Exodus We Are All Called 4:1-17 Moses, his hair like smoke on a mountain, took a stand before the whole congregation and spoke: Listen to me and believe what I say, he said. I have seen the holiness of God. In all Israel, no one uttered a word. Too much had happened since this man had arrived. Moses said: He called to me from a flame of fire in the midst of a bush. I saw the bush burning on the side of a mountain, yet it was not consumed; so I went to look, and as I did the voice of God said, Moses! Moses! I said, Here I am. God said, Remove your shoes, for the place where you stand is holy ground, and I am the God of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. I hid my face, afraid to look at the living God. But God said, I have seen the affliction of my people, and I am coming to bring them from bondage into a land flowing with milk and honey the land I promised your fathers long ago. Then God commanded me to carry his word to Pharaoh and to you. He said that I should lead you out of Egypt. But I said, Who am I to do such a thing? God said, I will be with you, and you shall know my name and use it. In the midst of the flame of fire, then, the voice of God proclaimed: I AM WHO I AM! Say to Israel that I AM YAHWEH, the Lord, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. I dropped to my knees, shaking with fear. Lord, I said, I cannot talk. God said, Who has made the mouth? Is it not I, the Lord? Then I will be your mouth. Suddenly Moses lifted his voice and roared before the whole assembly of the people: It is therefore not I but YAHWEH, the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has confronted the king of Egypt 1 VI. Moses The Call D. Moses Third Concern God s Sign Verses 1-9 E. Moses Fourth Concern God s Strength Verses 10-12 F. Moses Wants Out Verses 13-17 Supplemental Readings: Acts 7:20-44; Hebrews 11:23-29 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. ~ Luke 21:14 15 ESV So, it s about time for Moses to get on the road. God has called him to go back to Egypt, to lead the children of Israel to the land of Canaan. Moses is no longer the self-confident man of forty years earlier. He has some real doubts about the role of savior of his people. It is these concerns we have been examining. 1 Wangerin, Jr., Walter, The Book Of God, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996, p. 123-124.
I want to review the first two, which we looked at last week. Number one was: Who am I anyway, that I should lead the people. We saw God s response was, the issue isn t who Moses was, but who God is. Moses source of strength was to come from the Lord, not himself. Moses second concern was, what was Moses to tell the Hebrews when they ask who sent him. God s answer was to tell them I AM THAT I AM was the one who sent him. The eternal, self-existing, unchanging God is He who spoke to Moses. This is the God of the Covenant. The Lord was sending Moses to lead them out just as He promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The third concern was, why should the people believe him when he said God sent him? The concern seems a valid one and so the Lord provides Moses three signs to demonstrate that he truly came from God. Moses Third Concern God s Sign: Moses again comes up with another concern. I don t want to second guess Scripture and the Lord certainly answers Moses as if the concern was a valid. It doesn t seen as if Moses was simply making excuses at this point. His concern is: what if the people just don t believe he is from God? Based on their behavior, which we will see at a later point, his fears appear well founded. The Lord therefore provides Moses with three signs to show to the people. These will be proof that he is indeed from the Lord. We see often in scripture God s use of signs as His seal of authority on those He sends to speak to His people. Israel is often called a sign people for this very reason. This seal continued to be used all the way up to Pentecost. Even today in specific situations it appears the Lord continues to provide this stamp of approval. When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1 4 ESV). It seems clear that the Lord accepts Moses assessment of the Children of Israel and it is on this basis that He provides Moses with the three signs. The signs are: 1. A staff that turns to a snake 2. Moses hand goes from clean to leprous and back again 3. Some water from the Nile is turned to blood God makes it clear the signs are provided so the people will know the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of the Covenant, the God of the promise, is the one who appeared to Moses. The First Sign: I think it is not stretching the point to think there was a specific illustration behind each of the signs. The first, a shepherd s staff, can be seen as a sign of Moses responsibility to lead the people. We will often see him use his staff in this role. The Lord wants the people to see Moses as the one behind whom they are to walk, the one through whom I AM will speak. ) 42 (
The fact the staff becomes a serpent is generally construed to represent God s power over evil in general and defeat for Pharaoh specifically. How this should be understood specifically is open to many interpretations. C. H. Mackintosh s comments seem especially apropos. Keep in mind that this may better be seen as an application rather than an interpretation. The rod became a serpent, so that Moses fled from it; but, being commissioned by Jehovah, he took the serpent by the tail, and it became a rod. Nothing could more aptly express the idea of Satan s power being turned against himself. This is largely exemplified in the ways of God. Moses himself was a striking example. The serpent is entirely under the hand of Christ: and when he has reached the highest point in his mad career, he shall be hurled into the lake of fire, there to reap the fruits of his work throughout eternity s countless ages. That old serpent, the accuser, and the adversary, shall be eternally crushed beneath the rod of God s Anointed. Then the end beneath His rod, Man s last enemy shall fall; Hallelujah! Christ in God, God in Christ, is all in all. 2 We need to consider who is the one who should be carrying the staff in our lives. Are we to be sheep who are on our own with no one to lead us but ourselves, or are we to let The Good Shepherd lead us? (see Psalm 23). And we, unlike the Hebrew children, have a shepherd who will be there to lead us always. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20b ESV). The Second Sign: The meaning of the second sign is unclear. And as with the serpent, there are as many views on its interpretation as there are commentators. Probably one of the best views comes from Bush. This is a message to a people in bondage, a people who as the leper, are shunned by those around them and it is the Lord who will come to heal them, to free them from their bondage. He will return them to their own land. No more will they be shunned. 3 The parallel for us should be obvious. Throughout scripture leprosy is a picture of sin. It starts off as a small spot and grows until it takes over the whole body. Sin, if unconfessed, can eventually destroy life even that of a believer. It is only God who could cure the leper. It is only God who can heal the unbeliever from the death that is the product of sin. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23 ESV). The Lord is also the only one who can cure us, as believers, of the burden of sin in our lives, that is if we take them to Him. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9 ESV). 2 Mackintosh, C.H., Notes on the Pentateuch - Genesis to Deuteronomy, Loizuaux Brothers, Neptune, NJ, 1972, p. 159-160. 3 Bush, George, Notes on Exodus, Klock & Klock Christian Publishers, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, 1981, adapted from p. 57-58. ) 43 (
By the way, it is important to note here the principle is; if we ask for forgiveness for that which we know we have done, we are forgiven everything, even for those sins of which we are not aware. The Third Sign: The third sign is as clear as the first. The turning of the Nile s water to blood shows God s power over Egypt. This should be of great encouragement to the Israelites. Their enemies have no power over them because God has come. He is in control. This should also be of great encouragement to us. We too can be intimidated by the world and the circumstances around us. We must remember what John tells us. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4 ESV). The Lord provides each of the signs so if the first isn t believed there is a second. If the second isn t believed then there is a third. God is patient and a loving and He provides for the weakness of His children. Moses Fourth Concern God s Strength: Now I have a feeling we may have passed the point where Moses is expressing real concerns, and moved on to where he is simply trying to find a way out of the job that the Lord has for him. The Lord s tone seems to become harder and by Verse 14 in the last section God expresses His anger with Moses. Let s take a look at Moses newest concern. He says that he lacks in eloquence, that he is slow of speech and tongue. There is nothing in the passage to support this observation, it appears to be nothing more than an excuse. Remember Stephen described Moses as one who was mighty in words and in deeds (Acts 7:22 ESV), and the author of Hebrews also gives no support to Moses claim. The Lord s answer seems to say that Moses concern for his speech is actually an attack on the Lord Himself. He points out that as The Creator, He is the one who gave Moses his tongue. God will be the one to supply the words just as He was the one to supply the signs. Too often we function in the same way. How often have we neglected to witness when we had an opportunity because we didn t know what to say? How often have we kept quiet more from fear than from a true lack of works. The Lord s response to us is the same as it was to Moses, and just as He also provided words for His disciples so He will provide words for us. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict (Matthew 10:19 20; Luke 21:14 15 ESV). And how does Moses respond to this reassurance? Send somebody else, I don t want the job. Thanks, but no thanks. How do we sometimes respond to this reassurance? How should we respond? What can make the difference? ) 44 (
F. Moses Wants Out: Moses in writing of this, makes it clear he pushed to far and aroused the anger of the Lord. OK, then take your brother Aaron along because he is a good speaker. This is not a recognition of the validity of Moses fear, but saying if that s the way it s going to be than have it your own way. Aaron is to become Moses spokesman as Moses is to be God s. A third party is added to the chain and one can t help but wonder if the later trouble with the golden calf would have been avoided if Aaron hadn t gained a position of prominence with the people due to this arrangement and Moses stubbornness. Conclusion: It is obvious even those who God desires to use don t always welcome the call with great joy. Sometimes they have to be dragged into service. If you want to see an even more extreme example of this problem read the book of Jonah. For us, the desire of our hearts should be to serve the Lord. But, even when it is we sometimes aren t totally excited about the service we are called to. I do find though sometimes when we least expect it we stumble into opportunities that surprise us. I know that our drama group put a lot of work into the production we were working on at the time I first taught this. And during the process of preparing and performing, they were excited, finding joy as well as challenges and blessings, not just from the presentations, but also from the opportunities to fellowship together and to get to know one another more closely. As we said before, we need to just remember all we are called to do is simply show up. As we ve seen the Lord will provide the words and the strength. All we have to do is be willing. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead (James 1:22 25; 2:17 ESV). ) 45 (
Exodus We Are All Called 4:1-17 VI. Moses The Call D. Moses Third Concern God s Sign Verses 1-9 E. Moses Fourth Concern God s Strength Verses 10-12 F. Moses Wants Out Verses 13-17 D. Moses Third Concern God s Sign: (Luke 21:14 15; Acts 2:1 4 Supplemental Readings: Acts 7:20-44; Hebrews 11:23-29 1. 2. 3. 1. The First Sign: (Matthew 28:20b) 2. The Second Sign: (Romans 6:23; 1 John 1:9)
3. The Third Sign: (1 John 4:4) E. Moses Fourth Concern God s Strength: (Acts 7:22; Matthew 10:19 20; Luke 21:14 15) F. Moses Wants Out: Conclusion: (James 1:22 25; 2:17) Personal Application: Can you think of an example of a time when you knew God was calling you to some specific act and you didn t follow through? Why? How should this impact future opportunities? Prayer for the Week: Lord, again I pray, give me both the wiliness and courage to share You with the hostile world around me. In Jesus name, amen.