Moses departs Egypt at about 40 years old. He then spent another 40 years in the desert with the Midianites being divinely tempered and annealed by God for use in his ministry and the coming pressures of leadership. Moses gets his official call to come up to the Majors from God to begin his ministry in dramatic fashion...
Moses was married at this point and was tending Jethro’s flock leading them to the wilderness at Horeb or The Mountain of God. The Angel of the Lord appeared to him (a theophany; pre-incarnate Christ) in the burning bush. Moses was astounded that a bush was burning and was not being consumed. There is a parallel here in that the bush was akin to Moses himself but God was the empowering fire (shekinah). Alone, it was just a bush with no special attributes but with God’s presence it was miraculous and dumbfounding (Wiersbe 183). God had Moses attention at this point so He calls out to Moses audibly and Moses replies. God tells him to remove his sandals (reverence/respect) on holy ground and then proceeds to identify Himself as “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” The warning about holiness of God’s presence is littered throughout the Old Testament up to the point in time when the Temple veil is torn after Christ’s death. The reason why is because we are to take God’s presence with deadly earnest and have a “fear and awe” for Him as is exemplified in the case of Uzzah touching the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:6-7). God is never to be taken lightly. Ever.
God subsequently informs Moses that he is aware of the afflictions and sufferings of His/My people in Egypt and that He intended to deliver them to a land flowing with milk and honey (abundance) and names the area of the Canaanites, Hittites and all the other [insert ____ite here]. God then informs Moses that he is the vessel He intendeds to do it with. (i.e.: I have a plan, and guess who is going to help Me?”)
Moses then freaks out and makes excuse after excuse to get out of fulfilling what God has called him to do. God brushes these concerns aside and assures Moses things will be fine. Moses asks God what is name is and what he should call Him when referring to Him in conversation with the Israelites/Egyptians. God told Moses to refer to Him as the “God of your fathers” or “I AM WHO I AM”. The great “I AM” statement that will later be used by Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John to claim His deity in the form of the “I AM” (ego eimi) statements. God then goes on to reiterate the promise that He will bring them “up” out of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites… God assured Moses they would listen. He goes further to explain that he and the elders of Israel will go to Egypt only to be rejected by the king Pharaoh until Pharaoh is compelled by God Himself to let them go. Not only would God compel Pharaoh to release them they would not go empty-handed.
Wiersbe, Warren W.. "Wanted: A Deliverer." The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament Genesis-Deuteronomy (The Pentateuch) (Bible Exposition Commentary). Acambaro: Victor, 2001. 183. Print.
2 comments:
In my own life I tend to make excuses to God for not moving forward in His will knowing the assurance of His promises of love, grace and mercy. Excuses are merely reasonings stuffed with lies and the word itself should be excluded from a Christians vocabulary. Resting immediately in God's commands and laws without pause is the love we show Him through our maturity in faith through His Word. grasshopper
It is indeed hard sometimes to move forward when you don't know what lies ahead or at the end of the journey. It is totally against who I used to be. As I am maturing in Christ I am learning that even when things appear their worst, somehow they always work out in the end.
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