What are you like when God calls you? Do you actively listen for His voice then jump at the chance to obey? Or are you just kind of going along, doing your job, minding your own business and when God calls you might reluctantly go along if He twists your arm enough?
You might think that a spiritual giant would be the former - but believe it or not, the latter better describes Moses than anything else. It gives us hope that even we can become a reluctant hero.
We pick up the story of Moses after he’s left Egypt, under a cloud of a criminal murder investigation - ends up in Midian and marries into a sheep herding family. It’s interesting that when Moses left the palaces of Egypt, he ended up going back to what his people did - shepherding - but something that he himself had probably not done before.
Verse 1
So here he is, most likely in the southern Arabian peninsula - leading the flocks around looking for pasture - and just happens on Mt Horeb - otherwise known as Mt. Sinai. It’s called the mountain of God - but that’s only because of what happens later.
Apparently this was a fairly fruitful area of pastures and even fruit trees and when the nomadic people need water, this is where they go in times of drought. It’s not just one mountain but a series of small mountains. Now whether you call it Mt Sinai or Mt Horeb isn’t really important for our discussion - it depends on which tradition of translation you use - the important thing is the mountain where Moses will receive the 10 Commandments later on.
Verse 2-6
So the Angel of the Lord meets Moses here. Two things to note here - first that the term "angel of the Lord" usually refers to Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state. This same term is used 55 times in the Old Testament - first with Hagar when she was driven into the wilderness in Genesis 16. Also when Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, with the story of Balaam and his donkey, then with Gideon - and lots more.
It’s not just an angel - there is a definite article in the Hebrew - so we have, I believe, Jesus meeting Moses - but not only that but it is the angel of the LORD. This translates the Hebrew word YHWH - the Father’s personal name that He will give to Moses here soon. So we have the Father, the Son - in the flames of a bush - a bush that is on fire but is not consumed. What does this remind us of, hmmm - perhaps Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit came with tongues of fire? The trinity. Awesome picture!
So Moses says - hmm, that’s interesting, I’ll go take a look, it’s not every day you see a burning bush that doesn’t burn up. God didn’t speak to Moses until he came close. Why didn’t God just bar the way - or appear "shazam!" right in front of him. That’s God’s way - He tickles our interest, but if we ignore Him, we can just go on our way - but if we come over and take a look, then He reveals more of Himself to us.
For Moses this would have been a frightening thing for sure. Most likely visits back home would have been filled with stories about God’s visitations to his ancestors - and here God is wanting Moses to know exactly how the line goes - from Abraham, now to him. It’s the same God. Moses is afraid - rightly so.
Verses 7 - 10
I notice a couple of interesting things here: God saw the suffering, heard the prayers, and felt something - concern. Did you know that God feels? He has emotions. God cries, God gets angry (though it is a righteous anger), God gets jealous (again, a Godly jealousy) - just as examples.
Notice too that it was not what God knew that created concern - it was what He saw and heard. God is actively involved with His people - of which you are a part, grafted in through the death of Jesus Christ. God sees you, He sees your suffering - God hears you, when you cry out to Him - and you have the ability to move God to action. Why He does it this way I do not know - but I like it. He is a personal God.
God has come to rescue them - what a minute - didn’t God send them down in the first place? Yes - God knew He was sending them to a place where they would be oppressed, then He also knew that He’d come down and rescue them out of it - and in the process show His great power and concern. How else to demonstrate it?
The promise to bring them back to Canaan - even though He doesn’t name the land itself. So he finishes by telling Moses - "I’ve come down to tell you to go."
Verse 11
Moses is basically saying "I have no qualifications to go - it is impossible for me to do this." It’s true - but you’d think from a worldly perspective that Moses would be the perfect person to go - raised in Pharaoh’s court he’d know exactly how to approach the king - and as a Hebrew he can fully represent his people.
But two things are going on here - one, in a practical sense Moses has alienated both sides - wanted for murder by Pharaoh and rejected by at least some of his own people. But spiritually it is also true - Moses cannot do this great thing - as much as he tried in the flesh earlier with the Egyptian slave driver.
This shows Moses’ humbleness - and we should recognize that when God calls on us to do His work that it is also impossible for us as well. Our mistake is that we think we can actually do things for God. This is the first of Moses’ objections.
Verse 12
Here, of course, is the key - "I will be with you." Romans 8:31 "If God be for us, who can be against us." John 15:5: "Without Me you can do nothing." Philippians 4:3 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
The fact that they’d return to this mountain may be a prophecy regarding the giving of the Ten Commandments.
Verses 13 - 15
The second of Moses’ objections - I need some credentials - whose orders am I following? That’s when God gives His personal name "I AM WHO I AM." The word in Hebrew is: Ehyeh - which is the verb "to be" in the first person singular. Yahweh is a probably an early form of that verb in third person singular.
What does it mean here? Well - commentators go around and around - but sticking to the context I like what Ken Barker says in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary. The name I AM alludes to what God told Moses - namely that He would be with Moses - actively - in his mission to Egypt.
"I am truly he who exists and who will be dynamically present then and there in the situation to which I am sending you."
In verse 15 God uses the now familiar four letter word YHWH.
Verses 16 - 17
Basically God gives Moses the script - much of what He also told to Moses.
But then He tells Moses exactly how it is going to play out - we don’t often get that much.
Verses 18 - 22
This wasn’t a lie - like "tell Pharaoh this when I’m really going to do that" - God is going to give Pharaoh every opportunity to let the people go - from easy to hard. Pharaoh will reject every one - even the easy one of a three day journey.
We’re also going to see God work with Pharaoh - from allowing Pharaoh to harden his own heart to God enhancing that hardness - it’s a way to understand God’s judgment on the unbeliever - but more on that later.
He also tells Moses that the elders of Israel will believe him. It may be one of the few times they follow him. And that the Egyptians themselves are not the enemy - but Pharaoh. That’s a good point - as Egypt is a type of the world - the people of this world are not our enemy, but the master of this world - Lucifer.
Chapter 4
Verse 1
So now Moses launches his next objection - "Okay, I’ll say all that, but what if they don’t believe me?" Now didn’t God just tell Moses that the leaders would believe him? Yes. Moses was not perfect - and neither are we - and I love how God responds:
Verses 2 - 9
God said "what is in your hand." God will often use what we have if we make it available to Him.
It was an ordinary staff until Moses threw it down and let God have it. The purpose of the signs is to validate that God sent the prophet - just as miracles attested to the validity of the apostles.
No one would normally pick up a snake by it’s tail.
The second miracle could have been any serious skin disease - but not a wart - something life threatening that turned the skin white as snow.
The third miracle involved turning water into blood.
Now I don’t want to make this walk on all fours - and this is really just a devotional thought, not an interpretation - but something about this strikes me as interesting - the serpent has since the Garden of Eden been associated with Satan, who tempted us to fall into sin (Gen 3:1, Rev 3:9) - which is typified by leprosy - and as a result experience death - represented by blood ("the life is in the blood" Lev 17:11).
So here we have a picture of the human condition - which God has control over - ultimately, through the death of a lamb (Passover) and The Lamb (Jesus). Awesome, huh?
Moses isn’t through objecting, however.
Verses 10 - 12
"I’m not a good public speaker." You can tell that God is getting a little miffed at Moses - the excuses are starting to get a little lame. If God can cause Moses to perform miracles don’t you think the talking part would be a piece of cake?
God, in His patience, tells Moses, again, that He would be with him, to help him talk. He would even teach him what to say. You know - God still promises that today
Mark 13:10-11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say . Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit .
But Moses isn’t done trying to weasel out of the assignment.
Verses 13 - 17
You can just hear God heave a big sigh, kind of grimace a little bit then go on. I wonder how many times we get an assignment from God but we want everything to be done for us - because we really don’t want to step out in faith. We find any excuse we can to avoid doing what God tells us. How much more could be done if we’d just trust that what we lack God will provide.
Of course God knew all this - but it’s really more for Moses’ benefit. And He is very patient and gracious - preparing Aaron as the mouthpiece for Moses.
Verse 18 - 19
By telling Moses that those that were going to kill him are dead it’s almost like He is anticipating an objection Moses hadn’t thought of yet.
Verses 20 - 23
Here God hints at what will happen and at the end game - the thing that will finally break Israel loose - the killing of the first born males. He also hints that once Pharaoh hardens his heart - God will harden it still more.
Verses 24 - 26
There is no real clear way to explain this - but perhaps the best thing to say is that God commanded Abraham’s descendants to circumcise all their children. Moses didn’t do it, perhaps in deference to Zipporah’s wishes. So even as God will kill Pharaoh’s first born for his disobedience - it seems God is ready to kill Moses for his disobedience regarding his son. Moses must prepare his family before he can journey to do this work for God in Egypt.
Verses 27 - 31
We don’t see the scene as God tells Aaron to go and meet Moses - I wonder if perhaps these two had stayed in contact - or perhaps God just said "go here" and Aaron went.
As they journey back it happens just as God said it would - this, however, was the easy part.
Conclusions
How do you react when God calls you?
Moses objections were: I’m not qualified, I need orders, I need proof, I can’t talk, I don’t want to do it. The more we simply do what He tells us to do without grumbling or excuses, the easier it will be to know we are hearing His voice.
What is in your hand?
What do you like to do, what are you good at, where are you in your life situation? God can take you in whatever place you are and use it - if you will throw down what you have and let God use it for His glory.
Proverbs 3 says: "In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your paths."
Have your circumcised your heart?
There was something major that would affect Moses’ ability to serve God. It’s good to ask ourselves - is there something that will stand in my way - some sin, or broken relationship, or something else I lack. Give it to God, get it right - then go on. That doesn’t mean you have to be perfect - Moses certainly wasn’t. But we’re talking the major stuff here.
Do you believe the prophet?
A prophet came with the message that you are infected with sin through the serpent’s rebellion and that condition leads to death - but he carries with him orders from God for rescue. Will you receive his message or reject it? Who is that prophet - it’s not Moses I’m talking about, but Jesus.
For more Bible studies, as well as an audio copy of this message with a lot more detail - visit our website: www.CalvaryChapelNewberg.org
