Beating around the Bush

Exodus 3:1-15

Introduction

·         A burglar broke into a house one night. He shone his flashlight around, looking for valuables, and when he picked up a CD player to place into his sack, a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying, "Jesus is watching you." He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off and froze. When he heard nothing more after a bit, he shook his head, promised himself a long vacation after his next big score, then clicked the flashlight back on and began searching for more valuables. Just as he pulled the stereo out so that he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard, "Jesus is watching you." Totally rattled, he shone his flashlight around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. "Did you say that"? he hissed at the parrot. "Yes, the parrot confessed, then squawked, "I'm just trying to warn you." The burglar relaxed. "Warn me, huh? Who do you think you are anyway?" "Moses," replied the parrot. "Moses", the burglar laughed. "What kind of people would name a parrot "Moses?" The parrot quickly answered, "The same kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus."

·         This morning we’re going back to the bush—to that amazing story of Moses. As we walk in Moses’ shoes, we’ll see three important truths:

1.     When it seems we’re all alone, we aren’t (1-6)

·         Now you remember the basics about Moses—taken from the Nile—raised in the royal house of the pharaoh. But then one day when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew—one of his own people, Moses killed the man and buried him in the sand. But word got back to the palace, and Moses had to run for his life. Long story short he winds up in Midian, maries the daughter of a priest named Jethro, and winds up a sheep herder. And then . . .

·         Exodus 3:1-6

·         Generally accepted Mt. Horeb was in southern part of Sinai Peninsula.

·         Cataloochie Valley. Smokies. Wildlife. Bear. Elk. Miles and miles of winding, dusty, gravel road—wide enough for only one car in many places. Out in the middle of absolute nothingness.

·         This land in which Moses found himself was no man’s land.—the jumpin’ off place! Boondocks! I mean Moses had gone from great civilization to no civilization—nothing but scorpions and such to keep him company. He’s come a long way from Pharaoh’s favorite to sheepherder.

·         Can’t help but ask—what might have been on his mind? I suspect that he had more than enough quiet moments to reflect on the happenings back in Egypt—to consider his present situation. Stephen says in Acts 7: Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. So Moses had some sense of divine call long before the bush—had God left him—was there no more word—no further instructions. Was Moses all alone? Of course not!

·         So it happened one day that Moses came upon the wildest sight—a bush that burned but didn’t burn up.

·         I’ve seen my share of burning bushes—you have too, I’m sure—but this one was different. Some have tried to explain the bush naturalistically—like dust swirling around it and the sunlight hitting it just right. To me, this insults Moses—surely he knew what he saw. He knew what fire was and he knew what happened when fire was combined with the dry thorny bushes of Sinai—instant ashes! But this fire just kept on going.

·         Can’t help it—I admire the inquisitive nature of Moses—this is a wild sight—I’ve gotta check it out.

·         So Moses moves in—and, are you ready for this? From within the bush came a voice (know I don’t know exactly how it was—maybe not like on The Ten Commandments)—but the voice was God’s voice. WHAT??? God spoke to him—Moses, Moses. Of course today when people say they heard God’s voice, we take two steps back from them. I love it—God knew his name—of course—and God knows you by name too.

·         Now, did Moses sense that God was there before this encounter—I really don’t think so—well, how does Moses come to know it—God revealed himself to him!

·         Have you ever been alone—I mean really alone. Maybe you’re alone right now. In my own life during those times I’ve longed for something really spectacular to hit me. A burning bush. A shooting star. Anything at least a little out of the ordinary. Anybody here like that? Like, man, I really need God right now—I’m hurting and so all alone! Why won’t God make himself that real to me? God show yourself!!

·         Just because the bushes around us aren’t flaming doesn’t mean that God’s not there. He was there before that bush ever caught fire—Moses just wasn’t aware of it. Can’t help but think forward to Elijah’s experience:

·         1 Kings 19:11f The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

·         It’s not that God’s not there, it’s more that we aren’t aware. Many time we’re so caught up in the current situation we miss it when he reveals himself to us.

2.     When it seems that God doesn’t care, he does (7-10)

·         Even if we can trust that he’s with us, sometimes we may think, “Well, even if I’m not alone, doesn’t matter—God really doesn’t seem to care anyway.”

·         The children of God—stuck in Egypt—slaves. For months, years, decades, centuries. No doubt the grand promise made to Abraham had been passed down from generation to generation—promise of a return to the Promised Land. But God’s people were up to their knees in Egyptian mud baking in the hot Egyptian sun.

·         But folks, you know how it is—even when you know—like you know in his Word that he cares—sometimes it seems that he doesn’t. I love the bald honesty of the Psalms:

·         Psalm 10:1 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? NASB95

·         I suspect that more than a few of those mud-caked Israelites had begin to doubt the whole deal—would God really keep his Word—would he honor his promise—did he truly care for them?

·         Exodus 3:7-9

• Let’s savor v7 for just a moment—make sure we get the message. Notice what the Lord says: I’ve seen, I’ve heard, and I care! Man, that’s wonderful. God’s people are desperately hurting in Egypt—crying out to him for help—and he has not forgotten them.

·         Revelation. End times. People being persecuted—people who needed to know that God cares for people—cares about justice.

·         Almost 50 years ago Elie Wiesel was a fifteen-year old prisoner in the Nazi death camp at Buna. A cache of arms belonging to a Dutchman had been discovered at the camp. The man was promptly shipped to Auschwitz. But he had a young servant boy, a pipel as they were called, a child with a refined and beautiful face, unheard of in the camps. He had the face of a sad angel. The little servant, like his Dutch master, was cruelly tortured, but would not reveal any information. So the SS sentenced the child to death, along with two other prisoners who had been discovered with arms. Wiesel tells the story:

·         One day when we came back from work, we saw three gallows rearing up in the assembly place, three black crows. Roll call. SS all around us; machine guns trained: the traditional ceremony. Three victims in chains—and one of them, the little servant, the sad-eyed angel. The SS seemed more preoccupied, more disturbed than usual. To hang a young boy in front of thousands of spectators was no light matter. The head of the camp read the verdict. All eyes were on the child. He was lividly pale, almost calm, biting his lips. The gallows threw its shadow over him. This time the Lagercapo refused to act as executioner. Three SS replaced him. The three victims mounted together onto the chairs. The three necks were placed at the same moment within the nooses. “Long live liberty!” cried the two adults. But the child was silent.

·         “Where is God? Where is He?” someone behind me asked. Total silence throughout the camp. On the horizon, the sun was setting. “Bare your heads!” yelled the head of the camp. His voice was raucous. We were weeping. “Cover your heads!” Then the march past began. The two adults were no longer alive. Their tongues hung swollen, blue-tinged. but the third rope was still moving; being so light, the child was still alive...For more than half an hour he stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red, his eyes were not yet glazed. Behind me, I heard the same man asking: “Where is God now?” And I heard a voice within me answer him: “Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows.” That night the soup tasted like corpses.

·         Elie Wiesel, Night, Bantam, 1982, pp. 75-6, quoted in When God Was Taken Captive, W. Aldrich, Multnomah, 1989, pp. 39-41.

·         Cancer. As I was working on this message, Charlotte came in to tell me of yet another person being diagnosed with cancer—James Brantley—lymphoma.  How many people do you know with cancer? God, do you care about all this cancer?

·         Cancer only an example. Violence, famine, natural disasters—so many things cause us to wonder: Does God really care?

·         On a wall in a cellar in Cologne, Germany, where Jews had hidden from the Nazis, there was found an inscription. The anonymous author who perished with his fellow victims left behind these words: "I believe in the sun even when it's not shining. I believe in love even when not feeling it. I believe in God even when He is silent."

·         We must trust this truth: God cares. Period.

·         Now as we move beyond v7, we see that not only is God in tune with the situation, he’s got a plan—he’s going to rescue them—and lead them to the Promised Land—he wasn’t going to renege. And he’s going to use Moses to accomplish the plan. But Moses . . . we’ll let’s look at the third fantastic truth . . .

3.     When it seems that we can’t hack it, we can (11-15)

·         Why? Because the God who cares for us is with us.

·         He has a plan for our lives. What matters is not who we are but who we’re with

·         Exodus 3:11-12

·         Who am I . . .? I’ve wondered what Moses really meant—later it becomes obvious—but . . . Notice the I’s. who am I, I go to Pharaoh and bring them out.

·         It’s not about I, it’s about we—that is God and I. Moses’ focus was on what he was capable of—not the Lord.

·         Moses begins hem-hawing around here. Here’s the beating around the bush.

·         Watch how God responds: “I’ll be with you.” What a promise! Enough said. Moses can accomplish what he needs to accomplish because the Lord will be with him.

·         Exodus 3:13-15

·         Wait a minute. When they say, “Who sent you?” what am I supposed to tell them? What’s your name?

·         I am—What?? What kind of name is that?! Not an attempt to evade Moses but a wonderful revelation. This is the most intimate name for God in the OT. Actually in v14 we find expressions related to the name, and in v15 we see the name itself. Yahweh—from the verb “to be.”—the name devout Jews would not pronounce. So they substituted the word Adonai (my Lord). Now, here’s where the name Jehovah comes in—putting it simply—by combining the consonants from Yahweh with the vowels of Adonai (done during the medieval period).

·         “I AM”—I’m here—I’ll be with you, and I’m all you need. I’ve got it covered.

·         I don’t know if I can do what God has called me to do. Want the truth? In a sense, you’re right—you can’t do it—but God can—so when God is with you, you can do it! Put “I AM” beside “I can’t.”

·         He Never Fails   J. S. Baxter, in Explore The Book

He never fails the soul that trusts in Him;
Tho’ disappointments come and hope burns dim,
He never fails.

Tho’ trials surge like stormy seas around,
Tho’ testings fierce like ambushed foes abound,
Yet this my soul, with millions more has found,
He never fails; He never fails.

He never fails the soul that trusts in Him;
Tho’ angry skies with thunder-clouds grow grim,
He never fails.

Tho’ icy blasts life’s fairest flow’rs lay low,
Tho’ earthly springs of joy all cease to flow,
Yet still ‘tis true, with millions more I know,
He never fails; He never fails.

He never fails the soul that trusts in Him;
Tho’ sorrow’s cup should overflow the brim,
He never fails.

Tho’ oft the pilgrim way seems rough and long,
I yet shall stand amid yon white-robed throng,
And there I’ll sing, with millions more, this song—
He never fails; He never fails.

Conclusion

• You aren’t alone—God cares for you—and he can do what he purposes to do through you!

Hymn:  #467 Trust and Obey