Exodus 3

Exodus 3:1–12 (ESV) — 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. 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.”

INTRO:

Question?

Why do we care?

The Wisdom of God

Exodus 3:1 (ESV) — 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.

40 years have passed - Moses is 80. He’s weak, humbled, and just right for God’s purposes. Remember in ch. 2 how Moses tried to use his strength to lead the Hebrews - Now 40 years later he leads best in his humility and frailty.

Trivia: Jethro, was mentioned earlier in ch. 2 by the name of Reuel. That’s also the second R in J.R.R. Tolkien, btw.

Moses is now keeping a flock. He has gone from a prince in the palace of Pharaoh to tending a herd.

Not only is that quite a change, but it’s notable that in Genesis 46:34 it says that “every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Later on in ch. 8, we see this brought up again in regard Moses’ request to Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave to worship.

Exodus 8:25–27 (ESV): Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us.”

It’s also interesting to note that God tells Moses to use his staff when dealing with Pharaoh. Here is this symbol of a shepherd coming against the wolf of Pharaoh. Here is a possible symbol of the worship of God (animals for sacrifice) standing against the oppression and wickedness of Egypt.

If they weren’t allowed to leave and they knew that they were to provide sacrifices that were abominations to the Egyptians, I’m assuming they didn’t do it. This is before the tabernacle, but this is still the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is a people with rudimentary relationship with God. They were not worshipping like they ought, but that’s about to change. A.W. Pink comments that, “God leads His servants to take that very place which is hateful to worldlings.” —

The Wonder of God

Exodus 3:2–3 (ESV) — 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.”

Burning but not consumed - strange sight.

Protection: Nec tamen Consumebatur - “Not, however, is it being consumed”. Think Shad, Mesh, Obed. Also think of God’s provision to Israel in the desert - he was a gentle fire by night and a shade of cloud by day. He was present and he was merciful.

Provision: Seneh means ‘thorny bush’. Think back to the curse in Gen. 3:18 (Thorns and thistles)-- think of how Jesus became a curse for man Gal. 3:13 (he became a curse for us) and think of the thorny crown.

How in the world does fire not consume Heb. 12:29 (God is a consuming fire)? Mercy.

The Weight of God

Exodus 3:4–6 (ESV) — 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.

Angel of The Lord - Speaks as God - Theophany (Appearance of God) - This isn’t Gabriel or Michael, this is the reincarnate Christ - The Word of God.

We serve a God who speaks and a God who has spoken.

Moses is to take off his shoes. God tells him that it is holy ground. It’s holy because it is made holy by God’s presence - it’s not about the ground itself (See. Jn. 4). The taking off of shoes might mean a number of things: A sign of respect, or a sign of welcome and invitation - probably both.

The sign should remind us that God is Holy. He is weighty and should be to us weightier (the word glory means weight) than all other things. We so rarely express any sign of God’s immense worth and value. We may rise when a Judge enters his courtroom, we may salute a superior officer, we may still take off our shoes when we enter someone’s house, but we rarely show signs of God’s holiness. I’m not saying that there is some physical act or custom that we must observe to prove our piety, I think this is an indictment on our hearts. Moses here is caught up in the holiness, the otherness, of God. He is ‘set apart’. And it takes itemizing sometimes to compare what he is set apart from. He is wiser than our wise. He is stronger than our strength. He is of purer justice than our courts. He is total and pristine truth. Etc.

The Watching of God

Exodus 3:7–10 (ESV) — 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.”

He has seen their affliction, heard their cries, knows their sufferings, and has come down to deliver his people.

God promised this land to Abraham, but think about how small his family was and how much land this is to inherit. Even Isaac’s family and Jacob’s family wasn’t big enough to take over a nation. God sometimes has long plans that we won’t understand. But when the time was right, Israel was a nation being drawn out to be God’s people.

The land is flowing with milk and honey. But it’s not just the land that is the prize - it’s God’s presence. Exodus does not end with the liberation of Israel from Egypt, nor does it even end with the giving of the law. The book ends with the establishment of the tabernacle. The blessing to Israel, the real milk and honey, is God himself. This is the same offer to us in the gospel. God is not a means to an end, He is the end.

The Worship of God

Exodus 3:11–12 (ESV) — 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.”

God wanted them out of Egypt. Why? Worship.

Moses wants to talk about Moses. God wants to talk about God. Moses says, “Who am I?” It’s almost as if God says, “Not important! I’m not answering your question. I’m telling you that I will be with you!” [Kevin DeYoung]

“It matters not who Moses is, or what may be his strength, so long as God be his leader. God is never regarded by us with due honor unless, when, contented with his assistance alone, we seek for no ground of confidence apart from him; and, although our own weakness may alarm us, we think it enough that he is on our side. - John Calvin

“But if you had to go into some battle, would you feel some comfort to know that you had a military escort? If you had to go into some difficult situation, would you feel better if an expert was with you? Would you feel better if your best friend could be with you? Would you feel better if a billionaire with an open checkbook could be with you?” [Kevin DeYoung]