Exodus 3:1-22
Q.1. In what way was Jethro a priest of Midian? What was Mount Horeb? Why did Moses go to Mount Horeb? When did God actually speak to him? How did God introduce Himself to Moses? – (Ex.3:1-6)
Jethro is described as – the priest of Midian (Ex.2:16; 3:1; 18:1). Midian was the fourth son of Abraham to his second wife Keturah (Gen.25:1-2). It is inconceivable that Abraham in his maturity would not have passed on a knowledge of the true God, with Whom he had a covenantal relationship (c.f. Gen.15:1-18; 17:1-8; 22:15-18). Later, the Midianites would be a thorn in Israel’s side. Previously, in the devotional comments in Q.2. of the Exodus 2:13-25, we drew attention to the relationship of Jethro’s descendants through the nomadic Kenites, down to the faithful Rechabites (Jer.chpt.35). Some of the descendants of Jethro stayed true to the faith of Jethro who rejoiced in God’s deliverance of Israel out of Egypt declaring – Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods (Ex.18:11). To add weight to this, we learn that Horeb was known in Midian as – the mountain of God (Ex.3:1). Moses turned aside to check out a – bush that was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed (Ex.3:2). God did not speak to Moses until – the Lord saw that he turned aside to look … (Ex.3:3). Just like with Abraham, Moses responded when God called his name (Ex.3:4 c.f. Gen.22:1,11). Before God spoke further, He commanded Moses to take off his sandals – for the place on which you are standing is holy ground (Ex.3:5). He then introduced Himself – … I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Ex.3:6). Moses would have been taught by his parents about the covenant keeping God, and it was He Who was speaking (c.f. Ex.2:9-11).
Q.2. Was God aware of the plight of His people? What was God intending to do? Where was the Lord intending to take the children of Israel? Whom did God plan to use to save His people? – (Ex.3:7-10)
Not only did God own His people in Egypt, but He was also responding to their cries, and was aware of their sufferings (Ex.3:7 & 9). God then told Moses – So I have come down to deliver them from the power 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 (Ex.3:8). This must have been heartening news for Moses, until the Lord informed him of the person He had chosen for the task – come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt (Ex.3:10).
Q.3. How did Moses respond? What objections did Moses raise? What assurances and explanations did God give to Moses? How was the Lord connected to Israel? What is meant by His name? – (Ex.3:11-15)
Moses had previously tried to help his people and had failed (Ex.2:11-14 c.f. Acts 7:23-29). He had lived with feelings of guilt and inadequacy for some forty years. Therefore his first objection was understandable – … Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? (Ex.3:11). Not only did God have an answer, but He also made a bold prediction – … 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 worship God at this mountain (Ex.3:12). Moses then claimed theological ignorance – … behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me,What is His name?’ What shall I say to them? (Ex.3:13). God revealed to Moses – “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.'" God had appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the name Yahweh more than 100 times in Genesis Chpts.12-50 as Yahweh. Here the Lord’s revelation to Moses now connected His name with His COVENANT with Israel through the patriarchs - … Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel,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.’ (Ex.3:15). I AM or JeHoVaH or Jehovah – is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations (Ex.3:15). According to John, Jesus claimed to be the great I AM: (i) I AM the Bread of Life (Jn.6:35). (ii) I AM the Light of the world (Jn.8:12). (iii) I AM the Door (Jn.10:9). (iv) I AM the Good Shepherd (Jn.10:11). (v) I AM the Resurrection and the Life (Jn.11:25-26). (vi) I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn.14:6). (vii) I AM the Vine (Jn.15:5). When the arresting officers said that they were seeking Jesus the Nazarene, Jesus declared in the Greek: ego eimi – ἐγώ εἰμι meaning ‘I AM’ and a clear claim to deity – So when He said to them, ‘I AM’, they drew back and fell to the ground (Jn.18:6).
NOTE: The teragrammaton (i.e. four letters) is Hebrew יהוה or JHVH as found in Exodus 3:14 above is understood to mean – I AM or I AM Who I AM, or I WILL BE What I WILL BE or I AM The One Who Is. Earlier translations gave it as JeHoVaH or Jehovah, later ones YAHWEH. Hebrew has no vowels and so these must be added. It also has no completed action or incomplete action, unlike Greek or English. In Hebrew the context provides the past, present, or future tense of the verb. Sometime after the exile and after the close of the Old Testament around 300 B.C. the Jews refrained from using the name JHVH for fear of breaking the third commandment – You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain … (Ex.20:7). They substitute JHVH – with Adonai = The Lord; or Hashem = The Name; Hakadosh baruch hu = The Holy One, Blessed Be He.
Q.4. Would God’s game-plan for delivering His people succeed? What request was Moses to make? Would Pharaoh agree? How would God persuade him? Would they leave Egypt empty-handed? – (Ex.3:16-22)
Moses was told to gather the elders of Israel and express God’s concern for His Covenant people (Ex.3:16). Though Pharaoh would give no concessions to the Hebrews, God guaranteed that they would succeed – … I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex.3:17). The request was for the Hebrews to go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to their God (Ex.3:18). This is seen by some to have been deceptive. However, the opposite is true: (i) If Moses had asked for Pharaoh to have let Israel go, he would certainly have refused. (ii) By making a reasonable request, Pharaoh could have allowed this. (iii) Since many of the Egyptian gods were animals, animal sacrifices would have brought opposition from the Egyptians. (iv) Israel would have wanted to put some distance between Egypt’s gods and their sacrifices to their God. God knew that Pharaoh would not let His people go for any reason … that he would only relent under great provocation after many miracles and plagues (Ex.3:19-20). As Pharaoh became more hardened against Israel, God continued to make clear demands from him to let His people go (Ex.4:21-23; 6:1; 9:1, 13). Eventually, Pharaoh begged Israel to leave his land (Ex.11:1; 12:31-33). So great would be the upheaval in the land of Egypt, that the rest of the people also would beg them all to go and thus the Israelites would plunder the land. The Egyptians would provide them with the earnings that had long been withheld from them – 21 I will grant this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. 22 … Thus you will plunder the Egyptians (Ex.3:21-22)