The Challenge Of God's Call-9 Series

The CHALLENGE OF GOD's CALL-IX—Exodus 3:1-22

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Exodus records the significance of God’s call to Moses.

Answering God’s call presents a significant challenge.

To What does God’s call present a challenge?

16 challenges of/to God’s call.

We have found in previous weeks that,

God’s call presents a challenge to...

1. Our OCCUPATION(:1)

2. Our OBSERVATION(:2-3)

3. Our AVAILABILITY(:4)

4. Our APPROACH(:5)

5. Our AWE(:6)

6. Our COMPASSION(:7-9)

7. Our INABILITY(:10-11)

8. Our POWER(:12a)

9. Our FAITHFULNESS(:12b-13)

10. Our PROBABILITY(:14-15)

11. Our COMMITMENT(:16-17)

12. Our LEADERSHIP(:18a)

13—God’s call presents a challenge to...

Our DEMANDS(:18b)

Explanation:(:18b)Requests/Serve God/How does this effect others?

:18—“Then they will heed your voice; & you shall come, you & the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; & you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; & now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ ”

That they are to openly approach the king, desirous of “going” to serve(“sacrifice to”) the true God rather than Pharaoh’s god is surely courageously & forcefully assertive.

We would have been tempted to say, ‘Let me go so I can live my own life,’ rather than “let me go so I can “serve” on another plane.

“& you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; & now, please, let us go...”

Pharaoh will be told, in no uncertain terms, the name of YaHWeH—crucial to His identity as the ever existent God—& that this YaHWeH is the “God of the Hebrews.” Thus Pharaoh will be given the option & opportunity to choose & abide in YaHWeH God.

Their request would begin with just that...a request! “Please/“We beseech thee”/“We pray you,” etc. Very softened in recognition & respect for Pharaoh’s authority & seeming wisdom.

“let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ ”

Though they are asking, their request will be out of the question for Pharaoh. “Three days’ journey” is an idiom meaning something like ‘A major journey with indeterminate time concerns.’—NAC

Even a literal “three days’ journey’ one way would put Pharaoh’s entire work force(600,000+ men(Ex. 23:27)) far away from the reach of Pharaoh & Egyptian culture(“into the wilderness”), untended by their ‘masters.’

Ex. 9:1(+:13; 8:1, 20; 10:3)—“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh & tell him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve[dbe] Me.” “Met”—hrq kaw-raw’—Niphal Perfect—1) To encounter, meet, befall, happen, come to meet—1b) (Niphal)—1b1) To encounter, meet(without pre-arrangement), 1b2) To chance to be present, 1b3) To come to meet. Strong—a primitive root; To light upon(chiefly by accident); causatively--To bring about; specifically--To impose timbers(for roof or floor).

“Us...We”3X——

“Please/Beseech Thee”—an naw—1) I (we) pray, now, please—1a) used in entreaty or exhortation. Strong—a primitive particle of incitement & entreaty, which may usually be rendered: "I pray," "now," or "then"; added mostly to verbs (in the Imperative or Future), or to interjections, occasionally to an adverb or conjunction. Used 9X.

“Go”(See :11, 16, 21; & 10—“Come”)—Kly yaw-lak'—

“Days’”—Mwy yowm—

“Journey”—Krd deh'-rek—1) Way, road, distance, journey, manner. Strong—A road(as trodden); figuratively--A course of life or mode of action, often adverb.

“Wilderness”(See :1—“Desert”)—rbdm mid-bawr'—1) Wilderness—1a) Pasture, 1b) Uninhabited land, wilderness, 1c) Large tracts of wilderness(around cities), 1d) Wilderness (fig.); 2) Mouth. Strong—from rbd in the sense of driving; A pasture(i.e. Open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication--A desert; also speech(including its organs).

“Sacrifice”—xbz zaw-bakh’—Qal Imperfect—1) To slaughter, kill, sacrifice, slaughter for sacrifice. Strong—a primitive root; To slaughter an animal(usually in sacrifice).

Argumentation:

Deut. 28:1-2, 13-14ff.—“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you & overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:”....“And the LORD will make you the head & not the tail; you shall be above only, & not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, & are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”

Deut. 28:15, 20, 45-48—“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments & His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you & overtake you:”.....“The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, & rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed & until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.”.....“Moreover all these curses shall come upon you & pursue & overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments & His statutes which He commanded you. And they shall be upon you for a sign & a wonder, & on your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy & gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, & in need of everything; & He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.”