God Calls Moses to His Service. Exodus 3:1-22

Transcription

1 1 God Calls Moses to His Service Exodus 3:1-22

2 2 Text: Exodus 3:1-22, God Calls Moses to His Service 1. Now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-inlaw Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. 2. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked and the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed! 3. So Moses thought, I will turn aside to see this amazing sight. Why does the bush not burn up? 4. When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And Moses said, Here I am. 5. God said, Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 6. He added, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7. The Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8. I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

3 And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. 10. So now go, and I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. 11. Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt? 12. He replied, Surely I will be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve God on this mountain. 13. Moses said to God, If I go to the Israelites and tell them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? what should I say to them? 14. God said to Moses, I am that I am. And he said, You must say this to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you. 15. God also said to Moses, You must say this 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, and this is my memorial from generation to generation. 16. Go and bring together the elders of Israel and tell them, The Lord, the God of your fathers, appeared to me the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob saying, I have attended carefully to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt, 17. and I have promised that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites,

4 4 Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey. 18. The elders will listen to you, and then you and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, let us go three days journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 19. But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, not even under force. 20. So I will extend my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do among them, and after that he will release you. 21. I will grant this people favor with the Egyptians, so that when you depart you will not leave empty-handed. 22. Every woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be staying in her house for items of silver and gold and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters thus you will plunder Egypt! (NET) Introduction: I. Chapter 2 ends by telling us that God was fully aware of the hardships of his people in Egypt and of the covenant promise he had made with Abraham. A. Exodus 2:24-25, God heard their groaning, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, God saw the Israelites, and God understood... (NET) II. Years have passed. Moses is now approximately eighty (80) years of age as chapter 3 begins.

5 5 III. While Moses is in the desert with his flock of sheep, God reveals himself. A. God identifies himself and tells Moses of his plan for the Israelite people. B. Moses pleads with God that he is not worthy of God s calling. 1. Hally s Deluxe Bible Handbook, page 135, But Moses was no longer self-confident, as he had been in his younger years. He was reluctant to go and made all kinds of excuses. 2. Gideon also was reluctant to accept God s call. a. Judges 6:14-16, Then the Lord himself turned to him and said, You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! Have I not sent you? Gideon said to him, But Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family. The Lord said to him, Ah, but I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army. (NET) IV. Moses asked for the name of God so he could tell the Israelites by whose authority he had been sent.

6 6 V. God gives Moses his assignment. A. Gather the elders of Israel. B. The elders and Moses are to ask the king of Egypt for permission to make a three (3) day pilgrimage to make sacrifice to the Lord. Commentary: 1. God reveals that he knows Pharaoh will not let them go. 2. God promises that the Israelites will leave Egypt, and they will plunder Egypt as they leave. I. Exodus 3:1-6, Now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked and the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed! So Moses thought, I will turn aside to see this amazing sight. Why does the bush not burn up? When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And Moses said, Here I am. God said, Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. He added, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (NET)

7 7 A. God s revelation to Moses comes as he is shepherding the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro. 1. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, page 913, Jethro personal name meaning excess or superiority... A priest of midian and the father-inlaw of Moses. In Exodus 2:18, his name is Reuel; in Numbers 10:29 and Judges 4:11 it is Hobab. The nature of the relationship of these names to one another is uncertain. a. Exodus 2:18, So when they came home to their father Reuel, he asked, Why have you come home so early today? (NET) b. Numbers 10:29, Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moses father-inlaw, We are journeying to the place about which the Lord said, I will give it to you. Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things for Israel. (NET) c. Judges 4:11, Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses father-in-law. He lived near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh. (NET)

8 This is best summed up in the NET, Numbers 10:29 study note, There is not enough information to decide on the identify and relationships involved here. II. Mountain of God, Horeb. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai. A. Exodus 17:6, I will be standing before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink. And Moses did so in plain view of the elders of Israel. (NET) B. Deuteronomy 1:19, Then we left Horeb and passed through all that immense, forbidding wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the Lord our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea. (NET) C. Deuteronomy 5:2, The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. (NET) D. 1 Kings 19:8, So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. (NET) 1. Cf. Exodus 3:1 Study note NET, There is a good deal of foreshadowing in this verse, for later Moses would shepherd the people of Israel and lead them to Mount Sinai to receive the law.

9 9 III. The angel of the Lord appears to be a synonym for God s name and is used interchangeably in these examples. A. Genesis 16:7-13, The Lord s angel found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert the spring that is along the road to Shur. He said, Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going? She replied, I m running away from my mistress, Sarai. Then the Lord s angel said to her, Return to your mistress and submit to her authority. I will greatly multiply your descendants, the Lord s angel added, so that they will be too numerous to count. Then the Lord s angel said to her, You are now pregnant and are about to give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your painful groans. He will be a wild donkey of a man. He will be hostile to everyone, and everyone will be hostile to him. He will live away from his brothers. So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, You are the God who sees me, for she said, Here I have seen one who sees me! (NET) B. Genesis 21:17, But God heard the boy s voice. The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, What is the matter, Hagar? Don t be afraid, for God has heard the boy s voice right where he is crying. (NET) C. Genesis 22:11-12, But the Lord s angel called to him from heaven, Abraham! Abraham! Here I am! he answered. Do not harm the boy! the angel said. Do not do anything to him, for now I know that you

10 10 fear God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me. (NET) D. Genesis 22:15-17, The Lord s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, I solemnly swear by my own name, decrees the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the strongholds of their enemies. (NET) E. Judges 9-14, I rescued you from Egypt s power and from the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave their land to you. I said to you, I am the Lord your God! Do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living! But you have disobeyed me. The Lord s angelic messenger came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash s son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites. The Lord s messenger appeared and said to him, The Lord is with you, courageous warrior! Gideon said to him, Pardon me, but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian. Then the Lord himself

11 11 turned to him and said, You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! Have I not sent you? (NET) IV. God appears here as a flame of fire in a bush, yet the bush remained. Later, God will lead the Israelites through the desert as a pillar of fire. A. Exodus 13:21-22, Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel day or night. He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. (NET) B. God described as fire on Mount Sinai. 1. Exodus 19:18, Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. (NET) C. Moses was amazed that a dry bush in the arid desert would burn, but not be quickly consumed. This was worth investigating! V. Exodus 3:6-8, He added, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard

12 12 their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (NET) A. God speaks and reveals himself to Moses. B. 3:6, He added, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (NET) C. Note in 3:8 God said, I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians... This indicates a direct involvement by God, a guarantee that what he said will be done. VI. The Lord God tells Moses of his plan to liberate the Israelites from the bondage of the Egyptians and reveals the bounty of the land that will be theirs. A. The Old Testament uses the expression milk and honey to symbolize abundance and blessings :5, When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, then

13 13 you will keep this ceremony in this month. (NET) 2. 33:3, Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way. (NET) 3. Leviticus 20:24, So I have said to you: You yourselves will possess their land and I myself will give it to you for a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who has set you apart from the other peoples. (NET) 4. Joshua 5:6, Indeed, for forty years the Israelites traveled through the desert until all the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt, the ones who had disobeyed the Lord, died off. For the Lord had sworn a solemn oath to them that he would not let them see the land he had sworn on oath to give them, a land rich in milk and honey. (NET) VII. God promised the Israelites the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Who were these tribes and what land did they occupy? A. Genesis 15:18-21, That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River the land of the Kenites,

14 14 Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites. (NET) B. Source: Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. 1. Canaan: Territory between the Mediterranean sea and the Jordan River reaching from the brook of Egypt to the area around Ugarit in Syria or to the Euphrates. pg Hittites: Hittites appear among the Ethnic groups living in urban enclaves or as individuals in Canaan... pg Amorites: People who occupied part of the promised land and often fought Israel. Their descent to Canaan may be traced back to B.C. when their settlement in the hill country helped to set the stage for the revelation of God through Israel. Pg Perizzites: They dwelled in the land as early as Abraham s time. (Genesis 13:7, So there were quarrels between Abram s herdsmen and Lot s herdsmen. (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) (NET) 5. Hivites: Hivites are found in Gibeon (Joshua 9:7, 11:19, The men of Israel said to the Hivites, Perhaps you live near us. So how can we make a treaty with you? No city made peace with the

15 15 Israelites (except the Hivites living in Gibeon); they had to conquer all of them, (NET) and in the Lebanon mountains (Judges 3:3, These were the nations: the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. NET). Pg Jebusites: The clan who originally controlled Jerusalem before David conquered the city. In the list of descendants of Noah (Genesis 10:16). Pg VIII. Exodus 3:9, And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. (NET) A. The cry of the Israelites has come to God. 1. He has heard. a. Exodus 2:24-25, God heard their groaning, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, God saw the Israelites, and God understood... (NET) 2. He has remembered. a. Deuteronomy 15:6a, For the Lord your God will bless you just as he has promised; (NET)

16 16 b. Psalm 105:8, He always remembers his covenantal decree, the promise he made to a thousand generations (NET) 3. He will act. a. Joshua 21:45, Not one of the Lord s faithful promises to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; every one was realized. (NET) IX. Exodus 3:10-12, So now go, and I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt? He replied, Surely I will be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve God on this mountain. (NET) A. God directs Moses to return to Egypt, go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt. The time was right; This was according to God s covenant with Abraham (Abram). 1. Genesis 15:13-15, Then the Lord said to Abram, Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions. But as for you, you

17 17 will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. (NET) X. Moses questions God s choice in giving this monumental task to him. A. Moses is now in his eighty s (80 s). He may feel he is too old for the job. B. He is not confident that he has the skills to successfully complete the assignment. 1. Exodus 3:11, Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt? (NET) 2. An Introduction to the Old Testament and its study, Robert L. Cate, pg. 150, Moses does not appear as the great tower of faith here which he later became. In fact, he is seen as a rather weak figure, trying to avoid having his life disturbed by God s intervention. C. Moses asks for additional reassurance from God. 1. Exodus 3:13, Moses said to God, If I go to the Israelites and tell them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? what should I say to them? (NET) 2. Josephus Antiquities of the Jews, Book 2, Ch. 12:2:271, But I am still in doubt how I, who am a private man, and one of no abilities, should either

18 18 persuade my countrymen to leave the country they now inhabit, and to follow me to a land whither I lead them; or, if they should be persuaded, how can I force Pharaoh to permit them to depart, since they augment their own wealth and prosperity by the labors and works they put upon them? XI. Exodus 3:14-15, God said to Moses, I am that I am. And he said, You must say this to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, You must say this 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, and this is my memorial from generation to generation. (NET) A. God tells Moses that he is I am that I am 1. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, pg. 659, Even though Yahweh is not the only name of God in scripture, it is uniquely the name by which God identifies himself An Introduction to the Old Testament and its Study R. L. Cate, pg. 156 states, Some scholars wonder whether the name Yahweh was first revealed to Moses or whether it had been known earlier and this was a revelation of the character which the name revealed. 3. Isaiah 42:8, I am the Lord! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols. (NET)

19 19 XII. Exodus 3:16-22, Go and bring together the elders of Israel and tell them, The Lord, the God of your fathers, appeared to me the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob saying, I have attended carefully to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt, and I have promised that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey. The elders will listen to you, and then you and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, let us go three days journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, not even under force. So I will extend my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do among them, and after that he will release you. I will grant this people favor with the Egyptians, so that when you depart you will not leave empty-handed. Every woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be staying in her house for items of silver and gold and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters thus you will plunder Egypt! (NET) A. God instructs Moses to go along with the Israelite elders and petition Pharaoh to allow a three (3) day journey into the wilderness so they could worship the Lord God. B. God knows that Pharaoh will not let the Israelites leave, so he tells Moses that he will force the Egyptians to release them.

20 Isaiah 42:9, Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; now I announce new events. Before they begin to occur, I reveal them to you. (NET) 2. Isaiah 46:9-10, Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! Truly I am God, I have no peer; I am God, and there is none like me, who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred, who says, My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire, (NET) C. The Lord promises Moses they will not leave Egypt empty handed; and advised him how the women are to accomplish this feat. They are to leave with plunder. The American Heritage Dictionary defines plunder as to rob of goods by force, especially in times of war; pillage, loot. The taking of plunder as they left indicated symbolically they had won the war, just as he had promised. 1. Genesis 15:14, But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions. (NET) 2. Psalm 140:12-13, I know that the Lord defends the cause of the oppressed and vindicates the poor. Certainly the godly will give thanks to your name; the morally upright will live in your presence. (NET)

21 21 Conclusion: 3. Hebrews 6:17-18, In the same way God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, and so he intervened with an oath, so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. (NET) 4. Genesis 12:3a, 7a, I will bless those who bless you, The Lord appeared to Abram and said, To your descendants I will give this land. (NET) I. In this chapter God reveals himself to Moses. A. Exodus 3:6, He added, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (NET) B. Exodus 3:14-15, God said to Moses, I am that I am. And he said, You must say this to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, You must say this 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, and this is my memorial from generation to generation. (NET)

22 22 II. We are a revelation of God, made in his image, unique in our dominion over his creation, in our ability to reason, act and in having a sense of right and wrong. A. Genesis 1:26-27, Then God said, Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth. God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. (NET) B. 1 Corinthians 6:3, Do you not know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary matters! (NET) C. 1 Peter 1:12,... Those who proclaim the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things angels long to catch a glimpse of. (NET) III. All of nature is a revelation of God s greatness poured out like a great cornucopia of beauty. A. Job 38:4-7, 12, 25-27, Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding! Who set its measurements if you know or who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its bases set, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang in chorus, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, or made the dawn know its place, Who carves out a channel

23 23 for the heavy rains, and a path for the rumble of thunder, to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, a desert where there are no human beings, to satisfy a devastated and desolate land, and to cause it to sprout with vegetation? (NET) B. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, pg , God s general revelation does not bring one into a saving relationship with God: it does reveal God to his creatures, and they are, therefore responsible for their response. IV. Our revelation from God came through Jesus Christ! A. Hebrews 1:1-3, After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (NET) B. The ultimate revelation is in Jesus Christ. Our salvation has been fulfilled in his birth, death and resurrection. 1. Ephesians 1:9-10, He did this when he revealed to us the secret of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, toward the administration of the fullness of the

24 24 times, to head up all things in Christ the things in heaven and the things on earth. (NET) V. God is aware of all of our circumstances. A. Exodus 3:7-8, The Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (NET) B. Exodus 3:16-17, Go and bring together the elders of Israel and tell them, The Lord, the God of your fathers, appeared to me the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob saying, I have attended carefully to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt, and I have promised that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey. (NET) C. Job 21:22, Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges those that are on high? (NET) VI. God knows the problems and the difficulties that we face.

25 25 A. 3:9, And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. (NET) B. Psalm 147:5-6, Our Lord is great and has awesome power; there is no limit to his wisdom. The Lord lifts up the oppressed, but knocks the wicked to the ground. (NET) C. Psalm 46:1, God is our strong refuge; he is truly our helper in times of trouble. (NET) D. 1 Peter 4:19, So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good. (NET) VII. God realizes that we will face obstacles on our journey, but He can overcome them! A. 3:19-20, But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, not even under force. So I will extend my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do among them, and after that he will release you. (NET) B. Isaiah 43:1-2, Now, this is what the Lord says, the one who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: Don t be afraid, for I will protect you. I call you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I am with you; when you pass through the streams, they will not overwhelm you. When you

26 26 walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not harm you. (NET) C. Psalm 50:15, Pray to me when you are in trouble! I will deliver you, and you will honor me! (NET) D. Psalm 86:6-7, O Lord, hear my prayer! Pay attention to my plea for mercy! In my time of trouble I cry out to you, for you will answer me. (NET) E. Matthew 6:33-34, But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. (NET) VIII. God will make the oppressors of his people pay for their actions. A. Exodus 3:21-22, I will grant this people favor with the Egyptians, so that when you depart you will not leave empty-handed. Every woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be staying in her house for items of silver and gold and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters thus you will plunder Egypt! (NET) B. Genesis 12:3, I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name. (NET)

27 27 C. Psalm 94:3, 14-15, O Lord, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked celebrate? Certainly the Lord does not forsake his people; he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him. For justice will prevail, and all the morally upright will be vindicated. (NET) D. Isaiah 66:16, For the Lord judges all humanity with fire and his sword; the Lord will kill many. (NET) E. Psalm 89:10, You crushed the Proud One and killed it; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies. (NET) F. Psalm 146:6-7, the one who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who remains forever faithful, vindicates the oppressed, and gives food to the hungry. The Lord releases the imprisoned. (NET)

28 28 Questions on Exodus 3: What was Moses doing in the desert when God revealed himself to him? 2. The mountain where Moses encountered the Lord is known by three (3) names:,, and. 3. is the Hebrew name by which God identified himself to Moses. 4. God described the new land of the Israelites as a land What did this expression symbolize?

29 How many tribes occupied the land that God had promised to the Israelites? 6. Who was to go with Moses to petition Pharaoh? 7. God instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh the Israelites would be gone for how long? 8. Moses was to give Pharaoh what reason for the Israelites journey into the wilderness? 9. What specific task did God give Moses for the Israelite women?

30 Did God know what Pharaoh s reaction would be? 11. In response to Pharaoh s reaction, what did God promise Moses he would do to Egypt?