The Burning Bush (Exodus): When Yahweh God sent Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses clearly had fears and doubts about his ability to do what God called him to do. Yahweh graciously (and patiently) provided his name, miraculous signs, and other help. But what would guarantee success? God promised, “I will be with you.” Recorded on Oct 6, 2024, on Exodus 3:1-4:17 by Pastor David Parks.
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This message is part of our Exodus series called Journey to Freedom. Exodus is a story of liberation — of God working to rescue and redeem a people for himself, freeing them from slavery and leading them to the land he promised to the family of Abraham and Sarah. Exodus is also a picture of the gospel and the Christian life. In Christ, we, too, are freed from captivity to sin and death and led through the wilderness of life by God’s Word and Presence as we make our way to the Promised Land of the world to come. Join us as we make this journey to find true and lasting freedom.
Sermon Transcript
Well, today, and for about the next six months, we’ll be working through a sermon series on the book of Exodus called Journey to Freedom. For the last two weeks, we’ve said that Exodus is a wild story, but it’s a story of liberation, of God rescuing and redeeming a people for himself. We’ve also said Exodus is a picture of the gospel and the Christian life. Chapter 1 started something like 3,200 or 3,300 years ago when the ancient people of Israel were suffering bitterly as slaves in Egypt. Would God keep his promises to the family of Abraham and Sarah? Would he be faithful to save? Last week, in Chapter 2, with the birth of Moses, we saw God’s rescue plan start to unfold. However, Moses’ disastrous first attempt at helping his people led to his exile in the foreign land of Midian. Was this God’s plan?? Well, today, in Chapter 3, forty years have passed. Moses married Zipporah, the daughter of a pagan priest named Jethro, started a family, and worked as a shepherd for his father-in-law. And for many years, that was it. It probably seemed like God was done with him. Have you ever wondered about this for your life? Maybe things haven’t turned out how you thought they would, and you wonder, “Is this it, or does God have something more for me?” Maybe a bigger question for Moses would be, given his first failure, would he be able to handle it if God called him more? Well, God’s not done with Moses. If you have your Bible/app, please open it to Exodus 3:1. This is a fairly long text, but it’s all one story, and we’ll unpack it as we go.
Exodus 3:1–4:17 (NIV), “1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Forty years have passed there in Midian. Moses was now eighty years old. After all these years, if he ever considered his ability to lead, Moses must’ve felt like a failure. His attempts to lead in Egypt resulted in precisely zero people following him and Moses having to flee for his life. Now here, forty years later, not only is no one following him, still, but he wasn’t even leading his own flock of sheep! He was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. At any rate, Moses had led the flock far from home, to the far side of the wilderness, to a mountain known as Horeb and later as Sinai. Probably because of this encounter, and later, when the Israelites came back to meet with God there after they had escaped from Egypt, Horeb (Mount Sinai) became known as the mountain of God. But here, Moses writes that he noticed a bush on the mountainside that was on fire but not burning up. This would’ve been very strange since no one else was nearby. Moses went closer to investigate when the angel of the Lord appeared and spoke to him. He told Moses he was the God of his ancestors, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” In the Bible, this kind of encounter with God is known as a theophany. A theophany is when God appears in some form to human beings. If you’d like more teaching on this, two years ago, we did a sermon series called Encounters with God on some of the most well-known theophanies in the Bible. These divine encounters always reveal something of God’s character or nature, but they also often reveal something of God’s plan for humanity. God shows up for a purpose. In this theophany with Moses, God says three incredible things: he’s seen their misery, he’s heard their prayers, and he’s concerned about their suffering. Does God care when we go through times of pain and suffering? Absolutely, yes. He says, “…the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.” So what? “So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…” Four hundred years earlier, God promised Abraham that he would do this. And God keeps his promises. God is faithful to save. This is just one more example of the 10,000 in the Bible. But now (unexpectedly, if you’ve been paying attention), God’s plan is to send Moses back to Egypt, back to his adopted family in the royal household, back to lead his birth family, the Hebrews/Israelites, out to freedom. God saw/heard and now had come down himself to rescue his people. But what if it worked? If this plan worked, it’d be world-changing stuff, the kind of thing people might study/talk about for thousands of years. Moses, you want to be a leader? Here’s your second chance. But this was probably way bigger than anything Moses ever dreamed of. How do you think Moses felt about this? After so many years? Now, Lord? Me, Lord?!? How would you feel?
Exodus 3:1–4:17 (NIV), “11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 13 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?” 14 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.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘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, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. 16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 18 “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. 21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.” Moses responded to this incredible theophany with two questions: “Who am I?” and “Who are you?” Let’s take each of those in turn. Who am I? “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” What qualifications do I have? I can’t even lead my own flock of sheep, and you want me to go to an enslaved people (who rejected my leadership once already, by the way) and try and lead them out of the most powerful kingdom on the planet? It’s not a bad question. Moses had serious reservations about his ability to do what God called him to do. But look how God responded in v. 12, “I will be with you.” God wasn’t just sending Moses; he would go with him. God was calling Moses to join him in the work that he would do. His calling wasn’t based on the strength of Moses’ faith, abilities, wisdom, beauty, wealth, or anything else. The plan of God, the calling of God, was entirely based on God’s strength, his wisdom, his resources, and his loving commitment to the family of Abraham and Sarah. Who am I? “It doesn’t matter,” says the Lord, “I will be with you. My presence is all you need. My presence will guide and sustain you. The elders of Israel will listen to you, you will plunder Egypt as you leave, and you will come out of Egypt and worship me here at Mount Sinai. I will be with you.” Well, if that’s the case, then who are you, Lord? What is your name? Whose presence will be with us? Now, in Genesis chapter 4, Moses says that people had started to call on the name of Yahweh all the way back during the time of Seth and Enoch. But Yahweh had other names that people used from time to time, like the more generic title God (El) or God Almighty (El Shaddai). Moses likely had some knowledge of God from his birth family, the Hebrew people in Egypt. But here, understandably, being called into this official role representing this God to Pharaoh (and to his own people as well), he wanted to know what official name he should use. Yahweh replies with an incredibly profound statement: “I AM WHO I AM.” It’s as if God says, “My name is life, I am being/existence itself. I am the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. I am the one who was and is and ever will be. Who am I? I am.” This is what the divine name in Hebrew means: Yahweh, I am. But why, you might wonder, is the divine name of Yahweh translated as LORD in all caps in our Bibles today? Well, this substitution of Yahweh with LORD follows an ancient Jewish tradition out of respect for the divine name. However, the problem with that is that most Christians today do not understand that “Lord” in all caps in the OT is meant to be the personal name God gave to Moses here at Mount Sinai. Reverence for God is good and right, but we cannot lose the personal knowledge of God that he wants us to have about him. The Creator, the Maker of the heavens and the earth, the God who entered into a covenant relationship with the family of Abraham and Sarah, saw the suffering, heard the prayers of his people, and came down to rescue them. And his name was Yahweh. Would the Presence of Yahweh be enough to overcome Moses’ fears and doubts?
Exodus 3:1–4:17 (NIV), “1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so 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.” 6 Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow. 7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. 8 Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.” So, in addition to the promise of his Presence, Yahweh graciously (and patiently!) gives Moses miraculous signs to validate/verify Moses’ divine calling/message both to the Hebrew people and the Pharaoh. Just like Jesus’ ministry, the miracles would testify to the truth of his message. The snake represents Yahweh’s power over death, and the leprous hand represents Yahweh’s power over disease. Those signs aren’t hard for us to understand, but the meaning of turning water from the Nile into blood is a little obscure. However, Egyptians believed in a whole pantheon of gods and goddesses, including Hapi (Hah-pee), who was believed to be the god of the Nile River flood. Hapi was associated with the abundance and life only possible because of the water of the Nile in an otherwise dry/desert climate. Hapi was broadly worshiped because the Nile was the main symbol of the abundance, life, and security of Egypt. I believe the third sign, of water to blood, represents Yahweh’s authority over both the abundance/life/security of both Israel and Egypt, but also Yahweh’s supremacy over Hapi and, as we’ll see throughout the Exodus, over every god and goddess of the Egyptians. Yahweh was the one, the only one, who was sovereign over life/death, healing/disease, abundance, security, and over any/every other ruler, authority, or power in heaven or on earth. Now, surely, these signs would help calm Moses’ fears and doubts, right? Yahweh’s own presence would go with him. And his miraculous power would testify to the truth of his message. What more could he want?
Exodus 3:1–4:17 (NIV), “10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” 11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” 13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” 14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.” This is God’s word. So, Moses would learn again and again that Yahweh is slow to anger, but he does get angry. After repeatedly questioning God, not so much about God’s faithfulness, but about his own ability to do what God was calling him to do, and after God repeatedly, graciously answered his questions and promised his own presence and miraculous signs, Moses still asks God to send someone else. Yahweh’s anger burned against him. No kidding, right? But just as he would do later with Jonah, Yahweh doesn’t give up on Moses. He allows his big brother, Aaron, to help him fulfill his calling. But with that, Moses, the Hebrew slave by birth, the Egyptian royalty by adoption, the murderer, the immigrant to Midian, the family man and elderly shepherd, became the unlikely prophet and deliverer of Yahweh God at one of the greatest turning points in all of human history. Did God pick the right guy? We’ll see. Would Yahweh’s presence be enough? Would the miraculous signs be convincing? Would Aaron be helpful? We’ll see. Well, there are so many big lessons from this text, but for now, I’d like to leave you with just one thought. If Moses had believed/trusted the very first thing Yahweh had said, he wouldn’t have needed anything else. Remember what God told him? Moses asked, “Who am I that I should go…?” And how did God respond? Who are you? It doesn’t matter. “I will be with you.” One of the great themes of the Exodus story (and the whole of the Bible) is the power of God’s holy and loving Presence among his people. Moses wouldn’t go back to Egypt alone. He had the Presence of Yahweh with him. Israel wouldn’t go into the wilderness alone. They would have the Presence of Yahweh with them. They would have to learn how to live with God’s holy Presence in their midst. But if all this was true and if Yahweh was who he claimed to be — sovereign over life, death, disease, idols, and empires — then they would have nothing to fear. But, don’t you see? If this was who God was, then this is who God is today. He saw the suffering of his people and he sees the suffering of his people today. He heard the cries/prayers of his people, and he hears the cries/prayers of his people today. He was moved to action to bring freedom and justice into a broken world and he will be moved to action today. But today, because of the person and work of Jesus, we have the Presence of God here among us and within us today. After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, the very personal power and presence of God, was given not just to a mighty prophet or to a pastor or priest, but to every man, woman, and child who believes in Jesus and trusts him to be their lord and savior. Do you have fears and doubts about what God might call you to do or about God’s plan for your life? Would you rather God send someone else in your place? Just like Moses, you, too, have the Presence of God. So, in Christ, you, too, have everything you need. If you need a miracle to testify to the message of the gospel, I have no doubt our God will give it. If you need a coworker or your older brother to help you, I’ve no doubt our God will send them. But the one who is here among us even now, He is everything we need. Let us pray.
