Exodus 3:11-22 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 3:11-22. Let’s go!
Exodus 3:11-12 (NIV)
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 And 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.”
On verses 11-12: In Exodus 3, we see one of the most significant moments in Israel’s history taking place: out of a burning bush God calls Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. God calling Moses was not based on how good or strong Moses was, but based on how good and strong God is. So when Moses questions who Moses is to think he can go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt (v11), God answers by simply saying, “I will be with you” and promising that Moses will be successful (v12).
What can we learn from this? God calls you not on the basis of your goodness and strength, but on the basis of His goodness and strength. It’s not about how able you are but how able God is. Also, God never sends you anywhere on earth without the promise of His presence. When you know that God is with you, fear can’t hold you down.
Exodus 3:13-15 (NIV)
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?”
14 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.'”
15 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 by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
On verses 13-15: Notice that God gets up close and personal with Moses. He reveals His personal name to Moses, which in Hebrew is “Yahweh” and when translated into English is “I Am Who I Am” (v14). (In fact whenever your English Bible refers to “the LORD” in capital letters, it’s usually referring to name “Yahweh – I Am Who I Am”.)
“Yahweh – I Am Who I Am” is a close and personal name, kind of like how your family or closest friends might call you by a nickname. Whenever Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the forefathers of Israel spoke of God, they spoke of Yahweh, the one who blessed them, guided them, called them, showed Himself holy and was close to them.
But after Jacob died, for the next 400 years the Israelites stopped calling on the name “Yahweh – I Am Who I Am”. Maybe it’s because the Israelites moved to Egypt and got caught up in a new culture where different gods were worshiped.
So when God calls Moses to go back to Egypt and lead the Israelites, God was not just getting ready to rescue his people from slavery. God was also getting ready to reintroduce Himself to them. God didn’t want to stay some distant God to them. He wanted them to know Himself once again as Yahweh, the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
In the same way God has a calling on your life. God’s calling on your life is not just to do things for Him. Even more God’s calling on your life is to know Him, up close and personally, together with God’s people.
Praise God that because Jesus Christ died on the cross for us, our sins no longer separate us from God and we can enjoy God’s presence in a close and personal way.
May you step into your calling today, not just to do things for God, but to know God as your close personal friend. Don’t be afraid to take off your sandals and get close to Him. He wants you to know Him up close and personally!
Exodus 3:16-22 (NIV)
16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers–the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob– appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.
17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites–a land flowing with milk and honey.’
18 “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.’
19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him.
20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.
22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”
On verses 16-22: Here God tells Moses in advance what is generally going to happen when Moses obeys God and goes to Egypt. Perhaps you sometimes wish God would tell you in advance what will happen when you obey Him as well. But He does not always. Even if God does tell you in advance what will happen, it will still take faith for you to believe what God is saying and it will still take faith to go. You’ll never not need faith in order to go in the direction God wants you to go. Faith is always part of the deal when it comes to following and obeying God.
Heavenly Father, thank You that I was made to know You up close and personally. Thank You that You are willing to reveal Yourself, including Your name, Your presence and Your heart, to us. Today may I move forward with faith in the calling You have for me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
