Moses is now a shepherd in service of his
father-in-law, Jethro. Moses led his flock
to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of Horeb (Sanai). There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in
flames of fire from a burning bush.
Mt. Horeb or Sanai was a special place where Moses went to be with God. Do you have a special meeting place you go to be with God? If not, find a place. It might be your office, a corner of your bedroom, or just a chair somewhere in your house. You will find as you make a habit of going to the same place each time, it will become easier to get in the right frame of mind to worship and hear from God.
Moses was intrigued by the burning bush
and went over to get a closer look. "God called out to Moses within the bush, Moses! Moses! And Moses said Here I am. Do not come any closer, God said. Take off your sandals, for the place where
you are standing is holy ground." - Ex. 3:4-5. God called Moses
by name. This shows that God knows us personally by our names and that He loves
us dearly.
Moses sandals were dirty and removing
them was a symbol for putting off all personal contamination and approaching
God reverently showing respect for who God is.
Holiness is a characteristic of God that sets Him apart from sinful
humanity. He is righteous and
sovereign. God's holiness is used often
throughout the Bible to describe God. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth
is full of his glory." - Is.
6:3.
The angel of the Lord who appeared to
Moses is Jesus Christ Himself (Gen.
16:7-13; Jud. 6:11-17). Fire is a
symbol for God. The burning bush
symbolizes God's presence at all time and in all things. The bush was in fire, but was not burning
up. This represents Israel's judgment,
but God will not let them be consumed or destroyed. It shows God is powerful. He is the Creator of nature and only He can
break the laws of nature.
God had a message for Moses. To put it simply, He wanted him to go to
Egypt and rescue His people. God had not
forgotten His people, just the opposite.
He was concerned for them and His plan was for Moses to set them
free. God had promised Abraham in Gen 15
that He would make them a great nation and now it was time.
Principle: God personally reveals Himself to those He
calls.
Do you know God is real? To find out, step out and serve Him. We all have excuses, but if God is in your
calling you will know it. He will reveal
Himself to you. Let Him break through
your excuses.
How does He reveal
Himself to you?
What has God asked you
to do to help His people?
Exodus
3:11-4:17 - God Answers Moses
Moses had several excuses as to why he
didn't want to go. Sound like us,
doesn't it?
He said "'Who
am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?' and
God said, 'I will be with you. And this
will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you.'" - Ex. 3:11-12. "Moses said to
God, ' Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers
has sent me to you and they ask me, What is his name? Then what shall I tell them?' God Said to Moses, 'I Am Who I Am. This is what you are to say to the
Israelites; I Am has sent me to you.'" - Ex. 3:13-14.
"I Am Who I am" indicates that
God is self-existent. He has no origins
and is answerable to no one. He is
eternal and unchangeable. In John 8:58 Jesus revealed Himself as
God. "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was
born, I am!" Jesus is
God! He is the same God that created the
universe, made a covenant with Abraham, and rescues His people.
God continues to tell Moses he was to go
to the elders and promised they would listen.
They would go with him and the people would come out of Egypt with the
Egyptians' blessing. Now Moses has more
excuses. He said, what if they do not
believe him. God answered by giving
Moses 3 signs: His rod became a snake and then changed back to a rod; God gave
him power to heal leprosy; God gave him the ability to turn water to blood. - Ex. 4:1-9.
Moses still had another excuse. He said he was not an eloquent speaker and
was slow in speech and tongue. God said
He would help him speak and will teach him what to say. - Ex. 4:10-12.
Moses last objection was direct. He said, "O
Lord, please send someone else to do it.
Then to Lord's anger burned against Moses." - Ex. 4:13-14. God would solved that problem, too. He would send his brother, Aaron to help him
and God would tell him what to say.
Moses probably realized that he had run out of excuses and he better do
what God said.
Principle: God blesses our trusted obedience, not our
excuses.
Our problems are not the problems of
God. The real problem is our lack of
trust. Saying "yes" to God is always
worth the cost.
How have you objected to
what God had told you to do?
How did God deal with
your objections?
Exodus
4:18-31 God Sends Moses
Moses prepared to leave for Egypt by
seeking permission from his father-in-law.
God told Moses that the men who wanted to kill him were now dead. So Moses took his wife and sons and started
back to Egypt. He also took the staff of
God in his hand. - Ex. 4:18-20. The staff is a symbol of God's power. We have a symbol today. It's 2 boards nailed together, the Cross of
Christ. It is a sign of God's love and
how He went to great lengths to save us.
Moses failed to circumcise one of his
sons. Ex. 4:24 says the Lord was about to kill him. His wife, Zipporah saved him by doing it
herself. Why would God want to kill
Moses? Circumcision is the sign of the
covenant. It signifies purification and
identification with God and the people of God.
Moses could not proceed on his course until he was right with God.
Moses and Aaron met in the desert and
obey the Lord's instructions. They
brought the Israelite elders together, performed signs, gold them what God had
said. The result was that the Israelites
believed God was concerned for them and they bowed down and worshiped.
Principle: Following God's call will result in His
worship.
When we worship, there is no room for
pride. Worship is our highest
calling. Serving God is our purpose.
How are you serving Him?
What are your excuses?What steps will you take to worship and serve the great "I Am"?
Moses was 80 years old when God called
him. It's all about God's timing.
Will you trust God in
His timing?
Where are you being
overly impatient?Do you believe that God is always with you?
Where will you dare to serve Him?
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