Exodus 3:1-4:23: Knowing God

Introduction

Rotten Tomatoes - Few movies get a score of 100% - Pinoochio gets that score. Odd movie - but a movie about a puppet who wants an identity.

We seem to spend our whole lives trying to figure out who we are. We all have struggled with our identity. Is my life significant? What am I supposed to do with my life? How do I know what I am created for? Do I have any skills or abilities that can actually make a difference in this world? We’re all on a quest for significance and meaning. We don’t want to get to the end of our lives and feel like we’ve wasted our lives.

The reality is that you cannot really know you until you know God.

The Book of Exodus helps us to know God. Exodus 1-2 - God is faithful. Exodus 3-4 - God is.

Exodus 3-4 helps to answer three questions that we all ask: 1. Who am I? 2. Who is God? 3. Why am I here?

Who am I?

End of Chapter 2 - Hebrews cry out to God. “God knew…” (2:25). He knew, and God determined to act on their behalf.

After murdering a Hebrew, Moses traded life in Egypt for shepherding for decades in Midian. Probably thought often about life in Egypt and felt guilty for his sin and for abandoning his people.

A sight at Mt. Horeb - mountain of God - God will bring the Hebrews back to this mountain to establish His covenant with them (Exodus 19-20). Angel of the Lord appeared - Preincarnate Christ? The second person of the Trinity accommodating Himself to Moses so Moses might encounter God.

A burning bush - not consumed. The bush needs no fuel (nor does God - He’s self-sustaining. Often in OT God’s presence symbolized in fire. By fire, He led the people at night through the wilderness. Fire out Mt. Sinai. Fire at the tabernacle. We’re fascinated by fire, but we know if we get too close we’ll be burned. Fire a reminder of God’s holiness, His judgment, and also His desire to refine/purify His people.

Moses fascinated by the fire and approaches the bush only to be told by God to not get too close and to take off his shoes. Moses in the presence of holy God. God identifies Himself as the God of Moses’ forefathers - the God of the Hebrews. In fear, Moses hid his face. Would God strike Moses dead?

vs. 7-10 - the compassion of God. He has come down to rescue His people from Egypt and fulfill the promise He made to Abraham and bring them into the Promised Land. vs. 9 - God heard the cry of His people for deliverance.

The shocker: “Moses, I’m sending you…” The question from Moses: “Who am I?” A natural question. What qualified Moses? He was a fugitive who had been away from Egypt for decades.

You’ve asked the question, “who am I?’ - a question of significance. I can tell you who you are NOT:

You are not the creator of your own destiny. (Moses tried to be.) That’s what you’re told - create your own destiny. Pursue your dreams. Chart your own course. Make out of your life what you want. Take your life into your own hands then you’ll find significance. How many people have achieved all their goals and still felt life was meaningless?

You are not good enough. “God owes me…” The posture many take. “God owes me a good life, eternal life, etc.” We want to think we’re good enough to chart on own course and live a life significance, but it’s not true. You are not good enough to enjoy the presence of God. (Moses doesn’t say this is awesome. He was terrified.) You are not good enough to do anything of eternal value in your own strength. Moses already proved he couldn’t do it when he killed the Egyptian. At the burning bush, Moses reminded of his sinfulness and limitations in the presence of the only ONE who is good.

You’re someone who desperately need God to do a work in your life. THIS is what Moses is going to learn and you and I need to continue to learn. Our value and significance in life totally hinges on our understanding of who God is and what He wants from us.

Who is God?

vs. 12 - God’s answer to Moses - “I will be with you, and I will bring you back to this mountain.” An amazing promise. Same promise God gave Isaac (Gen. 26:3).

vs. 13 - Moses - “Who are you?” (Jacob asked this - Genesis 32:29-30) Logical question - so many gods in Egypt but Moses had NEVER encountered an Egyptian god at a burning bush! Who was THIS God? Further, to know someone’s name is to know someone - to know their character, what they are about, etc.

vs. 14 - “I am who I am” - God’s name is a sentence! The verb “to be.” God just is… God is what? He is everything. Everything finds its existence and meaning in God. Everything revolves around His glorious will.

Hebrew name: YHWH - the God of Moses’ ancestors, and this would be His name forever (vs. 15).

When you see LORD in your Bible, covenant name of God - the God who is.

If you try to get your brain around who God is, your mind will implode. Let’s reflect for a moment:

God is eternal - No one created Him. Nothing else is eternal. Everything in this world is dependent upon a creator. Big bang or evolution does not explain first cause.

God is self-sufficient. He doesn’t need anyone or anything.

God is self-defining. We don’t define who God is. He defines who He is.

God is self-existent. He’s like the burning bush - He’s not dependent on any kind of fuel to fuel His existence. God has always been, God will always be. He just is.

God is holy. There is nothing in creation that is like God. We are made in His image to reflect Him, but we are not eternal. We had a beginning. We were created. We are dependent upon Him.

God is just. He always does the right thing. The argument that “God is not fair” does not hold up. Any punishment that God gives to people who have rebelled against Him is deserved.

God is purposeful. God has a plan, and His plan will be accomplished.

God is powerful. No one will stand in the way of His plan being accomplished. Not even Pharaoh (vs. 19-22).

God is personal. For His glory, God created you and me for a relationship with Him. He actually wants us to know Him. He has chosen to reveal Himself to us ultimately in His Son. Jesus has come down to us so we might live in a relationship with Him.

God is compassionate. He sees you. He knows you. He loves you. He made a way for you to have a relationship with Him because He is compassionate.

God is the God who is - we could talk about the character of God for hours. His name reveals who He is.

Simple question for you: do you know Him? Do you know the God of the Bible? Do you want to know Him?

No wonder Paul will later write, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

Why am I here?

You are here for God’s purpose in the world. Your life is a tool in His hands to accomplish exactly what He wants to accomplish in our generation. Ultimately, His agenda is the only agenda that will be accomplished. You can join Him or oppose Him. To oppose God is to find yourself in a constant war and state of restlessness. The reality is that your soul will not find joy and rest until you join Him on His mission.

Moses struggled to come come to terms with the reality that God would use him to accomplish His purpose (4:1). Remember: You are not, but God is!

Moses does what we all do. He tells God why he can’t align with God’s will. If you’re struggling to align yourself with God’s will you need to know:

God is not looking at your credentials. 3:11: Who am I? At this point, Moses a fugitive who’s spent decades shepherding. How could he lead a revolt against Egypt? You might feel like you don’t have the education, experience, abilities, etc. But, the old adage, “God doesn’t call the qualified but qualifies the called” carries a lot of truth.

God is not limited by your doubts. 4:1-9 - Moses didn’t think his own people would believe him (4:1). God promised He would work three miracles through Moses to cause the people to believe. God would empower Moses, and God will empower you for whatever He calls you to. Your biggest roadblock is often doubting God’s Word… In the back of your mind you think, “I don’t think God can…” And that keeps you from stepping in faith. God knows your doubts, and your doubts do not change God’s desire to use you.

God is not buying your excuses (4:10-12). “I can’t speak…” Maybe you feel that way. God can’t use you because you’re not good with your words. You fear every time an opportunity arises to speak up about your faith. God to Moses: “I will help you speak, and I will teach you what to say.” God empowers. Do you think your excuses really hold any validity?

God does not care about your age. Moses 80 years old! (Exodus 7:7) He’d only live to 120! 80 is too late to start significant ministry! Not in God’s economy. God could care less about you being too young or too old. He just wants you to walk by faith.

God is patient with your weaknesses. God agrees to send Aaron with Moses. This is gracious. He puts up with Moses being a hard head. He puts up with you as well. He should have stopped using me a long time ago, but He still patiently endures with my shortcomings as He forms me into the image of His Son. He does that in your life as well.

God takes you on the long road to victory (4:18-23). It wasn’t going to be an easy journey for Moses. God told Moses he would harden Pharaoh’s heart. Moses would have to go before an unbelieving Pharaoh over and over again and not see instant victory. For reasons known to God, He takes us on the long road. He calls us to endure and faithfully serve over the long haul.

Moses’ call is a reminder to us that the only reason why you are here is for God’s purpose. Give all the excuses you want to, it doesn’t change God’s call. The I Am has come for you, to save you, and to use you for His purpose.

You probably feel like Moses: insufficient, dysfunctional, too old, or maybe too young. You feel too weak. You feel like your past disqualifies you. You feel inadequate. Anytime you have those feelings remember that God is I am. What you feel or who you think you are doesn’t not matter because the I AM has called you His child.

The I AM who came for Moses has come for you. Two thousand years ago God came to the earth not in a burning bush but in flesh. Jesus walked on this earth and repeatedly said, “I am.” He said to those who are thirty, “I am the living water.” He said to those who feel lost, “I am the way.” He said to those who feel worries, “I am the Good Shepherd.” He said to those all of us who faced the penalty for our sin, “I am the resurrection and the life.” The I AM - the eternal God has made Himself known in Jesus Christ. Do you now Him? Have you repented of your sins and placed your faith in the God-man who lived, died, and rose again for you?

This morning, if you are a follower of Jesus, and if you are struggling, you need the reminder that you serve the God who is. He has revealed Himself to you. You can know Him, and you can also know as a follower of Jesus you are in Him. Your life is hidden in the One who is. Feeling weak? He is strong. Feeling deficient? He is sufficient. Feeling doubtful? He is faithful. Do you see? Your life is bound up in the ONE who is the I am. He knows you. He is for you. He loves you. In your doubts and struggles, remind yourself that He is. He is for you.