Exodus 3:1-15
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”6 Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever,the name you shall call mefrom generation to generation.
Exodus 3:1-15 HOW DID MOSES KNOW GOD?
Springford Baptist Church: January 23, 2022.
Is your life predictable?
There was a woman who lived a very predictable life.
She always got up at the same time and went to bed at the same time
She always ate meatloaf on Mondays and leftover meatloaf on Tuesdays.
It was chicken legs on Wednesday and macaroni and cheese on Thursday.
She always went grocery shopping Friday night.
Without fail, she always called her aunt at 8 o’clock on Saturday night.
She never moved her furniture around. Everything was always in exactly the same place.
This woman always planted exactly the same flowers in exactly the same spaces in her garden.
She always bought the same car, same make, same model, same colour…
Well, you get the picture!
To varying degrees our lives can become fairly predictable, generally repeating the same routines in the same way over and over.
As we encounter Moses, there in the desert tending the flocks of his father-in-law, his life had become fairly predictable. For almost 40 years, he had been repeating the same routines over and over. Moses was now nearly 80 years old.
But as Moses approaches that burning bush, Moses’ life is about to become anything but predictable!
When we look at examples in the Bible, God’s Word, of people whom God used to accomplish significant, seemingly unbelievable things, we can be encouraged.
Why do I say that?
I say that we can be encouraged when we look carefully at the lives of people who were part of God’s persistent plans because we see in the lives of these people, imperfect human beings like ourselves.
We see people who had doubts and uncertainties. We see people, who although they needed to walk closely with God, often attempted to do things in their own strength and had to be reminded to let God be in charge and to let God do the leading.
Moses, who in a miraculous way led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, had some things he first had to get sorted out in his walk with God.
God had to get Moses’ attention in a dramatic, unpredictable way and He did! Moses had much to learn about knowing God and so do we!
Moses was going about his usual routine, his daily work of tending the flock, the sheep that belonged to his father-in-law Jethro.
Do you think Moses expected God to come to him that day and to speak to him personally?
I do not think so.
Consider Moses’ history. Recall that although raised as royalty in the palace of the Pharoah of Egypt, Moses, one day saw an Egyptian mistreating a Hebrew slave. In a fit of anger, Moses killed him.
It was after that Moses ran away.
If anyone would have thought himself disqualified to know God, to walk closely with God and to do something great for God, it would have been Moses.
But God saw things differently. He knew that Moses was the person to lead his people out of bondage in Egypt and to see them set free!
Be encouraged! Regardless of mistakes we may have made or ongoing issues in our lives, God still calls us into a close walk, a close relationship with Him. God chooses what the results of knowing Him will be.
Notice that when God calls, Moses does make the right response. Yes, he had made mistakes in the past, but when God calls Moses by name, Moses says what anyone of us should say when we sense God calling us, “Here I am.” (Exodus 15:4) This is what Abraham, Jacob, Samuel each one said. It is what Moses said and it is what we should say!
What will it mean for you and I to say, “Here I am” to God?
When a parent calls a child by name, it is not a time to hide or to run away, but a time to say, “Here I am.”
In knowing God, this involves trust, trusting our God!
vss. 5,6 God says, “Do not come any closer, “ take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Yes, our God is holy and we do not come to Him on our terms, but rather His.
If we want to know God and to walk closely with God, we must approach Him with reverence.
In God’s conversation with Moses, God reveals that He has something for Moses to do.
Expect this! It is wonderful to know God and to have a closer walk with God, but there is purpose in a closer walk with God. Our ability to discern God’s direction means that we are accountable as Moses was.
God gives us responsibility to be part of worthwhile pursuits.
Sometimes we as Christians long to know God and we crave a strong sense of God with us. We find that comforting and empowering, but remember, we are empowered with purpose. God does have work for us to do.
What was Moses job? vs. 10b “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharoah to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
What do you think you would have said to God if you had been Moses?
Moses said, vs. 11 “Who am I that I should go?…” (Moses first expression of reluctance).
I think many of us would have said a similar thing. Hear this: Our awareness of our own limitations is an opportunity to discover in a deeper way how much we need to rely on God.
This was true for Moses and it can be true for us.
What has happened in your life lately that you knew was beyond you and as a result you reached out to God?
The outcome of this accurate assessment of things is that we do walk more closely with God. We know we cannot do whatever it is alone!
vs. 12 God tells Moses that when Moses has brought the people out of Egypt he will worship God on this very mountain (later the place where the 10 commandments were given).
We need to get into the habit of looking back and seeing what God has done. When we recognize where God has brought us from and how His promises have been fulfilled, this will ultimately increase our faith. We will know God in deeper ways.
vs. 13 “What shall I say Your name is”?
This is an opportunity for Moses to know God in a closer way, to know His name.
Does it seem bold to you for Moses to talk with God this way?
Do you feel comfortable saying what you’re really thinking to God?
Of course, God knows what we’re really thinking anyway.
Asking our honest questions, results in knowing God more and having a closer walk with God.
God responds, “I AM WHO I AM. Say, I AM has sent you.” (vs. 14)
This name expresses the dependable and faithful God who wants the trust of His people. This is how God wanted to be known then and this is how our God wants to be known now!
Moses shows us that knowing God and having a closer walk with God is possible if:
We aren’t held back by our past mistakes.
We eagerly respond, “Here I am.”
We recognize that God is holy and come to Him on His terms, not ours.
We are willing to take up what God assigns us to do.
We are honest about our questions in our conversations with God.
Prayer: Thank You God that you are the great I AM and You invite each of us into a closer walk with You!!
Thank You that we can know You more and we can trust You with the unpredictable!