Exodus - Lesson 3/4

• We are still in the midst of the call of Moses

  • He has departed Egypt and settled in Midian

    • He has found a wife, Zipporah

    • And he has a son, Gershom

  • And another forty years has passed, as Moses established a new life for himself in Midian

    • But while he was still in Egypt, Moses received a call from God to lead the Israelites out of bondage

    • Moses acted prematurely on that call, when he killed the Hebrew taskmaster

    • And the people of Israel saw no reason to rally behind Moses

  • Now God is ready to act to return Israel to the land He promised them through Abraham

Ex. 2:23  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.
Ex. 2:24 So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Ex. 2:25 God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.

• After 40 years the Pharaoh dies

  • The Pharaoh is Thutmose III, who had desired to kill Moses and anyone connected to Hatshepsut

    • With Thutmose III’s passing, his son Amenhotep II comes to power in Egypt in 1447 BC

  • At about this time, the Lord heard the groaning of the people of Israel and remembered His covenant with Abraham

    • Whenever we see the Bible using human characteristics to describe the Lord and His actions, we are observing an anthropomorphism

    • In this case, God is described as hearing and remembering, which are human traits

      • God is all spirit and therefore doesn’t hear with ears and doesn’t remember, as if to call to mind something forgotten

      • All things are continually before God’s attention and His knowledge has no limits

  • Therefore, these statements are saying something about God but are not literal descriptions of God

    • When the scripture describes God as hearing, it means God is inclined toward a plea or request

    • Likewise, when God remembers, it means the time for God to act has come to pass

      • So putting them together, it means God is now inclined to act on behalf of the nation of Israel

    • The action God is ready to take is to keep His promise to the patriarchs and free Israel

• Now we jump forward 40 years

  • It’s been two years since Amenhotep II has inherited the throne

    • Moses spends his days shepherding Jethro’s flock

    • Until one day…

Ex. 3:1 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Ex. 3:2 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
Ex. 3:3 So Moses said, “  I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.”

• Moses is near Horeb, the mountain of God

  • Remember, Midian is roughly directly south of Canaan in the northwestern tip of Saudi Arabia

    • As Moses is in this area, he comes upon a bush burning in the desert

      • In this region of the Middle East, the weather is incredibly hot

      • It virtually never rains

      • And it’s not uncommon for shrubs to catch fire in the intense heat and dryness

    • In this case, Moses can tell there’s something different because the bush isn’t being consumed by the fire

      • So he goes to investigate

  • The bush was a theophany

    • A theophany is a physical manifestation of God

      • Specifically, this theophany displayed the Shechinah glory of God

      • The Shechinah glory is usually fire, smoke and/or cloud which represents the glory of God

    • We’re told that the angel of the Lord is appearing in this moment

      • The angel of the Lord appears over 50 times in the Old Testament

      • These appearances are all appearances of the Second Person of the Godhead

        • A pre-incarnate Christ

    • We can see this clearly in every context because the “angel” is always addressed as God in the same context

      • Notice in the next verse, the Person speaking from the bush is called God

• In fact, the only Member of the Godhead Who is ever made visible in the Creation is the Second Person

Heb. 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and   upholds all things by the word of His power.

• Jesus is the radiance of the Father’s glory

  • Like the light beams coming from the sun, Jesus is the part of the Father that we can see

Col. 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Col. 1:19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,

• Again, Jesus is the only Member of the Godhead Who has been made visible to us in Creation

  • All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ

  • That’s why Jesus said:

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

• At the time of Moses, Jesus has yet to take a human form, so any physical manifestation of Christ had to take other forms

  • Here He’s a burning bush, later He’s a pillar of fire and cloud

  • Other times we aren’t told how He appears

  • The form usually has some meaning for the situation

    • In this case, a bush that burns but isn’t consumed suggests the situation of Israel in Egypt

    • They are in torment by the bondage, but the torment hasn’t consumed the nation

    • In fact, Israel has historically used the picture of a burning bush as a symbol of their race – persecuted and afflicted but not extinguished

• Moses’ encounter with Christ in a burning bush is an iconic scene

  • In fact, we often talk about seeking a “burning bush” from God meaning a clear revelation

    • Many Christians wonder why Moses received something so clear and direct from the Lord while they struggle to understand God’s will

    • They beg the Lord to give them a burning bush too

  • While the desire to hear clearly from God is understandable, the request itself suggests that our imperfect obedience is a consequence of poor hearing rather than poor listening

    • In reality, our true challenge is to listen to what the Lord has already said and is saying to us

    • Because we have already received something greater than the burning bush

    • We have already received a word from Christ! In fact, we have many words from Christ

      • The word of God is the words of Christ

        • He is the Word!

        • Have we understood and obeyed all that it contains?

        • If we had, I wonder how many of our life issues and problems would vanish?

    • Furthermore, He came in the flesh and modeled a life recorded in the Gospels…are we emulating that standard yet?

    • And most importantly, we have the Spirit of Christ living inside each of us, a blessing the Old Testament saints couldn’t know

Heb. 1:1  God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
Heb. 1:2   in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the   world.

• When Moses lived, there was no Scripture whatsoever

  • Revelation from God depended entirely on God appearing to men and intervening in their lives with His instructions

    • Can you imagine walking your entire life as a believer with no Scripture to turn to in a daily basis?

    • In fact, this appearance before Moses is the first known revelation from God to anyone on earth for over 200 years

  • What if the only word we had from God came sporadically, separated by decades or centuries?

    • When it comes to knowing and understanding God’s will for our lives, did Moses have it easier or do we?

  • After all, Who was in that bush?

    • Moses was receiving a word from Christ

    • So when we ask for a “burning bush” like Moses received, we’re just asking for a new word from Christ

  • But when we look past what we’ve been given already and demand a theophany or direct revelation instead, we’re actually taking a step back

    • In a sense we’re trading in the full revelation of Christ found in His word and His Spirit dwelling in us for the lessor form of Christ like Moses received

    • If Christ could speak clearly to Moses through a bush, can we expect Him to speak clearly to us by His Spirit within?

    • If a few words spoken in the desert can change the course of Moses’ life, can the words of Scripture gives us all we need for life and holiness?

• Here’s what Moses heard in that bush

Ex. 3:4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Ex. 3:5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
Ex. 3:6 He said also, “ 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, for he was afraid to look at God.

• The Lord begins the conversation calling to Moses by repeating his name

  • When the Lord calls a man with a repeating of his name, it signals a commission or calling from the Lord

    • The same pattern happens to Abraham, Jacob and later Samuel

    • So here the Lord is calling Moses to his mission, forty years later

  • Moses responds and walks toward the bush

    • The Lord instructs Moses not to come near and to remove the sandals off his feet, since it was holy ground

    • Then the Lord identifies Himself as the God of the patriarchs

  • Moses hides his face in response, even afraid to look at God

    • The fear of the Lord is a palpable, instinctive response of sinful flesh to the holiness of God

    • If Moses responds this way to a theophany, a representation of God, then how do you think we’ll feel when we stand in the presence of God Himself?

    • It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God

• Next comes the specific calling of God for Moses

Ex. 3:7  The LORD said, “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.
Ex. 3:8 “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, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
Ex. 3:9 “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
Ex. 3:10 “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”

• God begins in explaining his purpose in appearing to Moses

  • God is ready to respond to the affliction of Israel

    • God will deliver the nation from Egypt

      • Notice that God doesn’t say Moses will deliver them

      • God will deliver them, but He’s inviting Moses to join Him in that work

    • After they leave the land of Egypt, God will deliver them to Canaan

      • To a land flowing with milk and honey

    • The phrase is an indication of the prosperity in the land

      • If the land is flowing with milk, then it’s a measure of how many livestock the land can support

        • A land flowing with milk must be able to support many, many cattle

      • And if the land is flowing with honey, then it means there must be countless number of bees in the land

        • So many bees could only be possible if the land is covered with blossoming plants, indicating rich farming land and a plentiful harvest

  • Notice the land they will receive is the land currently held by the various “ites”

    • These are the people God told Abraham must be displaced because of their iniquity

      • Notice there are only six “ites” listed here

      • In other places, we find more or less listed according to God’s purpose

        • The number six stands for sinful men, a reminder of the iniquity of the Amorites

    • This is further evidence to us that God is fulfilling the word He gave in the covenant with Abraham

• Then God invites Moses to join in this great work

  • God says I will send you to Pharaoh, and you will bring my people out of Egypt

    • In response to God’s call, Moses asks two questions and raises three objections

Ex. 3:11 But Moses said to God, “ Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”
Ex. 3:12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the 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.”

• Having heard God’s instructions, Moses asks the obvious question

  • Who am I?

    • What he means is how can I expect to be successful in this kind of task?

    • Pharaoh is so powerful and strong, but I am not

  • God answers the question by assuring Moses that God is not asking Moses to go alone or in his own power

    • Furthermore, God gives Moses a sign that He is hearing from the true God

    • After they leave Egypt, Moses will find himself at this same mountain worshipping God

• Then Moses asks a second question

Ex. 3:13  Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will 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?”
Ex. 3:14 God said to Moses, “  I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘ I AM has sent me to you.’”
Ex. 3:15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “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.

• This is such a fascinating question…Moses says what do I say if they ask who you are?

  • We might wonder why would Israel dare ask who God was…wouldn’t Israel know the God of the their fathers?

    • Remember they haven’t heard from this God in their lifetimes

      • The last time Israel heard from God was in Jacob’s lifetime

    • Plus, Israel has been living for centuries in a pagan culture where many gods are hailed by the Egyptians

    • Moses understood that Israel would be unfamiliar with their own God, so he asks for what to say in response to the question

  • In answer to the question, God gives Moses His name

    • The name of God is I am Who I am

      • Literally in Hebrew, God’s name is “One Who causes all to be” or “One Who is”

    • The word for I am is hayah in Hebrew

      • It is an active form of the verb “to be”

      • It means to exist in action, suggesting God is calling Himself the real God who proves His existence by His works

        • As opposed to false gods who are silent and still

    • The Jews abbreviate hayah as YHWH to avoid saying the name

      • Everywhere you see the word “LORD” in your Bible, this is a use of the word YHWH in the original Hebrew

    • So the word “LORD” in our Bible is actually a substitute for the name of God, which is HAYAH

      • Notice at the end of v.14 God repeats his name as I AM (hayah) sent you

  • But knowing God’s name doesn’t really get to the true essence of Moses’ presumed question from his countrymen

    • They wouldn’t simply want to know the name of God, they want to know His identity and their relationship to Him

      • So God gives Moses that answer as well

      • He is the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

• Having answered Moses’ questions, God gives Moses a detailed explanation of what will happen in this plan

Ex. 3:16 “Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “  I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.
Ex. 3:17 “So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
Ex. 3:18 “They will pay heed to what you say; and you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt and you will say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’
Ex. 3:19 “But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion.
Ex. 3:20 “So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.
Ex. 3:21 “I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed.
Ex. 3:22 “But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house, articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians.”

• Moses is to repeat God’s assurances that He is responding to their concerns and will deliver them

  • The people of Israel will pay heed to Moses’ words and the elders of Israel will even join you in stepping before Pharaoh to make a request

    • The first request you will make of Pharaoh will be for Israel to go three days journey into the desert to sacrifice and worship to the Lord

      • This may sound like a strange request

      • Isn’t Moses supposed to lead Israel out of Egypt permanently?

    • Actually, God is referring to Israel leaving Egypt

      • A three-days journey from Pharaoh was the time needed to travel to the border of Egypt and Canaan

      • God’s words are simply a way of saying let us leave your country so we may go and worship our God

  • To this request, God says I know Pharaoh will say no unless he is forced

    • So God is prepared to force him

      • God will send “all my miracles” which will cause Pharaoh to let my people go

    • This is an interesting technique to gain His desired outcome, considering all the ways God could have accomplished this outcome

      • He could have simply killed all the Egyptians like the angel of the Lord did when the Assyrians attack

      • It’s clear that God has more going on than simply freeing the nation of Israel

        • God’s method is far more than merely a convenient way to force the Pharaoh’s hand

        • God will create pictures, demonstrate His power and create prophetic patterns

• Lastly, God promises His people will leave Egypt with many possessions

  • This is also in keeping with His promises to Abraham

    • God told Abraham that Israel would come out with many possessions

    • And here again, God reminds Moses that Israel will leave rich

  • In fact, the women in Israel will simply ask their Egyptian neighbors to give them their possessions

    • And these people will be so fearful of the God of Israel and so happy to see the Jews leaving, they will oblige by giving away their possessions

    • Thus ensuring that Israel will be well compensated for their many years of slave work

      • In this way, God even repays them for the time He caused them to endure slavery

• Once Moses hears the whole plan, his attitude changes

  • Moses brings God three objections to participating in this plan

    • These objections are a marked contrast to the earlier Moses, who rushed in early

    • In fact, the story of Exodus traces three distinct periods in Moses’ life, and all three periods last forty years

  • The first 40 years is Moses growing up in Egypt

    • Moses is young, confident, presumptuous, and running ahead of God

    • As a result he faces disappointment and retreats

  • The second 40 years is Moses in Midian

    • He is older, resigned, self-doubting, and reluctant to accept God’s call, falling behind God

    • As a result, he witnesses God’s power and glory and instruction

    • He learns God can do great things with humble servants, but He demands response and obedience

  • Finally, the last 40 years are spent wandering in the desert with God’s people

    • Moses is seasoned, mature, wise and steady

    • He is walking side by side with God

    • He faces trials but leads God’s people with diligence despite many challenges

    • He learns that God is holy and just and good

• At this point, we’re looking at the reluctant, self-doubting Moses

  • So in Chapter 4, Moses raises three objections to serving God in this way

Ex. 4:1 Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, ‘ The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
Ex. 4:2 The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “ A staff.”
Ex. 4:3 Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.
Ex. 4:4 But the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail” — so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand —
Ex. 4:5 “that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
Ex. 4:6  The LORD furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow.
Ex. 4:7 Then He said, “Put your hand into your bosom again.” So he put his hand into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.
Ex. 4:8 “If they will not believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe the witness of the last sign.
Ex. 4:9 “But if they will not believe even these two signs or heed what you say, 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.”

• Moses first objection is, “What if they don’t believe me?”

  • Now notice something interesting at this point

    • God has told Moses that he will be sent to Egypt to free his people from Pharaoh’s grip

    • And God has said that Pharaoh won’t listen so God is prepared to bring miracles against the king to compel him to listen

    • So wouldn’t Moses’ first concern be that Pharaoh won’t listen to him?

      • But that’s not Moses’ first thought

    • Moses’ first thought is what if the Jewish people don’t believe him?

      • We remember Moses’ earlier experience trying to take charge

      • The Jews rejected his leadership, so now Moses wonders why would they accept me as their leader now?

• Moses’ doubt is one shared by many who step out into leadership

  • Ministry would be so easy if it weren’t for all the people

    • People don’t necessarily want to be led, especially when they need to be corrected, admonished and challenged

    • In Moses’ case, the people were going to be called to leave everything they knew and enter a strange and uncertain world

  • The fact remains, God calls men to lead His people, then and now

Eph. 4:11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
Eph. 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

• • These leadership positions are intended to bring good things for the people

    • It’s to our advantage to work with our leaders than to work against them

Heb. 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

• When we receive that call, as Moses did here, our first thought may be, “God, who will follow me?”

  • Do you know what the true answer is to that question?

    • No one is going to receive you

    • In fact, no one should receive us

  • Look how God answered Moses when he asked this question

    • God didn’t say, “Oh come now Moses, why wouldn’t they accept you?”

      • You’re so smart, you’re so handsome

        • After all, you look just like Charlton Heston

      • You’ve been trained in the Pharaoh’s courts

      • You went to the best seminary, you had the best professors

      • You’ve written all those great books

      • Of course the people will receive you

  • No, God didn’t say that; God told Moses, I will validate your ministry

    • Notice in v.2 God showed Moses how He could use his staff to perform a miraculous sign

    • Then in v.6 God showed Moses how he could turn his own hand leprous and then heal it

    • Finally, in verse 9 God tells Moses how he can turn the Nile into blood

  • By these three miracles, God promises to validate Moses’ ministry before himself, Israel and Pharaoh

    • They bolster Moses’ own confidence, gain the trust of Israel and earn the respect of Pharaoh

  • Like Moses, we too will gain confidence to serve in our calling knowing God is fully prepared to validate His call on our lives and ministry

    • We can expect He will do so by displaying His power through our work and in the fruit of our ministry

    • We can’t point to our lack of pedigree or authority as an excuse for not serving His people

  • The key is to keep a humble view of self without losing confidence in the power of God

• We should respond like the prophet Amos, a sheepherder sent to prophesy against the evil king Jeroboam of the northern kingdom

Amos 7:14  Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs.
Amos 7:15 “But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’

• Then Moses raised a second objection

Ex. 4:10  Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
Ex. 4:11 The LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
Ex. 4:12 “Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.”

• Moses was concerned the people wouldn’t receive him, now his concern turns to his lack of strength and skill, particularly as a messenger

  • Moses tells God that if He needs someone to speak to the Pharaoh, He should look for someone who is eloquent

    • Someone who has the natural ability to do the job

  • Moses describes himself as slow of speech, slow of tongue

    • Actually he says I’m not a man of speech, I have a heavy mouth

    • Have you ever heard it taught that maybe Moses stuttered or that he had some kind of speech impediment?

    • That may be true, but these phrases more accurately describe someone who isn’t good at speaking on their feet

    • Someone who can’t form thoughts and words in a difficult situation – heavy mouthed

  • In others, Moses is just like you and me

    • It’s just as likely and perhaps even more likely that Moses was simply expressing the concern that we all share

    • We don’t feel confident speaking boldly in difficult situations

    • What if the president of the US called you and asked you to lead the delegation negotiating a difficult treaty with Iran?

      • Wouldn’t we doubt we had the speaking skills to do that job?

      • Are we eloquent enough?  Can we think fast enough to counter difficult arguments?

    • I think that’s Moses’ concern here

      • He worries that his abilities aren’t up to the immense task God is assigning to him

  • Again, Moses is right

    • His tongue isn’t good enough, he isn’t smart enough

    • He doesn’t have enough ability

    • But God does

• Look at God’s response in vs.11-12

  • God will make Moses’ abilities equal to the task

    • God reminds Moses, who made your mouth? Who gives man the power to hear or see…or for that matter, do anything?

    • Is it not the Lord?

    • It’s a marionette looking up at the hand pulling the strings complaining it doesn’t have the strength to lift its legs

      • The statement assumes that our work for God is a product of our own abilities

  • But our ability to do anything of value for God is always dependent on Him working through us

    • Not only when we speak to kings, but when we speak quietly to our hurting friend

    • For He is the one who formed us and gave us life and saved us and directs us

Prov. 16:9 The mind of man plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.

• Moses gives one final objection

Ex. 4:13 But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will.”
Ex. 4:14 Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
Ex. 4:15 “You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do.
Ex. 4:16 “Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him.
Ex. 4:17 “You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”

• The objection can be hard to interpret

  • Most English translations show Moses asking God to send someone else

    • This is a reasonable interpretation, and it fits the context well

    • But the literal Hebrew simply says, “Lord, send by the hand You send.”

  • Some have interpreted Moses objection to say, “Won’t you send someone beside (along with) me?”

    • In this interpretation, which I prefer, Moses is objecting to doing this by himself

• In response, God grows angry with Moses’ objections

  • Before we look at God’s specific response, it should catch our attention that persistent objecting to the call of God risks His anger

    • God’s patience is limited, and He will show anger at times

    • In every case, God’s response is perfect and just, and sometimes the right response is anger

  • Why is God angry at Moses?

    • Because Moses has cast doubts on God’s preparations to handle Moses’ needs

      • Moses wanted company, but God knew this already

      • Notice in v.14 Aaron, Moses’ brother, is already headed toward him

    • Aaron was the older, eloquent brother of Moses

      • While Moses enjoyed life in the Pharaoh’s court, Aaron lived with the Jews in Goshen

      • We’re never told how Aaron was permitted to leave Egypt and travel to Moses, but we assume he escaped by God’s hand

  • So Aaron has been brought to Moses just in time to accompany and support Moses’ ministry

    • God says He will give Moses the words to tell Aaron, and God will be with Aaron as he speaks

    • The Church today mirrors this experience, in that ministry is a team sport

      • No one in the body is expected or even called to work alone

      • God will bring us the people we need when we need them

        • Physical support

        • Prayer support

        • Financial support

        • Counsel and emotional support

  • Moses had a role and Aaron had a role, and both were working as God had gifted them

    • And neither had an excuse not to respond to God’s call

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org