Moses and the Burning Bush

Introduction: Moses in Culture

Well good morning Forest Glen, it’s good to be with you all! My name’s Dan Osborn, for those of you I haven’t met, and I serve as one of the Pastors at Park’s Near North location!

Well good morning Forest Glen, it’s good to be with you all! My name’s Dan Osborn, for those of you I haven’t met, and I serve as one of the Pastors at Park’s Near North location!

If you’ve got a bible with you, open with me to the book of Exodus…chapter 3. It is the second book of the bible…if you grabbed one of the house bibles it’s on page 46. If you need a bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we’ll get one to you. .

We’re continuing in our series this morning called Great Stories and seeing how all of these stories from the Old Testament point to the greater story of Jesus and the Gospel.

This morning we’re looking at the story of one the most important people in the Bible—Moses. Let me show you a picture of what historians believe Moses looked [SLIDE].

But in all seriousness, the story of Moses is still a very popular one!

There have been three major movies that have come out telling the story of Moses. The 10 Commandments came out in 1956 and in it’s day it had the an AMAZING cast…and was such a popular movie that ever year since 1973 (with the exception of 1999), the 4 hour movie has been shown on Easter weekend with millions of views and is always the most viewed program that weekend.

In 1998, DreamWorks released The Prince of Egypt—Roger Ebert, the celebrated film critic said it was one of the best animated films ever made…and will actually come to broad way later this year. Exodus: Gods and Kings…which did not do as well but still attracted an All-Star cast and directing crew.

And so I think all this says that even today, as a culture, we’re still fascinated with the story of Moses and the Exodus! Even if you don’t believe the story actually happened, you still have to admit that this is an incredible piece of literature that millions and millions of people have been able to closely identify with! Broadly speaking it’s a beautiful story of deliverance as God brings the Israelites out slavery…it shows us picture of God who is compassionate, and one who not only sees suffering, but does something about it…

This morning, we are gonna be focusing in on Moses’ origin story…Your might be familiar with it…the story of how God appears to Moses through burning bush…they have a conversation and God tells Moses exactly what to do next.

I’ll tell the whole story in a moment, but for now…before we get started, let me throw out a question I want you to think about as I tell this story…would you want your own “Burning Bush” experience with God? What would it even be like to have that kind of candid conversation with God Himself. What would he say? What would YOU say? Would you want to have your own burning bush experience with God?

So if you’re not there yet, open with me to .

Let me pray and we'll get started.

Pray

Story

Context

Now let me just catch us up to speed real quick on what’s happened already. Exodus picks up where the book of Genesis left off…only there is about a 400 year gap. There's a regime change and a new King—or Pharaoh—came to power in Egypt who saw the Israelites living there as a threat because they’ve grown into a massive portion of the population!

So this new Pharaoh decides he needs to do something about the Israelites. And his solution is to enslave them and use them for forced labor. And when that doesn’t seem to stop the growth of the Israelite population, Pharaoh declares all the male babies should be killed.

But when Moses is born, his mother hides him for a while, and then when she can’t do it any longer she put him in a basket and floated him down the river. God is already showing up in his story because the basket makes it’s way to Pharaoh’s palace, where Pharaoh’s daughter finds him, adopts him, and raises him as an Egyptian prince.

Now, Moses knows his story…that he actually is an Israelite. And he starts looking for ways to use his influence to help his people. One day, he sees an Egyptian overseers beating an Israelite slave, he goes over to there, and kills the Egyptian.

It’s not long before Pharaoh finds out…he looks for Moses to kill him…and Moses flees the country. So is Moses, an Israelites who’s been essentially raised as an Egyptian prince, but now a refugee.

The Story

And this is where our story pick up. Look with me at chapter 3, starting at v. 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.” Let me show you a map of where this is [SLIDE]. Midian is circled in red, and he took his flocks near where the blue star is. The point is, Moses is just trying to lay low. He’s got a pretty good thing going here…married with kids, a steady job, and at this point he’s about 80 years, just waiting out the rest of his life.

Moses Meets God

And so as Moses is going along, just doing his thing, he notices something out of the corner of his eye…a bush was on fire.

And so he’s intrigued…just like any one of us would be…but as he begins to make his way over to the bush…the bush starts talking to him. “Moses, Moses…Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you’re standing is Holy ground.” Let me just say it…this is a little odd, I know. All over the bible God uses interesting ways to get the attention of His people…it’s what he does. So here, God speaks to Moses from a burning bush.

God has a Plan (pt 1)

And in this conversation, God begins to tell Moses what’s about to happen. Look with me at v. 7, “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…”

In the original language of Hebrew, this word for know is the word ידע which is a very intimate form of knowledge…it’s the difference between being aware of something and then actually being affected by it! And he says he knows their suffering..It means He’s not been blind to it…He hears their cries…It’s actually a very affectionate picture of God, isn’t it?

And because God knows…in v. 8, he tells Moses, “I have come down to deliver them…” He says he’s going to take them out of slavery and bring them into a new homeland.

Here’s what we really need to see [SLIDE]…God is concerned—‘I’ve seen their affliction, heard their cries, and know their sufferings…’ AND He’s compelled to do something! He says, ‘I’ve come down to deliver them!’ He is both…concerned AND compelled! God doesn’t just stop with knowing about what’s going on, he’s compelled to do something about what’s going. This is the picture we see of God here…he is concerned AND compelled…if there is anything we walk away thinking about God this morning, I want to be this: He is concerned AND compelled!

And so in this burning bush experience Moses has, he is listening intently to whatever God says he’s going to do next. And here’s where the story really get’s interesting.

God says again He’s heard the cry of the people and seen their suffering…and it moves towards this climactic moment…Look with me what he says to Moses in v. 10, “Come, I will send YOU to Pharaoh…so that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” That is drastically different from what God said the first time!

See in v. 8, God says HE has come to deliver…v. 10, God says he’s sending MOSES to deliver…This is NOT what Moses was expecting. And this is a problem for Moses. See Egypt was the global super-power at the time. And God is sending Moses to the most powerful individual alive…Pharaoh to demand that he free his entire work force…and then lead hundreds of thousands of people through the desert into a new country…where people already live and don’t have ANY intention on leaving or sharing! This is what he’s calling Moses to do!

Needles to say, Moses has a couple questions about this and the rest of the story is the back and forth conversation as Moses says 5 times, I’m not the guy for this! Let’s look at these questions Moses has.

The Humble Objection (11-12)

The first things Moses says is, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh?” That’s a fair question, right? Remember the first part of Moses’ story…the only reason he’s in the desert to begin with is because he’s a fugitive…Pharaoh wants Him dead…And so Moses says, ‘Why me’? I’m not important enough! It’s a death sentence to go back there.

And God simply says, “I will be with you”. And when you think about it, that’s an interesting response…God doesn’t tell Moses not to worry…he doesn't tell him it will be easy…in fact later on in the story God will say that nothing Moses does any way will work…but in v. 12, God simply says, ‘I will be with you’.

But Moses has another question.

The Real Objection 1 + Divine Name (13-15)

He says, “Okay…Say I go back to the Israelites…and tell them ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’…I can’t just tell them, ‘the bush told me to do this…I’ve gotta give ‘em a little more then that…they’re gonna ask, “What’s the name of the God of our Fathers?” So his question is, God, ‘What is your name?

This is a phenomenally important question for Moses to ask…and we don’t pick up on that in our culture because to ask someones name is just a way to figure out what to call them, right? We don’t have a lot meaning attached to our names in western culture any more. But that wasn’t true in Moses’ day…names were loaded with meaning and very intentional and to ask someones name was actually a way to to get to know them…their name told you about who they were! And so Moses is not just asking what to call God, but really asking what He’s like?

Look with me at v. 14, “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’

This is one of the most important points in the entire bible because it is the first time that God actually reveals this about himself!

And so what does this name mean?

‘I AM WHO I AM’…another way to translate this is, “I WILL BE who I WILL BE”

For Him to say that He is ultimately self-sufficient and independent.

That he depends on no one to do what he will do. And in v. 15, he says this is his name forever.

That Past, Present, and Future, this is what God is like!

He has no beginning and needs no beginning,

and has no end.

He is dependent on nothing!

The one who created everything out of nothing.

The eternal…

everlasting…

never-ending…

all powerful…

all knowing…

all present everywhere…

God.

And in a matter of moments, Moses gets caught up in the whirlwind of who God is as he says, ‘Moses my name is ‘I Am who I Am’.

So go and ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “I AM has sent me to you.’’ They’ll know what it means.

This is how God wants to be known by His people.

But what’s amazing about the name that God gives Moses is that it’s actually a reference back to v. 12 where God said, “I WILL BE with you.” Here’s the point…God’s name is itself a reminder that God would be with him.

Real Objection 2 (1-9)

And yet…even after what he’s just heard…Moses has another problem…He says, ‘The Israelites aren’t gonna listen to me.’

And God tells Moses to take the staff that’s in his hands and throw it on the ground and it becomes a snake…and then God tells him to pick the snake back up and it became a staff again…but why?

Pharaoh and Snakes [SLIDE]

It’s a picture that Moses will have power even over Pharaoh.

“When you to the Israelites, do the same thing! You see, God’s response he assures Moses, ‘My power will be WITH you!’

But Moses has another issue and he turns the attention back on himself and his weaknesses.

Real Objection 3 (10-12)

In v. 10, Moses tells God he’s not a gifted speaker! That he’s never been good at that! He tell God that He’s not qualified!

But look what God says in v. 12, “I will be with your mouth and teach you what to speak.”

See Moses goes through all these objections…that He’s not important enough…that the Israelites aren’t going to believe him…that Pharaoh won’t listen to him…that he’s not even qualified! But you see, it’s not until we get to the next objection that we finally see the point Moses has been trying to make the entire time!

Look with me at chapter 4 v. 13, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” ‘Please send someone else!’ This is where we get to the root of the problem for Moses.

See as we read this story and get close to the end this contrast really pops for us between God who is concerned--as he knows the suffering of his people AND compelled—to come down and do something about! And then Moses who is concerned…but he’s just not compelled.

You see it’s not that he doesn’t want the Israelites to be delivered…it’s not that he doesn’t care…we know Moses does care about what’s happening to his people…he desires God would deliver them…no where in any of these objections does he even hint that things aren’t actually as bad as God makes them out to be…that it’s not that big a deal…no! You see, Moses cares! See Moses isn’t compelled to do something about it, because he knows how much it would cost him to do anything about it!

Think about it. For Moses to actually go back to Egypt…to confront Pharaoh and lead all the people out, he will be putting his very life on the line. He’s gonna have to radically change the way he’s living now…remember, he’s just trying live out the rest of his life in the wilderness…just trying to lay low! Why would he want to give that up?

He loves the idea that God would to deliver his people, but doesn’t believe God could or even should use him to do it! Moses cares, until he knows how much it’s going to cost. And so the result is: he is concerned, just not compelled. This is Moses’ burning bush experience.

So let me ask you again…would you want your own burning bush experience? There’s a part of it that would be extremely appealing, isn’t there? The opportunity to hear from God exactly what he’s asking of you…what he expects of you…what’s going to happen next…what the outcome will be…frankly there’s a large part of the burning bush experience that we’d love to have, right? It would bring clarity…and we love clarity!

But if that’s true…why is it that Moses doesn’t respond the way we think we would? I mean, God is very clear with what He wants Moses to do…and yet it’s not enough to motivate Moses to do anything about it! He’s stuck. He’s got all of these objections of why he CAN’T do what God has called him to do!

You know, what’s so odd about this story is:

-God reveals himself to Moses

-The All Powerful, Eternal Creator of the UNIVERSE

And Moses is stuck. He’s actually arguing with God in this moment.

Why?!

See, Moses is stuck because he can’t get past what this would cost him. See, the irony here is that having clarity on what God is calling you to do also brings clarity to the cost of what God is calling you to do.

The American Novelist, Samuel Clemens—better known as Mark Twain said it this way, “It ain’t the parts of the bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts I do understand.” And the thing is, we’re just like Moses, aren’t we? We get stuck, just like him, because we begin to work through the implications of what God is calling us to do…and see the true cost to us… and this is where things really start to derail.

You see, God can make it clear that he as called you to spend your life in this city, caring for the needs of the city, seeking the betterment of the city, raising your family in the city…and that’s all good until you begin to see what that will cost you…that you’ll spend a lot more money on a much smaller house…that your kids may never have a yard…that your safety may be on the line…that education will be a challenge…it will be hard. And while it’s clear that God calls us to engage in the needs of the city…there is a cost. You have clarity on what God is calling you to do, but there will be a heavy cost.

Perhaps this is the real reason many of us struggle with serving in our city and in our church, right? Because of the cost! It takes up our time as we use what we have to invest in others! It takes up our resources…it takes up our freedom to do what we want to be doing! And while it’s clear that God calls to to serve in our communities, there is a cost.

Perhaps this is the real reason many of us have failed to really get involved here in THIS community either in a Small Group or as a Partner! Because while it’s clear that God calls to to be in community, there is a cost! And it’s the cost that keeps us from bridging the gap between concerned and compelled.

And so far too often, just like Moses, we see what God is calling us to do…we see the needs of the city…we’re concerned…but we’re not compelled to do anything about it…we’re stuck…because we focus on the cost!

And see what’s really hiding underneath this..the deeper problem…that Moses really believes, and honestly WE really believe, is that following God in what he’s called us to do…is not worth the cost. And so it’s the fear of what will happen if he does…of what will happen if we do… that eclipses our view of God!

That my fear of:

what will happen to my family…

what will happen to my finances…

what will happen to my 5 year plan…

how will I provide…

what about my kids…

what about my future…

when we focus on the cost, just like Moses, we eclipse our view of who God really is…and we end up stuck!

So do you want that burning bush experience? Lets take a moment to be honest with ourselves, the answer we’d actually give is no…because what he calls us to will cost us much more than we’re willing to give!

And the irony is, because we have focused on the cost, the result is we’ve failed to do what God has called us to! Each and every one of us has failed to live the way he’s called us live! We've failed to meet his expectations for our lives…we’ve failed to be obedient to him! And our failure is our sin…our focus on the cost to ourselves is our sin. We have rejected God and have instead concerned ourselves with ourselves! But see, it’s at this point that the story of Gospel directly conflicts with what we believe and the way we live!

See, it’s the Gospel that says while we were concerned with ourselves, Jesus was first concerned with us. It’s the Gospel that says while we failed to be compelled, Jesus was first compelled for us! The bibles says while we were still sinners Jesus died for us! Why? Because the gospel is the greater story of how Jesus was concerned and compelled! He was concerned for our sin…but did not just leave us to deal with it ourselves, see He was also compelled to do for us what we could not do ourselves! He was compelled go to the cross…and having lived the perfect life we failed to live, he took on himself the full punishment we deserved for our sin. Jesus was the one who was concerned and compelled…who died IN OUR PLACE, FOR our sin! And yet rose again from the dead with hope of a new way of life for us!

See, because Jesus was willing to be our deliverer, this story of Moses actually points to the greater story Jesus who is the true and better Moses because unlike Moses, Jesus was first concerned and compelled! And because of what HE has done FOR us, as followers of Jesus, we can have the burning bush experience! We can bridge the gap from concerned to compelled because Jesus died for our obsession over the cost! And when trust in Him, and His work for us, we are given new life…with a better hope…that is far greater than the cost we were once so worried about!

Let’s finish Moses’ story because they way his burning bush experience ends is fascinating. This is after all 5 objections Moses has…that he is not the guy…that the cost is too much…Look with me at chapter 4 v. 20…So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt…”

What changed? How did Moses go from concerned to compelled to do something? What changed for him?!

It’s actually quite simple. The way to see this is to look at how God responds to each of Moses’ objections. See over and over again, in each one, God says the same thing—I will be with you…my presence will be with you…my name means I will be with you…my power will be with you…I will be with your mouth and teach you what to speak…I WILL BE WITH YOU. Ultimately, it’s the absolute conviction that in whatever was coming up next…in whatever God was calling him to do…that God would be with him. And see, this is what takes him from concerned to compelled!

This is the same promise that we have today in what God calls us to! Gospel is the story of how now, finally and forever, Jesus is with us in all that he asks us to do!

This is why when Jesus sends out his followers to take the message of the Gospel to the ends of the earth in …he says, Go…for I AM WITH YOU!

And make no mistake, the hope we have in the Gospel, is NOT that there is not cost to what God is calling us to do, but that in the cost…Jesus Is With Us!

Friends, it is the Gospel that now empowers to bridge the gap between concerned and compelled wherever God has placed us!

So, FG, as followers of Jesus, we are a community that can be concerned and compelled to take the Gospel wherever we go…

So go back to your work place—God is with you.

Go to your friends, and neighbors—God is with you.

Go into the streets—God is with you.

Go into your neighborhood—God is with you

Go into the city—God is with you.

In reconciling with a friend—God is with you

When your marriage is on the brink—God is with you

In midst of your pain—God is with you

Through every fear—God is with you!

Through seasons of suffering, sorrow, tragedy, and trauma—God is with you!

When money is tight—God is with you!

When life is good—God is with you!

No matter the cost—God is with you!

Go—God is with you.

Would you pray with me?