FROM BONDAGE TO
FREEDOM: A Study of the Book of Exodus
The Success of God’s Program Depends Upon God
not Us
Exodus 2:23-3:22 SCC
6/24/12
Here comes the
Call of Moses. But it is much more than that. It is the divine preparation of
the servant of God, a servant who already knew what his destiny was. Here Moses is shown how his destiny will
be accomplished. It will be accomplished because the divine Presence will
guarantee the power, and the promise of that Presence comes with the important
“I AM” revelation. The message that comes through in this, and other “I will be
with you” passages, is that when the promise of his Presence is correctly
appropriated by faith, the servant of God can begin to build confidence for the
task that lies ahead.
GOD IS MOVED WITH COMPASSION WHEN HIS PEOPLE CRY OUT TO HIM FOR
HELP
There is the report of the Lord’s
response to Israel’s cry. The nature of God is clearly displayed in this
portion as a God who is moved to compassion for his people when they cry out to
him for help. On the human side
Israel groaned in their bondage and cried out to the LORD. On the divine side, the LORD heard their groaning, remembered the
covenant, looked on Israel, and knew them. These
expressions are intended to convey the faithfulness of the LORD for his people
in bondage. He had never forgotten them.
These are anthropomorphisms; human
terms attesting to God’s actions. Such are expressions for our benefit, so that
we might understand more about God’s relationship with us. It means that there
is no other way that we can even begin to grasp the nature of God and his
dealings with us. Yet we can see that our God is a person with emotions,
intellect and will. To say God heard their complaint means that God responded to it.
Likewise, “to remember” means to begin to act on the basis of what is
remembered. These emphasize God’s sympathy and compassion for the people. God
is near to those in need. In fact, the deliverer had already been chosen. “And
God knew” is the idea that God took knowledge of them, noticed or regarded
them.
NB: So God is engaged
in the lives of his people. His character is such that we can cry out to him in
any circumstance and know that we have a hearing. Peter said, ‘cast all your
anxiety upon Him (God) because he cares for you’ 1 Peter 5:7. Jesus said ‘come
to me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest’ Matthew 11:28. An easy yoke gives the burden to the larger one bearing the
burden. Rest is contentment with what God is doing.
GOD COMES TO DELIVER HIS PEOPLE IN DISTRESS 3:1-10
God appears in a burning bush 1-7
1. Horeb is another name for
Mount Sinai v 1. Later Moses would shepherd the people of Israel, and lead them
to Mount Sinai to receive the Law. The designation “the Angel of Yahweh” is
often interchangeable with the holy name itself, indicating that it refers to the
LORD. Here then is a reference to the pre-incarnate appearance of the second
person of the trinity v 2.
2. God chose to reveal himself through a blazing fire in a thorn
bush. The symbolism of fire in the book frequently accompanies the revelation
of God as he delivers Israel, guides her, and purifies her. This revelation is
of fire coming from within the bush, not from outside; and it represents the Lord
who is in the midst of his people and will deliver them from persecution and
make them into a holy nation. In the Bible the point of
the Lord is a consuming fire is that he judges and purifies. Note that the
nature of the Lord is a holy, purifying God, a consuming fire, before whom none
can stand. This is consistent throughout revelation even to the last in
Revelation 1:12-16.
3. Moses curiosity leads him
to investigate. Something strange is going on here v 3. The repetition of
the name ‘Moses’ in God’s call is emphatic, making the appeal personal, direct
and immediate v 4. The use of the personal name shows how specifically God
directed the call, and that He knew this person. It would have been an
encouragement to Moses that this was indeed the LORD who was meeting him. Even
though the Lord was drawing near to Moses, Moses could not simply approach Him.
There still was a barrier between God and man, and God had to remind him of
this with instructions v 5. Because God was in this place, the ground was
different--holy. The vision of the Lord, even if in a
manifestation, demands reverence for the awesome holiness he brings.
4. These warnings
are followed by the self-disclosure of the LORD: I am the God of the Patriarchs
v 6. The
significant point here is the naming of the patriarchs, for this God is the
covenant God, who will now begin to fulfill His promises. Moses was afraid from
gazing” meaning “he was afraid to gaze”. Once again the
nature of this covenant God is clearly displayed: “I have seen,” “I have
heard,” “I know” and “I have come down to deliver” v 7. If one were to ask what
I AM signifies, these verses provide a preliminary answer: He is! He is the one
who sees, thinks, hears, knows, remembers, and intervenes to deliver. All that
the humans bring to this deliverance is a cry for help. It is their affliction,
their cry of distress, and their sorrows that the LORD will resolve. One
instinctively knows that the human dilemma is hopeless apart from divine
intervention. The existence of a compassionate, covenant God is the hope that
we share with the ancient Israelites.
God gives His instructions to Moses 8-10
1. God’s coming down is
a frequent anthropomorphism in the OT. It
expresses His direct involvement, often in the sense of judgment v 8. The
purpose of God’s coming down is to ‘deliver them’. “Flowing” modifies “the land”
and “flowing” is explained by “milk and honey.” These two products will be in
abundance in the land, and they therefore represent the abundant land. The
language is hyperbolic, as if the land is streaming with these products. This
is an extravagant land already occupied by people God will dispossess for His
own (Canaanite, Perrizite, etc.,.).
2. God had seen the oppression and so knew that
these complaints were accurate, and so he initiated the proceedings against
them v 9. The word for the oppression has the idea of pressure with the
oppression--squeezing, pressuring, which later was used for torture. Three
times oppression and deliverance mentioned 2:23, 3:7 & 9. These
instructions for Moses are based on the preceding revelation made to him. The
deliverance of Israel was to be God’s work--hence, “I will send you” v 10. When
God commissioned people, often using “to
send,” it indicated that they went with His backing, His power and His
authority. Moses could not have brought Israel out without this.
GOD
GUARANTEES DELIVERANCE OF HIS PEOPLE 11-22
1. This section begins with
Moses’ immediate response (not an attempt to get out of it so much as a feeling
of being overwhelmed): "Who am I that I should go . . .
and that I should deliver. .? v 11. When he was younger,
Moses was confident and impulsive; but now older the greatness of the task
makes him unsure. Moses at this point is overwhelmed with the task of
representing God, and with his insufficiency, and so in honest humility
questions the choice. The point was that who he was made no
difference. What mattered was who the Lord was. That is the subject addressed
now. God’s immediate answer is “I shall be with you” v 12. It makes no
difference who the servant is if God is with him or
her. The promise of the divine presence overcomes the world. In view of Moses’
hesitancy, a sign is necessary to prove the promise. In this passage the sign is a confirming one, i.e., when Israel
worships at this mountain that is proof of the message. In the meantime,
Moses will have to trust in the Lord.
2. Moses, at this point still
apparently willing to go, wishes to know how to identify the God of the fathers
to the people v 13. The point that is being made seems to be that the God who
appeared to Moses is a sovereign independent of creation v 14. The first “I AM”
would have conveyed that the LORD exists (is actually alive) and that he is
with his people. But the relative clause modifying the first verb shows that he
exists independently. He is absolute, sovereign, independent, etc. So the
significance of this explanation is the means of convincing Moses and the
people of the sufficiency of his nature. We could say that among other things
he is stressing that 1) he is present with them (“I am with you” was already
introduced), 2) that he exists independently (so that no power on earth can
limit him), 3) that he has absolute power, and 4) that he is the covenant God
(“I am the God of . . .”). Do not miss the impact of this revelation for the
task that lies before Moses (and us) v 15-16.
3. The words of the
Lord “I have surely visited” in v 16 refers to the long-awaited fulfillment of
the prophecy of Joseph: “God will surely visit you” (Gen. 50:24). This is the
visitation from on high, God's coming to deliver his people. They will connect
these dots. When the sentence states that God visited someone, it means that
He intervened in their lives to change their circumstances or their destiny.
When he visited the Amalekites, he destroyed them. When he visited Sarah, he provided the
long awaited child. It refers to
God’s active involvement in human affairs for blessing or for cursing. Here it
would mean that God had begun to act to deliver them from bondage and give them
the blessings of the covenant v 17.
4. The LORD has planned that
Pharaoh refuse so that wonders could be worked in the world v 18-22.
“Wonderful” frequently refers to that which is surpassing, amazing,
incredible–what God does. His name is “Wonderful” (Isa. 9:6 in its theological
fulfillment). Through these wonders the Lord will deliver his people, and they
will plunder Egypt v 22. Thus, when God stretches out his hand to strike Egypt,
everyone will know that God has sent Moses, and then Pharaoh will let the
people go. All the elements stress that it will be God's marvelous work.
CONCLUSION
1. It is true that God is with
every believer, but the truth is especially beneficial for those who lead.
Moses, Gideon, Samuel, the disciples, and a host of others, knew full well that
if God went not with them they dare not go; but if God was for them, who could
be against them?
2. The situation is
that the people were in bondage to Egypt; today people are in bondage to the
world system, its power and influence. But if they cry to the LORD for
deliverance, he will respond with compassion and resolve.
3. If there are
people in the Church who sense the need, and who know the will of God (what God
wants done), they need to examine their spiritual gifts, consider how God is
working in and through them providentially and find a way to get involved in
what God is doing.
4. Realize that the success of God’s program does not depend on their abilities or performances. It will be God’s work from start to finish.