Why am I here?

Commentary

Main Idea: Because of who God is, He graciously uses imperfect people to accomplish His perfect will. I. Moses’ Call and Commission (3:1–10) A. God reveals Himself (3:1–6). B. God reveals His plan (3:7–10). II. Moses’ Excuses and God’s Responses (3:11–4:17) A. Lack of credentials (3:11–12) B. Lack of content (3:13–22) C. Lack of converts (4:1–9) D. Lack of communication skills (4:10–12) E. Lack of commitment (4:13–17) III. Moses’ Journey and God’s Faithfulness (4:18–31) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Intelligence? Height? Better hair? My one-of-a-kind friend, Benjie, posed this question to a congregation. During his message on Exodus 3–4, he said with his unforgettable, high-pitched, North Georgian accent, “I’d change the way I talk. I hate the way I talk.” He then proceeded to describe how people poke fun at him about his accent. He used this example to connect us to this passage. Exodus 3–4 shows us, among other things, how God can use weak, imperfect vessels by His power, for His glory, and for the good of others. It shows us how “God can hit a straight lick with a crooked stick.” Remember what Paul says: “[God] is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us” (Eph 3:20). As we will see, Moses will show himself to be a living example of this verse. We last left the story with Israel crying out with groans to God because of their slavery. Here we will examine the calling and commissioning of Israel’s mediator-leader, an imperfect man, Moses. Moses’ Call and Commission EXODUS 3:1–10 God Reveals Himself (3:1–6) Chapter 3 begins by setting the scene of what is about to occur. Moses was leading the flock belonging to Jethro. This seems to be the same individual named as “Reuel” in 2:18. It was not uncommon to have two names in this time period, but some think Reuel was Jethro’s father. “Jethro” means “his excellency,” so it could have been a title of some sort. Notice: they were at Horeb, which is called “the mountain of God.” This is a natural name for the mountain because of what happened there: God showed up. It seems to be the same place as Mt. Sinai, where Moses later received the Ten Commandments. God drew Moses to this place in order to reveal Himself to him. Moses was “shepherding the flock” (v. 1). It is important to note that Egyptians did not think highly at all of shepherds (see Gen 46:34). It is also important to recognize the shepherding pattern being set here. Moses spent 40 years as a shepherd in Midian. David was also a shepherd who was taken from the sheepfolds to become king. God loves to use shepherds! He even refers to Himself as a shepherd (Ps 23:1; Ezek 34:13). Ultimately, salvation would come through Jesus, the good shepherd, who laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:11). In verses 2–4 we find a unique encounter with the “Angel of the Lord.” This was not a fluffy little angel in a golden diaper. He appeared out of the fire. He is also referred to as “the Lord” in verse 4. The messenger spoke as God not simply for God. This is what theologians call a “theophany,” an appearance of the invisible God. Many throughout church history, especially the early church fathers, believed appearances like this were pre-incarnate appearances of Christ. Moses was first drawn in by the burning bush. What an amazing sight! Before Moses’ eyes, he saw a bush burning without being consumed. The “fire” is representative of God’s holy presence. Fire appears later in Exodus and in other Scripture—in a pillar of fire that leads God’s people, fire at Mt. Sinai, in the tabernacle, and the Day of Pentecost. When God forbade idolatry later in Deuteronomy, Moses said, “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deut 4:24). The author of Hebrews used this language also in describing how to worship (Heb 12:29). Fire is appropriate because we know that we are drawn to fire and amazed by fire, but we also tell children, “Don’t play with fire.” Fire is to be taken seriously. And so is God. He is holy. Now we must ask, “How might we be accepted by God if He is so holy?” The sacrifices in the Old Testament are pointing to the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus. Only in Jesus can we be in God’s presence. He is our “righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30). “He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight” (Eph 1:4). The bush “was not consumed” (v. 2). Moses was seeing something mysterious. While it burned, it was not consumed. This is a picture of the never-ending power of God, the One who upholds the universe. God never runs out of fuel! Then “God called out to him from the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ ” (3:4). God called Moses by name. This is significant for all who are called to salvation have experienced God’s personal summons. Jesus said, “Zacchaeus.” Peter said that God “called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9). God did not have to call us, but He did, in His mercy. God wills to be known and worshiped. Our natural response should be, “Here I am,” like Moses (and Samuel and Isaiah). As Moses began to approach the bush, God said, “Do not come closer.… Remove the sandals from your feet” (v. 5). To show the gap between a holy God and sinful man, He says, “Do not come closer.” Again, it is only through Jesus that we draw near (Heb 10:19–22). As an act of respect and reverence, which is still practiced in many settings today, Moses took his shoes off. In the book of Joshua, a similar experience happened to Moses’ follower, and he is told the same thing (Josh 5:13–15). God then identified Himself with the patriarchs: “I am … the God of Abraham” (v. 6). Before He entered a relationship with Moses, He entered a relationship with them. God was alluding to His covenant relationship that we spoke of earlier (2:24). God was also giving Moses a bit of personal history of Himself. The God of the burning bush was not an unknown God; He was the God who acted on behalf of these earlier persons. Notice that He does not say “I was the God” but “I am the God.” This indicates that God’s people never really die; they are part of an eternal relationship with God. When Jesus was proving the resurrection to the Sadducees, He quoted this verse. He said, “Haven’t you read … in the passage about the burning bush?… He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Mark 12:26–27). So they exchanged names. That is the first step in forming a relationship. They met each other. Have you met Jesus Christ? Paul says we Christians have come to know God, or rather to be known by God (Gal 4:9). When Moses encountered God, the Scripture says he “hid his face” (v. 6). He was in the presence of the Holy One. It was an awesome scene. Now, as believers through Christ, we do not have to hide our face, for we are hidden with Jesus the Messiah (Col 3:3). God Reveals His Plan (3:7–10) God is a sending God. Notice three parts to this commission: (1) God’s motive, (2) God’s purpose, and (3) God’s plan. God’s motive is especially seen in verses 7 and 9. “I have observed … have heard … I know about their sufferings.… The Israelites’ cry … has come to Me.… I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.” Previously, we mentioned how God was moved by an intimate knowledge of the slavery of His people (2:23–25). It appears again here. God hears the groans of people who genuinely cry out to Him. In Luke 18, the tax collector beat his breast and cried out, “Turn Your wrath from me—a sinner!” (v. 13). Jesus said that the man “went down to his house justified” (Luke 18:14). Many of us are turned off by what people refer to as “the sinner’s prayer.” We are turned off by it because it seems that some people use it like a “hocus pocus” sort of thing. It seems that people think if you say the magic words then you can be saved. Russ Moore told about a guy who tricked a man into reading the prayer on a tract by claiming that his eyesight was too bad to read it! The guy went on to read the copyright date and everything. Then the witness pronounced the man a Christian (Moore, “Exit Strategy”). That is crazy. That is not what a real sinner’s prayer that God hears is all about. A prayer that God hears is when a person genuinely cries out to God for mercy and forgiveness in repentance and faith. If you will cry out to Him, He will hear you and save you. It is not about a magical formula. It is about crying out over the misery of your sin and begging Jesus for mercy. Notice also God’s purpose. His purpose is to transfer His people. He will take them out of Egypt and put them in a place with milk and honey (3:8). It is a land occupied by other nations, and they will have to conquer them later. God is going to save them from something (slavery) for something (worship and witness). That is exactly what has happened to us in the gospel. Finally, see God’s plan. After revealing His great purpose of redemption, God told Moses the plan: “You’re it.” God says, “I am sending you” (v. 10). God is a sending God. Throughout the Bible, God sends people on different assignments covering a variety of issues. Joseph was sent to save lives in a famine (Gen 45:5–8). Here Moses was sent to deliver people from oppression and exploitation (3:10). Elijah was sent to influence the course of international politics (1 Kgs 19:15–18). Jeremiah was sent to proclaim God’s word (Jer 1:7). Jesus said that He was sent “to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19). The disciples were sent to preach and demonstrate the power of the kingdom (Matt 10:5–8). Paul and Barnabas were sent for famine relief (Acts 11:27–30), then they were sent for evangelism and church planting (Acts 13:1–3). Titus was sent to put a messed up church in order (Titus 1:5). God is a sending God, and there are a number of holy missional efforts in which one may be involved: church planting, justice, church revitalization, and caring for the hungry. Do you have a holy ambition? Moses’ Excuses and God’s Responses EXODUS 3:11–4:17 Moses makes five excuses for not obeying God’s mission. These stand out by the words “but” and “if” (3:11, 13; 4:1, 10). This section shows that God is enough. Moses was insufficient but God is self-sufficient. God responded to each of Moses’ excuses and questions with statements about His own sovereignty and power. This section is so deeply encouraging. If you feel as though God is sending you to do something beyond yourself, the key is to take your eyes off of your failures and weaknesses. Get a vision of God. Lack of Credentials (3:11–12) Moses’ first argument was about himself. “Who am I?” probably implies that he did not have the ability to perform such a task. He asked, “Have you considered my resume? The last 40 years, I’ve been in a wilderness.” Think about it. While he used to be a prince, he is a lowly shepherd now. He is now asked to go to the most powerful person in the world and tell him to let his slaves go free. This would be sort of like a car mechanic declaring war on Canada! Imagine a guy in coveralls carrying a wrench going up to the president and saying, “Let everyone go.” Not only did Moses not have the ability, but he really did not have the reputation either. He was not well thought of by the Israelites. His first task would be to talk to the elders, but he doubted they would listen to him. In response, God started with promises: “I will certainly be with you.” Throughout the Bible this is what God’s leaders have needed. It is the non-negotiable for serving God. Think about Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Jehoshaphat, and the disciples (Matt 28:18–20). God was with them all. Then God promised a sign saying, “you will all worship God at this mountain.” God intended to bring His people back to this mountain to sing His praises. Lack of Content (3:13–22) Moses’ next big question was “what shall I say?” Moses asked, “What is [Your] name?” (v. 13). It was obviously important to know who God is, especially if you are going to tell a group of people that God sent you. Obviously only saying “I heard a voice in a bush” would not be sufficient. Moses wanted to go with God’s authority. What a response God gave him! Let us break verses 13–22 down into two parts. First, God told Moses to tell them His name (vv. 14–15). God revealed His name “Yahweh” in verse 15 (corresponding to the four Hebrew consonants YHWH, translated “Lord” in most English Bibles). It is connected with the verb hayah, “to be,” mentioned three times in verse 14, which is rendered “I AM” in English. Great mystery exists here. No one knows for certain how to pronounce YHWH, and the meaning is mysterious also, but the meaning seems to be related to the idea of this verb “to be.” God is. He is central. He has no beginning. He causes everything to be. He is God. Does it move you when you hear, “Tell them I AM sent you”? God is saying that He is absolutely central. “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Rom 11:36). Is He central in your life? Is He central in your marriage? Is He central in your ministry? God tells Moses that the most important thing about his mission is God Himself! Behold, the greatness of your God! God is saying that He is self-existent. As Tozer says, “[God] needs no one, but when faith is present he works through anyone” (Tozer, Knowledge, 36). God is self-existent and self-sufficient. He needs no air, no sleep, and no food. He does not need us, but we need Him! God is not like the Egyptian false gods. He was and is the one true God on whom all things depend. God is majestic in mysteriousness. We will never have Him totally figured out. God is not a book you read and then put on your shelf. God is not a class you take. God is eternal and unchangeable. He says, “I AM.” He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is not getting better or worse. He is infinitely perfect. Jesus Christ referred to Himself as “I am.” When He was trying to convince the religious leaders that He was the Savior, He said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58; cf. other “I am” statements). Then they wanted to stone Him. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the God of Moses? Jesus Himself said, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). He is not merely a teacher or moral example, but God. The Bible presents Him as Thomas confesses Him to be: Lord and God (John 20:28). Second, God also instructed Moses to tell them His word (vv. 16–22). God told Moses that he was to go to the elders and report what God had told him. Moses was learning what it means to be a prophet: to declare what God has said. Notice how God told him that the elders “will listen to what you say” (v. 18). This is not the last time God would promise Moses that people would respond to his message. I know in our day you hear people talking like Christianity will collapse. No, God has a people. Some will respond. Paul says, “God’s solid foundation stands firm” (2 Tim 2:19). God assured Moses that the elders would listen. The “elders” were those entrusted with leadership of the community. They played an important role in the life of Israel throughout Exodus (e.g., chs. 18; 24). In much the same way, the New Testament teaches a plurality of elders who shepherd God’s flock (Acts 20:17–35; 5:17; 1 Pet 5:1–5; Titus 1:5–9). Notice also that they were going to say, “Let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God” (3:18). Again, you see how God’s people were enslaved spiritually and wanted to be freed to worship (7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3). It is unclear why they only asked for three days. It may be an ancient Near East expression to mean a long journey of an indefinite period of time. What is important about the trip is the purpose: worship. Even though the elders would listen, God reminded Moses that Pharaoh would not—at least, not initially. God told Moses that in response to Pharaoh’s refusal, He would have to intervene with His “strong hand” performing wonders (3:19–20). After God performed these wonders, the Egyptians would allow the Israelites to plunder them (vv. 21–22). What is going on here? God said, “Before you go out of Egypt, I want you to take the women shopping!” God was setting another pattern: the idea of conquering and taking the spoils. Paul later said that after Jesus Christ conquered our greatest enemies of sin and death, “He took prisoners into captivity; He gave gifts to people” (Eph 4:8). What is amazing is that the Israelites are simply told to ask for it. God is fighting the battle for them, which is another pattern. Also noteworthy is that these precious metals will be used to construct the tabernacle (Exod 35:4–9, 20–29). So, what do we tell people as God’s missionaries? We tell them who God is, and we tell them what God has said. This includes what He has done in the past, what He is doing in the present, and what He will do in the future.

Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Exodus (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), 21–28.