Exodus 3,4
Peace be with you, listening
friends. We greet you in the name of God, the Lord of peace, who wants everyone
to understand and submit to the way of righteousness that He has established,
and have true peace with Him forever. We are happy to be able to return today
to present your program The Way of Righteousness.
In our last lesson, we saw how Pharaoh, the king of
Egypt, oppressed the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites, by making them his
slaves, working them ruthlessly. However, we also read, "the
more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so the Egyptians
came to dread the Israelites." (Exod. 1:12) Finally, Pharaoh issued a decree
that every infant boy born to the Israelites was to be thrown into the river to
die.
However, God, who is more powerful than Satan, had a
plan to overturn the evil which Pharaoh was doing. Thus, we read how the
daughter of Pharaoh took in an Israelite baby that she found in a basket in the
river. The daughter of Pharaoh had pity on him and adopted him as her child,
naming him Moses. Thus, Moses grew up in
the house of Pharaoh-the very one who sought to destroy the people of Israel!
God, in His wisdom, planned to use Moses to deliver the Israelites from the
hand of the wicked king. When Moses was forty years old, he ran from Pharaoh
who wanted to kill him. For forty years Moses lived in the wilderness, where he
got married and tended the flock of his father-in-law.
Now, let us continue with this story to see how
God revealed Himself to Moses so that He might send him to Pharaoh to
lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. We are reading in the Torah, in the
third chapter of the book of Exodus. The Scripture says:
(Exod. 3) 1Now
Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law…and he led the flock to
the far side of the desert and came to [Sinai], the mountain of God. 2There
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. 3So
Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight- why the bush
does not burn up."
4When
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." 6Then
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. 7The 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. 8So
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… 9And now the cry of
the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are
oppressing them. 10So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to
bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
11But
Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the
Israelites out of Egypt?" 12And 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." 13Moses 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?" 14God
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.'" 15God 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!"
We can learn at least four
things about God's character from what God said to
Moses from inside the burning bush on Mount Sinai.
1.) First, we learn that God is holy! When Moses saw the
flames of the burning bush, he was amazed, drew near to investigate, and heard
the voice of God calling out to him. Moses trembled with fear, and did not dare
to look. Why was Moses afraid? Because he was standing in the presence of God,
the Holy One! God declared His holiness by saying to Moses: "Do
not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are
standing is holy ground!"
Truly, God, who appeared to Moses in the fiery flames,
is holy. God wants everyone to recognize His
holiness. Concerning the angels who stand in the presence of God, the
Scriptures say: "Day and night they never
stop saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and
is to come.'" (Rev. 4:8) The angels recognize the holiness of God.
You who are listening today, do you recognize God's holiness?
Let us think a little about what this means. As we
have already seen in previous lessons, the holiness of God caused Him to expel
Adam and Eve from the Garden of Paradise after they had sinned. The holiness of
God caused Him to refuse Cain's sacrifice. It was also God's holiness that
caused Him to wipe out the people of Noah's day with a flood. In the period
that followed, God confused the language of the world, scattering the people of
Babel, those who were trying to rebel against God. And in Abraham's time, the
holiness of God caused Him to rain fire from the sky on the people of Sodom,
those who were taking pleasure in wickedness.
Tragically, to this very day, most people do not respect
the holiness of God. They do not comprehend who God is. They have not
recognized His absolute purity. We can see this in the way people practice sin
and take pleasure in it. We also see the lack of importance people attach to
the holiness of God when they wear religion like a cloak, but do not examine
the Holy Scriptures in order to understand God's truth. Many habitually use
God's name in insincere talk. They invoke the name of God in vain by saying, "bi
ism Allah" {Arabic: in
the name of God},
or "Insha'a Allah" {if
God wills it}
when, in reality, the will of God is the farthest thing from their minds. We
observe people's failure to understand the holiness of God by the way they seek
to establish their own righteousness before God and refuse to accept the way of
righteousness which God has established. Some think that they can make
themselves pure before God by prolonged fasting, repetitious praying, or
ceremonies of washing and purification {ablution}. But, as we clearly see in
the Writings of the Prophets, such outward actions do not satisfy God
the Holy One who
requires that a person be pure on the inside. Dear friends, God is holy! That
is why He said to Moses, "Take off your sandals, for
the place where you are standing is holy ground."
2.) Next, based on what God said to Moses in the
burning bush, we discover that God is not only the Holy One, but He is also the
Faithful One!
{Lit. the One who keeps His covenants} Did you hear what God
first said to Moses? He said, "I am the God of your
forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." (Exod. 3:6) These words
should bring joy to the heart of anyone who wants to approach God and enjoy a
relationship with Him. God, the Holy One, is the One who established a covenant
with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God is the Faithful One; He will never leave or
betray His friends! Even after hundreds of years, He had not forgotten what He
had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants.
What about you? Do you appreciate the faithfulness of
God? Do you enjoy a close relationship with the God who spoke with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob? This is an important question for anyone who wants to be truly
happy in this life and in the life to come. We are not asking: Do you have
religion?-because following the rules of religion will never make anyone
righteous before God. What we are asking is: Do you have a right relationship
with God? Have you believed the message of the way of salvation which God has
established? Have you come to see that following a
religion and
having a relationship with God Himself are two
different things?
Today there are thousands and thousands of religions
in the world. For example, the experts tell us that in the country of Brazil
alone, there are more than four thousand different religions and sects! Four
thousand religions!?! Amazing! Are there four thousand gods? Or four thousand
ways which lead to God? No! The Scriptures say: "There
is one God and one Mediator between God and men." (1 Tim. 2:5) Why then
are there thousands of religions and thousands of different sects in the world
today? It is because most of Adam's descendants have ignored the foundation of
truth that God established with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They do not know about
the promises which God made to Abraham and his descendants concerning the
Mediator, who was to come into the world to deliver the children of Adam from
the penalty and power of sin. They do not know the Word of the God who never
changes. They do not know the Faithful One!
3.) God manifested another characteristic when He
appeared to Moses in the fire that blazed in the bush. The characteristic is mercy. God is not only the
Holy One and the Faithful One, but He is also the
Merciful One.
That is why God said to Moses concerning the people of Israel,
"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. 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…" (Exod. 3:7,8)
Why did God plan to liberate the people of Israel and
lead them to a good land? Did the Israelites deserve God's mercy? Were they
better than other nations? No, they were not! Why then did God purpose to
deliver them and bless them so? Only because of His faithfulness and His mercy.
As the Scriptures say: "God heard their groaning
and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. So God
looked on the Israelites and [had mercy on] them." (Exod. 2:24,25) Yes, God
is the Merciful One!
4.) Finally, there is one more aspect of God that we
can observe in the story of the burning bush. We heard Moses ask God what His
name is. Can the nature of the eternal God be described in a single name? This
God who is so great and holy, faithful and merciful; this God whom man cannot
see with his eyes; this God who created everything, sees everything, knows
everything, and can do anything--What is His name? Some think God's name is
simply "God" {Allah}. Truly, God is God.
However, God is not His name. God is who He is. I am
a man, but Man is not my name. Each of
us has a name by which we are known. What is God's name? What answer did God
give to Moses? Let us read it again. 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.'" 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!" (Exod. 3:14-15) {Note:
Hebrew "YHWH" & English "Lord" translates in Wolof as The
Eternal One}
What is the name of God which describes His eternal
nature? Did you hear it? It is: the Lord! {The
Eternal One}!
In the Holy Scriptures, the prophets ascribe to God hundreds and hundreds of
names and titles, but this name, the Lord, is used more than
any other--over six thousand, five hundred times. God is the Lord, the Eternal
"I AM," the One who was, who is, who will exist forever! He is the
Eternal One! He has no beginning. He has no end. He has no limits. He has no
equal. He is the One who exists by His own power! What He was yesterday and is
today, He will be forever. He never changes. The Lord {The Eternal One} is His
Name!
Listening friend, do you know the
Lord? Do
you recognize His holiness? Are you rejoicing in
His faithfulness (in relationships; in
keeping His covenants)? Have you received His mercy? Do you believe His
Word? Have you entered into a close relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob? Do you know the Lord who spoke to Moses from the burning bush?
Thank you for listening. God willing, next time we
will continue the story of Moses and see how God sent him to Pharaoh, the
wicked king of Egypt.…
God bless you as you continue to ponder these words
God spoke to Moses:
"I AM WHO I AM!…I
AM the Lord!…This is my name forever!" (Exod. 3:14,15; 6:2)
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