The God who Is

When you think about what Moses is getting ready to do, it’s almost absurd. To this point, we have seen nothing notable about this guy. He killed an Egyptian, was rejected by his people, fled to the wilderness, married a Midianite, had a son and became a shepherd. This isn’t the story of God’s victorious redemption that we would have written! This chapter is the chapter where things begin to change. But the first change that needs to happen isn’t in Egypt; it’s in Midian, in the heart of a reluctant shepherd.

Today’s passage is going to give us a pattern that God uses to move us to a faith that reveals itself through radical obedience. In the course of this chapter and the next, Moses will go from objection to obedience. And as he does so, what we see is a clearer picture not of the worthiness of Moses, but of the glory of God to call the weak things of this world to shame the strong.

This passage can help us have confidence in our calling. Every Christian is called, and every Christian is called to serve God. But sometimes, God puts opportunities in front of us that we are all too happy to reject because of our own feelings of inadequacy. What about you? Has God ever put something in front of you, that you knew would bring honor and glory to Him, but you were afraid to do it?

How do we overcome this? This passage gives us three steps towards overcoming our fear of serving the Lord, and they all revolve around knowing more about who God is.

1. Get a glimpse of the glory of God (3:1-10)

Chapter 2 left off with God aware of the suffering of the children of Israel, and Moses keeping watch of the flock of Jethro in Midian. His first attempts to liberate his people failed massively, for reasons we discussed last week. There are about forty years of shepherding under his belt now. Look at Exodus 3:1

Exodus 3:1 ESV

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

It was no small thing for a man to trust another man, even his own son-in-law, with this flock, and yet we have a picture of Moses out keeping watch over Jethro’s flock and even heading to the far side of the wilderness. Moses was probably expecting a great many things; there were any number of dangers that shepherds had to keep out for in the wilderness. But he was not prepared for what he was about to see: Exodus 3:2

Exodus 3:2 ESV

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

Now, there is a whole separate sermon here, because Exodus 3:2 tells us that this is the angel of the Lord. There is a pattern in both Genesis and Exodus, and moving forward, of the angel of the Lord speaking on behalf of God. Many believe this is an appearance of the preincarnate Christ, and I think that view has a lot of merit. But Moses definitely wasn’t thinking this way, so we press on. This curious thing piqued Moses to say in Exodus 3:3

Exodus 3:3 ESV

And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”

Exodus 3:4-5

Exodus 3:4–5 ESV

When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

God calls to Moses from the bush, and Moses comes closer. But God has to give him some clear instruction here:

Don’t come near. Why? Because God is holy, and for Moses to come too close would be to be consumed by the holiness of God. We will see this picture fleshed out for us in real time as the tabernacle is built.

Take your shoes off. Why? It was a sign of reverence that seems to have carried on for a long, long time. Priests commonly took their shoes off as a sign of an awareness of their own humanity.

But notice that Moses still doesn’t get to come any closer. It was a “stop right there! And take your shoes off!”

But why a burning bush? God will appear often as fire to Israel. In many ways, the holiness of God is similar to fire. Fire can purify, it can cleanse. It can be a source of life and light. But, if handled wrongly, it can also destroy, as we will later with Nadab and Abihu, the two sons of Aaron.

When we learn to build a campfire, we learn that fire needs three things to burn: heat, oxygen, and fuel. But this fire in the bush needed none of those things. It was entirely self-sufficient, holy, and dangerous. And through the bush, God describes Himself to Moses. Exodus 3:6

Exodus 3:6 ESV

And 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 at God.

Again, holy, powerful, dangerous. I think some of the problem of modern Christianity is we don’t read enough of the God of the Old Testament. Ed mentioned in Equip the other day how our tendency is to see God as an elderly old Grandpa in the sky. But that is so far from the picture of God we will see in Exodus.

This is why a burning bush. The God who is self-sufficient, holy, and dangerous is working everything out according to His divine plan. And now, God gives Moses a summary of the situation, and a commission to do His divine work: Exodus 3:7

Exodus 3:7 ESV

Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,

When you are reading the Bible, it can be really helpful to track the verbs in a given passage, because they help you understand more about what is actually being said. As God speaks to Moses, look at the verbs he uses here:

“I have surely seen” - This is part of where we were at the end of chapter 2 : God has seen the estate of His people.

“I have heard their cry” - again, we read this at the end of chapter 2, as God hears their groaning.

“I know their sufferings” - and now we have seen the end of chapter 2 in fruition. He remembered, as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He saw, He heard, and He knew. And now is the time God will do something about it. Look at what He says next. Exodus 3:8-9

Exodus 3:8–9 ESV

and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

The rubber hits the road here. More verbs, but this time what God will do:

“I have come down” - it’s that “wait till your dad gets home moment.” God has come down...

“to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians” - they will be freed from their slavery by the mighty hand of God! This would be great news!

“to bring them up” - but wait, there’s more! They are going to a fruitful land! No more laboring for milk and honey for someone else! They will be headed to the Promised land!

So, let’s just summarize Moses’ day up to this point. He heads out to the far side of the desert under the auspices of tending sheep, but in reality God’s providence sends him to the mountain of God, where he will behold the presence of the all-sufficient, living God, where he will hear of God’s passion for His people, and will then hear of God’s plan of redemption.

In other words, God’s plan of redemption for His people is advanced through Moses getting a glimpse of the glory of God.

And so it is for all ministry. The Lord has allowed me a few years now to be in ministry, and in that time I’ve seen people start, people stop. I’ve watched men fall and fail, I’ve seen people who started with a zeal for a ministry burnout and seem to almost wither on the vine, but here is the truth, whether it be pastoral ministry or ministries here in this church:

AW Tozer says” whatever comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.”That dictates EVERYTHING about you, from how you view your current vocation, to your satisfaction contentment, to what you say yes or no to in life, to what risks you are willing, or unwilling, to take. And when we lose that image, or that image becomes distorted, it creates a ripple effect that changes everything else. And so, God brings Moses into His presence, so that Moses could catch a glimpse of the God who Is.

But now the conversation changes for Moses: Exodus 3:10

Exodus 3:10 ESV

Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Now this sounds amazing for Moses, all the way up to the last sentence. He has heard of a God that hears the prayers of the people, He has heard that God’s heart for the liberation of His people Israel is like Moses’ heart, and he has heard that great things await! It sounds amazing! If you are Moses, you have to be hearing this and simply be in awe.

Except for this last sentence. What Moses is learning is what we learn as well: when we get a glimpse of the glory and holiness of God, it is definitely so that we can enjoy Him, but it is also so that we will hear how we are to be used by Him! But first, Moses is going to need to learn more about who God is. And God will do this for Moses by teaching him not only His name, but what His name means.

2. Consider the very name of God (3:11-4:16)

So, what is getting ready to happen is a series of five reasons Moses gives why he isn’t supposed to be the one God uses to accomplish this. Each one gives us a glimpse into the heart of Moses, and gives us insight into some of the nature of our hesitancy for radical obedience as well, but more importantly it teaches us about what the name of God truly means. As God reveals who He is, He systematically deals with Moses objections to service. This will be helpful for us as well, because we are all too familiar with some of these objections.

God is with us - Exodus 3:11-12

Exodus 3:11–12 ESV

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

Moses’ first objection is one that would make a lot of sense to us, when we consider it. Moses has already failed at one liberation mission, he moved away from his people, and he has established himself as part of the lowest class of society according to Egyptian standards. And now, God is asking him to go to the most powerful man in the world and tell him to let an entire of nation of slaves free? The logical question, from human terms, is: “Who am I?”

God’s answer here is so instructive for us. God doesn’t say “Oh Moses, look at your training! You were raised as a Hebrew, then trained in Pharoah’s palace! You can do this!” Nope. That is not God’s way.

Instead, God is going to make reference to His own name. We read in verse 14 that God calls Himself “I am that I am.” That same verb tense for “I am” is precisely what God says here in verse 12. He doesn’t simply say “but I will be with you.” He says “but I AM is with you.”

It’s just perfect! Moses says “who am I?” God says “it doesn’t matter who you are! It matters that I AM.” I think the biggest mistakes we make in our service to God is only choosing to serve based on who we think we are. It’s the total upside-downness of God’s kingdom: those who avail themselves of God’s strength and worth must first abandon self-strength, and self-worth. God is in the habit of using people that make us say “the only explanation is God.” This is why He picked Moses!

Fear of man takes so many different shapes:

Surely there are others who would do this so much better than me.

How can I teach this person? How can I lead those people? They are so much smarter than I am.

How do I belong in this room, with these people? Imposter syndrome is clear evidence of the fear of man.

God speaks to Moses, and to us, not by pointing us to our worth, but by pointing us to His. He says “of course there are others. But I AM is with you. My strength is made perfect in your weakness.” Listen, God is with us! He will not call Moses, or us, to a work that He will not accomplish. God desires willingness and faithfulness. He supplies the needed power to do the work. But I am doesn’t just mean “I AM with you.”

And then, look at the sign God gives Moses - “after you have done all this, that will be your sign.” We so often look for some sort of confirmation before we do something that God has called us to do it, but quite often God calls us to do something, and then confirms to us through the success of the work that He called us to do it. Listen, it takes zero faith to do something that you feel like you are qualified to do, when compared to doing what God has actually called you to do!

2. God is strong - Exodus 3:13-15

Exodus 3:13–15 ESV

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the 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 thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Moses’ objection here is a little more than meets the eye. On the surface, in our Western eyes, it’s a simple question: “wait, what’s your name?” But Moses, in asking for God’s name, is asking for a picture of the revelation that God is bringing to the people. He is asking who should I say sent me? What would possibly make this people listen to Moses?

It is here that God reveals His name, in ever increasing revelation, for Moses to understand more about his true source of strength to do this thing:

I am that I am - this is the bottom line. God is who God is. There is also the sense of “I will be that I will be,” God is eternally powerful, completely self-sufficient, He needs nothing, He lacks nothing, and He never fails. In other words, He is perfectly strong. Hence the appearance as a flame in a bush that is not burning.

“I AM sent me to you.” Now God is saying “tell them I sent you.” God is simply saying, tell them I sent you. That is all you have to say.

And then, finally, the God of their Fathers is the one who sent them. They are to remember the promises God made to their fathers, and to trust and obey.

And now, we get some specific instructions from God on exactly what Moses is to do. Exodus 3:16-22

Exodus 3:16–22 ESV

Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

So, we will see all of these things come to pass, so we can move a little more quickly through this little section, even though it’s really packed and I would love to stop and just chew here. But two things:

First, Exodus 3:16 gives us the name of God. Now, we really don’t know how to pronounce this, through the years we have read it Jehovah or, more recently Y-a-h-w-e-h, which I cannot pronounce, but it seems to be some variation of the same verb that we just translated “I am that I am.” this marks the first time the covenant name of God is used in Exodus, but most certainly not the last. We are supposed to feel the absence of this intimate, holy name. But now God is revealing Himself, and this God is zealous for the people that He has given His name to.

But one of my very favorite verses in this book is Exodus 3:17

Exodus 3:17 ESV

and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’

“I promise.” Is God strong enough to use someone like you? He has promised that He is. Which goes to the third part of what “I AM” means - God is able.

3. God is able - Exodus 4:1

Exodus 4:1 ESV

Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ”

Moses’ objection this time is one from experience or failure. He has experienced two Israelites not listen to his voice, or follow him, so it isn’t a huge leap for him to conclude that all of Israel won’t listen to him, then. What if he sticks his neck out and people say “you? God didn’t come and speak to you!”

God’s answer is again a window into what his name means - it is as though God says I AM able. But he does so through showing Moses a little bit of what was coming. Exodus 4:2

Exodus 4:2 ESV

The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”

Moses has the shepherd’s staff in his hand, and God intends to use it. Three successive pictures he gives Moses to show how able the I AM is.

Exodus 4:3–5 ESV

And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

I love this - “it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it.” I mean, yeah! Of course he did! But then God says “hey reach down and grab that by the tail,” and it immediately became a staff again.

Now, this word “serpent,” ought to sound familiar to us. It was THE picture of evil. You may remember Genesis 3:1. Same word.

when you add to this that the headdress of the Egyptian king would have had a snake on it, you can see the symbolism that God is after here: God is able to restrain, destroy, and even manipulate evil, and He will always be victorious. Moses says “I’ve failed at this before;” God says “I AM able.” Again, God is shifting Moses eyes towards Him. And then, another sign.

Exodus 4:6–8 ESV

Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign.

Leprosy was highly common in Egypt, and it was widely considered incurable. But God is able to do what human wisdom and human knowledge say are impossible. God, in this sign, says “because you did it in YOUR strength. I am always able, and I will confound the wisdom of the wise.

Exodus 4:9 ESV

If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

God gives Moses one to come, that the Nile water will become blood. There is some awesome foreshadowing here, and I don’t want to give away what’s coming. But, suffice it to say, there would be no Egypt if there were no Nile. It was, if you will, the lifeblood of Egyptian culture. And God is sovereign over it, and it showing His power.

And you would think that Moses would say “OK Great. I’m ready, Lord!” But we are not quite done with Moses’ objections yet. God will reveal Himself as the one who is sufficient.

4. God is sufficient

I can feel this objection. In fact, I feel this objection every single Sunday morning. Exodus 4:10 Moses’ objection: I don’t have what it takes.

Exodus 4:10 ESV

But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”

The Midianites would most likely not have spoken Egyptian, so for 40 years Abraham didn’t speak a lick of Egyptian. If you learn a language, and then don’t use it for 40 years, you find that you don’t know as much as you used to (if time, my Spanish). Add to it Moses’ acceptance of his humble position, and he would have thought some form of “I just don’t have the ability to speak that way!”

You know, I study, and labor, and wrestle with God’s Word, and I almost never feel like I’ve done enough work and, more to this point, I almost never feel like I’m sufficient enough to do justice to this marvelous Word that God has given us. For some reason or the other, neither did Moses. But watch this: again, God doesn’t say “Moses, you are great. You are such a brilliant person that there is no question that you will wow people with your amazing intellect and eloquence.” In fact, He doesn’t argue at all that Moses isn’t eloquent. Instead, He asks a simple question. Exodus 4:11

Exodus 4:11 ESV

Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

And then Exodus 4:12

Exodus 4:12 ESV

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

Listen friend: a lack of confidence is not the same thing as humility. My excuses for not serving because I don’t feel “prepared” or “equipped” or “good enough” are actually not humility at all; they are just evidences of the fact that I am spending far too much time thinking of myself, and not enough time dwelling on the God who is able to display His perfect strength through my weakness!

God’s answers by reminding Moses that it was the I AM who made him, the I AM who called him, and the I AM who is able to do what He has promised.

Now, let me get a little personal for a moment. How often do we select our ministry areas and areas of service based on our own strengths? How often do we turn down ministry opportunities because we don’t feel able? In those moments, can I challenge you to take at least just a moment and examine the character of God. It’s a simple question, really: Is God able?

But here we go, down to the final objection that Moses has, and the final aspect of God’s name in this passage that helps us move to a radical obedience.

5. God is King

Exodus 4:13 ESV

But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”

Here we go. Here is the real issue. If you want to boil this down, Moses gives a simple reasoning here: I don’t want to! He knows this will be hard. He knows it will require going to an uncomfortable place, of sacrificing more than he wants, of his whole life being turned upside down. He just doesn’t want to do it!

And for the first time, God gets angry. Exodus 4:14-16

Exodus 4:14–16 ESV

Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.

I love how God answers this. He ultimately says “I’m not really asking, Moses!” This wasn’t God coming to Moses and saying “hey Moses, if you don’t mind, could you go and do this for me?” A calling is not a suggestion. That’s the inexplicable part of really being called to ministry of any kind; you have this innate, inner compulsion that you HAVE to do this thing. The Holy Spirit inside you is compelling you that there really is no choice but to obey; God isn’t asking; He is calling, and for God to call is for God to command. This is why Charles Spurgeon once noted that the surest way to see if a man is called to serve as a pastor is to watch and see if he is doing pastoral work without a title or a paycheck; if he isn’t, he probably is not called.

Here is the thing: if you are a Christian, you have calling on your life. It may not be vocationally, though I pray that for some of you it is! But here is what I had to learn in my own life: God isn’t really asking. Those who are called to something must do it because God is their King, and they cannot disobey the King! He is their Father, and it never works in our favor to disobey our Father!

And so, with each of Moses’ objections, God answers with a picture of what His name means. And then, He sends Moses out.

3. And Compels Him to Obedience (4:17)

This one little verse is just awesome. Exodus 4: 17 Take your staff with you: the very symbol of Moses’ weakness and God’s strength.

Exodus 4:17 ESV

And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

The staff was a common shepherds staff. We learn in Genesis that shepherds were despised by the Egyptians. Considered common, beneath the haughty Egyptian culture. And so, God sends Moses with a visual picture of Moses’ own weakness and inability, his shepherd’s staff, that will become a symbol of redemption for the people.

Five objections, and God answers them all. But what do we do with this personally?

What is Exodus 3:1-4:17 telling us to do?

Trust in the Lord, put your confidence in Him, and obey radically.

Look at this pattern of obedience we see:

First, we must behold the glory, power and majesty of God

Then, we must consider the name of God.

Finally, we must obey with a radical faith.

This pattern hasn’t changed, friend! God doesn’t just call a select few Christians to a radical faith. God saved us that we would truly love, truly trust the great I AM. Consider how similar our excuses for obedience are to the excuses Moses gave. How many of these have you said in your day?

Who am I to do this?

I am not strong enough to do this. Some variations we use for this: that would take energy, or time, or resources that I don’t have.

I’m not able to do this.

I’m not sufficient for this

I don’t want to do this. It would require too much. It’s too inconvenient, or too hard, or would require too much change.

And in the midst of this, God responds with two words: I AM. He has given us His name. He has given us His very presence in the Holy Spirit. And He has given us a sign. But it wasn’t a serpent; it was the one who was lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness, who hung on a cross to satisfy the wrath of God. It wasn’t a leprous hand; it was the curing of our greatest disease - sin. And the defeat of our greatest enemy, death, by the power of the resurrection. It wasn’t through turning water into blood; it was through shedding His own blood, and so giving His people true and eternal life.

It’s a simple question for us, friends. Is God able? If so, then please, when God puts something in your path to do, and you don’t feel sufficient for the task, or you don’t feel like you have energy or time to do it, or you feel like God may be better off using someone else, then would you commit to doing one thing for me?

Would you commit to considering actually doing that thing because all these excuses are true? We are to abandon all confidence in our own strength, but that does not mean we abandon all confidence. Instead, it means we put all our confidence in the God who is I AM; the God who is able.

What is God calling you to do as a step of radical obedience? May radical obedience be the rule, not the exception among us, church.

Gospel: there is a first step of radical obedience - repentance and faith. Would you trust Him?

Benediction: 2 Cor. 12:8-9

2 Corinthians 12:8–9 ESV

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.