Exodus 3:1-12 - God’s Faithfulness to Call Moses
Notes
Transcript
The Word Read
The Word Read
Please remain standing for the reading of the Holy Scripture. Hear the Word of the Lord from Exodus 3:5-6:
5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off 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.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Behold, brothers and sisters, this is Word of the Lord. Please be seated.
Exordium
Exordium
Dear Church,
I invite you to open Holy Scripture to Exodus 3:1-12. It’s good to be back with you all this morning. I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving with family and friends. We had a full house, at one point we had 15 people in our home celebrating Thanksgiving and along with two birthdays.
This morning, we continue in our study of Exodus by examining the first 12 verses of chapter 3. Just to refresh our memories, the people of Israel are under oppression. Moses was saved by Pharaoh’s daughter as a child. Moses grew up and saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating a fellow Hebrew. Moses kills the taskmaster, but is forced to flea Egypt. He comes to Midian where he is gladly received. It is here where we pick up the storyline.
These verses are full of wonderful doctrines. Incredible themes fill the passage: God’s holiness, God’s presence, God’s faithfulness to call a deliverer, and God’s special revelation.
The sermon title is “God’s Faithfulness to Call Moses.” The sermon will have two portions: 1) Exodus 3:1-6 - Moses Encounters God, and 2) Exodus 3:7-12 - God Calls Moses.
Exodus 3:1-6 - Moses Encounters God
Exodus 3:1-6 - Moses Encounters God
1 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. 2 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. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 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.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off 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.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
At this time, Moses is approximately 80 years old. He has been in the land of Midian for about 40 years. As an 80 year old, God is going to call Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. Isn’t that incredible, 80 years old and Moses is going to be called to an incredible leadership position. Some of you in this room might consider yourself to be “too old” to be used in significant and meaningful by God, and yet God very well may just be getting started with you! Moses is working as a shepherd for his father-in-law Jethro who just so happens to be the priest of Midian. Now, as you may remember from our last passage, Moses called this man Reuel. It is most likely that the man had different names. Moses is shepherding his flocks and he has to help them find green pastures, which is what a good shepherd would do. Is there really any better job for Moses to learn how to eventually lead God’s people? In his searching for good pastures, he comes to the mountain of God - Horeb which is also called Mount Sinai.
Mountains are significant in Scripture. They are often associated with places of incredible spiritual significance where God reveals Himself. Women, this should sound familiar to those who are attending the Ladies Bible Study. The Garden of Eden is likened to a mountain in Ezekiel 28:13-15. In Genesis 22, the laying of Isaac on the altar occurs on a mountain. In Exodus 19, the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on this same mountain. In Luke 9, Jesus is transfigured where He, Moses, and Elijah talk about Jesus’s exodus. The Great Commission is given on a mountain in Matthew 28:16-20. Mountains are a place of divine revelation- where Heaven and Earth meet- and this is what Moses will experience in these verses.
Moses turns and sees a bush burning, but it is not consumed. Scriptures says in verse 2 that this is the angel of Yahweh who has appeared to Moses. Moses is obviously intrigued by what he saw. So, Moses does what any of us would probably do - he turns aside and looks at the burning bush. Now, the point of the story is not the burning bush. There have been many a sermons that have focused on the burning bush. It certainly is a supernatural event, but the main point is the special revelation the Lord is going to speak to Moses.
The Lord calls out to Moses twice and Moses in response says, “Here I am.” Listen to the Lord’s response, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet (a command), for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” There is so much to unpack in those two sentences.
First, this whole episode hinges on the reality that God is holy. There was nothing holy about the bush. There was nothing holy about the dirt on the ground. The ground Moses stood on was holy because God’s presence was there. Yet, what does it mean to be holy? What is holiness? Holiness describes someone or something as being set apart for God. God is holy. God is entirely set apart from His creation. He is morally perfect and altogether righteous. There is none in the entire universe like our God. He is set apart. He is glorious. He is righteous. He is perfectly morally upright. None of our little man-conceived gods can ever measure up to His majesty. He is separate from His creation. He transcends all living creatures. He sits enthroned with beams of glory radiating around. He is entirely sacred. He is set apart for His own glory. Words fail to describe the holiness of God.
Hear the words of 1 Peter 1:14-16:
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Isn’t that a tall order? God is holy and we also have to be holy in all our conduct? Unfortunately, holiness has been lost in the American Church. Far too many church leadership teams are more concerned with the three “B’s” (buildings, budgets, and bodies) than helping their members grow in holiness. However, this has not always been the case. In the Early Church, Justin Martyr penned these words: “Let those who are not found living as He taught, be understood to be no Christians, even though they profess with their lips the precepts of Christ.” During the 1600’s John Owen wrote this: “The Scripture doth in general represent the … church of Christ to consist of persons called saints, separated from the world.… To compose churches of habitual sinners, and that either as unto sins of commission or sins of omission, is not to erect temples to Christ, but chapels unto the devil.” Holiness is not optional in the Christian life. Holiness is to be a characteristic of the local church! The call to be holy is a command that must be obeyed.
We are not holy creatures in and of ourselves. We are unholy. We are destitute sinners. We were born in iniquity and conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5). Thus, if we are to become holy in any way it must come from someone or something outside of ourselves (Romans 3:21-26). So, how does a holy, righteous God welcome filthy, dirty sinners? Christ alone. This is what theologians refer to as double imputation. In salvation, our sins are imputed or applied to Christ, AND simultaneously Christ’s righteousness is imputed or applied to us. It’s a most wonderful transaction! Christ takes our sins and gives us His righteousness. Our holiness is a foreign or alien holiness. To set the foundation regarding holiness we must understand this is where our righteousness comes from. We have no holiness in and of ourselves.
Second, we are called to live a holy life! We must remember that this is only accomplished by the Spirit of God. Only the Holy Spirit has the ability to cause a person to live a life set apart to God. The Christian life will look altogether different than the world. Think of the Christians you’ve known over the course of your life. Think of the most godly person you knew. What characteristics did you see in them that caused you to think about them? Was it their anger or bitterness or malice towards others? I’m guessing not. In fact, I would venture to say that you’re thinking of someone who loved the Lord and others well, who devoted themselves to His Word and to prayer, who lived lovingly, compassionately, and generously towards others. They were set apart in their ways. Are you? If I were to ask this question of those who know you, would anyone think of your name?
The pursuit of holiness is an intentional endeavor as we, humankind, partner with the Holy Spirit in growing in our faith. Again, holiness has fallen out of favor in the American Christianity. The pursuit of holiness is far deeper and broader endeavor than we would initially admit. The pursuit of holiness goes much, much deeper than our actions. The strive for holiness also includes our thoughts and temptations. How many of us have had this happen, “Well I was really angry at that person all day, but I didn’t say or do a mean thing towards them. I sure chewed them out in my mind with some choice words, but my actions were pure.” How many of us can attest to that reality? We’ve all been there, right? However, the pursuit of holiness, by the prodding and the power of the Holy Spirit, even causes our very thought life to be renewed. As believers, we know that even our very thought life is to be submitted to the holiness of God. Every thought, every action, every temptation that comes must come under the power of the Holy Spirit. Only He can cause us to life a holy life.
As Moses came to this place, which is holy only because of the presence of God, so you are holy only because God has imputed His righteousness to you. Holiness is given by grace alone. As Moses came to the burning bush, he learned that he was standing on holy ground, because, and ONLY because, the very Presence of God was there. Moses’ journey towards understanding righteousness was just beginning, but you, like Moses, behold the glory of God because God has imputed the righteousness of Christ to YOU. Holiness is given by God’s grace alone.
By God’s grace, Moses comes with sandals off standing on holy ground. Humble reverence is required to come into the Lord’s presence. The Lord gives Moses permission and instruction on how to approach Him. Moses cannot come into God’s presence however he thinks is best. The same is true today. We do not get to come into the Lord’s presence however we think is best. Moses’ ability to worship on the mountain was not because he prayed the right prayer or because they sang the right style of music or played the right instruments. His worship on the mountain was because he STOOD IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD! God has revealed to us through His Word how we are to approach Him, both in our personal life and our corporate church life as a congregation. Not only is holiness to be the defining characteristic of our personal lives, but holiness should define the corporate life of the Church! Are we known for our passion of holiness in Eden? Would the community say that FPC is known for their insatiable passion to live holy? Perfectly? Of course not, but we cannot deny they strive to live like Jesus Christ. Does holiness mark our church?
Holiness should mark the Church in all areas of our lives. We absolutely should look different than the rest of the world around us. If you remember going through 1 Peter, Peter guaranteed us that we will look weird to an unrighteous world around us. We will look out of place as we teach that marriage is between a man and a woman (Genesis 1:26-27). We will look weird as we teach our children that they should only marry other Christians as the Lord forbids marriage to unbelievers (Deuteronomy 7:3-4 and 2 Corinthians 6:14-16). We will look strange because we believe that husband and wife should remain together all the days of their lives instead of seeking divorce in difficult seasons. We will stand out for pursuing sexual abstinence until marriage — living apart from one another until we commit ourselves as husband and wife before a holy God. We will look bizarre as we use our words to encourage one another instead of tearing one another down. The world will find it confusing when we are kind and compassionate to one another when we’ve been wronged instead of seeking revenge. Unbelievers won’t understand that we desire to have purity in our thought lives running from lust. The lost will not comprehend that we care for the orphans and the widows, instead of casting them off and telling them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. We will certainly be looked upon with side-eyes for stating that life begins at conception and abortion is an abomination. A holy people will look like aliens to an unholy world.
Finally, as we look back at our Exodus passage, God tells Moses He is the God of his father, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is significant. First, the God of the patriarchs is still living. He is not a God who has been put to death while the people of Israel were in Egypt. He was for the patriarchs and He is for the covenant people of God still. Furthermore, they are still His covenant people. Just because they have lived in 400 years of affliction does not mean God has forsaken them. He is coming to rescue them - His covenant people!
The God of Abraham, the God of Issac, the God of Jacob, and the God of Moses is our God today. He is the eternal God who has been alive, and who will be alive forever more. We are His covenant people and He will never forsake us. In times of death, sickness, disease, emotional or spiritual hardship, Christ never leaves us. I think this has been one of the most encouraging themes in Exodus. Not matter what, if you truly belong to Christ, He will never forsake you. I’m sure there were times when the people of Israel sat next to a fire at night under millions of stars wondering, “Does Yahweh still care for us? We are brutally oppressed and our baby boys are being murdered? Is He still there? Does He even see or hear us?” Oh, He certainly cared. He cared so much for them that He orchestrated these events hundreds of years in advance. He will prove to them how much He loves them. And He will prove this soon. The Holy Creator will come down soon and rescue them from their afflictions. He is proving this even now by coming down to meet with Moses on this mount.
Moses’s encounter with God overwhelms him. He covers His face in fear. Terrified to even look at God.
Exodus 3:7-12 - God Calls Moses
Exodus 3:7-12 - God Calls Moses
7 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, 8 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. 9 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. 10 Come, 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 bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 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.”
Aren’t we thankful the Lord sees and hears the afflictions of His people? He never leaves them on their own, nor does He leave us on our own. God knew the sufferings of the people of Israel, and He is coming down to deliver them. In Genesis 11, God comes down to Babel. He sees the wickedness of the people and He issues judgment. He scatters them. The same is about to happen to Egypt. God is coming down, condescending to His world, to issue judgment on Pharaoh and all of Egypt.
He is coming down, and do you see what He is going to do for His people? He will bring them up out of Egypt. There is a major contrast. God coming down to issue judgment, and God rescuing His people by bringing them up and out. God, in His goodness, will bring them to a land that is fertile and spacious. This is an ideal land in the midst of the desert even if the land is inhabited by others at this time. There will be a conquest and ultimately this land will be given to the people of Israel.
Here, God reiterates the covenant He made with Abraham. However, the promise of land is not simply about land. Just as the greatest significance was not the bush itself, so we see the greatest significance is not the land itself. Once again, the greatest significance is the PRESENCE OF GOD. The significance is not in the land. The significance is God’s promised presence with His people. He will dwell with them. Moses, at the end of his life, is unable to enter the Promised Land. He disobeys the Lord by striking the rock instead of speaking to it. Later it is revealed that the Rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:3-4). So Moses comes to the end of his life unable to bring the people of Israel into the Promised Land, but God does allow Moses to view the land with his own eyes. This demonstrates to us that Moses is a type of the Christ to come, but He is not the Christ. Here is the goodness of Christ. The eternal Son of God came down from heaven’s abode so that His people may be brought up out of their bondage and slavery to sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil. His conquest was not for land, but for the redemption of His people. He came so He would lead us up and out of this world to the great Eternal Promised Land. Moses was unable do this, but Christ did!
Again, the Promised Land was about the presence of God, not simply land. In one aspect, Moses experienced a taste of the Promised Land. God dwelt with Moses. Moses spoke face to face with the living God. We sit like Moses every day. We’ve experienced a taste of the Promised Land as God’s presence dwells with us, yet we haven’t experienced the fullness of the Promised Land. One day, dear brothers and sisters. One day there will no longer be peering into the Eternal Promised Land by faith looking in the pages of Scripture, but it will be ours, through Christ, in sight.
Looking back at our passage, Yahweh reasserts in verse 9 that He has heard His people cry out to Him under the brutality of the Egyptians, and He is coming to act. How will He do this? He will send Moses to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt. The one who has already been rejected by the people of Israel will be sent back to deliver them out of the hands of Pharaoh. In divine providence, Moses has spent almost 40 years as a shepherd of flocks learning how to shepherd the hearts of people. In a divine twist, the rejected will be sent back to lead. (LOVE THIS!)
Moses, in return, says, “who am I that I do this?” Moses, over the next 2 chapters, which we will see over the next few weeks, will give 5 excuses why he cannot go to Egypt. Unlike Moses, and unlike us, the eternal Son of God was and is always obedient to the Father.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Moses brings excuses as to why he cannot go to Egypt, Christ Jesus, in humility, dies cursed on a cross.
The Lord’s response to Moses is so gracious. “I will be with you.” God promises His very presence to Moses. Is there no greater promise that Moses could receive? In our Advent season we are reminded of Matthew 1:23:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).
In Christ, God is with us. What an extraordinary promise. Can you believe this!?! If you are in Christ, God is with you! His very presence goes with you all the days of your life. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, resides in you. This advent season, some of us may be making known our wish list for Christmas. What if our Christmas list sounded like this? I want more of the presence of god. I want to stand on holy ground and worship him forever. I want to live the holy life that god has set me apart to live. This Christmas, can you think of a better present than his presence? An extraordinary gift that God would be with us.
Now, let us look at the sign the Lord will give Moses to prove that He will be with Moses in verse 12. The proof is this: Moses will deliver the people out of Egypt and they shall worship God on this very mountain. The mountain of Horeb is Mount Sinai. There is actually a three fold promise: 1) God will deliver the people of Israel, 2) God will guide them from Egypt to Mount Sinai, and 3) They will worship Him on this mountain.
Is this not the same promises Christ gives to us? 1) He will deliver us from our bondage, 2) He will guide us as we live in this foreign land traveling to Mount Zion, and 3) We will worship God for all of eternity on that Mount!
Conclusion
Conclusion
