Worship is...
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Exodus chapters 3 and 4 detail the call of Moses. God chose Moses and called him to be the person who would bring the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”
Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”
19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)
27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.
29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!
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Exodus chapters 3 and 4 detail the call of Moses. God chose Moses and called him to be the person who would bring the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
Moses had other ideas. He offered some pretty good excuses, trying his best to avoid this enormously intimidating task—Who am I? What will I say? What if they don’t believe me? I no speak good. I don’t want to.
God called. Moses excused himself, or at least tried. For every excuse Moses could conjure, the LORD Yahweh answered. He reassured. He promised His presence, His power, His provision.
The exceedingly patient God remained patient with Moses. And now, Moses (v. 18) responds positively to God’s call. We see Moses return to Jethro, his father-in-law, asking for his blessing to return to Egypt.
We see Moses answering God’s call to bring His people out of slavery in Egypt. And we know that God’s wants to bring His people out of their slavery in Egypt.
But why? For what reason?
God wants to bring His people out of Egypt and has called Moses to be His representative who will lead the people out of Egypt. But why?
Why is God doing this? Does God just really want them to have a good life, their best life now? Is God looking to bless them so that they can be happy in their new land? Is this God’s idea of building them up, making them feel better about themselves? God really just wants to set them free so that they can work easier, better-paying jobs? This building pyramids, blue-collar work is for the birds; let’s make sure all God’s people have nice, cushy desk jobs with ample vacation and good benefits.
Is God doing this for the sake of the Israelites?
How we answer this is going to reveal if we are culturally-conditioned, new-age thinkers who have selfish reasons for believing in “god”, or if we are genuine, Biblically-minded Christians.
Is God doing this for the sake of the Israelites? Or is He doing this for His namesake?
The Biblically-minded Christian will affirm immediately that God does everything for His glory; for His name; for His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
You see, what God does for you and in you is not ultimately for your sake. Whatever it is that God does for you or in you is for His sake.
In every part of the Bible, this truth is clear (I’ve got a print-out of some of the Bible verses if you’d like one).
Chances are, you’ve recited this truth that God does everything for His sake, for His glory (though maybe without realizing it).
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
This rubs against the ingrained, sinful “me” syndrome. This comes like a hammer-blow to our man-centered way of looking at the world. What God does for me is not about me.
This rubs against the ingrained, sinful “me” syndrome. This comes like a hammer-blow to our man-centered way of looking at the world.
Why is God doing this? Why is God bringing His people out of Egypt?
He’s doing it for His glory. He’s doing it for His sake. He’s doing it so that this people might make His name glorious.
Why is God doing all this? In a word: WORSHIP.
What is worship?
Worship is God’s Will for His People
Worship is God’s Will for His People
We’re going to take the text out of order just a bit, so that we can see the foundation for worship, the why of worship, the reason we worship.
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”
Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”
19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
Exodus
Here, and at several points throughout the book of Exodus, we see that this is God’s reason, God’s motivation, God’s clear and eternal purpose for the Exodus and for everything else He does.
Moses is to go to Pharaoh, show Him the staff into snake bit, the leprous hand, and the water into blood.
The Lord, will, however, harden Pharaoh’s heart (something we’ll discuss in-depth when we come to ). The Lord hardens Pharaoh’s heart, making it so that Pharaoh refuses to let the people of Israel go. All of this will allow for quite a display of God’s Sovereign power.
Notice the reason Moses is to go to Pharaoh: to let Pharoah know that Israel is the Lord’s firstborn son—God chose Israel, not for anything in them, but to showcase His love.
As God’s firstborn son, their purpose was to worship the Lord: “Let my son go, so he may worship me.”
Over and over, again and again, Moses is instructed by the Lord to go to Pharaoh, to tell Pharaoh, “Pharaoh, Pharaoh, oh-oh, let my people go, HUH!”
Let my people go that they may worship me.
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’ ”
16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.”
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me,
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
Eventually, even Pharaoh understands that this is Israel’s purpose, that worship is God’s will for His people. Pharaoh has had it with flies and frogs; he’s fed up with boils and darkness and says,
24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”
Exodus
Worship is God’s Will for His People
Worship is God’s Will for His People
This is the reason Moses is to return to Egypt. This is the reason the Lord hardens Pharaoh’s heart.
This is the ultimate reason the Israelites were taken into captivity: so that when they were brought out by the mighty hand of God they would worship Him.
From beginning to end, the entire exodus was the result of God’s sovereign decree. The whole agonizing and then exhilarating experience of slavery and freedom was part of His perfect will. It was God’s will to bring his people out of Egypt. It was also His good pleasure to keep them there as long as He did, which is proved by His hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.
Peter Enns writes, “The deliverance of Israel from Egypt is entirely God’s doing and under His complete control. The impending Exodus is a play in which God is author, producer, director, and principal actor.” Even when Pharaoh took his turn on stage, God received all the applause. Like everything else that God has ever done, the exodus was all for His glory.”
Worship is Expressed by Obedience and Dependence.
Worship is Expressed by Obedience and Dependence.
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”
Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”
19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
Exodus 4:18-20
Worship is Expressed by Obedience and Dependence.
Worship is Expressed by Obedience and Dependence.
Our text begins with Moses’ post-excuse obedience. Obedience—finally! Took him long enough. We always do exactly what we’re supposed to do the minute we’re asked. We never have any delay there’s no gap between command/commission and obedience. Ours is always immediate obedience.
Or not.
You see, God called Moses. And Moses thinks he’s going to wiggle-out of the deal? “Moses, buddy… you don’t get it.”
God is going to have His way. Every time. Without fail.
Why put-off obedience? It’s only going to serve to make you miserable.
Trust me, I know. The most miserable I’ve ever been were the years I was avoiding/running from God’s call on my life. I was being actively disobedient to what I knew God was calling me to do. And I was miserable.
So it is for whomever procrastinates in the obedience department. Take heed, friends: Don’t put-off obedience to the Lord.
After he ran out of excuses, Moses returns home to his father-in-law and turns in his resignation. “Here’s your flock, Pop (I think Moses probably called Jethro “Pop”). Here’s your flock. I’ve gotta go to my people.”
Moses finally answers God’s call on his life and started walking down the path of obedience. He has Jethro’s blessing in hand. He packs up His family—Zipporah, Gershom, and Eliezer—sticks them on a donkey and starts back to Egypt.
Moses finally answers God’s call on his life and started walking down the path of obedience. He has Jethro’s blessing. He packs up His family—Zipporah, Gershom, and Eliezer—sticks them on a donkey and started back to Egypt.
This is, in itself, an act of worship. This is Moses bowing his life and his will to the Lord and the Lord’s will.
This is Moses doing as the Lord said—obedience to the Father is an act of worship.
So, too, is dependence. Do you see Moses’ act of dependence, his non-verbal way of saying, “Lord, I need You; every hour I need You”?
20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
He took the staff of God in his hand.
The staff was God’s answer to Moses’ third excuse (4:1)—What if they don’t believe me or listen to me or believe that you appeared to me?
The Lord sees the staff that Shepherd-Moses had been using, and used that humble instrument to display His power. Staff into snake into staff again is a pretty sweet trick. You’d take that staff with you, too.
This is Moses saying without so many words, “I can’t do this on my own. But with the Lord…with the Lord, all things are possible.”
Worship is Expressed by Obedience and Dependence.
Worship is Expressed by Obedience and Dependence.
Moses is both obedient and dependent; in other words, Moses’ actions are expressions of worship: bowing before, trusting in the One who deserves obedience, the One on whom we can depend.
Wanda—worship vs. church
We are the church; what we do is worship.
Worship is an Acknowledgement of God’s Holiness
Worship is an Acknowledgement of God’s Holiness
24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)
I once heard the great preacher Haddon Robinson say, “The past is a strange place and they do strange things back there.”
He’s exactly right. Verses 24-26 are some of the strangest verses in the Old Testament.
Haddon Robinson: “The OT is a strange place and strange things happen there.”
We read that the Lord sought to put Moses to death. Hmmm. Okay…?? Didn’t the Lord just call Moses to accomplish a certain task? Why, now, is He about to kill Moses?!
Apparently this is because Moses’ son was not circumcised.
Moses was to the keep the requirement given to Abraham, namely circumcising his sons.
God was remembering His covenant and the sign of His covenant. And Moses was under God’s wrath for not circumcising his son, Gershom.
Once again, it’s a woman who comes to the rescue, though in a very strange manner.
Zipporah takes a flint knife, cuts off her son’s foreskin, and touches Moses’ feet with it.
(There are many things that keep me preaching—love for God and His Word, the fact that I love you, and verses like this one: it’s so weird! And I get paid to talk about it!)
Moses had failed to circumcise his son. Zipporah acts faithfully, and Moses’ life was saved.
There are a lot of interpretations of these verses (and a lot of grammatical issues). The more we discuss this, the more awkward it becomes.
The point here, I believe is this: Zipporah’s action shows Moses that we are only right with God through blood and His covenant promises.
Apart from the shedding of blood, Moses was no different from the Egyptians. So, then, his son was circumcised and Zipporah takes the flesh and touches Moses with it.
To make a decent sermon point out of this, let’s say this: what Zipporah does is an act of worship.
It shows that God is Holy, other, set apart from us. The LORD has set standards by which we must live. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.
22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The act of circumcising Moses’ son is an acknowledgement of God’s Holiness, His Holy standard of righteousness.
Rick Ezell wrote this a few weeks ago in The Lookout: “When we see God’s holiness, we see our own pitifulness as well—our sinfulness.” We are miserable offenders.
The Holy God’s wrath burned against sinful, miserable Moses. And then His wrath was turned aside—propitiated—by the blood of circumcision.
God is Holy. Moses is an unholy sinner.
Every human being is a sinner who stands under the wrath of God. Like Moses, we have failed to keep God’s law and are, therefore, subject to God’s wrath—the wages of sin is death.
We are in desperate need of propitiation: an offering that turns away the wrath of God.
This is exactly what Jesus provided on the cross: a perfect sacrifice for sin, offered through the shedding of His own blood.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
These verses in Exodus are both weird and wonderful; in the strangest way possible, they teach us two glorious truths.
God is Holy. Set apart. Other.
Our only hope is an offering of blood—and that, friends, points us directly to Jesus.
Worship is an Acknowledgement of God’s Holiness
Worship is an Acknowledgement of God’s Holiness
As we then worship, we are acknowledging some absolutely glorious truths:
The Lord is Holy, Holy, Holy.
We are sinners deserving only wrath.
Jesus’ wounds have paid my ransom!
Worship is Our Proper Response to Who God Is and What God Has Done
Worship is Our Proper Response to Who God Is and What God Has Done
Worship is Our Proper Response to What God Has Done
Worship is Our Proper Response to What God Has Done
27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.
29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
Exodus 4:
Everything goes according to plan, according to promise. Aaron meets up with his brother, Moses—just as God had promised. In verse 14 the Lord tells Moses that Aaron is already on his way to meet Moses!
Moses and Aaron embrace. Aaron agrees to help Moses—just as God had promised (4:15-16).
Aaron agreed to help Moses—just as God had promised (4:15-16).
Moses and Aaron make it back to Egypt, gather all the elders. Aaron tells them everything Moses had seen and heard, and threw in the staff-to-snake bit, the leprous hand, the water into blood.
And, just the way God had promised, the people believe.
Upon hearing about the Lord and His concern for them, what do the people do?
The only thing they can do, the only proper response they have: they worship. They bowed down and worshipped.
Even before they experience freedom, they know God is worthy of worship and exaltation—He is the One who pays attention, the One who is involved, the One who looks after, the One who rescues; He is the One who visits us in our affliction, in our slavery, and brings us out.
Moved by the compassion of the Lord, they kneel in the sands of Egypt, and there they praise the Lord—the God who is to be worshipped and adored for who He is and what He has done.
—>What does the Lord want from you?
He wants your worship. His will for you is that you would worship Him with your whole being, every part of you. Not one ounce of your worship should go anywhere else. Cast aside your idols, whatever you worship (money, popularity, family, country)—stop worshipping those things and give all your worship to Him and Him alone.
We don’t come to church on Sundays; we who belong to Jesus are the Church. The Church comes to worship. This isn’t “church”; this is worship.
We don’t come to church on Sundays; we who belong to Jesus are the Church. And we come to worship. This isn’t “church”; this is worship.
Worship, you know, is more than singing. Worship is more than Sunday morning. Worship is our life lived before the Lord.
He wants your worship—
that you would be obedient to and dependent upon Him;
that you would acknowledge His Holiness and your sinfulness;
that you would worship in response to who He is and what He has done.
You realize that the Lord has done for you something even more miraculous and incredible than bringing the Israelites out of Egypt?
He has sent Jesus to die on the cross, to absorb the wrath of God that you deserve, to die the death that you should have died, to experience the separation that your sinful life warrants.
The Lord has provided for you—for us—the way back to Him. There is no way out of our slavery, but through Jesus Christ.
Will you, right where you are, bow your life and worship Him?
Friends, worship Him. For He is Worthy.
Wanda—worship vs. church
We are the church; what we do is worship.
Here God tells Moses to perform the same marvels for Pharaoh—not so he will let God’s people go, but for exactly the opposite reason. Rather than making a believer out of Pharaoh, the signs would harden him in his unbelief. In his stubbornness he would refuse to let God’s people go. The miracles of Jesus Christ had much the same effect: According to God’s sovereign will, some believed and were saved, while others doubted and were condemned.
Moses already knew that Pharaoh’s heart would be as hard as stone. Even if he did not know this from his own experience, which he probably did, God had said to him, “the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him” (). What is new in chapter 4—and this is the second new piece of information—is that God himself would harden Pharaoh’s heart. In some mysterious way, Pharaoh’s hardness of heart was part of God’s saving plan.
Ryken, P. G., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Exodus: saved for God’s glory (p. 128). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is an important theme in the book of Exodus, and it has much to teach us about the sovereignty of God’s will. We will encounter this theme again, because Exodus mentions Pharaoh’s hardness of heart some twenty times, describing it in one of three different ways. Sometimes the Bible says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart: “When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses” (). Other times the Bible says that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, without specifying who did the hardening: “Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen” (). There are also instances—like the one here in —where God identifies himself as the one who hardens Pharaoh’s heart.
Ryken, P. G., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Exodus: saved for God’s glory (p. 128). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
More specifically, he wanted the worship of his firstborn son. This is the grand theme of the exodus: God saving his sons from slavery so that they could serve him.
Ryken, P. G., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Exodus: saved for God’s glory (p. 130). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
Slavery to sonship—this is what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.
As the story continues, we encounter some of the strangest verses in the Old Testament in verses 24-26. Out of nowhere, it seems, God “sought to put [Moses] to death” (v. 24)! It is apparently because his firstborn son was not circumcised (v. 24). Moses was to keep the requirement given to Abraham, namely circumcising his sons ( ). God was remembering His covenant and the sign of His covenant. Zipporah seems to have acted faithfully, overcoming her headstrong husband, and Moses’ life was saved by her act. She did the circumcision instead of Moses here ( ). She was showing him that we are only right with God through blood and His covenant promises. Apart from the shedding of blood, Moses was no different from the Egyptians. (For a variety of interpretations on this passage, see Stuart, Exodus.) Likewise, as Christians we know that apart from blood and a new heart (circumcision of the heart), we are no different from unbelievers.
The chapter ends with a doxology. Even before their freedom, they knew that God was worthy of worship and exaltation. They worshiped God because He “paid attention to” the people of Israel in their misery ( 4:31; cf. 3:16). What an awesome word in the Bible of redemption: “pay attention” (KJV says “visit”). In the Greek version of the Old Testament this is the word from which we get the idea of a “bishop” or “pastor.” It is the same word that is used in , which tells us to “look after orphans and widows in their distress.” It means to get involved, to shepherd. Throughout redemptive history, God is the God who pays attention to His people; He looks after His people; He gets involved in the situation and rescues them (see ; ; ; ; ; ). God’s gracious attention should lead to God-glorifying exaltation. Praise God, for He has paid attention to us in our affliction.
The Gospel, even glimpses of the Gospel, ought to lead us to worship.