanswered, but GOD is never indifferent.
III. THE HOLY GOD WHO REVEALS HIMSELF (Exodus 3:1-6)
Exodus 3:1-6 MOSES AT THE BURNING BUSH (Ex. 6:2-7:7; 11:1-4; 12:35, 36)
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of GOD. 2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So 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 draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover 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, for he was afraid to look upon GOD.
THE BURNING BUSH
“The bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.” (3:2)
SYMBOLISM:
• Israel: afflicted but not destroyed
• GOD’s presence: purifying yet sustaining
HEBREW INSIGHT:
SENEH - bush
SINAI may derive from this word, linking GOD’s revelation to holiness.
HOLY GROUND
“Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” (3:5)
Holiness is not about location - it is about GOD’s presence.
APPLICATION:
You do not approach GOD casually. Reverence precedes revelation.
IV. THE GOD WHO SENDS (Exodus 3:7-12)
Exodus 3:7-12
7 And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children 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 children of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve GOD on this mountain.”
“I have surely seen the oppression of My people…” (3:7)
GOD sees, hears, knows - and sends.
DIVINE PATTERN
• GOD reveals His heart
• GOD reveals His plan
• GOD commissions His servant
“Come now therefore, and I will send you…” (3:10)
KEY TRUTH:
GOD delivers HIS people through obedient servants.
V. THE GREAT “I AM” (Exodus 3:13-14)
Exodus 3:13-14
13 Then Moses said to GOD, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The GOD of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they 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, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
“I AM WHO I AM”
HEBREW WORD STUDY:
Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh
“I AM that I AM” / “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE”
This name reveals:
• GOD’s self-existence
• GOD’s eternal presence
• GOD’s unchanging nature
FULFILLMENT IN CHRIST
JESUS applies this name to Himself:
• “I AM the bread of life”
• “I AM the light of the world”
• “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58)
JESUS is the visible revelation of the invisible I AM.
VI. GOD’S PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE AND PROVISION (Exodus 3:15-22)
Exodus 3:15-22
15 Moreover GOD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD 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 My memorial to all generations.’ 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The LORD GOD of your fathers, the GOD of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; 17 and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction 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 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The LORD GOD of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our GOD.’ 19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. 22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
GOD PROMISES:
• Deliverance from bondage
• Favor with the Egyptians
• Restoration of what was taken
“You shall not go empty-handed.” (3:21)
POINT:
GOD does not merely free HIS people - HE restores them.
VII. GOSPEL TYPOLOGY: COMPARISON OF MOSES AND CHRIST
Moses - Sent to deliver Israel
CHRIST - Sent to redeem humanity
Moses - Confronted Pharaoh
CHRIST - Defeated Satan
Moses - Led through the sea
CHRIST - Leads through salvation
Moses - Gave the Law
CHRIST - Fulfilled the Law
Moses - Interceded for Israel
CHRIST - Intercedes eternally
REFLECT AND APPLY
1. Are you willing to let GOD prepare you in obscurity?
2. Have you recognized holy ground when GOD calls your name?
3. Are you trusting the I AM to be sufficient where you feel inadequate?
4. Are you willing to go when GOD sends you?
ARE YOU WILLING TO LET GOD PREPARE YOU; TO ENCOUNTER HIS PRESENCE ON HOLY GROUND, TO TRUST THE I AM TO BE ENOUGH; AND TO GO WHERE HE SENDS YOU?
CLOSING PRAYER
LORD GOD ALMIGHTY,
YOU are the I AM: Eternal, Holy, and Faithful. Teach us to trust YOU in the wilderness, to hear YOUR voice on holy ground, and to obey when YOU send us. Prepare our hearts for YOUR purposes and use us as instruments of YOUR deliverance. In the name of JESUS CHRIST, our LORD, SAVIOR and Soon Coming KING, AMEN.
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Bill
HYMNS
530 Holy, Holy, Holy
319 I Am Thine, O Lord
401 Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES:
Genesis 15:13-14 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
Acts 7:22-34 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
23 “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that GOD would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ 27 But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, I am the GOD of your fathers - the GOD of Abraham, the GOD of Isaac, and the GOD of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. 33 Then the LORD said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” ’
John 8:58 JESUS said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
Hebrews 11:24-27 24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of GOD than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of CHRIST greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
