Exodus 3: Goodness, Gracious, Great Bush of Fire!

My Summary
Moses was watching Jethro's flocks when the angel of the Lord appeared as a fire in a bush. When Moses went over to see the fire, the Lord called to Him from the bush. The Lord told him not to come close but to take off his shoes on this holy ground. The Lord told Moses that He was the God of his ancestors and Moses hid his face. God told Moses that He was going to use bring Israel out of their oppression and into the Promised Land and He wanted Moses to go tell Pharaoh. Moses asked, "Who am I to do this?" God told Moses that He would be with him. Moses asked God's name in case the Hebrews asked who had sent him. God told him to tell the Hebrew that I Am, the God of their ancestors was Who had sent him. God told him to assemble the elders and tell them that God was going to bring them to the Promised Land. Moses and the elders were to go ask Pharaoh for permission to go into the desert to offer sacrifices to God, but God knew that Pharaoh would not let them go unless He compelled him. God promised Moses that He would bring Israel out and the Egyptians would even give them gifts on the way out.

Random Historical Things
1. We learned back in Genesis from Joseph that the Egyptians despised shepherds. Moses had gone from being Egyptian royalty to being a shepherd!


And So What We Have Learned Applies to Our Lives Today...
1. It is important to see that God knew how Pharaoh would respond to Moses' request. There are those today who subscribe to "openness" theology which states that God can not (or will not) see past human decisions. He can have a pretty good idea of what we will do, but He does not know for sure until we make the decision. This is though to protect free will from God's pesky interference. Although there are a whole Bible full of other things that speak against this theology, there is a clear example here. God already knew what Pharaoh was going to say and do even though Pharaoh had not even had the question put to him yet. God already knew that the Egyptians would decide to give the Hebrews presents on the way out. God knows everything that will ever happend and includes all in His plan!

2. The closeness of God and the holiness of God are contrasted here. God beckons Moses close to Him. He is not a distant God who does not want us near Him. He welcomes us into His presence. However, He does not lose His holiness. Moses has to approach God on God's terms and recognize that this ground has become holy since God's presence is there. We can approach God through the blood of Christ, but we must always remember that God is holy and there is a certain amount of respect and humility we should have for Him and Who He is.

3. God cared for the troubles of the Israelites. Even though He was the One who had led them into Egypt where they were suffering, God was not indifferent to their struggles. We can know that when we struggle and suffer in life, God knows and cares. He is grieved over His children's pain and suffering. He does not cause those things for no reason, but He always has a plan to do what is best for His glory, His kingdom and His children. If God is allowing you to struggle, and you have prayed but He has not delivered you, believe that He knows, He cares and He has a plan!

4. The final thing I would draw your attention to in this chapter is God's declaration to Moses that His name is I AM. God is the self existent One. In the Old Testament world, a name meant a lot about the thing being named. Although we have many names for God, God refuses to be totally defined by a name. He is. There is no description or label that can completely define Him. He is. God does help us to understand Him by describing Himself. He told Moses to tell the Hebrews that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Since there were many "gods" in the OT world it was important that they know it was Yahweh commanding them. Before He gives that specification, however, He tells Abraham that primarily, His name is I AM. Forever past, forever present and forever future, I AM that I AM.

Lots of application because this is a very theological chapter! Thanks for reading, look later today for the post about Exodus 4. After a 2 week hiatus we are back on track!