Moses: Message 3 Hearing and Avoiding God’s Call
3 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the [a]west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of [b]Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of the bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, “[c]I must turn aside now and see this [d]marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burned up?” 4 And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, so God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 And Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sufferings. 8 So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 9 So now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, come and I will send you to Pharaoh, and so you shall bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Today we are on the second part of the message about Moses, his calling to be a deliverer for the children of Israel, and the excuses he offered God for why he shouldn’t be the one to do it. I mentioned a song last week that many of you have probably heard. It was called “Excuses” by the Kingsmen Quartet.
I did not
know this at the time, but that song hit the number one spot on Southern Gospel
music charts and stayed there for 18 months, setting a record for the
longest-running number one song in the genre's history. If you don’t remember it, here are the lyrics.
Excuses, excuses, you'll hear them every day. And the Devil he'll supply them,
if the church you stay away. When people come to know the Lord, the Devil
always loses
So to keep them folks away from church, he offers them excuses.
In the summer it's too hot. And, in the winter, it's too cold. In the spring
time when the weather's just right, you find some place else to go. Well, it's
up to the mountains or down to the beach or to visit some old friend. Or, to
just stay home and kinda relax and hope that some of the kin folks will start
dropping in.
Well, the church benches are too hard. And, that choir sings way too loud. Boy,
you know how nervous you get when you're sitting in a great big crowd. The
doctor told you, "Now, you better watch them crowds. They'll set you
back." But, you go to that old ball game because you say "it helps
you to relax."
Well, a headache Sunday morning and a backache Sunday night. But by worktime
Monday morning, you're feeling quite alright. While one of the children has a
cold, "Pneumonia, do you suppose?" Why the whole family had to stay
home, just to blow that poor kid's nose.
Well, the
preacher he's too young. And, maybe he's too old. The sermons they're not hard
enough. And, maybe they're too bold. His voice is much too quiet-like.
Sometimes he gets too loud. He needs to have more dignity. Or, else he's way too
proud.
Well, the sermons they're too long. And, maybe they're too short. He ought to
preach the word with dignity instead of "stomp and snort." Well, that
preacher we've got must be "the world's most stuck up man." Well, one
of the lady's told me the other day, (Anybody remember) "Well, he didn't
even shake my hand."
Excuses, excuses, you'll hear them every day. And the Devil he'll supply them
if the church you stay away. When people come to know the Lord, the Devil
always loses So to keep them folks away from church, he offers them excuses. So
to keep them folks away from church, he offers them excuses.
Well, there had to be something in that song that struck a nerve with Christians for it to stay popular for so long. I think part of it was that we had heard those excuses before, maybe even from our own mouths, the second part I think is that we recognize within ourselves our tendency for excuse making.
Prayer
Last week, we started looking at Moses, and his excuses for not wanting to be God’s leader, messenger, and prophet, to get the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. And we were looking at his excuses and recognizing how familiar we are with them.
I. The 5 excuses: Who am I? Who are You? What if they don’t believe? I Can’t Speak. Send anyone else.
A. Who am I?
The first was “Who am I?” This is what Moses said.
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”
And what Moses was saying was, “I don’t have the skills for what you want me to do. I’ve demonstrated in the past that I am not a leader. I’m not brave enough, or strong enough, or knowledgeable or talented enough.” We make the same excuses in big and small settings. God prods us to witness to someone. He moves us to take on a roll at church. He convicts us about our spiritual leadership in our family or at our job. And we often reply, “Who am I?”
Well, we discovered God’s response last time.
12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall [e]serve God at this mountain.”
Moses, it’s not about you, I will be there. We Moses offered a second excuse.
B. Who are you?
This is what he said.
13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
Again, Moses is offering an excuse for not taking the job. He is saying, “I don’t know you well enough to be your prophet. I haven’t studied the Bible enough to be your spokesman. How can I go to these people and claim to represent you? They will call me on it and say, ‘What’s God’s name.’”
Well God gave a beautiful answer to this objection as well.
14 And God said to Moses, “[f]I AM WHO [g]I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘[h]I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, 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, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation.
He not only reminded Moses of the name that had been used for Him for hundreds of years, “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” He also told him His name is YAHWEH which means “I AM.”
And again, His answer addresses Moses’ excuse. Moses says, “Lord don’t send me, I haven’t completed my seminary degree yet, and God says again, “It’s not about you and some earthly, temporal timetable.” “It’s about me, and I have no beginning or end.” I AM.
Well, that’s where we left off last week. We are going to pick up today with the last three of Moses’ excuses; What if they don’t believe? I can’t speak. And send someone else.
C. What if they don’t believe?
4 Then Moses answered and said, “What if they will not believe me and will not listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘Yahweh has not appeared to you.’”
I have to admit, after God’s responses to Moses’ first two excuses, I am getting a little frustrated with Moses. I mean, here he is, talking with God. This is such a majestic, awe-inspiring moment. And the whole scene caused great fear in the heart of Moses. But what is so amazing is that it didn’t cause so much fear that he was afraid to try and, for the third time, excuse his way out of doing what God called him to do.
Here he comes up with another excuse. What if they don’t believe me? What if they don’t listen? What if they say I’m lying, or crazy? What then Lord?
Now this seems to me to be a little crazy. At this point, you would expect a normal person to say, “Okay Lord, I don’t want to do this, but I can’t fight you God, so let’s talk about the details.” And, at first glance, it may appear that that is what he is doing. Saying to God, okay, what do I say in this scenario, or that scenario. But we will find out that it is just another unspoken fear that Moses presents as an excuse.
You see, Moses was imagining what he thought was going to happen when he returned to Egypt. I will go first to my own people. Not to Pharaoh yet, just my own people. And I will say, “God sent me back here to obtain your freedom.” And Moses first thought is, they won’t believe me. They are never going to believe that I met God, talked to God, had a special message from God.
And doesn’t that sound familiar? How often do we excuse ourselves from speaking for Christ, being a witness, saying the truth, because we tell ourselves, “They’re not going to listen.” “They won’t believe. ”“Well it won’t make a difference anyway.” “That person wouldn’t listen.” “That person wouldn’t believe.” When God calls us to exercise our spiritual gifts, “Even if I exercised my gifts, it wouldn’t amount to anything.” “Nobody listens to me.” “Nobody takes me seriously.”
And it’s an excuse. And what’s even more bold about this excuse from Moses is that he is off-handedly questioning what God has already said. Just a moment before, God had said,
12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall [e]serve God at this mountain.”
God had said to Moses, that Moses would lead the people out, and they would worship God on that very mountain. In other words, they will believe you Moses. But, Moses still says, “What if they don’t believe?” Well, despite his doubts, God patiently responds to Moses.
God’s answer
2 And Yahweh said to him, “What is this in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.” 3 Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So, he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his [a]hand— 5 “that they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
He gives him three supernatural signs as evidence that God did truly speak to Moses. First, I think it is noteworthy that these are the first “miracles” that God ever did through a man in Scripture. God has intervened in the world before in a supernatural way. But this is the first time that He places those miracles in the hands of a messenger.
Moses would be set above any messenger of God who had ever come before or since, until we get to our Lord Jesus Christ. He would have miraculous power to back up his words.
And the second thing of note is that these signs were not just meant to be confirming miracles, they were meant to convey a message, to the Israelites and to Pharaoh.
The first sign
2 And Yahweh said to him, “What is this in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.” 3 Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So, he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his [a]hand— 5 “that they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
God miraculously changed a rod, or walking stick into a serpent. So, what’s the message? Well, the rod was a typical instrument employed by shepherds. You remember Psalm 23, the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…later it says, “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” It was used to direct, and correct the sheep, but it would have also been used as an aid for walking. But generally shepherding is a passive occupation. So, Mose threw down his rod, and it became a snake. We don’t know what kind of snake it became. It was apparently one that frightened Moses, so probably one that he recognized as venomous. Some commentators speculate that it was a Cobra, because the cobra was a symbol of the power of Egypt and the Pharaoh. There are many artifacts of Egyptian rods with the head of the cobra raised to strike on top.
But there’s no way we can know what kind of snake it was from the text. Moses throws down his rod, it becomes a snake, he runs from it, then God tells him, pick it up again, by the tail. Now, normally, people who handle snakes, try to pick them up by the head. Because if you grab it by the tail, the other end may whip around to strike. But it is though God is calling on Moses to have faith, to obey by grasping it by the tail, so he can know, that if he is in the center of God’s will, in obedience, nothing can hurt him.
It is a sign to Moses that God is going to take him from being a shepherd, to a man who can manhandle the venomous might of Egypt and the Pharaoh. And it had the same message for the Israelites and the Egyptians.
Then God gave a second sign.
6 And Yahweh furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So, he put his hand into his bosom; then he took it out, and behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7 Then He said, “Return your hand into your bosom.” So, he returned his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it returned to being like the rest of his flesh. 8 “And so it will be, if they will not believe you or listen to the [b]witness of the first sign, they may believe the [c]witness of [d]this last sign.
He was to put his hand into his cloak, and pull it out again, and instantaneously his hand would be covered with leprosy, “as white as snow.” What this indicates is that his hand was now covered with the worst kind of leprosy. The Greeks called it loukin, “the white disease.” One commentator I read described it.
“When it is fully developed, the whole skin appears glossy white, and every hair is “white like wool” (Celsus, De Re Medica, v. 28, § 12). This form is said to be absolutely incurable.
"It begins with mealy crusts and scurfy scabs, originally not larger than a pin's point, a little depressed in the skin (Leviticus 13:3, 30), and covered with white hairs (ib. 3, 20). These spots rapidly spread (ib. 8), and produce wild [proud?] flesh (ib. 10, 14). The leprous symptoms appear most frequently on the hairy parts of the body, and also on members which have been ulcerously affected. When the leprosy has gained ground, the whole skin appears glossy white at the forehead, nose, etc., tuberated, thickened, dry like leather, but smooth; sometimes it bursts, and ulcers become visible. The nails of the hands and feet fall; the eyelids bend backwards; the hair covers itself with a fetid rind, or goes off entirely (Leviticus 13:42). All external senses are weakened: the eyes lose their brightness, become very sensitive, and are continually blearing; from the nostrils runs a fluid phlegm." ('Comment. on Exodus,' p. 50.) Exodus 4:6
Leprosy was the most feared disease, because it not only maimed, and killed, it brought isolation from the entire community.
But what was the message for the Israelites, and for Pharaoh? That God had the power to instantaneously bring disease and death that could cripple or destroy even the strongest empire or king. He can just speak and death comes, but also, He can bring life out of death. This was a message to Israel. Though they have suffered for 400 years in Egyptian slavery, God is able to change their circumstance form death to life.
Deuteronomy 32:39 (ESV) “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.”
1 Samuel 2:6 (ESV) “The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.”
Then God gave a third sign.
9 But if it will be that they will not believe even these two signs and that they will not listen to your voice, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land; and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land.”
It seems that God didn’t actually perform this sign at this time. He likely did it for the Israelites when he first met them and told them the message from God. But what is the message of turning the water of the Nile into blood. Well, it is similar to the message of the leprosy, except on a national scale. The whole nation of Egypt depended on the overflowing of the Nile to insure the fertility of their crops. It also portended the avenging of the blood of the innocent Hebrew babies who were ripped from their mother’s arms and thrown into the river.
Ultimately, all three signs together were to even the most recalcitrant, unbeliever that he should bow before the great “I AM.” Pulpit commentary had this to say,
“Of the three signs given, the first (rod becoming serpent) would probably convince all those who were religious, well-disposed, and fair-minded; the second, (leprosy) acting upon their fears, would move all but the desperately wicked, who despised Jehovah and put their trust in the gods of the Egyptians. The third sign (water to blood) was for these last, who would regard the Nile as a great divinity, and would see in the conversion of Nile water into blood a significant indication that the God who had commissioned Moses was greater than any Egyptian one.
These signs were given in response to Moses’ excuse. But how do they relate to our excuses for failing to bear the testimony God has given us? Moses was saying, “They won’t believe me Lord, so why bother sending me.” And God says, “I will give you these three supernatural signs that will demonstrate that the message is true. But we don’t have supernatural signs that accompany our message. When Jesus and the apostles preached, they healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out devils. But why should anyone believe us?
Because we have greater miracles that occur in the Christian world than simple bodily healing. We have the healing of the spirit. And these three signs from Moses are analogous to that change. Water to blood and leprosy signifies God’s power of judgement. Scripture says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The message of salvation is first preached to the world as a message of judgment. If you don’t repent, judgment is coming. The sign of leprosy is a powerful sign, but not as powerful as the testimony of a changed life. God can take a dead life and make it alive.
The sign of the rod and the serpent take us further into the sign of a changed life. Your testimony of how God changed you, is the most powerful thing you can take with you as a witness. “God took me from a meek shepherd, to the power to subdue evil.”
So, this was a huge demonstration for Moses. This is unprecedented. That is why it is so astonishing that Moses offered a 4th excuse.
4th excuse
A. I Can’t Speak.
10 Then Moses said to Yahweh, “Please, Lord, I have never been a man of words, neither [e]recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your slave; for I am one with a [f]hard mouth and a [g]hard tongue.”
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(10) I am not eloquent.—Heb., No man of words am I. Moses, still reluctant, raises a new objection. He is not gifted with facility of speech. Words do not. come readily to him; perhaps, when they come, he has a difficulty in uttering them. According to a Jewish tradition, he was unable to pronounce the labials, b, f, m, p, v. According to his own expressions at the end of the verse, he was “heavy” or “slow of speech,” and “heavy” or “slow of tongue.”
Now, in Stephens sermon in Acts 7:22 it calls Moses “powerful in words and deeds.” What we may gather from that is that he was a very educated man. He had a large vocabulary and range of abilities. If you wanted a man to write a letter, or compose a law or treatise of some sort, he was your man. But if you put him in front of an audience to deliver a speech, he became a stammerer. He couldn’t get over the fear.
Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)
Thus, we get to another of Moses excuses that mirrors our own. God prompts us to do certain Kingdom work, and we choose not to because we convince ourselves that we aren’t up to the task.
Let me say this. And you all know this. Any time you try something new, you usually fail to one degree or another. Isn’t that true? Often when you try something new, you feel lost to one degree or another. Your first time teaching, or cooking, or playing an instrument, or starting up a conversation. It doesn’t matter what the activity is. But that initial failure or feeling doesn’t necessarily indicate that you should quit. You begin to learn and get better.
But sometimes, we talk ourselves out of doing anything new because we don’t have all the skills, or we feel uneasy. It is then that we are like Moses here. He says, “I’m not a public speaker.”
And again, I love God’s answer.
11 And Yahweh said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? 12 So now, go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth and will instruct you what you shall speak.”
Who created the mouth, the tongue, the vocal chords? What’s more who made some individuals with limited speech, or hearing or seeing? God is obviously saying, if I created these body parts, I can make them function or not function. And we know that is true. He can use a person with limited speaking ability into the spokesman for His cause. Paul, in the New Testament, may have had the same tendencies as Moses, powerful in intellect, but not in speech. It was said of him that
2 Corinthians 10:10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is weak and his words contemptible.”
But God used him to take the gospel to the Gentile world.
And God can also overrule a person’s mouth or brain. When King Saul was first called to be king over Israel, Samuel told him that he would meet some prophets on the road, and that the Spirit of God would over take him, and he would also prophecy.
1 Samuel 10: 6 Then the Spirit of Yahweh will [d]come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.
And if you want an even better example, God made Balaam’s donkey speak to Balaam.
No matter what the task is, the principle is the same. If God calls you to it, He will equip you for it. But despite God’s reassurance, Moses objected a 5th time.
5th excuse
13 But he said, “Please, Lord, [h]send now the message by whomever You will.”
Really, the excuses are over. God has answered every objection of Moses. And so, Moses heart is laid bare. As it turned out, the excuses were just a façade for his unwillingness to do what God called him to do. Now he comes right out with it. “I don’t want to do this Lord.” Send someone else.
There seems to be some ambiguity in this statement. He seems to be submitting to God’s will on one level, “send whoever You will.” “If it has to be me, okay.” But it also implies that he wants God to find someone else. “Send whoever else, You will. Somebody else but not me.” We know that is the case, because God gets angry with Moses about it.
God’s answer
14 Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that [i]he can certainly speak. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you. And he will see you and be glad in his heart. 15 And you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct [j]you in what you shall do. 16 Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will become as a mouth for you, and you will become as God to him. 17 And you shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
God says, “You are still going Moses.” But He has grace toward him because of the frailty of his flesh. “You are still my chosen spokesman, but Aaron will do the talking.”
There’s a lesson for us to learn here as well. That if you are a believer, God has a job for you. I don’t know what it is. You have certain gifts. You are a slave of Christ. And there is no refusing of God. You put yourself in a fearful place by refusing to do what God called you to do. Yes, He can get someone else, but listen to the words spoken to Esther.
Esther 4: 8 He also gave him a copy of the written law which had been given in Susa for their destruction, in order to show Esther and to tell her and to command her to go in to the king to implore his favor and to seek him out for her people.
9 Then Hathach came back and told Mordecai’s words to Esther. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to reply to Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.” 12 So they told Esther’s words to Mordecai.
13 Then Mordecai said for them to respond to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s [c]house can escape any more than all the Jews. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not reached royalty for such a time as this?”
B. Send anyone else.
Let’s go back to something to conclude our message today. Why did God choose to present Himself to Moses as a bush that was not consumed, or burnt up? I think that just as we have two personages in this narrative; God and Moses, we have two symbols in the bush; God and Moses. Moses is the bush. God is the flame. What’s the message? Under normal circumstances, a fire would turn a bush to ashes in seconds. But, if God so chooses, the bush can be preserved even in the most intense flame.
The same holds true for you. Yes, we all can say, “Who am I? I don’t know enough? What if they don’t believe?” But God’s reply is “I will be with you.” “I am the great I AM.”