Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 3:16-22

16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.

19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.

20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:

22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

God expanded dramatically on His instructions to Moses. He reiterated that Moses must go to the elders of Israel and deliver a message from the Lord. Moses was to explain to them God’s awareness of the people’s suffering, and to promise them that they would soon be freed. Moses was to tell the people that God would bring them to the land of Canaan, fulfilling a promise that had been made many years ago to Abraham. God also reassured to Moses that the people would believe him: “they shall hearken to thy voice.”

God then informed Moses of the next step, which was to approach the Pharaoh and lay down the Lord’s demands. God even forewarned Moses that Pharaoh would not agree to this, but God would work wonders until eventually Pharaoh would relent. Then, God assured Moses, all the Israelites would leave, and they would go with treasure and spoil taken from the Egyptians.

In short, God related everything to Moses exactly as it would occur before it even happened. Many times God only illuminates the very next step of our personal journeys, but here he laid down the entire dance. Every setback and every surmounting was detailed so that Moses would know that he followed a predetermined path which God had already seen, and nothing would catch them by surprise. This is an incredibly reassuring gift of knowledge from the Lord, but as we will see in the next chapter, even after all this Moses still had his doubts.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 3:15

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

God had already identified Himself as “I AM THAT I AM,” and now He provides a second identification. He tells Moses to say that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These two definitions seem to be God going from who He is broadly (one who is self-defined), to who He is specifically to this world (the God who has established His covenant with the patriarchs).

He says that this description of Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be His name forever. I don’t often hear God spoken of this way in today’s society, though. We know that Christ came to fulfill the law of Moses and prepare the gospel for all the non-Israelite gentiles, now it is available to all people, even those who are not direct descendants of Abraham. So why would God’s connection to the patriarchs still be a quintessential identifier even today?

For an answer I would refer to Galatians 3 and 4, where it is explained that all those who come into Christ are made part of God’s covenant by being adopted into the Abrahamic family. The significance of the patriarchs truly never was rescinded, not even with the spreading of the gospel to the gentiles. God still is the God of the chosen people, the only thing that changed is that all of us can be adopted into that family now. Thus it is accurate and appropriate for us to still identify God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to identify ourselves as being part of their descendancy.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 3:13-14

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

I’m not sure why Moses assumed that the Israelites would ask him what the Lord’s name was, perhaps he was referencing some societal norm that is lost on me today. In any case, Moses’s request hits at one of the most fundamental questions in all of humanity. Namely, what is the identity of God? Who is He, really? What is His name, His definition, His origin? What is it that makes Him God?

God’s response is as profound as it is simple. “I AM THAT I AM,” is one interpretation of the Hebrew phrase that God used, other valid translations would be “I will be what I will be” and “I will become whatsoever I may become.” I think looking at all three interpretations we start to see the real meaning behind them: God is one who emerges from, belongs to, and is directed by His own self. What makes Him God, and not us, is that He is entirely self-sustaining and self-directing. Whatever He says He will do or be, He will do or be. There is no other entity that can override or prevent God’s proclamation from happening.

Let us contrast this to the identity of us a mere mortal like me. I am an employee only if I am hired, I am a citizen only if I am not exiled, I am alive only if I am not killed, I am a father only if my wife gives birth to a child. All of my definitions depend on another, and many of them can be revoked, but God’s definitions only depend upon himself. I say “I am that I am allowed to be,” but God says “I am that I am.”

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 3:11-12

11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

Moses had just been called by God to do a wonderful thing, but his response shows great hesitancy. This is interesting, because previously Moses had sprung into action on a whim to save a slave being beaten. Now he shows caution and doubt. Perhaps Moses was only able to be brave when caught in the spirit of the moment, or perhaps the years and disappointments had tempered his fire. In either case, he suggests to God that he should not be the one used to save the people of Israel. He has no faith in himself.

God, however, doubles down on the calling. In fact, He goes further, giving a vision of Moses’s future success. God assures Moses that one day he and all the Israelites will stand together in this very mountain, free from the Egyptians and serving the Lord together. This seems an impossible feat, or at least one that would occur slowly, over the passing of many generations, but God says that Moses will see it with his own eyes.

This promise is terrific, and as we will see in the next verse, it seems to give Moses a moment of courage.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 3:9-10

9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

In verse 7 God had said that he heard the children of Israel, seen their oppression, and had come to free them. In today’s verse 9 God repeated that He has heard the children of Israel and seen their oppression, but now He proclaimed that He would send Moses to bring them out of Egypt! Thus, God was saying the same thing twice, but the second time with more specificity. Yes, He was here to free the Israelites, but He was here to do it through Moses.

This was God calling Moses to be an extension of Himself, calling Moses to be the Lord’s hands. It was an incredible vote of confidence in Moses, and an incredible amount of responsibility for him. Thus far Moses has shown inklings of fearlessly standing up for what is right, but this is on a whole other level. As we will see, this lack of qualification is not lost of Moses. God knows what Moses can become, but Moses is only aware of who he is now.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 3:7-8

7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

The first verse speaks of God’s ever-present and ever-knowing nature. He didn’t say that he has been “told about,” or “had reported to Him,” or “been made aware of” the suffering of the Israelites. His words were those of a firsthand witness. He mentioned the affliction He has seen, the cries He has heard, and the sorrow that He knows. God had directly observed and cared for all of their trouble, just as He does for all of us. Sometimes it is hard for us to believe that, given that we do not see Him seeing us. When we raise our cries to Him it is always an act of faith to believe that He really hears us.

The Lord then tells Moses “I am come down to deliver them,” and indeed, here He is residing within, calling His champion to liberate the Israelites. This is not the first time that we have seen God and His messengers personally and directly working in our world, either. I pointed out the presence and direct labor of God’s angels when they saved Lot and smote the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. Obviously, we do not have the fullest picture of what processes God uses to work His miracles in our lives, but it seems clear to me that He is more directly, physically, and personally involved than we often give Him credit for.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 3:6

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

After giving Moses the instructions to remove his shoes, God introduced Himself more fully. He explained that He is God, and not just any “god,” but the God of Moses’s forefathers. The interaction of the Lord with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were, of course, the thing of legend, and Moses’s reaction to joining that same association was one of deep humility, even fear.

Throughout the scriptures we see that whenever Lord enters such an intimate closeness with a child, it is because He is about to give them a calling that will consume the rest of their life and change countless souls around them. It was the case for the patriarchs, and it was certainly the case for Moses as well. There is an incredible gravity to these moments, and whenever they show up in the scriptural record one may know that whatever comes next, everything is about to change!

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 3:5

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

There is much to be discussed about God’s command that Moses not come any nearer until he had first “put off the shoes” from his feet. For starters, this illustrates that there are conditions to enter God’s innermost circle. Some things in the gospel have no conditions upon them, they are given freely to all, such as the gift of life and having the spirit of Christ within us, but other things do have conditions. If we are to dwell in the full glory and holiness of the Lord, there are preparations that we must all perform.

This leads into a second point, which has to do with the fact that Moses was performing a ritual with God. He was learning a specific manner of dress and behavior, a certain way of conducting himself with the Almighty. This foreshadows the exhaustive detail that Moses will give to the Israelites for the dimensions of the tabernacle, the ornate instruments to be housed therein, the dress and decorum of its priests, and the appropriate offerings to be made there. Ritual would become a hallmark of the Law of Moses, and we see him being inducted into its patterns here in this verse.

A final point worth considering is why God commanded Moses to remove his shoes. One reason might be that shoes tend to be the hardest article of clothing that we wear, preventing one from treading softly. They also tend to be the dirtiest article of clothing, carrying all the dust and dirt from everywhere that we have been. Taking off the shoes can therefore be symbolic of setting aside our sins and our hardness, proceeding forward as gently and cleanly as we can. We remove our burdens so that we can better come to God. The symbolism of shoes and feet will return at various times throughout the scriptures, such as when Jesus cleans the feet of his disciples, and in many of these instances the symbolism remains consistent.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 3:1-4

1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

There is special symbolism in Moses’s new occupation being that of a shepherd. This is a type for Christ, and also a foreshadowing for the future role that Moses will have in guiding the Israelite masses. He is learning how to herd a multitude of sheep, in preparation for herding a multitude of people.

I also think it is notable that Moses was simply going about the duties of his day-to-day life when the burning bush appeared off to the side. This seems to be how it plays out for must of us. We’re just living our little lives as best we can, when suddenly a glimpse of something greater catches our eye, and we are invited to step into a much bigger story. We can ignore it if we want, continuing on a pre-appointed path, or we can make a diversion to see what this bigger story is.

And that is what Moses did. Noticing a miracle, he decided to “turn aside,” change his predetermined course, and get closer to understand. There is a basic faith in this, a willingness to give up original plans to seek divine holiness. If Moses had instead been too absorbed in his sheep, he would have missed this call to liberate and lead the people of Israel.

And notice what verse 4 tells us: God saw Moses turn. God was watching closely and took special notice of this shift in Moses’s intention, and apparently this was the prerequisite to God speaking to him. For no sooner does Moses turn then God calls out. Moses’s answer has special significance, too. By saying “here am I,” he is not only declaring his physical location, but also that he is present and ready in his soul. God is calling for all of Moses, and Moses is saying “here am I.”