And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:2-4)
As a quick review, we must remember is actually appearing to people in the scriptures. God the Creator and Father speaks from heaven, but He does not appear to anyone. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (John 1:18) The God Who appears is Lord God, the Son of God. Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day,... (Genesis 3:8) To Abraham, the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre,... (Genesis 18:1) Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. ... So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (Genesis 32:24-30) We could go on and on, but all of these physical manifestations are of the Lord God, the Son of God.
Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Moreover He said, “I am the God of your 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. (Exodus 3:5-6) Moses knew he was a Hebrew, but he was raised an Egyptian, And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds. (Acts 7:22) God's giving him a "crash course" on who he is and why God was choosing him to perform a mighty task.
And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-10)
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:11-12) Moses asked a very good question, why him? We also may be wondering why wouldn't the Lord God just deliver the children of Israel without using Moses or anyone for that matter?
God is our Heavenly Father, and just like our earthly parents know that if their children have to work to earn what they want, they appreciate it and take better care of it, the same is true about God. He knows that in order for us to truly believe in Him and His Word, we have to grow in faith. In order to grow in faith, we have to experience tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:3-5) We will get to what we are hoping for, along with a greater amount of faith in God because of the journey we took to get to our destination, just like the children of Israel would.
Moses wasn't immediately convinced, and first wanted to know how the Lord God would prove to the children of Israel that He sent Moses. Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13-14) This statement is the proof that the Son of God is the One speaking to Moses.
If we remember, Jesus answered the Jews who questioned Him as to Who He was, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:54-58) Christ Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” ... “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” (Revelations 1:8, 11)
Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord 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, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ (Exodus 3:15-17)
"Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” (Exodus 3:18-22)
When God delivers us from whatever situation we're in, He always has so much more and better for us. We should never be satisfied to settle for less than what God has for us. It may be uncomfortable and difficult to make the necessary changes we need to make in our lives, but it's uncomfortable and difficult to stay where we are also, so at least let's move forward knowing that better awaits us. We learned that lesson from Joseph's life, who was sold into slavery in Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. (Acts 7:9-10)
Moses still wasn't convinced, and then asked the Lord God what he should do if the children of Israel didn't believe him. Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’” So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), “that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” (Exodus 4:1-5)
Furthermore the Lord said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.” (Exodus 4:6-9)
The Lord God had instructed Moses to tell the children of Israel that I AM sent him; then He instructed him to perform different miraculous signs to prove that God was with him. But Moses still wasn't convinced, and he tried to make an excuse as to why he felt he wasn't right for the job. Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” (Exodus 4:10-12)
But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.” (Exodus 4:13-17)
The Lord God didn't get angry with Moses for asking questions, and we can ask God as many questions as we want. Remember when Abraham begged the Lord God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if he could find anyone righteous there. By the time he asked the last time, he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more:..." (Genesis 18:32) We anger the Lord God when we doubt Him and what He has told us. Just like when the Lord God said to Abraham that Sarah would conceive a child in their old age and she angered the Lord God by laughing because she doubted. (Genesis 18:1-15) Or similarly, when Zacharias couldn't believe he and Elizabeth would conceive a child in their old age, and because of his doubt, the angel Gabriel made him mute until John (the baptist) was born. (Luke 1:1-25)
Moses had his doubts and tried to convince the Lord God to come up with another plan. There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21) And the Lord God had made His plan known to Moses and given him His instructions; therefore, “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush." (Acts 7:35)
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