OASIS – Winter 2024 – February 6/7, 2024 MOSES: part 1 of 4 – “Search for Identity” – Exodus 3-4 Exodus 1: After the days of Joseph: • • • •
When the book of Genesis ends, 70 is the number of the clan of Jacob in Egypt. As Exodus begins, the number of Hebrews living in Egyptian has grown to several hundred thousand. 400 years have transpired from the time of Joseph to the time of Moses. A new Pharaoh has assumed leadership, and the Hebrews are now slaves who are living in oppression.
Exodus 2: The Moses narrative begins: • • •
The birth of Moses! God’s master plan includes life in the Palace for the first 40 years of Moses’ life. The second 40 years of Moses’ life is spent in hiding in Midian. As we arrive at Exodus 3, the plight of God’s people is extreme and awful: they are crying out for deliverance!
Exodus 3:1-10: 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.” The beginning point: A Clear Command from the Lord! This story begins with a very clear directive for Moses! Exodus 3:10: “Go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
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Excuses, Excuses, Excuses: Moses is a great example of a person who was bogged down by a lack of faith and an excuse-making ability. He was full of excuses. The LORD is calling Moses to the greatest opportunity of his life and Moses is Mr. Excuse. Let’s look at these excuses – one by one: Excuse #1: Moses asked the question WHO AM I? (3:11) •
“Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’”
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The LORD’s answer for Moses: “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.” (Exodus 3:12)
Excuse #2: Moses said he was not IMPORTANT enough. (3:13) •
“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?’”
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The LORD answers Moses (again): “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, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.’” (Exodus 3:14-15)
** Then, in verses 16-22, the Lord gives Moses very specific instructions on how to approach his people. As we read this passage, what do you hear? How is God planning to work through Moses? Excuse #3: Moses said they will not BELIEVE me. (4:1) •
“Moses answered, ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you?’”
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The LORD answers this excuse by giving Moses the power to do amazing and miraculous things in his name. We read this account in Exodus 4:2-9. o First, his staff will become a snake and then be turned back into a staff. o Second, his hand goes from healthy to leprous, like snow, and then back to healthy again. o Finally, the LORD tells Moses to take water from the Nile River and pour it on the dry ground, and the water will become blood on the ground.
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It’s not so much that the LORD wants Moses to be able to do these really cool, supernatural feats, but instead, the LORD is giving Moses tools to accomplish the task before him. The LORD is NOT sending Moses on a suicide mission, but instead is telling him simply, “You do not go alone! I will be with you!” Excuse #4: Moses said I am not GOOD enough. (4:10) •
“Moses said to the Lord, ‘O 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.’”
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The Lord responds to this excuse in Exodus 4:11-12: “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? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
Excuse #5: Moses says just send SOMEONE ELSE. (4:13) •
“But Moses said, ‘O Lord, please send someone else to do it.’”
Finally, Moses just says, I don’t want to do it. He says just send someone else. In verse 14 we see that the anger of the LORD burned against Moses. “Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses . . .” Not good, right? •
But the LORD still doesn’t give up on Moses! He tells him to take his brother Aaron the Levite. And the LORD reinforces to Moses that he and Aaron will not be alone! The LORD is going to give them the words to speak. (4:14-17)
Don’t Buy the Lie! Moses isn’t the only one who falls into the temptation to make excuses and create an identity crisis. We also can accept the lies that may come our way. If I were to ask you to define yourself, to help someone understand “who you are,” what criteria would you use? Would you fall into the temptation to define yourself by worldly standards? Let’s look at four potential “lies” that can define us today: Lie #1 – I am defined by my APPEARANCE. Lie #2 – I am defined by my TALENTS. Lie #3 – I am defined by OTHERS. Lie #4 – I am defined by my HERITAGE.
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Let’s connect with four important scriptures to remember whenever we might face our own personal Identity Crisis: The first is the word of the LORD to Moses. Remember Moses was afraid of the call of God and became full of excuses. Among those he used was that no one would accept his message. They wouldn’t think he was important enough. He complained to the LORD about the fear of being questioned. The LORD said to tell anyone who questioned him exactly who had sent him! Tell them, “I AM who I AM” sent you! (Exodus 3:14) This phrase, “I AM,” will become commonplace in the Gospel of John as Jesus declares seven different and distinct “I AM” statements about himself! The second scripture reinforces who Jesus Christ is practically for us. This goes to the issue of Identity as well. When you are a Christian, you are not just joining a club. You are not just part of a nice organization. You are part of a life-changing, world-altering movement. Look at this verse from John chapter 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The third scripture to remember when we talk about Identity helps remind the Christian who we are as God’s children. It is a couple of verses we will study this coming Sunday morning in our sermon series from 1 Peter. Embrace these powerful words of identity we find in 1 Peter 2:9-10: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.” See, our Identity shouldn’t be defined in terms of appearance, or in terms of talents, or in terms of others or in terms of heritage. Our Identity should be defined by who the LORD is, who Jesus Christ is, and who we are in relationship to God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son. The final text comes from the Apostle John, who describes our identity perfectly like this in 1 John 3:1: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! We are Children of GOD! That is what we are! Bottom Line: Moses was asking the question, “Who am I?” Maybe you have been asking that question even this week. Maybe you’ve been asking that question for large portions of your life. In many ways, it is the wrong question. The most important question is not “Who are YOU,” but rather “WHOSE are You?” Whose am I? That is really the question for each one of us today. “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who belongs to God.” Next week February 13/14: Moses, part 2. Exodus 5-10: Let My People Go!
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