CHURCH GROWTH Surprised by a Burning Bush 1 (Exodus 2:23 4:20) by David Roper Imagine yourself as an eighty-year-old shepherd taking care of your sheep in a parched and lonely land. Forty years before you have been filled with enthusiasm and great plans for God. 2 But things have not turned out as you thought they would. Now for forty years you have been wandering with sheep through this dusty wilderness. Ambition is gone; hope is dead. All you are concerned with now is finding enough grass and water to keep your flock alive. You are reconciled to the fact that this is all there is; this is all there will be. But God has some surprises in store for you! One day you are with your sheep, thinking about nothing in particular, when something gets your attention. Off in the distance a bush is burning the dry, thorny shrub of that area. At first you think nothing about it, except to wonder idly how it caught on fire. But as time goes by, it strikes you that something is strange here. Usually that type of bush would burn in a sudden flare, being quickly reduced to a pile of grey ash. Instead it continues to burn with a steady flame. Here is a surprise something to break the monotony, the sameness. You decide to go closer to possibly discover the cause of this phenomenon. As you approach the bush the real surprise comes. A great Voice speaks from the flame, speaking your name: Moses, Moses. You stop in your tracks and manage to stammer, I am here. The Voice continues: Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for this is holy ground. I am the God of your fathers the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Your heart begins to beat faster. You cover your eyes with your hand. You realize now that you 1 are standing in the very presence of the God of the universe! Surprise of surprises, God has come to tell you that He has a special task for you! Now let us shift from that scene to another one: not a dusty desert with rocks and sheep, but a comfortable auditorium with padded pews and friends and fellow Christians. Most of us are not in drab shepherd s gear but in our Sunday best. There is no burning bush, but just the familiar speaker s stand. There is no great voice booming, but just a balding preacher in a business suit. Some of us stayed up a little late last night, and we are trying to stay awake so we will not be embarrassed. Some of us are here because we are supposed to be here; we are not really expecting anything to happen. For some it is just another ho-hum Sunday. It is not as dramatic as that scene near Sinai so long ago, but it is still a place where you can feel the presence of God. It is holy ground, in a sense, for the Lord is present (Matthew 18:20). He is calling you into His service. This is a time of surprises for you. It can be a turning point in your life if you will let it! Go with me through our text, Exodus 2:23-4:20, and let God speak to your heart through His inspired Word. Having noted several preliminary surprises, let me note now the big surprises. SURPRISE NUMBER ONE: GOD HAD A CHALLENGE FOR MOSES A GLORIOUS CHALLENGE Moses was old and discouraged. But God still had a glorious purpose for his life! Turn in your mind back to Exodus 3 and 4. You will remember that the children of Is-
rael had gone into Egypt during the famine. There they had grown into a large nation. This nation within a nation had made Pharaoh nervous, and he had made them slaves. Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God (2:23). So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (2:24). And God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them (2:25). Notice: And God heard... and God remembered... And God saw... and God took notice. God is moved by their cries. In chapter 3 God comes to Moses. Recall again the scene of the burning bush and hear God speak: I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey... (3:7, 8a). Notice the response of God: I have seen... I have given heed... I am aware... So I have come! Moses is the one through whom God will do this great thing: Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt (3:10). Can we not find a parallel to ourselves in this story? God created man. But man departed from God through sin. Sin has been a cruel taskmaster, bringing heartache and degradation and despair to mankind. Hearts have cried out, Help us; help us to find answers; help us to find freedom. At times these cries have come from deep within the soul, and were directed to nowhere in particular. But God heard those cries. He remembered His promise to send a Savior (Genesis 3 and 12). He looked on the plight of those He loved, had respect, and sent His Son and the inspired men to reveal the way back to Himself (John 3:16; Acts 2; 2 Peter 1:3, 4). Now God comes to us 3 just as surely as He came to Moses in the burning bush long ago. He 2 says to us through His Word: I have seen the plight of those I created. `The whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19). Men are enslaved in sin (John 8:34; Romans 6:16). They are lost and without hope (Ephesians 2:12). And so (surprise) I come to you. You are their only hope. Go.... (Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16). Are not these glorious tasks? With Moses it was the opportunity to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery. With us it is the privilege of leading men out of the slavery of sin. But we are not through with surprises. SURPRISE NUMBER TWO: GOD MADE SURE MOSES HAD ALL HE NEEDED TO MEET THAT CHALLENGE To understand the next part of the story, you have to keep in mind that Moses was a man who had known disillusionment. Forty years before he would have been eager to accept such a challenge. But hope had died, and he had become reconciled to things as they were. He had even grown to like the quiet life, the unexciting life. If there were few rewards, there were also few risks. So when God came to him with the challenge, Moses began to make excuses. Excuse Number One He pleads inadequacy: Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? (3:11). God answers him: Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be a sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain (3:12). Excuse Number Two He pleads ignorance: Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you. Now they may say to me, What is His name? What shall I say to them? (3:13). God answers him: I am who I am... Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I am has sent me to you... Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 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-name to all generations
(3:14, 15). My name is I am that I am. This name means the Eternal One, the One who is always active in the lives of men. Or, if you want that in simpler form, just call me Yahweh or Jehovah 4 (3:15), the special name by which my people shall know me. That should have settled it. So God gives more of the game plan to Moses (3:16-22). But Moses continues to make excuses. Excuse Number Three He pleads impotency: What if they will not believe me, or listen to what I say? For they may say, The Lord has not appeared to you (4:1). Notice that he directly contradicts God. In effect, he calls God a liar: God had said, And they will pay heed to what you say (3:18). Now Moses says, What if they will not believe me, or listen to what I say? (4:1). But how patient God is. Nothing is harder than overcoming disillusionment and reviving hope. God says, I will give you three signs (4:2-9). The first sign is for the receptive. Throw it [your rod] on the ground, God commands. It became a snake. Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail, Moses is told. (This is not the way to pick up a snake unless God tells you to.) Moses did and it became a rod again. The second sign is for those who may be wavering. Now put your hand into your bosom, God says. Moses did and when he pulled it out, it was in the last stages of leprosy the skin had become thick and dead white, the flesh was ready to fall off the bones. Put your hand into your bosom again, God instructs. He did and the flesh was restored. The last sign is for the hardened who will contend that the gods of Egypt are greater than God. God says, Then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground. Okay, Moses, are you satisfied? But Moses is not. Excuse Number Four He pleads ineptness: Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue 3 (4:10). The word translated eloquent literally means a man of words. Lord, I am not a talker. 5 I have never been much of a talker and I have not seen any improvement in the time we have been talking together. I can still barely get the words out. It is hopeless, Lord, Moses pleaded. Can t you hear the sadness in God s answer? Who has made man s mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say (4:11, 12). Why are you complaining about how you are made? I am the One who is not capable of doing what I have told him to do. So let me say it again. Listen carefully and see if you can get it this time: I am with you and will help you. 6 Moses should have caught on by now, but like some of us, he is a slow learner. He makes one more effort to get out of God s plan. Excuse Number Five He pleads indisposition. That is, I am not disposed to go; send someone else. The text says, Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever Thou wilt (4:13). That is the proverbial last straw. God s anger is kindled against him: Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses (4:14a). Moses had demonstrated a lack of faith in the person God had chosen (himself), in God s people, in God s plan, in God s provision, and in God s power. Little wonder God is angered! But He still gives an answer. He says, Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently (4:14b). Does this story sound familiar? Does it come a little too close to home to be comfortable? God comes to us where we live and says, I have something I want you to do. I want you to help lost men and women to come to know My love and provisions and to be saved. Isn t that exciting? We begin to make excuses: Maybe we plead inadequacy: But, Lord, who am I? You surely do not expect me to be a soulwinner! Or ignorance: Lord, I do not know enough. They are liable to ask me questions I can not answer. Or impotency: And, Lord, you have to understand that it is a skeptical old world out there. Doubt and pessimism prevail. People will not believe what I have to say. Or ineptness: Lord, I am not a good talker. What you need is a supersalesman
type. I get all tongue-tied every time I try to talk about religion. It is embarrassing! Or is it possible that we would even risk the anger of God and plead indisposition: Lord, send someone else and I will just be a good church-attending, pew-warming Christian like everyone else. Have you been there? Are you still there? It may come as a surprise to discover that God does not call us to a task without making sure we have everything we need to do that task! Feel inadequate? God says, I have given you talents and abilities that qualify you to do My will and glorify Me. For instance, note these great truths: Ephesians 4:11 lists several gifts for the purpose of building up the church and then verse 16 notes that when every member does what he can, the church will grow. First Peter 4:11 implies that some have mouth gifts and some have hand gifts. Romans 12:6-8 lists seven different gifts. All are given to be used for God s purposes and plans. When Moses began to make excuses, God asked him, What is that in your hand? (4:2). Moses was focusing on what he did not have. God said, You need to concentrate on what you do have. Use what you have to do what God tells you to do. God says, I do not make mistakes when I call someone. You can do the job. Feel ignorant? God says, I have made provision for you. I have given you two great gifts: a mind and a Bible. Use your mind to learn what you need to know (2 Timothy 2:15). The main thing Moses needed to know was who God was and the main thing you need to know is who Jesus is what He did for us, and how we benefit through obedience. You may not know everything, but you can know something. If you can not take people from A to Z, at least you can take them from A to B. Feel impotent? There is nothing wrong with trying to persuade men (2 Corinthians 5:11), but in the end we must come to realize that the power is not in us, but in God s Word (Romans 1:16; 10:17). We need to pray that God will help us find those honest, receptive hearts (Luke 8). Feel inept? Do you believe you cannot express yourself like you would like to? That is okay. Everybody does not have to be a mouth (1 Corinthians 12:14-19). Not everyone has the special gift of teaching (Romans 12:7) or the special gift of evangelism (Ephesians 4:11). So 4 say what you can, take people as far as you can, and then realize that God will provide an Aaron to take them the rest of the way. If Moses needed an Aaron, there is no reason to be embarrassed if we need one. We are blessed with many Aarons men and women who by aptitude and training are good talkers who are able to teach the Word of God in a most effective way. If you are not a talker, team up with an Aaron. You can make opportunities to get the eager-to-learn and the teacher together. Maybe you can invite those you love and your Aaron to eat together or to do other things together. You and your Aaron can work together to the glory of God and the salvation of souls! The second surprise is that God makes sure we have everything we need to meet the challenge He gives us. This leaves one more surprise in our story, the greatest of all. SURPRISE NO. THREE: WHEN MOSES DID WHAT GOD TOLD HIM TO, HE WAS SUCCESSFUL God had told Moses again and again that He would be with him. All Moses needed to do was trust in the Lord and, on that basis, obey Him and success was assured. This proved to be the case. After God answered Moses last objection, there were no more excuses. Exodus 4:18 and the verses that follow tell of Moses meeting the challenge with God s help. Moses goes through the social amenities (4:18), God reassures him (4:19), and then Moses and his family leave for Egypt (4:20ff.). Thus is set in motion one of the greatest feats in human history: The migration of 2 to 3 million people out of the Egyptian slavery to the land promised by God many years before! Dwell on such great events as the crossing of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and the ultimate victories in the Promised Land. The point I am making is that when Moses did what God said to do, he was victorious, even as God had promised. This brings us back to our challenge. We make all kinds of excuses for not doing what God has said, when what we really need to do is step out by faith to meet His challenge. If we will, the same surprise is awaiting us that awaited Moses: With the help of God, we will be victorious!
We have no burning bush, but we do have God s Word that should be like a fire in our bones (Jeremiah 20:9). This Word speaks in clear unmistakable terms: We are responsible for the salvation of the world and especially for the salvation of the souls about us. God has equipped us for the task. In each congregation He has given a beautiful range of talents, abilities, and skills. We need then to (1) discover those gifts, (2) develop those gifts, and (3) deploy (use) those gifts. We need to understand that the ultimate purpose for those gifts is to bring men and women to the Lord and His way. It is very possible that, like Moses, we are satisfied to use our talents to look after animals when we could be using them to lead men and women to safety in Jesus! (Galatians 3:26, 27). All that remains is for us to do what God has told us to do believing that He will indeed be with us (Matthew 28:20). God will give us the victory! CONCLUSION This Bible story has a special message for us. It has a special message to those who, in days past, have become discouraged in the Lord s cause, who have perhaps even given up hope as Moses had. This story says that if you will put yourself in God s hands and let Him use you, you will be surprised at the great things that can still happen in your life. It has a special message to those who are older. I am sure that Moses felt his day of service and opportunity had passed him by, and that all that was left were boring days in the back of the desert until death claimed him. But God had a surprise for him. God still has surprises left for any older saint who will determine to continue to be used in the service of God. But I also believe this story has a special message for all of us young or old, encouraged or discouraged. Moses thought it was just another day, but it was a day of surprises as God called him and stiffened Moses backbone for the task ahead. You may have come to this day thinking it is just another day, but it may have turned out to be a day of surprises for you, as you have been moved by God s Word; as you have been convicted that God is calling you to the task of saving the lost. If that is the case, may God bless you and be with you as you translate the noble impulses of your heart into action. Endnotes 1 The purpose of this lesson is mainly motivational. It is to encourage people to do what they know they should be doing regarding the salvations of souls, with a special emphasis on answering excuses that people make for not being soulwinners. The church growth principles emphasized are (1) genuine growth begins with baptisms; (2) every Christian needs to be evangelistic; (3) we need to use the differing abilities God has given us to His glory; (4) if we all use the gifts God has given us to accomplish His purposes, the church will grow. 2 Acts 7:25, 30. 3 It is more common to compare Moses with Jesus as the Great Deliverer, than to compare Moses with the ordinary Christian. But since the faith and obedience of Moses are held up as examples for us all in Hebrews 11, I believe a legitimate parallel can be drawn especially since it is the weakness of Moses, not his strength, that is emphasized in this lesson. 4 The sacred four letters that are translated as yahweh or Jehovah are very similar to the Hebrew for I am. 5 According to Jewish tradition, Moses had trouble with the labials b, v, m, ph, p (for whatever that is worth). 6 It is possible that God is also saying, And I can make you where you are a fluent speaker. It certainly would have been no harder for God than changing a rod to a snake or making a hand leprous and then clean. But whatever God had in mind was apparently nullified by Moses response: Why do you not send someone else? Instead of correcting Moses weakness (if that is what God had in mind), God gives him a speaker-helper. Copyright, 1987, 1998 by Truth for Today ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 5