*****

New Testament Reading: John 16:25–33

“‘I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.’ His disciples said, ‘Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world’” (John 16:25–33, ESV).

*****

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 5:1-6:1

“Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’ But Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.’ Then they said, ‘The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.’ But the king of Egypt said to them, ‘Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.’ And Pharaoh said, ‘Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!’ The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, ‘You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.’ So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, ‘Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’’ So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, ‘Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.’ And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, ‘Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?’ Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, ‘Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.’ But he said, ‘You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.’ The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, ‘You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.’ They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; and they said to them, ‘The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.’ Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.’ But the LORD said to Moses, ‘Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land” (Exodus 5:1-6:1, ESV).

*****

Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

You know, it really is this passage that makes us realize how important the previous one was. 

Why did God react as he did to the uncircumcision of Moses’ firstborn son? Do you remember that little story? I barely touched on it last Sunday because my focus was set elsewhere. But it is an important part of the text. Moses had failed to circumcise his firstborn son who was born to him in Midian. Remember that circumcision was the sign attached to the Abrahamic covenant. It signified the covenant that God had made with Abraham. The promises of the covenant, and also the threats, were symbolized by circumcision. In brief, circumcision signified that the descendants of Abraham had been set apart by God as holy from the other people of the earth, and it also functioned as a reminder that the Hebrews were obliged to keep the terms of the covenant that God transacted with them lest they be cut off. And so it was a big deal (in a bad way) that Moses had failed to circumcise his son. Moses was a descendent of Abraham. He was a part of the covenant that God transacted with him, therefore. His son — Gershom was his name — should have been circumcised. The fact that he was not may indicate a lapse in faith in Moses while in Median. And so in 4:24, we find this perplexing little story:  “At a lodging place on the way [towards Egypt] the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” (Exodus 4:24–25, ESV).

I’ve said that this story is perplexing, and I think it is perplexing for two reasons. 

One, it is perplexing if we read too narrowly and forget what was said way back in Genesis 17 regarding circumcision and its connection with the covenant that God transacted with Abraham. I’ve already reminded you of that, so I don’t need to say much more. Here I am simply saying, it is no wonder this little story seems so strange to those who read it being unaware of the significance of circumcision. Circumcision was for the Hebrews a physical reminder of all that God has promised to Abraham. It was a reminder that Abraham’s descendants had been set apart as holy from the nations. If we forget all of that, then we will think it strange that God would react so strongly to Gershom’s uncircumcision. We will think, what’s the big deal, God? Well, for us circumcision is a matter of indifference — it’s a matter of preference. But not for the Hebrews living under the Old Covenant. To fail to circumcise the male children of Israel who descended from Abraham was to disregard and to break the covenant that God had made. 

Two, this little passage is perplexing, in part, because of our English translations. Now, I will admit that my Hebrew is very weak. I’m not claiming to be an expert by any means. But some of the commentaries I read do point out that our modern English translations take some interpretational liberties here. Translation work is hard work, brothers and sisters. One word can often mean many things, and communicating the meaning of one language in another can be challenging.  And so I don’t mean to sound critical either.  Here is what I think the text means: “At a lodging place on the way [towards Egypt] the LORD met him and sought to put him to death.” The “him” here is not Moses, but Gershom, his son. “Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it…” In fact, Moses’ name does not appear in the Hebrew. The word is “his”. Again, I believe that “his” refers to Gershom. And then Zipporah said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” The word translated as “bridegroom” can also mean relative by blood. 

Do you know what I think is going on here in this “strange” little passage? Strong emphasis is being placed on the covenant that God made with Abraham. Circumcision was a sign of that. God had promised to bless Abraham’s descendants, to redeem them from slavery, to give them their own land, to make them a kingdom, and to bless all of the nations of the earth through them. Circumcision was a physical reminder of all of that. It was a big deal. And Moses had failed to keep the covenant. His wife, on the other hand, though she was a Midianite by birth, understood, believed, and was faithful. By circumcising her son, and by saying, “Surely you are a relative of blood to me!”, she was saying, I believe in these promises and I’m in. We’re all in. Though it seems strange to us at first, it’s actually a marvelous little story. 

This happened on the way to Egypt. So here is a fresh reminder of God’s covenant with Abraham. Here is a fresh reminder of all the promises that God had made. And here is a fresh reminder of all that God would require of these Hebrews. They would be obligated to keep the covenant that God had made with them. They would be called to trust and obey. And this would be deadly serious.

The other thing from the previous passage that I wish to remind you of is the little remark that God made regarding Pharaoh’s reaction to the miracles that Moses was to perform and to the request to let the people of Israel go. The Lord told Moses, “But I will harden [Pharoah’s] heart, so that he will not let the people go” (Exodus 4:21, ESV). 

Two things may be gleaned from this little statement. 

One, the LORD is sovereign over all things, yes, even the hearts of men, and yes, even the hearts of great and powerful men — men like Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. 

Two, we learn that though God is ultimately in control of all things, it will not also seem like it to us. 

To say it a little differently, if we view the Exodus event — the entire process of it — from God’s perspective we can see that he was in control, ultimately. We can understand what he was doing as he hardened Pharaoh, and allowed Pharoah to harden himself, leading him to stubbornly refuse to let the people go. God was bringing glory to himself as he put his marvelous mercy on display, as well as his just judgments. This we know as we consider the story from God’s perspective (as it is revealed to us in Holy Scripture) and with eyes of faith. But viewed from the perspective of Moses, Aaron, and the Hebrews, on the ground and in real-time,  it must have seemed to them like Pharaoh was winning. 

So then, when God said to Moses, “I will harden [Pharoah’s] heart, so that he will not let the people go” (Exodus 4:21, ESV), two things were revealed. One, that God is sovereign over all things, yes, even the hearts of men, and yes, even the hearts of great men like Pharaoh. He is the King of kings, and LORD of lords. No one can thwart God’s purposes. And two, it will not always appear that way to us. No, what Moses, Aaron, and the Hebrews would see with their natural eyes was hardness of heart, stubbornness, and obstinance. Indeed, they would endure even more suffering and oppression.

Perhaps you are beginning to see why all of this should matter greatly to us. Our situation is very similar to that of Moses, Aaron, and the Hebrews in this passage. We know that God is sovereign over all — we know this by faith. And we know that God has accomplished our redemption through Christ. He has defeated Satan, sin, and death — he has set us free from their bondage.  But as we sojourn in this world towards the Promised Land, things often do not appear this way. When we observe the world and wickedness in it, and when we endure trials and tribulations of various kinds ourselves, we sometimes wonder, is God really in control? Has he really won the victory? And are we really his beloved New Covenant children? These are the kinds of questions that God’s people are bound to struggle with as they sojourn in this fallen world and towards the world to come. In fact, it’s hard to imagine that any will escape wrestling with questions like these: if God is truly sovereign, and if he loves us, then why this suffering? Where is he now? Friends, this is a big part of what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. My physical eyes tell me one thing, but my eyes of faith tell me another. The sojourner must choose to walk by faith (what we know to be true from God’s word) and not by sight (what appears to be true from our observation of this fallen world).

In chapter 5 of Exodus, we encounter the first of many tests for Moses, Aaron, and the Hebrews. Would they believe what they saw with their physical eyes, or would they believe what they heard from God? That is the question. Would they believe that the LORD is “I AM”, that he is in control, and working for their good and his glory? Or would they believe and act according to their natural perception of things? Stated once more, would Moses, Aaron, and the Hebrews trust in God and in his precious and very great promises, or would they cower in fear when the heat was turned up, and when everything around them seemed to indicate that God was either not for them, not faithful, or not strong enough to do what he said he would do.  

The heat is certainly turned up in Exodus 5. To feel the heat we must do our best to put ourselves in the place of Moses, Aaron, and the Hebrews. This is just a story to us, but for them, it was real life. The pressures were real. The fear was real. The sufferings were real. The testing of their faith was real. 

Exodus 5:1-6:1 may be divided into five scenes. In 5:1-3 we see Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh. In verse 2, and in verses 4-19 we see Pharaoh’s response to Moses, Aaron, and The Hebrews. In verses 20-21 the Hebrews respond to Moses and Aaron. In verses 22-23, Moses responds to God. And in verse 1 of chapter 6 God begins to respond to Moses. 

I’ve already read the story to you. It’s rather straightforward. Please allow me to make a few remarks about each of these scenes. 

*****

Moses And Aaron Before Pharaoh (5:1-3)

First of all, in verses 1-3 Moses and Aaron stand before Pharaoh, and they say what God had instructed them to say: Verse 1: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness’” (Exodus 5:1, ESV). Verse 3: “Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God…”

I have not yet addressed this question in our study of Exodus, though I’ve had the opportunity to do so: Why did God instruct Moses to request that Pharaoh allow the Israelites to go a three days journey into the wilderness when in fact God’s intention was to deliver the people once for all, never to return. Some have thought this to be dishonest. 

Commentators seem to agree that the phrase, “three days journey” was used in those days and in that culture to refer to a substantial journey of indefinite length. This was a polite way of saying, let us go for good! This was a polite way of addressing the king to begin negotiations. The rest of the narrative makes it clear that everyone involved  — God, Moses, the Hebrews, Pharaoh, and the Egyptians — knew exactly what this was. It was a request to leave and to never come back.  

Notice also this: the purpose for the “three day journey” was to sacrifice to the Lord, that is, to worship. Obviously, Israel would do a lot more than make sacrifices to the LORD, but this sums it up nicely, doesn’t it. The purpose for the redemption of the Israelites was worship. They were to be freed from Egyptian bondage so that they might worship and serve the LORD.   

Moses and Arron then added this little remark, let us go to worship, “lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” What is this about? Well, as I see it, this statement harkens back to the episode regarding Gershom’s uncircumcision and the threat of death that came upon him from the LORD. Moses, Aaron, and everyone involved learned something important about the worship of God on that day. God’s people whom he has called out of the world to walk before him in holiness had better not take the worship of God nor the ordinances of God lightly. If God has commanded that the males of his people be circumcised on the eighth day, then he must be obeyed. And if God has commanded that he be worshipped in a particular way, then he must be obeyed. Both Aaron and Moses learned something about the worship and service of YHWH in that event regarding the uncircumcision of Gershom. And these words, “lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword”, anticipate future events regarding the people’s failure to worship God according to his commands — Israel would be judged for it. Brothers and sisters, we must be careful too, for we have not only been called to worship the LORD, but to worship and serve him as he has prescribed in his most holy word. 

*****

Pharoah Responds To Moses, Aaron, And The Hebrews (5:2, 4-19)

Secondly, in verses 2 and 4-19, Pharoah responds to Moses, Aaron, and the Hebrews. 

In verse 2 he says, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2, ESV). Here the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart is put on display for the first time. 

The words,  “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?” reveal Pharaoh’s pride. He thought of himself as greater than YHWH. The words, “I do not know the LORD” can mean either that he has never heard of YHWH before, or that he has heard of him, but has no regard for him. Either way, Pharoah’s initial response was simply, no, “I will not let Israel go.”

But that is not all he said. Not only did he refuse to let Israel go, he punished the Hebrews by increasing their burden. In verse 4 we read, “But the king of Egypt said to them, ‘Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” And in verses 5 through 5-19 we learn that Pharoah heaped even more work on top of the already overly burdened Hebrews. The Hebrews made bricks. And it used to be that another group would provide the straw from brick making. But when Moses and Aaron requested Israel’s release, Pharaoh demanded that the Hebrews gather their own straw for making the bricks, but their quota for bricks was not decreased. Life was already miserable for the Hebrews. This must have been truly overwhelming for them. Hebrews were beaten. Many probably died as the suffering went from bad to worse. 

Brothers and sisters, Pharaoh was a cruel master. The Hebrews (and others) were brutally oppressed by him. And when they sought relief, he piled more on. And this should remind us that Satan, of whom Pharaoh was a type, is a cruel master as well. Life in his kingdom is characterized by bondage. From the beginning, he has presented himself as light and life, but in reality, his ways lead only to darkness and death. Those who follow after him (that is to say, all who do not follow after God through faith in Christ) will find in due time that he is a cruel taskmaster. He takes but he does not give. His ways lead only to sorrow. With time his burdens grow heavier and heavier, as he requires more and more of his subjects. His burdens are heavy, but Christ’s are light. This is why Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30, ESV). Every man has a master. It is either Satan or Jesus. But Jesus is a kind master, whereas Satan is most cruel. If you wish to have life, hope, and peace you must have Jesus as Lord. 

The heavy hand of Pharaoh is certainly a picture of life in Satan’s cruel and oppressive kingdom. His burdens are exceedingly heavy, and with the passing of time, he requires more and more of his subjects. He takes but never does he give.

Pharaoh’s response was effective, humanly speaking. The Hebrew people languished and groaned under the heavy labor. The Hebrew foremen appealed to Pharaoh on behalf of the people, but they too were rebuked sharply and sent away. Verse 17: Pharaoh said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.’ The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, ‘You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day’” (Exodus 5:17–19, ESV).

*****

The Hebrews Respond To Moses And Aaron (5:20-21)

This leads us now to the Hebrews’ response to Moses and Aaron. It is found in verses 20-21 and it comes through the foremen. “They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; and they said to them, ‘The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us’” (Exodus 5:20–21, ESV).

I feel for Moses and Aaron, don’t you? The Hebrew people bore a heavy physical burden — they suffered greatly under these harsh edicts. But the burden that Moses and Aaron carried as leaders was spiritual and emotional. It must have felt like they were carrying the weight of the world as Pharaoh used his political skill to turned everything back on them. The words of the foremen, who were themselves in a very difficult position, must have cut very deep.    

And the foremen did accurately represent the spirit of the people to Moses and Arron. They were truly broken. In 6:9 we will read, “Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery” (Exodus 6:9, ESV). So Moses and Aaron will find themselves all alone. They would have to stand before hardhearted Pharaoh with brokenhearted Israel behind them. But this was their calling, and God would make them stand, as we will see. 

*****

Moses Responds To God (5:22-23)

In the fourth scene, Moses responds to God. This is found in verses 22-23 where we read, “Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all’” (Exodus 5:22–23, ESV).

This is a very honest statement from a very broken and overwhelmed man who is struggling with deep questions regarding God’s purposes in the midst of great suffering.

Notice the question is, why?

First, Moses asks, “Why have you done evil to this people?” I feel a little uncomfortable even reading these words, for we know that God does not do evil. As James says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13, ESV). God is holy, and Moses knew that. And he also knew that it was Pharaoh, and not God, who did the evil. He even says so in verse 23: “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all” (Exodus 5:23, ESV). So it is clear what Moses means when he says to God, “Why have you done evil to this people?” He is recognizing that God’s plan resulted in suffering, and he is asking why it had to be this way. It’s an honest question. 

Next, Moses asks, “Why did you ever send me?” In other words, he is recognizing that the people were better of before he showed up. Now that he has arrived, their sorrows have been multiplied. 

Clearly, Moses was struggling to keep the faith. He was wavering. And the reason he wavered was that he grew shortsighted. In this moment of great trial, he forgot about God’s promises, his faithfulness in the past, and he lost sight of the prize (I think it is significant that when Moses turned to the LORD he did not refer to him as YHWH but as Adonai…) 

The trials and tribulations of life have a way of doing that to us, don’t they? The trials can sometimes be so severe that they are all we see. Moses was overwhelmed by the sight of the increased suffering of his kinsmen, and it was all he could think about. He forgot about the past — the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and his faithfulness to preserve them through the trials of life. And he lost sight of the prize — deliverance from Egyptian bondage, fellowship with God, and the promised land. So nearsighted was Moses that he could only ask why? Why have you done this? Why have you sent me? We’ve all been there to one degree or another. We’ve been swallowed up by the trials and tribulations of life and the clouds of despair which so often accompany them. We need perspective. 

Here is the one thing that Moses has going for him, and it’s a big deal. Moses did turn to the LORD. He brought his burdens, his despair, and confusion to the LORD. This is what those who have true faith will do. When they suffer, and when they doubt, they run to LORD, and not from him. 

*****

Gods Respond To Moses (6:1)

The last scene that I wish to mention this morning is actually found in 6:1-8. Here the LORD responds to Moses. It’s a marvelous response, and so we will leave the bulk of it for next Sunday. But it is the LORD’s response which brings this entire passage to a proper conclusion, and so I must mention it, even if it is only in passing. Let us read verse 1 only: “But the LORD said to Moses, ‘Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land’” (Exodus 6:1, ESV). 

In brief, in this passage, the LORD helps Moses by reiterating his promises to him, by reminding him of who he is, and by fixing his eyes on the prize once more. Here we see the mercy of God on display. He was patient with Moses, tender, and kind. Moses turned to him in his grief and despair, and the LORD was faithful to lift him up.   

*****

Suggestions For Application And Conclusion

As we move now to a conclusion please allow me to make just a few suggestions for application.  

One, I want you to see that Christ has done for us what the LORD did for Moses and the Hebrews — he has warned us concerning the difficulty we will face in this world, saying, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:25–33, ESV). So God warned Moses that Pharaoh’s heart would be hard, and Christ has warned us that life will be filled with hardship. Yes, even his people would experience tribulation, but they are to take heart knowing that Christ has overcome the world.

This is very helpful, I think, for it enables us to develop proper expectations. If our expectations are amiss —  if we assume that life in Christ will be easy sailing, blissful and serene, then it will be very difficult for us to process the difficult realities of life in this fallen world when they come our way.    

Two, being forewarned regarding the trials and tribulations of life does not remove the struggle. It’s one thing to say in your mind and with your mouth, I know that the Christian life will involve trials and tribulations. It’s another thing altogether to walk through them by faith when they come. To do this we must turn to the LORD in our suffering, we must bring our questions and our heartaches to him, and we must receive his word anew and afresh so that we might maintain perspective. In his word, we are reminded of his promises, his past faithfulness, and future reward which is surely ours in Christ Jesus. 

Three, I wish to draw a little application out of that story regarding the uncircumcision of Gershom if I may. Moses started his journey towards Egypt to serve as the redeemer of God’s people, but he had neglected the sign of the Old Covenant. He had failed to apply it to his own son. God was determined to send him to the Hebrews with a proper appreciation for the sign of the covenant he served, for the sign reassured them that they were God’s people. It was a physical reminder of God’s promises. It was also a physical reminder of their obligations before God. It functioned as a visible word.   

Circumcision is nothing to us, for we are not under the Old Covenant but the New. And the signs that God has given to us under this new and better covenant are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They are not for our children by virtue of their birth. No, they are for those who believe in Christ. “For the promise is for [us] and for [our] children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2:39, ESV). 

And these signs must not be neglected, for they reminded us of God’s promises, of who we are in Christ, of what he has done for us, that he is with us now, and of our future hope. The sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper preach to us through their symbolism, and they nourish us in the soul as we partake of them by faith. 

What do Christian sojourners need, especially those who are heavily burdened by the trials and tribulations of life?  They need the gospel. They need to be reminded that through faith in the Messiah their sins have been washed away, they are united to Christ — he is theirs, and they are his — and he has not left us as orphans, but has sent the helper, the promised Holy Spirit. Through faith in Christ, we have been reconciled to the Father, and we have this sure hope and expectation: eternal life in the new heavens and earth, where sin, suffering, and death are no more, and all is filled with glory and splendor of God. This gospel is proclaimed in word, but it is also signified in sacrament. Let us not neglect the sacrament, brothers and sisters, but let us come to the table each Lord’s Day being reminded of the work that Christ has done for us, our privileged place in him, his presence with us now to sustain us and to sanctify us, and of our future hope. 

New Testament Reading: Ephesians 4:1–10

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’ (In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)” (Ephesians 4:1–10, ESV)

*****

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 3:16-4:17

“Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ‘I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.’ Then Moses answered, ‘But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’ The LORD said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said, ‘A staff.’ And he said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, ‘Put out your hand and catch it by the tail’—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— ‘that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.’ Again, the LORD said to him, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, ‘Put your hand back inside your cloak.’ So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. ‘If they will not believe you,’ God said, ‘or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.’ But Moses said to the LORD, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’ Then the LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.’ But he said, ‘Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.’ Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, ‘Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.’” (Exodus 3:16–4:17, ESV)

*****

Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

In the third point of the sermon last Sunday I moved very quickly over chapter 3 verses 16 through 22, making only a passing reference to the promises that God made to Israel to deliver them, to richly provide for them, and to bring them safely into the promised land. I would like to make one more pass over that section with you this morning, moving a little slower this time, so that we might glean some more from the details of that passage.  

*****

God’s Promises To Israel

In verses 16 through 22 of chapter 3 God gives Moses a message for the people of Israel who are in Egypt. Three promises are contained in this message. 

Delivered From Egyptian Bondage

One, God promised to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage. In verse 16 we hear God say to Moses, “Go and gather the elders of Israel together…” Here we gain insight into the lives of the enslaved Israelites. Evidently, they maintained their cultural identity within Egypt as they suffered under the heavy hand of their oppressors. The Hebrews were still lead by elders. I think there is a word of encouragement here for those who are threatened with oppression. Life does not come to a halt. No, ways may be found to preserve and promote cultural identity, customs, and even the worship of God, while suffering oppression. The Hebrews must have, for there were elders, that is to say, leaders, amongst the Hebrews who could be summoned by Moses and communicated with. Also, note that the concept of rule by elders did not originate in the New Testament, but even predated the Exodus event.  

Here we learn that God did not send Moses to deliver the Hebrews all alone. No, he was to work with the elders of Israel. “Go and gather the elders of Israel together  and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ‘I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt…’” (Exodus 3:16-17, ESV). So here again is God’s promise concerning deliverance. God promised to bring the Hebrews “up out of the affliction of Egypt…”

Remember, this was not a brand new promise, but the fulfillment of a very old promise. God had spoken to Abraham hundreds of years earlier, saying, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions” (Genesis 15:13–14, ESV). So you can see that this was not a new promise, but the announcement that a very old promise was about to be fulfilled. 

The words, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt” make it clear that God has been very aware of the suffering endured by the Hebrews and the injustices perpetrated by the Egyptians. These words signal that something will now be done about that. We are about to see judgment. We are about to see restitution. God was about to take vengeance on his enemies and comfort his people. 

And please see that the promise of God to bring the Hebrews “up out of the affliction of Egypt” places special emphasis upon what the Hebrews would be delivered from.  

They were enslaved to that wicked serpent, Pharaoh. They were brutally treated. They labored and toiled in this world, but they did not enjoy their labor, nor the fruits of their labor. Life on this earth was filled with vanity for them. They were enslaved in that idolatrous world. They were not free to worship and serve the LORD. That is what God promised to deliver the Hebrews from. He would deliver them from that early manifestation of Satan’s kingdom, sin, and death.  

I would really encourage you, brothers and sisters, to begin (or continue) to think of Pharaoh, of Egypt, and of the bondage endured by the Hebrews as an early manifestation of the kingdom of Satan. It was an earthy picture of what bondage to sin and Satan is like. And conversely, we are to view the deliverance that God worked for Old Covenant Israel as an earthly picture of deliverance from the kingdom of Satan, from sin, and from the fear of death. The rest of the scriptures make this clear. The New Testament uses Exodus language to speak of the redemption that Christ has accomplished. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness — that is, from Satan’s cruel and oppressive kingdom — and from bondage to sin and the fear of death. 

As we consider the promise of the deliverance that God communicated to Israel through Moses, let us be sure to think upon all that we have been delivered from in Christ and to rejoice. 

Those who have faith in Christ have been delivered from bondage to sin. 

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:5–11, ESV).

Those who have faith in Christ have been delivered from the fear of death. 

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14–15, ESV).

Those who have faith in Christ have been delivered from the domain of darkness. 

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13–14, ESV).

Delivered Towards The Promised Land

You will notice in our text that God promised, not only to deliver the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage but to bring them to the promised land. Verse 17: “and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:17, ESV). So this is the second thing promised: God promised to deliver Israel and to bring them safely into the land. 

I will not belabor this point. I think you get the picture. Israel was delivered from Egyptian bondage, and they were delivered to the promised land. In other words, they were delivered towards a destination. And this does also correspond to our salvation in Jesus the Messiah. God has delivered us “from the domain of darkness and transferred… to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13–14, ESV). This kingdom of Christ is present now. We are citizens of it. But we await its consummation in the new heavens and earth. So then, Israel’s earthy deliverance from Egypt and towards the promised land was a picture of the salvation that Christ has accomplished for his people. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness, and we are sojourning towards the promised land, the new heavens, and earth.

I have already encouraged you to reflect upon what Christ has delivered us from. Now I am saying that we must contemplate what Christ has delivered us to. Israel was set free from Egyptian bondage, and earthly speaking, their minds, and hearts were immediately to be fixed on Cannan and on their promised inheritance. Earthly speaking, their hope was to be set on that land which was promised to them — a land flowing with milk and honey. Think of how marvelous that must have seemed to those Hebrew slaves. God promised to rescue them from their terrible toil. And he would not leave them to wander landless and homeless. No, they would be given land and they would be given homes. And it would be a very good and rich land. One that they could work and reap a harvest. One that would satisfy their desires, earthly speaking. Think of how marvelously refreshing that must have sounded to those Hebrew slaves.    

But our inheritance in Christ is far greater. Canaan was merely an earthy picture of the heavenly and eternal inheritance that Christ has earned for us. As 2 Peter 3:13 says, “according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13, ESV). The end of the book of Revelation provides a picture of the new heavens and earth. It is far, far better than Cannan. It is much more than a land flowing with milk and honey. 

In Revelation 21 we read the words of John: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son… Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed… And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21, ESV).

Canaan was a dim and dusty picture of this. Israel was saved from bondage and lead towards Cannan. But Christ has delivered us from the domain of darkness, and he leading us towards the new heavens and earth. Our inheritance in Christ is truly marvelous. 

Fix your eyes on the prize, brothers and sisters.

Think about what you have been saved to. 

Delivered With A Rich Supply

So then, God promised the Hebrews deliverance from Egyptian bondage, and deliverence to the promised land. Thirdly, God promised to deliver the Hebrews with a rich supply.  

Verse 19: “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” (Exodus 3:19–22, ESV)

God would not send the Hebrews out empty handed, but would provide for their every need. 

This was a matter of justice. These Hebrews labord as slaves their whole lives. Now they would be compensated. 

This was an act of judgemnet. The Egyptians ruthlessly oppressed the Hebrews, not the Lord would make them pay. 

And this was a picture of our salvation in Christ. When God redeemed us from the domain of darkness, he richly supplied for our every need. 

“Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men’” (Ephesians 4:8, ESV).

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 1:3, ESV).

Think of how richly God has blessed you in Christ. 

*****

Moses’ Doubt

Now that we have considered God’s threefold promise to Israel, let us turn our attention to Moses’ doubt, which comes through so strongly in this passage. 

We have noticed that Moses had been humbled. But now we see him bordering on lack of faith.

God’s call…

Objection (3:11): “Who am I?” 

Answer: It doesnt matter who you are. What matters is that I am with you. 

Objection (4:1): They will not believe me…

Answer: These signs will prove that I have sent you. 

Objection (4:10): “But Moses said to the LORD, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue’” (Exodus 4:10, ESV).

Answer: “Then the LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak’” (Exodus 4:11–12, ESV).

Objection (4:13): “But he said, ‘Oh, my Lord, please send someone else’” (Exodus 4:13, ESV).

Answer: “Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, ‘Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart” (Exodus 4:14, ESV).

Moses is here portrayed as the reluctant deliverer… Here I LORD, send someone else…

All of this emphasizes the grace of God. 

God uses weak and common people to accomplish his purposes so that he gets the glory..  

*****

God’s Signs To Moses 

Thirdly, let us consider the signs that God gave to Moses. To prove that God was with him, God gave him the ability to work miracles. These were signs which would confirmed the truthfulness of his words. 

The Staff

“The LORD said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said, ‘A staff.’ And he said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, ‘Put out your hand and catch it by the tail’—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— ‘that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you” (Exodus 4:2–5, ESV).

Like Moses, the staff was common. 

The serpent symbolized Pharoah. The serpent is to remind us of Satan. Moses ran from it just like he was running from God’s call. But he reluctantly picked it up by the tail, signifying God’s power over Pharoah and Satan. 

The Hand

“Again, the LORD said to him, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, ‘Put your hand back inside your cloak.’ So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh” (Exodus 4:6–7, ESV).

God was able to keep Moses and the Hebrews, for he has the power to heal and to distroy the body.

The Blood

“‘If they will not believe you,’ God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground” (Exodus 4:8–9, ESV).

This would be the first of the ten plagues. Here we have a foretaste of the miracles that God would work before the Egyptians. Blood will play a large part in God’s dealing with Moses and with Israel, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 

Has God really spoken? The signs would confirm, yes. 

Consider these signs. Consider the miracles of Christ. Consider the resurrection.

*****

Conclusion

New Testament Reading: John 8:48–59

“The Jews answered [Jesus], ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.’ The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.’ So the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:48–59, ESV).

*****

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 3:10-22

“‘Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.’ Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’’ God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people 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.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ‘I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.’” (Exodus 3:10–22, ESV)

*****

Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

One thing I have noticed is that Christians love to talk about Jesus, but they are sometimes hesitant to talk about God. 

You’re thinking, well that’s a strange thing for a Pastor to say. Isn’t Jesus God? Well, yes. Jesus is God incarnate. In the one person of Jesus Christ, there are united two natures, the human and divine. As our confession says, these “two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion.” Jesus “is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man.” (2LBC 8.2). So we are not wrong to say, Jesus is God. But to guard against confusion we must also say, God is not Jesus. 

Jesus had flesh and bones. God does not. Jesus had a human soul. God does not. Jesus grew and experienced human emotions. God does not. Jesus is indeed God incarnate. That is true. “The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father’s glory, of one substance and equal with him who, made the world, who upholds and governs all things he has made, did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon him man’s nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin…” But we must also insist that God is not Jesus. God is not a creature, but the Creator of all things seen and unseen. He is “a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto…” He “is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite…” (2LBC 2.1).

I’ve begun the sermon with this riddle, not because I intend to teach thoroughly on the doctrine of God and the doctrine of Christ today. No, we do not have the time for that. But because I wish to convince you in a short time that we ought to give more attention to the doctrine of God. We should be very interested to know who he is and what he is like. By the way, I do intend to take you through a study on the doctrine of God in Sunday school beginning in mid to late October. You should come to that class. But we also have a marvelous opportunity to grow in our comprehension of God in our study of the book of Exodus, for here in this book foundations are laid concerning who God is. In fact, if we wish to know who God is and what he is like, we must start in the beginning. In the books of Genesis and Exodus, God, our Creator, and Redeemer is revealed.      

Maybe this is one reason Christians are more comfortable talking about Jesus than they are talking about God: we tend to be more familiar with the New Testament scriptures than the Old. This is a mistake. Yes, the New Testament revelation is very crucial. It is greater than the Old Testament in some important ways. But the New Testament is not meant to be read apart from the Old. To read the New and to neglect the Old would be like going straight to the last few chapters of a great novel. Yes, those might be the best chapters of the book, but they can only be enjoyed as the best chapters if we read the first and more foundational chapters. And I do believe this tendency to read the New Testament and to neglect the Old has contributed in some ways to this tendency that some Christians have to emphasize Christ to the neglect of God himself.

Let me ask you, should we love, worship, and serve Christ? Yes, we should, for he is God, and he is our Savior. And is Christ in some respects at the center of our religion and the story of our redemption? Yes, for he is the Messiah, the Savior, the Mediator between God and man. As it pertains to our redemption, Christ is indeed the center. Him we proclaim. 

Now please consider this: Christ did not die to reconcile us to himself (as the Christ who was both God and man). No, he died and rose again, to reconcile us to the eternal God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so that in all things God gets the glory. That is why Christ is called the only mediator between God and man. He is the Mediator, the middleman, the door, and the way. This means he is not the end, the goal, or the destination. God is. Christ came to reconcile us to the Father.

So Christ is the center in this sense: he is the central figure in the drama of our redemption. But please hear me, he is not the end or the goal. The glory of the eternal God — the Triune God — is the goal of our religion. Christ has redeemed us from bondage to sin, Satan, and death so that we might worship and serve, enjoy, and glorify the Triune God forever and ever. As Paul says, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36, ESV).

To state the matter differently, I’ll ask you this: do you know God? Not, do you know Christ? But do you know God? Yes, to know God — to stand before him innocent, clean, and righteous and to have a right relationship with him, you must know Christ by faith. But here I am asking you, do you know God? Are you in a right relationship with him, and do you know him, his nature, attributes, names? 

Well, enough of me trying to convince you that we should care deeply about knowing God so that we might delight in him and glorify him forever. Let’s get on to the text. And as we do we will quickly recognize that this is a very important passage as it pertains to the knowledge of God, for here God reveals the meaning of his name to Moses. The previous passage was very important too, for we learned a great deal about God when he revealed himself to Moses in that bush that was burning yet not consumed. This passage is a continuation of that one, for in this entire event God was revealing his character and nature to Moses as he called him to be the deliverer of his people.

*****

God Promised To Be With Moses For The Long Haul

In verse 10 God speaks to Moses, saying, “Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt”. 

Think of how terrifying this call would have been to Moses. Pharaoh was very, very powerful and ruthless, and Moses was very weak in comparison. This call would be like God saying to you, come I will send you to — pick the world leader… Putin, or Kim Jong-un, or whomever — and I will work a mighty act of deliverance through you. You know, you really need to put yourself in Moses’ place to understand the struggle. And we should not forget what happened last time that Moses tried to accomplish deliverance for the Hebrews. 40 years had passed since that terrible failure that brought Moses to the wilderness. Moses is very humble now, and he is unsure of himself, which is really a good thing. 

Verse 11: “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’” (Exodus 3:11, ESV). This is a very different attitude in Moses from the one we encountered back in 2:11ff.  As I have said, Moses was humbled. “Who am I”, Moses asked. And as the narrative unfolds we will find that this question was dismissed entirely by God, making the answer to be, it doesn’t matter who you are, Moses. What matters is who I am, and that I am with you.   

Verse 12: “[God] said, ‘But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain’” (Exodus 3:12, ESV). 

“But I will be with you”, God said. No such words were spoken prior to Moses’ first attempt at deliverance, which ended in failure. I suppose there is a warning for all of God’s people here to not get ahead of God or to attempt to live by our own strength. No, we are to wait patiently upon the LORD and depend on him for all things. That would be a valid application, I think. But I believe the reason that Moses highlighted the failure of his first attempt, and the success of his second in this way was to show Israel beyond all doubt that from beginning to end this deliverance was the LORD’s work. When Moses tried to deliver Israel on his own initiative and by his own strength, it was a failure. But when God called him and promised to be with him, then there was success. This was the LORD’s work, not the work of Moses. God must get the glory, friends. And he will have the glory when humbly submit ourselves to his word instead of going about things our own way.

At the end of verse 12 God promised to provide a sign for Moses which would prove that God had sent him: “when you [singular] have brought the people out of Egypt, you [plural: Moses and Israel] shall serve God on this mountain’”. The promised “sign” was that God would appear to Moses and Israel as they served God at Sinai after being delivered from Egypt. Just as God appeared to Moses in the small fire in the bush that was burning yet not consumed, so to God would appear to Israel in a much greater flame as they came before him at SinaI. This future sign would do Moses no good in the present, nor in the immediate future as he stood before Pharaoh. No, this was God’s commitment to be with Moses long-term. God would demonstrate to both Moses and Israel that he was with him as they served God on the mountain. And those who are familiar with the rest of the story of the Exodus know that God kept this promise. God would indeed demonstrate to the people that he was with Moses through the signs and wonders that he showed forth at Sinai.  

You know, we should recognize that standing before ruthless and powerful Pharaoh was not the only terrifying aspect of God’s call to Moses. The thought of leading that great multitude of people after deliverance from Egypt must have also been a very overwhelming thought. Forty years earlier Moses could not even convince the two Hebrews who were fighting that they should listen to his voice and follow his lead. Now, Moses was called to lead hundreds of thousands out of Egypt and into the wilderness. I’m sure he was thinking, yes, maybe God will deal with Pharaoh to deliver us from his hand, but what then? Here we find God’s promise to be with Moses for the long haul. “This shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain’” (Exodus 3:12, ESV). 

I cannot help but make this passing observation once more: Israel would be redeemed from Egyptian bondage in order to worship and serve the LORD. And you and I have been set free from all spiritual bondage in order to worship and serve the LORD. Let us not forget that. 

*****

God Revealed His Name To Moses

In verse 13 we come to the heart of this wonderful passage. Moses asked God a very important question. “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13, ESV). So then, Moses quickly moved on from the meaningless question, Who am I?, to the all-important question, Who are you? What is your name?

Names are important. When someone or something is named, the name comes to signify everything about that person or thing. If I say the word, “rock” your mind is immediately filled with the thought of a rock and all of its rocky characteristics. If I say “tree” something similar happens. If I say “Steve” you think of a “Steve” and the person whom that name represents. Names are rather important, aren’t they? We are unable to talk or think clearly about people or things apart from their names. 

When Moses asked for God’s name, he was not asking a superficial question. He was not saying, Oh ya, by the way, what is your name?” No, by asking for God’s name, Moses was requesting insight into who God is. What is your name?, means, who are you? Who is this One that we are to trust and to follow? We need to know if we are to follow you.

Please understand that God does not have a name by nature. He is the Nameless One, for he is incomprehensible. There is no name, nor is there a collection of names, that can adequately encapsulate and communicate all that God is, for God is incomprehensible. He is nameless by nature. But God has called himself by certain names for us. He had come down to our level, as it were. By revealing himself to us in these names, he condescends to our creaturely limitations and weakness so that we might know him and address him truly and with understanding. Quoting now the great Reformed theologian, Herman Bavinck, “Although God in himself has no name, we have a need to refer to him. And for this we have no other means than a name. [Quoting Isidor] ‘For unless you know the name, your knowledge of things vanishes” (Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 2, pg. 137). So God has names, not eternally or by nature, but as a form of revelation. The names of God communicate truth about God to us, enabling us to know him, to speak about him, and to speak to him.  

 So what are the proper names of God, that is, the names that we use to address him? 

The most generic names for God are El, Elohim, and El Shaddai. These Hebrew names are typically translated into the English language as God or God Most High. The names El and Elohim emphasize God’s transcendence. He is highly exalted and above all things. He is the Sovereign One. The name El Shaddai places special emphasis upon his kindness and benevolence. Though God is high and lifted up, he is also near to us and kind.

The proper name for God that is given and defined here in our passage for today is YHWH. The Jews considered this name to be, quoting Bavinck again, “the preeminent name for God, the name that describes God’s essence, God’s proper name, the glorious, four-letter name (the tetra-grammation), and [over time] concluded… that they were forbidden to pronounce it” (Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 2, pg. 140). And so, being driven by this misunderstanding, they would replace the name YHWH with the word, Adonai, which means Lord. And so in the process of time scribes combined the vowels from the word Adonai with the consonants YHWH, producing the name Jehovah. Some within the Reformed tradition still prefer to say Jehovah. Undoubtedly the influence of the KJV, which uses the term Jehovah, has something to do with that.  But it has been my practice to say YHWH, though my pronunciation of the name has fluctuated over time. How do our English translations typically translate the name YHWH? They often use the word LORD, but in all capitals to distinguish it from the straightforward translation of the word Adonai, which means Lord. 

The point is this. The name that God revealed to Moses out of the bush that was burning yet not consumed was YHWH. This was the name that Moses was to pronounce when the Hebrews asked him, “What is his name?” 

In Exodus chapter  6 verse 3 we will come to a perplexing little comment. There the LORD speaks to Moses, saying, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them” (Exodus 6:3, ESV). I say this is perplexing because the name YHWH appears everywhere in Genesis from chapter 2 onward, and it is often on the lips of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So did Moses forget what he had written in Genesis? I think not. Instead, we are to understand Exodus 6:3 in this way. Though the name YHWH was known and used by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the true meaning of it was not. God was known to the patriarchs as El Shaddai, God Most High; the one who is benevolent and kind; the covenant-making and covenant-keeping God. When they used the name YHWH, this is what they knew. But when God appeared to Moses in that burning bush, and as he uttered the name YHWH, which was indeed the name for God that the fathers used, he gave Moses more insight into the significance of the name. God filled the name YHWH with greater meaning. In other words, Moses was given more light than Abraham concerning the knowledge of God’s name.

So what was new about the revelation given to Moses? What was unique about it so that God could say to him, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them” (Exodus 6:3, ESV). Here in Exodus 3 not only is the name YHWH pronounced; it is also explained. That was the thing that did not happen before. Here from the bush that was burning yet not consumed, God filled the name YHWH with new and greater meaning for his covenant people.

By the way, something very similar happened in the days of Christ and with the inauguration of the New Covenant. A new name for God was brought to the forefront and filled with greater significance in those days. It was not a brand new name for God — one that had never been used before — but this name was placed front and center and imbued with greater significance by Christ for the New Covenant people of God. And what is that name? It is the name “Father”. Did the Old Covenant people of God ever refer to  God Father? Yes, they did! See Deuteronomy 32:6 and Isaiah 63:16, for example. But that name for God was not central to the Old Covenant people of God. Why? Because not all who were members of the Old Covenant had God as heavenly Father. Many disbelieved and rebelled against him. But things are so very different under the New Covenant. The New Covenant is not like the Old in this respect: under the New Covenant, all know the Lord. All have the law written on their hearts. All have the Spirit of God. All are sons and daughters. “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6, ESV). And so Jesus taught his New Covenant people to pray like this: “Our Father in heaven hallowed be thy name…” And even more profoundly, Christ taught his church to baptize new disciple “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” 

As I have said, under the New Covenant the name Father is brought to the forefront and filled with greater significance, and appropriately so, for all who are truly members of this New Covenant through faith in Christ, have God as Father. He is not only  El, Elohim, El Shaddai, or YHWH, he is Father, for through the New Covenant instituted in Christ’s blood, we have been reconciled to him and adopted as his beloved children through faith in the Messiah. 

And more than this, it was through the arrival of the Messiah, who is the eternal Son of God come in the flesh, that the full light of the revelation of the Triune God was revealed to us. Someone asked me not long ago, was the Trinity revealed in Old Testament times? Answer: Yes, dimly and mysteriously. “Let us make man in our image”, God said. When God created, he created through his Word, and by his Spirit. And the plural name “Elohim” did also reveal plurality in the Godhead. But with the coming of Christ and the accomplishment of our redemption came greater and clearer revelation too. And a new name for God was brought to the fore and placed upon the people of God. Hear it again: Those who have faith in the Messiah are to be baptized “in the name” — “name” is singular here — “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. 

I’ve said in the past that redemptive act and revelation fit nicely together, and they do. We see this pattern throughout Scripture. God acts and God speaks. In those days when God redeemed Israel from Egyptian bondage, Moses received greater light than Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did concerning the meaning and significance of God’s proper name, YHWH. And when Christ accomplished our redemption by his life, death, and resurrection, he did also clearly reveal what was in the past dimly and mysteriously revealed in the plural name for God, Elohim. By commanding that his disciples have the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, placed upon them in the waters of baptism, he clearly revealed what was once revealed dimly: “In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word (or Son), and Holy Spirit…” (2LBC 2.3).   

Let’s get back to our text and ask what is the significance of this name for God which was revealed to Moses? Well, from the burning bush onward we know that the name YHWH signifies that God is self-existent, eternal, and unchanging. 

Verse 13: “Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’’ God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘[YHWH], 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 thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations’” (Exodus 3:13–16, ESV).

YHWH is the name that God gave to Moses to speak to the people of Israel. “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘[YHWH], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.”

And what is the significance of this name? God revealed to Moses that this name was to signify his self-existence, eternal, and unchanging nature. “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’’’ God is the great “I AM”, and the name YHWH signifies this. 

When God says, “I AM” he means that he is eternal. Never was he not. And never will he not be. He is. He simply exists. Never does he become. He always has been and he ever will be. The phrase, “I AM Who I AM” may also be translated, “I AM What I AM”, or “I will be what I will be.” When we bring all of this together we must confess that God is here filling the name YHWH (which sounds like the Hebrew word translated, “I AM”) with a significance that it did not have before. When God’s people utter that name they are to think of the God who is eternal.

And they are to think of his self-existence too. No one created God. He is the Creator of all things seen and unseen. He always was. He depends upon no one and nothing outside himself. He is the fire that needs no fuel to burn. He gives life to all, but he himself receives life from no one. As Paul says, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:33–36, ESV).

And when we hear the name YHWH we are also to think that God is unchanging. You say, well where does the text say that? Think with me. If God is. If he always has been, and ever will be, then he cannot change. If God were to change in the slightest, then the God who is would not be the God who was, and the God who was would not be the God who will be. 

Have you ever heard it said, I’m not the man or woman that I used to be? That statement is truer than we realize, for you and I are constantly changing. Our bodies are always either growing and decaying. We are always learning. Our emotions are constantly fluctuating. Even if we could say “I am” in one moment, in the next moment, that would no longer be true, for in each and every moment we are not what we used to be. But God is. And he always is God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In him “there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17, ESV).

*****

God Promised To Be With Israel, To Richly Provide For Them, And To Bring Them Safely Into The Land Of Canaan

I have to move this sermon towards a conclusion and I will do so by asking the question, what impact should the name YHWH have upon the people of God now that God has revealed its significance? In other words, what comfort is brought to the people of God as they think of him as the great I AM — the one who is self-existent, eternal, and unchanging?

It should be clear that this name is to reassure the people of God concerning his faithfulness and trustworthiness. It is because God is self-existent, eternal, and unchanging that we are able to depend upon him. In this sense, he is like a rock. He is a solid foundation upon which we can stand. He will not shift under our feet like everything else in this created world does. Everything Created moves. YHWH does not.. Never will he fail to keep his promises.  

In the remainder of this passage, the LORD gives instructions to Moses concerning what he is to say to Israel concerning. In brief, he is to announce to them that the LORD will now act to keep the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob regarding the possession of Canaan. Moses is to reassure them that the LORD would be with them. He would lead them out of Egypt, not poor, but rich, and he would bring the children of Abraham into Canaan just as he had promised so long ago. 

The revelation of the significance of the name YHWH at this time in the history of redemption was fitting. A huge multitude was called to follow their God out from under the heavy hand of the Egyptians, into the wilderness, and towards a land of promise. Knowing that they were following, not Moses, who WAS NOT, but God who IS, would be crucial to their success, for above all they would need to trust him. They would need to know that he is able and faithful to keep his word.  

*****

Conclusion

And the same is true for you and me. You and I are also to be comforted by the fact that we worship, serve, and trust in God whose name is El, Elohim, El Shaddai, and YHWH. He is God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Sustainer and Redeemer of mankind, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, for he is the great I AM. And more than this, he is our Father in heaven, for we have been redeemed and adopted as his beloved children through the shed blood of his Christ. And he has promised to be with us always even to the end of the age to bring us safely into our eternal inheritance, in Christ’s name.