Moses: From Doubt to Obedience

Background

The story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph

Joseph was 2nd in command only to Pharoah, saved Israel’s house from famine, and brought them into Egypt.

The Israelites have been in Egypt for 400 years since the time of Joseph

The current Pharaoh does remember what Joseph did, and has made the Israelites into slaves

Pharoah orders all male babies 2 and under to be thrown into the river out of fear of the Israelites rapid growth

Moses is born during this time period to a man and woman of Levi

Moses’ mother hid him away until she could no longer, and placed Moses on the river in a basket

Moses is found my Pharaoh's daughter, and is adopted into Pharaoh’s household

Moses still identifies with the Hebrew people, so when he saw an Egyptian guard beating a Hebrew man, he killed the guard

Imagine walking up on someone abusing one of your family members or friends. Would you not become angry and try to defend them?

The Israelite people did not look highly on Moses’ actions, and when Pharaoh heard of the incident, he sought to kill Moses.

Moses then fled to Midian where he found a new family.

Exegesis/Exposition

Exodus 3:1–4:18 NKJV

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. 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.” 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.’ ” 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.” 1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ” 2 So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” 3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Furthermore the Lord said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. 7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.” 10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11 So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” 13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” 14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. 17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.” 18 So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

Main Point 1: God Meets Moses (3:1-3)

Moses was a shepherd, married into a family that served God, and was taking his flock to the backside, or west side, of the desert and came to Horeb which would be known later as the mountain of God. Jethro is said to be a priest, but how can this be? Before the law was established in Israel, there were accounts of priests of God that were either not Hebrews or Levites. The only other priests mentioned in the Bible that were like this were Melchizedek (Hebrews) and Jesus, who was from the order of Melchizedek, which the book of Hebrews explains. The Angel of the Lord is seen as a separate entity from God, but the lines are blurred a lot of the time in this encounter. The Angel of the Lord appears to Moses in a bush that was on fire but was not being destroyed. This catches Moses’ attention as he turns to see why the bush is not burning.

Main Point 2: God Tells Moses His Plan (3:4-10)

When Moses approaches, God calls to him and Moses answers. God then told Moses to take off his sandals because he was on holy ground. This is the first time that the word “holy” is mentioned in the Bible, and the ground was holy because of God’s presence on it. It is good to note that Holiness is found in God’s presence. Then God tells Moses exactly who He is, and Moses was afraid to look upon the bush. The important thing to note is that God placed the emphasis on who He was and not whose God He was. He used Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to clarify that Moses already knew of Him and that He was still keeping his promise to them. Then the Lord explains how He has heard the Israelites oppression and sorrows, and has come to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians. God says “I have come down to deliver...”. God makes it clear the His people WILL be free from the Egyptians by His hand alone, but that He wants to use Moses in doing so. He even tells Moses where He will bring the Israelite people after He has freed them.

Main Point 3: Moses Doubts That the People Will Believe Him (3:11-4:1)

Moses immediately doubts that he should be the one to deliver the people of Israel. Again, God had just told him that He alone would deliver His people, and that He just wanted to use Moses in doing so. So, the Lord responds to Moses’ doubt with “I will certainly be with you”. Is this not crazy? God already knew of Moses’ doubt and promised that He, the creator of heaven and earth, of every glory and majesty, would remain and be with Moses, someone who missed the point. God said “I will deliver” and Moses asked “Who am I… that I should bring the people out of Egypt”… Moses began thinking more about himself then the one who would go out before him. Then the Lord even decided to give Moses a sign by saying that WHEN they get out of Egypt that Moses would serve God again on that mountain. However, Moses still was afraid and knew that his brethren would question who sent him. So, the Lord then reveals to Moses a step-by-step outline of how he needed to respond, and how the people needed to respond before the Lord delivered them from the Egyptians hand.

Main Point 4: God Proves Himself Through Signs (4:2-9)

Even then, Moses doubted that the people would accept his answer. Therefore, God gave Moses three wonders to show the people if they doubted.

Sign 1 - God told Moses to throw down his rod which then became a serpent until Moses picked it up by the tail.

Sign 2 - God told Moses to reach inside his shirt, and when he pulled out his hand it was covered with leprosy. Then God told Moses to put his hand inside his shirt again, and when he pulled out his hand it had returned to normal.

Sign 3 - God’s final sign was that whenever Moses took water from the river and poured it on the ground, it would become blood on the dry land.

These three signs should not be confused with the 10 plagues. These signs were given to validate that Moses WAS indeed sent by God Himself and no other.

Main Point 5: Moses Doubts Himself (4:10)

Main Point 6: God Gives Moses Help (4:11-17)

But Moses began to doubt his own ability. He began explaining to God that he would not be able to do what God had said because he was a stutterer! Moses had trouble with his speech as his tongue was slow. But look at God’s response in verse 11 and 12. God reassured Moses that his disability was no match for the one who created it in the first place. But Moses could only look at the present and did not have faith, so he asks the Almighty God who chose him for such a great task to choose someone else. Then the Lord became angry. See, what Moses did not know was that God had already prepared someone to assist him for Aaron, Moses’ brother, was already coming up to meet Moses. All God was asking for was for Moses to have faith that He would do as He said. God already had everything planned, but He wanted Moses to have faith that His plans were good and would come to pass. This is why God became angry at Moses. God immediately shows Moses his lack of faith by pointing out that Aaron was already coming. This means that Moses’ fear was irrelevant. But God still shows mercy to Moses by allowing him to give Aaron the words to say which were already provided. This is what God means by saying “And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God”. Notice how “God” is capitalized. God is telling Moses that he will be the interpreter of the Lord for Aaron.

Main Point 7: Moses Obeys (4:18)

Application

Obedience is hard and at times even feels impossible. We, as humans, are finite and are able to feel pain, depression, anxiety, fear, evil desires, ex and we know this, so it’s easy to not have faith. We may feel unworthy of the call that God has placed on our lives because we know just how disobedient we truly are. We look to Paul, James, Jesus, and even our Christian friends fearing that we will never be able to have such a great faith, display enough courage/boldness in the face of adversary, or even be able to complete the task that God lays out in front of us. But that is the beauty of it. God is not oblivious to our flaws. He knows what we think, where we go, and how we interact with others. He knows what we watch, what we listen to, and every single sin that we have done since we were born. Yes, He knows these things and still wants us to join Him! He knows these things and calls us worthy to be saved, His children and heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven, He blesses us and renews us every morning, and through it all He provides what we need to complete His mission. Every Christian’s mission on earth is the same though it may look very different. Our mission is found in Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” In the words of Robby Gallaty and Steven Smith, “As we explain the Word of God, the Holy Spirit draws attention to Jesus, who always gives glory to the Father.” See, God does not just tell us to obey and then throw us out to the wolves. No, He prepares us by giving us a shield to defend ourselves, a sword to attack, and wisdom/knowledge on how to use them both. But God also does something greater. We are never going to be able to complete a task for the Kingdom by ourselves. It is IMPOSSIBLE. However, as Jesus tells his disciples after explaining that it is impossible for a rich person to gain entrance into heaven, “With man it is impossible, but with God it is possible”. WITH GOD IT IS POSSIBLE. And guess who we have on our side? GOD! Paul asks in the book of Romans, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” So, do not fear obeying God. Do not fear what people or society expect and want of you, but be Holy which means “Set apart” or “Separate”. If we suffer or even die in this life serving the Lord, is the reward not better than everything we sacrificed? Even though Moses was oppressed by an entire country, by his people, his family, and even himself, he did not lost sight on who was before him. He did not lose sight that God was in charge! And today, Jesus is calling for you to obey Him. He calls you to a task or a standard that you may deem impossible to reach and complete. Jesus wants you to be his disciple, to follow His ways, but he gives a warning in Luke 14 verses 26-33 on who can and cannot be a disciple. Jesus says Luke 14:26-33 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”

There is a price for following Jesus. It may cost you a friendship, a job, or even your very life. But the cost of not following Him is so much greater! Following the world makes you an enemy of God, and all of God’s enemies will be cast into a lake of fire for eternity while His children will live with Him forever! So, will you decide to obey the Lord’s call this morning? Will you count the cost worthy enough to take up your cross? Will you go forth and trust the Lord even when you doubt yourself? The Lord God is waiting for you. Just trust and obey!