The Book of Exodus, Part 2: God Commissions His Servant: The Call of the Mountain
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Intro
Intro
Text - Exodus 3.1-12
1 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. 3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!” 4 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 come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 And the Lord said, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10 And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons 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 sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And He said, “Assuredly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”
Title - The Call of the Mountain (God Commissions His Servant, Part 1)
Series - The Book of Exodus
Background story
Background story
Moses was in the land of Midian, dwelling with his father-in-law Jethro
Why was Moses in Midian?
Where is the land of Midian
the Land of Midian (map)
Midian (the people)
son of Abraham by Keturah - Gen 25.1-2
1 Now Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.
2 She bore to him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
Where is Horeb, the mountain of God?
west side of the wilderness
the same as Sinai
described as “the mountain of God”
Jethro - a priest and father of Zipporah, whom he married in midian
Main Subject
Main Subject
The Commission of God’s servant, Moses, on the mountain of God.
God brought Moses to the land of Midian so that Moses will receive His commission, the deliverance of the sons of Israel from bondage in Egypt.
the call will take place in the mountain of God where God will establish a covenant with His people
God arranged the circumstances so that Moses will end up in a place hundreds of kilometers away from Egypt!
Every part of our life experience was arranged by God so that the paths, the situations, the sorrows, will bring us on that place where God will call you into His presence!
A secure place
A secure place
For Moses, God provided a secure place to grow up.
For Moses, God provided a secure place to grow up.
he was found to be a beautiful child -
by his parents - Exo 2.1-2
1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi.
2 And the woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.
especially by God - Acts 7.20
20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father’s home.
he was found by pharaoh’s daughter in a basket floating on the river Nile
her parents gave up trying to save his life - Exo 2.3
3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.
he was nursed by her own mother and adopted into the family of pharaoh - Exo 2.9-10
9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
he was educated - Acts 7.22
22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in speaking and action.
God’s providence secures our growing up years
God’s providence secures our growing up years
God sees something “beautiful” in us
CERTAINLY NOT our morality, or character - we were born sinners!
IT WAS HIS PURPOSE!
Every man and woman who becomes part of God’s family is BORN WITH ACCOMPANYING PURPOSE!
Example - Jacob - Romans 9.11-12
11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
12 it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.”
God sends us to a particular place that will suit our need -
adopted by rich/poor/foreign parents
sent to other places
nurtured by lolo/lola, uncle/auntie, friends, neighbors,
given good education/had no education
Example - Lord Jesus Matthew 2.13—14
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.
this was by God’s direct intervention
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,
20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.”
21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee,
23 and came and settled in a city called Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
this was the result of man’s decision
A dissappointing experience
A dissappointing experience
For Moses - God allowed him to experience dissapointments
For Moses - God allowed him to experience dissapointments
When he tried to help his own people - Exo 2.11-14
11 Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his fellow Hebrews and looked at their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his fellow Hebrews.
12 So he looked this way and that, and when he saw that there was no one around, he struck and killed the Egyptian, and hid his body in the sand.
13 Now he went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?”
14 But he said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known!”
he knew his purpose in life - but it was not time
25 And he thought that his brothers understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand.
When Pharaoh threatened to kill Moses - Exo 2.15
15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
Divine providence allows for dissapointing experiences that will draw us closer to God
Divine providence allows for dissapointing experiences that will draw us closer to God
Sometime we look back at our past with pain -
we were neglected and ignored
we were abused and misused
we were left out, and left behind
But somehow you walked out of those pains and now you are in God!
10 When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me.
71 It is good for me that I was afflicted, So that I may learn Your statutes.
75 I know, Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, And that You have afflicted me in faithfulness.
A supernatural attraction
A supernatural attraction
Moses settled in Midian and established a family
he named his firsborn Gershom - stranger in foreign land
his people rejected him
his adoptive family wanted to kill him
now he lives in a foreign land
MOSES DID NOT KNOW that all his life experiences will bring to the right place at the right time for God to summon him into the Presence of God!
For Moses - God created an attraction that he cannot refuse to look into
For Moses - God created an attraction that he cannot refuse to look into
1 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed.
3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!”
The attraction was a call into the Presence of God!
4 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 come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
6 And He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
The attraction introduced him to his life’s purpose
7 And the Lord said, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.
8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
9 And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10 And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
What attracted us and brought us into God’s presence!
What attracted us and brought us into God’s presence!
It must have been something you have never SEEN or EXPERIENCED before!
a convicting Word from God
a warm fellowship of God’s people
a holiness that put us to shame
a truth delivered clearly
It must have been something supernatural!
a natural/normal occurence would call our attention
Jesus performed miracles to call out God’s people from their slumber!
Conclusion
Conclusion
The mountain -
the place where you meet God
the place where you life of worship and service of God
Have you been called to the mountain of God?
How do you know that you have received and experience a real call from God?
Indications of the true call of God on your life -
It brings you into Presence of God
you will experience real fear of God
you will experience real surrender
you will get to know God
It introduces you to your life’s purpose
you will understand why God has kept you alive until now!
you will understand why God will keep you alive from hereon!
It begins a new life in you - a life of worship and service
SONG - Draw Me Nearer; Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus;