Exodus | Chapter 3 – Scripture Supply

Exodus 3: 1-10 – “University of Fire Bush”

I.) Intro.

I have said this before, “I love history.” To me, the stories of people’s lives are always incredible. How do people become who & what they are? What are the events in their lives that motivated them to become the persons that they are? Now I must admit, I have selfish reasons as to why I love history; you see, I’m looking for little nuggets for my own history—those little insights that happened in someone else’s life that I can apply to mine.

It is for these reasons that the story of Moses is so interesting to me—what were the key events that led Moses to become who he became? What we have before us today may just be the greatest turning point in his life. Furthermore, if we can understand just what that was, it may be the greatest turning point in your life as well.

One of the greatest mysteries about God is why He chooses to limit Himself by using human means. I mean, if God wanted to deliver Israel out of Egypt, why not just say so? We are talking about the God who spoke, & everything leaped into existence. Instead, He uses this man named Moses. But why? Could it be that the important part is not the use of the man but rather the revealing of who God is to the man? Could it be that God wants to reveal who He is to mankind so that in the act of using a man, they will come to know the God who sent him?

The story is told of a seven-year-old about to make his first jump from the high dive at the local community pool. Though only 10 feet in the air, to the little boy, it looked like 100 feet. The boy stood there & shook at the edge of the diving board, obviously afraid to jump. The lifeguard, seeing the line begin to pile up behind him, started to encourage the boy to jump. Yet, all of the attention just made the boy more aware of his fear & failure. Moments passed, & out of nowhere, a large man stood up & walked over to the high dive. Excusing himself, he climbed the ladder & slowly walked out on the board. As he approached the scared little boy, he grabbed his hands & looked him in the eyes & simply said four little words that changed that little boy’s life. Now, I want to leave you hanging for just a moment as you search the story of your life to see what would have caused you to overcome your fear & failure. The man, you see, was the boy’s father, & all he had to say was, “Scott, let’s jump together!” And they did just that!

This morning, we shall see that God the Father comes to Moses at the high point of his life, grabs his hand, & says, “Moses, let’s jump together!” As simple as that story is, Moses must first know who his Heavenly Father is.

II.) Vs. 1-4a A Burning Question

Vs. 1 Now again, we need to draw from the N.T. accounts of this story to get the full picture. In Acts 7:30, we read the words of Stephen, where he gives some important information: “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.” So, from the point that Moses entered the land of Midian to the story here before us, another 40 years had passed. We know that Moses was 40 when he left Egypt, so simple math tells us that he is now 80.

We are constantly told of the importance of education in preparing people for their careers. Moses had spent the first 40 years being educated at the best schools of Egypt. In fact, we are told that Moses’ schooling had made him “mighty in words and deeds.” There is little doubt that this education had done much to prepare him to lead Egypt, but that being the case, it had done nothing to prepare him to lead Israel. So God put him back in school at Midian for 40 years. Now you will remember what Midian means, “strife.” Simply put, God sent Moses through the school of hard knocks. Wow! Here is one of those little gems: “Before we can be prepared for His service, we need to be stripped of what we think we know.” In Moses’ case, it took him 40 years in the school of hard knocks. Could the schooling have been shorter? Perhaps, but if Moses is anything like me, he spent the first 35 years complaining about being in this dumb school anyway. I believe we can always shorten our stay somewhat in the school of hard knocks if we will just be still & remember the words of Paul, who said, “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

So, what did Moses actually do while he was at this school? Well, he learned how to be a shepherd of another man’s flock! Here we are given another name for Reuel, Moses’ father-in-law—”Jethro,” which means “excellence or superiority.” Most likely, this was his title. Now, let’s get a glimpse of this stripping-away process. Moses was used to hearing the words “bow the knee” because he was royalty. People waited on him hand & foot—now he waited alone on a bunch of smelly old sheep. Here is another one of those gems: “Much of God’s training is in the monotonous everyday things, which we learn in silence without our knowing.”

So, what exactly did Moses learn?

1.) He learned that people, like those sheep, weren’t his—they belonged to One superior. You will remember that Moses had acted before in a way that was like a prince & a judge—now he was just a shepherd for his father-in-law.
2.) He learned that to lead people, you must be among them all the time! Moses spent a lot of time alone with those sheep. No doubt over the course of those forty years, he had done just about everything you can with those sheep. Simply put, Moses learned more from the sheep than he ever taught them!
3.) He learned to listen in the wilderness. Ask any teacher who their best students are, & they will always tell you—the ones that listen! Folks, the wilderness of Midian is one of the most desolate places on earth. There are no trees & very little wildlife. Moses spent most of those 40 years in silence with the exception of the bleating of sheep. Any person who leads others must be one who listens!

We are told here that Moses led the flock to the back of the desert, to where he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Now, the word “Horeb” means “desolate wasteland.” If you were to go over there, you would easily see why—it is just a barren, dry landscape. That probably sums up Moses’ last 40 years as well—a time when nothing was happening, his life felt as if it was dry, barren, & worst of all, alone. Yet, what Moses was unaware of is that he was about to get his “Master’s degree” at the University of Burning Bush!

Folks, if you were to do a word study of this mountain, you would find some interesting stuff. First, Horeb is the name of the mountain range, but there is a particular peak here called Sinai. It is also the place a few hundred years later where God will meet with Elijah & commission him, as well as the place many believe Paul got commissioned with the gospel. So? Well, isn’t it interesting that such a desolate mountain range would be called the “mountain of God”? I mean, the last place in the world you would expect to meet God is a dry, barren, lonely place, yet it seems that God often met His servants there.

Here is another one of those gems: “God shows up in our loneliest, most desolate times.” We are always looking for God in the times of great success, & He is there, but it seems to me that He is much more real when we are out in the desolate times of our lives!

Vs. 2 Now there are some great things right here in Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush:

1.) The word for “bush” here is a very interesting one, as it means a thorn bush. So? Well, you will remember that back in Gen. 3:18, because of man’s disobedience, God said, “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” This old bush is a product of man’s sin & rebellion.
2.) If you look up this Hebrew word for “bush,” you will find it only two other places. In Deut. 33:16, we read, “With the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.” That word “bush” is the same word used here, but the interesting thing in this passage is the word “dwelt”—it is the word *shekinah*. So? Well, it was the angel of the Lord or the *shekinah* glory of the Lord that Moses saw with his eyes. I believe that the angel of the Lord was none other than a pre-incarnate manifestation of Jesus. Furthermore, we are told in 1 Corin. 4 that “the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” & that “the glory of God is in the face of Jesus Christ.” Simply put, Jesus is the glory of God.
3.) All of this leads me to the conclusion that it was none other than God’s grace that Moses was learning as he observed the bush on fire yet not consumed. Fire in Scripture is always a symbol of judgment. So, rightly, God’s judgment upon human sin, yet the bush not being consumed, speaks of God’s grace.

Vs. 3-4a Notice that God does not speak to Moses until He has Moses’ attention. As I said above, Moses has to learn how to listen & give his attention to Another. I see a lot of people who make continual mistakes in their lives—not because they don’t know the right things to do, but because they don’t do as Moses did here & “turn aside to see the great sight, why the bush does not burn.” Do you see this? It was the grace of God that halted Moses & made him want to know more! Folks, take some time to get acquainted with God’s grace. His grace will only burn bright when we see it aflame in the wilderness of our fallenness. We spend far too much of our time protecting our failures instead of admitting them.

Let me give you another gem: “God dwells in the majesty of simplicity!” Say what? Think of this—God choosing to reveal Himself & His character in a bush on fire yet not consumed! Man, we are always looking for some magical experience, but God chooses the simplest of things to reveal who He is. You can say that in God’s university, everything is the classroom! Are you prepared to learn?

III.) Vs. 4b-10 A Holy Answer

Vs. 4-6 Here we shall see several things in God’s conversation that He reveals to Moses about Himself. Perhaps Moses, over the last 40 years, had begun to think: God does not care about me; He has no place for me. But Moses is about to learn that God does care & does have a plan. Yet, Moses is first going to learn some things about God.

1.) Vs. 4 God calls Moses twice by name. So? Well, God had not forgotten about Moses or the call He had placed upon his life. Folks, no matter if you are in the land of strife by the hill of desolation, God still knows your name. There is the opening song of the TV sitcom *Cheers*, where they say, “A place where everyone knows your name.” How much greater is it that no matter where you are, God still remembers your name! There is nothing to make you feel smaller than someone not remembering your name. Moses had not heard his name too often in the last 40 years—how sweet the sound of it when the Lord from the midst of His grace called it forth twice. Look at Moses’ instant response—“Here I am.” I love that! Moses must have felt as though he had been warming the bench for 40 years, but now the coach has called him into the game, & he is ready to play.
2.) Vs. 5 God is Holy: But more than that, Moses needs to approach God reverently. Moses needed to understand that you approach God not on being worthy to do so. A servant always took off his sandals upon entering the master’s house. Moses was entering the Master’s house. God is not “the man upstairs” or “my good buddy” or anything else—He is our Creator & we are His creation. Verse 6 makes it plain that Moses understood his fallenness & God’s holiness. Why was this important? Well, for one, if Moses was to lead, he needed to understand that he was to follow!
3.) Vs. 6 Notice here how God chooses to reveal Himself. He reveals Himself as the God who keeps His promises. That is why He tells Moses who He was the God of. You see, God had made promises to these forefathers, & He was now going to keep His promises through Moses. We all like to make good deals, but the trouble is that they don’t always turn out the way we thought they would—not so with God. When He makes a promise to you, He always keeps it.
4.) Vs. 7 God is compassionate: He has seen all the cries of His people. He knew their hardships, felt their sorrows. Folks, do you realize that Jesus is acquainted with all your life? He went through everything that you have. You never have to wonder if Jesus can relate to what you are going through—the Bible says He can, yet without sin. You had a bad day? Tell Him—He understands!
5.) Vs. 8 God is faithful: Man, look at this—God is not just about lightening the burden; He is about blessing your socks off. Our God wants to do far more than just deliver you out of bondage—He wants to bring you into a place flowing with milk & honey.
6.) Vs. 9 God is a God of action: In verse 8, He declares that He is coming down, & here in verse 9, He says why—“He has seen the oppression.” I love the fact that God is not just all-knowing—He is all-powerful as well.

Vs. 10 Now, Moses was no doubt being blessed by God’s revelation of His character, but here God tells Moses that He is going to be used as an instrument. I love this—God has revealed who He is, & now He tells Moses, “Let’s jump together.” Folks, life is not a spectator sport! It’s time to jump, but you’re not jumping alone—you’re jumping with God!

So what does Moses learn here? He learns that the most important qualification of a servant of God is knowing God. Nothing that God has put in our lives is a waste.

Exodus 3: 11-22 – “Wanted! Deliverer, No Qualifications Necessary”

I.) Intro.

Last week we left off with Moses being reassured of the character & nature of God. It is wonderful to see God reveal who He is before He ever tells Moses that He has a plan for his life. In the N.T. book of Ephesians, Paul the Apostle, writing to the church at Ephesus, follows the same format. Paul spends three chapters telling the church who they are in Christ & it is not until the fourth chapter that he tells them to “have a walk worthy of their calling.”

Everywhere you go today & talk with pastors about what they feel is the greatest need in the church, they will tell you it is to get people busy for the kingdom of God. You see, the church growth seminars have gotten, through entertainment, folks to come into church, but all they do is sit there. There is a consumer mentality that has taken over the church of God. The folks at most churches see themselves as mere customers, & as such, who in their right mind paying $15 a plate at some restaurant would do so having to bus the tables, cook the food, & greet the other guests? The question is: how do we correct this problem? How do you take a bunch of folks who think they are the prince of Egypt & get them to a place where they just see themselves as servants?

Well, last week we saw that:

1.) You send them out to a deserted place & put them in the school of hard knocks.
2.) Once you have stripped them of themselves, you give them a glimpse of God’s holiness & their depravity, with a covering of God’s grace.

Simply put, you bring them down to bare wood. You see, most of us churchgoers are a bit like a valuable piece of antique furniture that has been painted over with many layers of paint—it needs refinishing! It’s not that Moses did not have a finish on him, it just was not the right finish!

3.) Once you have done that, they are ready for the finishing. This week & next week, we will see God applying the finish on Moses. Now, this has many layers as well—in fact, from 3:11-4:17, Moses lists 5 reasons why he could not be involved, & in each of those 5 reasons, God, after doing some sanding, applies another coat.

II.) Vs. 11-14 Who Am I & What Is Your Name?

Vs. 11 Moses, having just encountered the character & nature of God, was then told in verse 10, “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” What Moses evidently did not understand was the little word, “therefore.” You see, God had just revealed who He was, & based on who He was, He was sending Moses. The important thing is not Moses, it is who is present with him.

Perhaps this morning you are facing some uphill battle & you are doing so with a great sense of past failure. May I just say that the important ingredient in the equation is not you—it’s God!

Look at Moses’ response here in this verse, “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’” Did you see that? “But Moses….”? What was Moses’ mistake 40 years earlier? Was it not that he tried to do the work of God in the strength of man? Forty years pass, & Moses is still thinking the same way. The only difference was that 40 years ago he had confidence—now he has none. Did you ever notice that both pity & pride start with the same letter? In verse 4, Moses responded to God’s revelation with the words, “Here I am…,” but now when he realizes that God is going to work through his fears & failures, he responds with, “Who am I…?”

So what’s the point? Well, it seems that Moses sees himself as a “nobody” now. If you will allow me to paraphrase a bit, Moses’ argument here goes something like this: “God, I was a big man in Egypt 40 years ago & I failed, now I’m a nobody & you want to use me?” Isn’t it obvious that Moses has a self-esteem problem? So, you think here, according to all the psychologists, that God would say something to the effect, “Moses, you just need to love yourself a little more. You’re a great guy, Moses, so big & strong—you can do this, old buddy.”

Vs. 12a Instead, we have God’s response:

Now look again at what Moses said, “Who am I…?” & now look at God’s response, “I will certainly be with you.” You see what God does with Moses’ self-esteem? He gets Moses off the focus of himself altogether.

The problem with us humans is that we are all too aware of ourselves, both from a positive standpoint, (in which Moses killed an Egyptian), or from a negative approach, (consumed with his own failures). I hope you all are getting this. Moses’ problem was the same in either case—he saw the work of God through his own strength. So here God ignores the human solution & gets Moses to look not at himself but rather at God, who is the only One able to deliver. I love the fact that God never answers the question of “Who am I?” Instead, He reminds Moses of the fact that “I will certainly be with you.” Folks, the important thing is not the instrument but rather in whose hands it is being played! Or if you want, the important question is not who we are, it is whether or not God is with us!

In the Hebrew, the words “I will be” is the first person singular form of the words “I am.” Simply put, though they have different tenses, they are the same word. So? Well, God is here revealing to Moses that “I am” is with him. Moses’ confidence must never be in himself at all—it must be in God who is sending him.

Vs. 12b Now notice the second part of this:

“…And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Hold on here a minute, shouldn’t the sign precede the call to go? No—God here says that He will give Moses a sign, but not until after he has done what God has told him to do. We often look for signs to see if we should move forward, but God gives signs only confirming our step of faith! Why? So that we will learn to trust who God is above what He does. If our faith is only tied to what God does, then there is no true faith—it must be tied to Who He is. Let me give you a definition of true faith: It is when we take what we know to be true about God & use that to interpret our situation & circumstances. God is simply getting Moses to act upon God’s character! Notice God does not say “If” in this sign—no, instead, He says “When” & “shall,” “When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” This is God’s personal guarantee. God is telling Moses, “You’re not going alone!”

So? What are you facing right now? I want you to realize that no matter what it is, with God in control of your life, you’re not going alone. Furthermore, with Him in charge, you are going to have victory! How can you say that, Pastor? Because that is what God tells Moses here, “When you have brought them out…”

Vs. 13 Now, this brings Moses to another question:

Who is God? Since God had told Moses that it matters who is going with him, not who he is, Moses wants further clarification on who God is. Why? Well, God had shown Moses that He was holy, full of grace, compassionate & a God of action, but how would that play out in everyday life, especially when it came to leading a nation out of Egypt?

Like so many of us, Moses is trying to play out different scenarios in his head. Moses is thinking about all the possibilities of failure & the first one he is reminded of is the fact that last time he went to just one Hebrew & acted on his behalf, the man said, “Who made you prince & judge?” So Moses plays this scene out as he goes to the elders of Israel & says, “OK, guys, I’m back & God told me to tell you guys to come with me—we are going to the promised land. All right, let’s move out!” “Uh, maybe you did not hear me, this way!” Moses is ready to go, but what about the 3 million Jews? They may need a little more to go on than “God told me!”

Now, in those days, names meant something, as they represented a person’s character. In fact, in the book of Genesis, every time God revealed more of His character, He did so with a new name, like “El,” which means high or “Shaddai,” which means mighty. Even the Egyptians named their gods after their perceived attributes, like “Ra,” which means swift.

Vs. 14 Here God reveals His character to Moses:

As I said before, the words “I am” & “I will be” are different tenses of the same Hebrew word. Furthermore, so is the word translated *LORD* in verses 15-16. You will notice in verses 15-16 that the word LORD is in all capitals. The reason is that in the Hebrew, it is just the consonants YHVH. Yet again, this is the same word, only in the third person singular of the word “to be,” & it means “He is” or “He will be.” So what is God revealing in this name? First of all, this is the covenant name for God, which reminds us that it is He who makes & keeps His promises.

Folks, God simply *is* & always has been & always will be! It appears that God wanted Moses & the Israelites to know:

a.) That it is only He that exists—there are no other gods. He is the God who is—all others are figments of people’s imaginations.
b.) That He is self-existent. He is the only Creator & has no creator. God exists apart from & independent of anyone or anything. Practically, He is a God who does not need any help, thus there is nothing that can thwart His will.
c.) That He is unchangeable. He is not the God that has evolved or was anything else. Whatever He was, He continues to be & will be forever. Thus, what He has begun to do, He will bring into completion because there are no changes that can happen to alter His plans & purposes.

But what does that mean to you & I? Well, if you go to the Gospel of John, you will find Jesus referring to Himself as “I am” & each of the seven times He does, He puts an end on it. So, let’s go through the seven “I AM”s in John:

1.) John 6:35 To those that are hungry & thirsty, He declares: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
2.) John 8:12 To those who are in darkness, He declares: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
3.) John 10:9 To those who can’t find their way, He declares: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
4.) John 10:11 To those that need protection, He declares: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”
5.) John 11:25 To those that are down & out, He declares: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”
6.) John 14:6 To those in need of direction, He declares: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
7.) John 15:1 To those searching for meaning, He declares: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”

Simply put, “I Am” allows you to fill in the blank to meet your needs. Whatever you may need, God is the One who alone can meet that need. Furthermore, with God, there is no *was* or *will be*—there is only the present. God is today, all that He was, He still is. He has nothing to learn, nothing to acquire, nothing to become. He alone is reality.

Folks, that is Who our God is, & all we can do in response to this is trust Him & worship Him!

III.) Vs. 15-22 I Am With You!

Vs. 15 Furthermore, God shows how He is going to be with Moses. This verse, as well as verse 6, declares that He is the God who keeps His promises. But did you notice that, referring to all these men who have died, God never says that “He WAS the God of them”? So? Well, God is the God of the living, not the God of the dead, & even the end of life will not thwart His purpose & promises! Now folks, that’s real life insurance! What great assurance Moses is given here by the Lord.

Folks, 17 times in these 12 verses, God shares with Moses that He will do, & it shall happen!

Vs. 16

Here, God wants them to know that He knows their past (He has seen). Maybe you are going through something right now & you feel as if God does not care, but He does—He sees it, & in His timing, He will act!

Vs. 17

Furthermore, God has a plan for their future blessing. Oh, there are some battles ahead in that land as well, but God will do the fighting. I think often we get bummed out because we don’t realize that God is at work all along. We don’t have to make it happen—we can trust Him!

Vs. 18-22

Here, God lays out exactly what will happen before it comes to pass. What this shows us is that all we can do is be faithful—it is only the Lord that can cause it to come out right. When you come right down to it, all we have going for us is God! But with God being for us, who can be against us? God will see to it that you will be returned the lost wages while you were in bondage. He will take care of the hard-hearted Pharaohs. You won’t leave empty-handed! So how about it, are you ready to trust Him?