917 Biblical Characters - The Reluctant Moses (Ex.3.1-4.19)
Exploring Biblical Characters • Sermon • Submitted
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Q. Should you jump into every endeavour that comes to you?
- “He who hesitates is lost” it is said, which is a human proverb that means that you should not miss your golden opportunity
- However, “look before you leap” is in contrast with hesitating
- Man-made proverbs can be helpful, but not always reliable
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- God’s word, however, is trustworthy & true
5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.
20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
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Q. Yet is there ever a situation where a willingness to go ahead is warranted, even though you go without clear knowledge of what you are up against?
- I guess it all comes back to the trustworthiness of the source of your actions
- Humans are fallible & unable to save – as much as they may try
- They are limited by the fact that they cannot control the future, let alone the events of one day
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- Yet, there is a God in heaven who is totally reliable & totally trustworthy
- The man of faith, Abraham, believed/trusted in the Lord
- He left his homeland, not knowing where he would be going
- He was prepared to sacrifice his son & even the fate of the promise of God on the basis that God is trustworthy & will fulfil what He says
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- Moses will, in this reading today, face the same daunting question: “Will I trust, will I obey this God”?
- That question is something not exclusive to Moses
- We, likewise, have to answer that question ourselves
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- However, let us remember that God uses people differently
- What He does with one person, He doesn’t do with others, nor expects from another person
- Over the years, I have seen Christians subjectively think that what they read in the Bible with God addressing a particular servant of His, that He is also addressing that same thing to them
- Obedience isn’t a negotiable trait of the faithful – it’s the norm
- But it’s another thing for Christians to feel bound to some subjective feelings about what God might want from them
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- There are some general principles that we can learn here, but please remember that just because God says to Moses that he is to be a spokesman & His representative, it does not follow that He is asking you to be that kind of person too
- We all have a role & we serve where we can, but you are not bound by statements God makes to individual people whom He appoints for specific tasks
- We learn from what is said here, but we should stay with the context of the specific situation
1. Meeting God
1. Meeting God
- Up to this point Moses knows of God – he would have known it from his parents, at least, but he has never met Him – he does not know God
- But that is all about to change
- A tree that burns, but is not consumed – that would be an interesting sight indeed
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- A mountain is about to become famous – called here the mountain of God, Mt. Horeb
- This, traditionally, is understood as Mt. Sinai where Moses will ascend to receive the Law – but first he must bring the Israelites out of Egypt
- There are a number of points to make here:
1. Before Moses could be brought into God’s service, he must have a proper comprehension of who this God is
- The whole notion of taking your sandals off is God saying to Moses that He is not to be trifled with
- That He is so holy that even the ground in His presence becomes holy
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- Holy needs to be understood as something unique & not common
- It is special, like nothing else – perhaps we could say it is something out of this world which means that God has to be treated accordingly, with honour, respect, reverence, fear & it seems Moses got the point as when God spoke, he was afraid
- I know most of you have heard this story but for the sake of those who haven’t: When our son Josh was teaching English in Korea, we spoke to him on Skype & some of his friends happen to visit him as we were on the video chat
- When they realised that he was speaking with us & that they had not greeted us, they bowed as a symbol of respect, at which point, Ros & I just looked at each other at a loss as to whether to bow back or what
- That is their culture – they bow in greeting of respect to one another, but especially to parents
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- I suppose the whole pre-cursor to serving God, is in understanding the greatness of the One you are serving
- Moses could not go forward & serve God without understanding that He is THE One & only, THE unique God above all so-called gods
- The glue that holds this all together is that this God is the one & the same God who started the Hebrew nation through Moses’ forefathers – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - thus establishing a mighty bond & connection – a Tarzan’s Grip or a superglue moment
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2. God makes clear His objective
- To save, to rescue His people – the ones He made that promise to
- He has great plans for them – including but not limited to – a land flowing with milk & honey
- That, has abundance written all over it
- The land is dependent upon good weather – the rain in its seasons
- When the land is in drought, you won’t get milk from thirsty cows, nor honey from barren, dried up trees & fields
- Hence, this speaks of abundant rainfall which God Himself controls & with which He will bless the people
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3. He has a listening ear – He knows what is going on
- Sometimes or maybe I should say often, we want God to bless & help us more frequently – as in instantly
- The Israelites have been in bondage for some time
- We know that it has been from, at least, the time of Moses’ birth to his stay in Midian & we know that is at least 40 yrs.
- I guess we could say that God looks at this from a longer time frame than what we put on it
- But God is aware & He is acting to preserve His people
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4. You are My man Moses & I’m sending you. The sign that I will accomplish this is when you bring all Israel to this spot – Horeb – to worship God
- Well hang on there a minute – let Moses just digest this
- He is not getting a say – he is the one - & he will only get a special sign from God when the main job is done!!!
- What! I would want the knowledge of success before I start, not after it’s all done & dusted – I don’t need it then, I need it now
- But God is making it plain that the unfolding of history – His story – will prove that God is behind what Moses is doing
2. Who Is God
2. Who Is God
- When I put together the little study for the Growth Group this week, I noticed a very pertinent verse that expressed something unique about the relationship of the upright with God
32 For the devious are an abomination to the Lord; But He is intimate with the upright.
- They receive counsel from, & fellowship with, the Lord
- Here, Moses, not only gets to know God’s personal name, but so will the people of God
- It’s always risky when you share you name with someone, especially, in biblical times
- What with the magicians & conjurers, knowing a name tended to allow someone to have power over you
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- This was certainly the way with Jesus
- Demons, who knew His name, tried to manipulate the balance of power by saying to Jesus, “I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
- “Be quiet & come out of him” says Jesus
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- We also know that the name of Jesus was used by the apostles to prove that Jesus was alive, resurrected, from the dead
- When the beggar at the Temple gate asked Peter & John for money, Peter says,
6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!”
- If he walked then Jesus was alive because the apostles called upon Jesus using His name to heal the lame man – they called on Jesus & he walked – meaning for all to know, Jesus is alive
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- Long winded but I thought it is important that you understand how knowing the name puts you in a unique spot
- God was pleased to reveal His personal name to Moses
- His generic name is God, His personal name is YHWH (Hebrew word)
- I’m sure many of you young people know that words are made up of consonants and vowels
- Well, here’s the thing with the early Hebrew language – they only had consonants – so with YHWH we’re left to have an educated guess as to how they would say God’s name
- For years, people thought it meant – with vowels added, YeHoWaH or as in the word Jehovah
- But the consensus is that they probably got it wrong, so you will hear people saying God’s name now pronounced as YaHWeH
- I’ll stop there with the technicals – at least, you should be aware now when you hear the word Yahweh where it comes from (you can find this powerpoint again as I will put up a link to it for you)
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- Yahweh is related to the verb “to be” as in “I am” – hence here, “I am who I am”
– God’s name means that He is
- He is the unique One & only – He exists & has always existed
Q. How else could you name God – nothing would suit – He is – fill in the blanks – He is all in all – He is outside the creation
- We are made, Yahweh is the uncreated – He just is (I am who I am)
- Only He, exists forever by His own power & He is not subject to any of the limitations within the created realm
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- With this in mind, in Jn. 8, Jesus manifests Himself to the Jews as… I’ll let you decide
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
Q. What do you think He is meaning?
Q. Do you think the Jews understood? You’re darn right they did
59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
- They were going to kill Him for blasphemy
33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
- Jesus by using the verb “to be”, as in “I am”, has just said to them that He is Yahweh God
- The precursor to faithful service is in knowing well the One in whom you you’re serving
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- After receiving the commission to go to the Israelites & to declare to them that God has heard their groanings & that He is going to rescue them through Moses, you would think that they would say, thank goodness at last, but we will see later that they weren’t very warm towards Moses at all
3. You Will Be Opposed
3. You Will Be Opposed
- Moses should be under no illusions
- If he is going to do as God commands, he will be opposed
Q. Should that surprise us?
Q. Aren’t we expected to be opposed as Christians?
- We live to please the Lord; we offer our bodies as living sacrifices; we do not conform to the pattern of this world but are being transformed by the renewing of the mind – Rom. 12:1-2
- Now you know what NOT being conformed to the world looks like
- It’s just been contrasted here with renewing of the mind
- So, the logical take is to not be conformed, firstly, to the THINKING of the world
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- God is planning to intervene & it is His will that Pharaoh opposes Moses – He will harden his heart against obeying God
3 “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.
Q. Say what? Why does God want Pharaoh to oppose Moses?
Q. Isn’t Moses being sent so that Pharaoh will let the Israelites go?
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- Well, God is here doing something beyond what we would see on the surface
- We have the problem of being narrow-visioned
- God will make Pharaoh stubborn so that God can show the world who He is & what He’s like
- For example, after the destructive miracles of God against Egypt; the release of the Israelites & their escape from Pharaoh through the Red Sea, word gets out about what has happened
- As the Israelite spies’ sneak into the city of Jericho, a harlot from that city had this to say to them as she protects them from being discovered…
9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. 10 “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 “When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
- Wow, what a witness - word is spreading & people are turning
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- What God does against Pharaoh will be so destructive, the Egyptians will shower the Israelites with money & gifts – they are virtually bribing them to leave
- Just like the irony we find, that after Pharaoh wants to kill the male babies, the princess rescues baby Moses from the Nile, has his mother raise him for her & pays her for the privilege – is God in control!
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- I recall reading a Christian psychologist who used this whole idea of plundering the possessions of the “secular” Egyptians as an illustration of how Christians can plunder the field of secular psychology
- This is where we continue to go wrong
- Just because psychologists may, by the common grace of God, be able to describe certain things that are happening with people, it is a mistake for Christians to embrace secular psychological models when Jesus & the apostles have already given us THE model for wholeness & healing - for restoration with the healer - God Himself!
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- Secular psychology is a child of that godless enlightenment period which spawned other godless children as well – one such child being that of the theory of evolution
- That there is no God & that we are just the products of blind chance in an indifferent & purposeless universe
- The whole edifice of these approaches is built as an alternative to theism, to Christianity & it amazes me that Christians think so little of the sufficiency of their Scriptures & the work of the Holy Spirit that they give so much ear & authority to secular approaches in dealing with the root causes of people’s dysfunctional emotional & mental states
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- I know with my stance that I have had my detractors, but I tell you what, if the secular models are just saying things that we are saying, then why do we need to be so indebted to their system
Q. If they aren’t saying what we are saying or they are contradicting what God is saying in His word, then why are we listening to them?
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- Remember, the whole thing was designed as a replacement for theism & Christianity, for at that time, they were joyously announcing that God is dead
- One of its founding fathers, Sigmond Freud, was a stanch atheist who believed that the Christian and Jewish belief in sin IS the problem
- Get rid of that, get rid of the notion of sin & of guilt, you get rid of mental anguish that people face (sound reasonable)
- Yet that can’t happen for sin& guilt are like gravity – you can’t argue it or wish it away – it’s just there
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- As we know, the Christian approach to mental well begins & ends with the Lord
- This is a topic I think strongly about because it impacts so many
- I know Christian psychiatrists & psychologists who put their psychological disciplines first before their Christianity – where will that take them
- One will take over the other & I say this as a challenge to you, because I’ve seen it happen over and over again
Q. What will dominate your mindset when it comes to living life & helping others to live life in the sight of God – what will lead you?
Q. A model of help based on a secular, godless system or on the truth of Christ & His word?
4. You Will Be Reluctant
4. You Will Be Reluctant
Q. What must Moses think in what he sees as a fruitless work? Go tell the Israelites & you are doomed to be rejected!
- So, as we saw in the 3rd point, Moses should expect opposition
- If you follow the Lord in this world, opposition will come
- You will be confronted with thinking that is not the thinking of the Lord
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- But this is not the only opposition a servant of the Lord will encounter while in the world
- The other opposition is from within
- The inner opposition stemming from the fact that one will face outer opposition
- We become our worst enemy at this point
- They won’t believe me & I won’t believe me!
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- Moses either does not think he is up for the task OR he is not willing to be up for the task
- He now raises a series of objections to him being God’s man for this task
- They won’t believe me
- God says: Then I’ll give you not only one sign but two so that the Israelites may believe you
- However, if they don’t believe those first two signs, I’ll give this 3rd one as well – where some water from the Nile turns into blood when it is poured out upon the ground
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- The staff was a symbol of authority & the serpent that of life & death – we know the Cobra’s bite is lethal
- Pharaoh’s garb had it on his forehead as a symbol of Pharaoh’s authority over life & death
- But the act of Moses’ staff thrown to the ground & it turning to a serpent & then to grab it on the tail – a dangerous thing to do – for it to turn back to a staff will demonstrate that Yahweh, not Pharaoh, has the power of life & death over everyone!
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- Moses’ hand that turns leprous was understood in those times as something humbling & demeaning as lepers had to be quarantined from the public & from public life
- To see that Yahweh can control these sort of diseases means that Pharaoh’s pride will be brought right down before Him
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- The 3rd sign of the water from the river Nile turning to blood conveys that Egypt’s prosperity is in the hand of Yahweh
- Egypt totally depended on the Nile for its prosperity
- If it turns to blood, the land will die – all these signs meant to warn & convey the fact that Yahweh, not Pharaoh, is God over all
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- But even with Yahweh’s support, Moses doesn’t believe that he could be the one to do this task
- All Moses had to do, however, was to be willing & God would do the rest
- “I can’t speak” he says; God says, “who made the mouth?”
- He seems to have kept this up for some time
12 But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?”
Q. How could God give someone a task that He would not equip them for? – is the better question
- If we are honest, most excuses are not based on one’s inabilities, but on one’s unwillingness
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- Jesus has gifted His church will bountiful gifts to build up the body
- We should not allow ourselves to be deceived by thoughts of inabilities because God will provide what we need to accomplish what He desires
4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
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- Jesus doesn’t gift everyone to be speakers – we can’t all be a mouth
- But we are all members of the body which means that we all have some role – what is yours – that will be for you to consider before God
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- But there is always the provision here for God’s servant – adequacy!
- He makes us adequate for the task
- We should take note here of the Lord’s anger when Moses turned Him down
- It’s one thing to have freedom to serve the Lord in various ways. It’s another thing to make excuses of inadequacy
Before we enter into a time of communion
Question for today:
Q. What difference should it make in knowing who you are serving?