Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 4:24 gives the report, “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him [Moses], and sought to kill him.”  In Exodus 4:19 the Lord God had instructed Moses to go and return into Egypt.  Then in Exodus 4:20 we find that Moses proceeded to obey the Lord God’s instruction – “And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.”  Yet in Exodus 4:24 the report is given that the Lord God met Moses along the way of his return unto Egypt, and the Lord God sought to kill Moses.

So then, why did the Lord God seek to kill Moses at that particular moment?  If Moses was returning unto Egypt just as the Lord God had instructed for him to do, why would the Lord God seek to kill His obedient servant, whom He Himself had called unto this task?  The answer to these questions we may discovered through the continuing report in Exodus 4:25-26 – “Then Zipporah [Moses’ wife] took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.  So he [the Lord God] let him [Moses] go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.”

Meditations in Exodus

In Exodus 3:16-17 the Lord God instructed Moses to go unto and gather together the elders of Israel and to deliver the Lord’s message of deliverance unto them.  Yet three times throughout Exodus 4:1-13, we find Moses questioning the Lord.  First, Moses questioned the Lord’s Word unto him.  In the opening line of Exodus 3:18, the Lord God declared, “And they shall hearken to thy voice.”  Yet Exodus 4:1 declares, “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.”  Second, Moses questioned the Lord’s work through him.  In Exodus 4:2-9 the Lord God granted unto Moses a series of miraculous signs whereby he could validate the Lord’s message to the elders of Israel.  Yet Exodus 4:10 declares, “And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.”  Third, Moses questioned the Lord’s wisdom in choosing him.  In Exodus 4:12 the Lord God gave His assurance unto Moses, saying, “Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”  Yet Exodus 4:13 reveals Moses response, “And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.”

Thus Exodus 4:14 begins with the statement, “And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses.”  However, throughout this discussion with Moses, and even after His anger “was kindled against Moses,” the Lord God continued to demonstrate the abundance of His grace unto Moses. 

Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 4:14 begins with the statement, “And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses.”  So then, what had Moses done to stir up the Lord’s anger?  Three times throughout Exodus 4:1-13, we find Moses questioning the Lord.  Even so, we learn that the Lord’s anger was kindled against Moses because of Moses’ spirit of questioning and doubting.

Meditations in Exodus

In Exodus 3:16-17 the Lord God instructed Moses to go unto and gather together the elders of Israel and to deliver the Lord’s message of deliverance unto them.  Then in the opening line of Exodus 3:18, the Lord God declared, “And they shall hearken to thy voice.”  Yet in Exodus 4:1 Moses questioned the Lord God on this matter – “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.”  In response the Lord God provided Moses with a series of miraculous signs, with the purpose “that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.” (Exodus 4:5)  Even so, we are taught through these miraculous signs of our Lord God’s sovereign power over the matters of our lives.

Meditations in Exodus

This meditation is a companion to a previous meditation:  
                            Gather the Elders, and Say unto Them - Exodus 3:16-22 (Pt. 1)    

Exodus 3:16-17 reads, “Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.”

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God expressed his call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance for His people Israel.  In verse 11 Moses responded with the question, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  In verse 12 the Lord God answered Moses’ question by promising to be with Moses and to enable Moses in fulfilling His call.  Then in verse 13 Moses asked a second question – “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?”  To this question the Lord God gave answer in verse 14-15, declaring – “I AM THAT I AM.”  “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”  “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”

Even so, on the ground of this declaration, the Lord God then instructed Moses to “go, and gather the elders of Israel together,” and to deliver the message of verses 16-22 unto them.  Herein it is worthy of notice that although this message certainly pertained unto the entire nation of Israel, it was to be delivered specifically unto the elders of Israel, unto the leadership of Israel.  Indeed, Exodus 3:16-22 provides encouragement and exhortation to those who serve in leadership for God’s people.  In the first part of the meditation (see above), we considered three elements from Exodus 3:16-18 -- that the Lord our God knows personally of our need (the Lord's personal care), that the Lord our God promises to help us in our need (the Lord's promised help), and that the Lord our God calls us to serve Him in this world (our public service).  In this second part of the meditation, we shall consider three further elements from Exodus 3:19-22.

Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 3:16-17 reads, “Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.”

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God expressed his call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance for His people Israel.  In verse 11 Moses responded with the question, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  In verse 12 the Lord God answered Moses’ question by promising to be with Moses and to enable Moses in fulfilling His call.  Then in verse 13 Moses asked a second question – “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?”  To this question the Lord God gave answer in verse 14-15, declaring – “I AM THAT I AM.”  “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”  “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”

Even so, on the ground of this declaration, the Lord God then instructed Moses to “go, and gather the elders of Israel together,” and to deliver the message of verses 16-22 unto them.  Herein it is worthy of notice that although this message certainly pertained unto the entire nation of Israel, it was to be delivered specifically unto the elders of Israel, unto the leadership of Israel.  Indeed, Exodus 3:16-22 provides encouragement and exhortation to those who serve in leadership for God’s people.

Meditations in Exodus

This meditation is a companion to a previous mediation: What Is His Name? - Exodus 3:13-15 (Part 1)      

Exodus 3:13 reads, “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?”

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God expressed his call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance for His people Israel.  In verse 11 Moses responded with an expression of humility and hopelessness concerning his ability to fulfill the Lord’s call – “And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  In answer, the Lord God responded with His promise to be with Moses and to enable Moses in fulfilling His call – “And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”

Yet in Exodus 3:13 Moses presents another question unto the Lord God.  This question did not concern Moses’ inability, but now concerned the Lord God’s nature and ability.  Indeed, Moses indicated that the children of Israel would ask concerning the name and nature of this God of their fathers who had sent Moses unto them – “What is his name?”  In verse 12 the Lord had promised to be with Moses and enable Him.  So then, who is this Lord God who will be with His servants and His people – “What is his name?”  In verse 10 the Lord had placed His call upon Moses to send Him unto His people.  So then, who is this Lord God who calls and sends His servants unto His people to lead them and help them – “What is his name?”  In verse 8 the Lord had pronounced His purpose to deliver His people from their affliction and to bless them with abundance.  So then, who is this Lord God who will help and deliver His servants and His people in their affliction – “What is his name?”  In verse 4 the Lord had proclaimed His personal recognition of His people’s sufferings and sorrows.  So then, who is this Lord God who personally knows the sorrows of His servants and His people – “What is his name?”  Yea, what is the name and the nature of this Lord God, the Lord our God?

Already in the first part of the meditation (see above), we have considered three truths, that the Lord our God is the Self-Existing One, the Eternal One, and the Unchanging One.  In this second part of the meditation, let us consider three further truths.

Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 3:13 reads, “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?”

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God expressed his call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance for His people Israel.  In verse 11 Moses responded with an expression of humility and hopelessness concerning his ability to fulfill the Lord’s call – “And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  In answer, the Lord God responded with His promise to be with Moses and to enable Moses in fulfilling His call – “And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”

Yet in Exodus 3:13 Moses presents another question unto the Lord God.  This question did not concern Moses’ inability, but now concerned the Lord God’s nature and ability.  Indeed, Moses indicated that the children of Israel would ask concerning the name and nature of this God of their fathers who had sent Moses unto them – “What is his name?”  In verse 12 the Lord had promised to be with Moses and enable Him.  So then, who is this Lord God who will be with His servants and His people – “What is his name?”  In verse 10 the Lord had placed His call upon Moses to send Him unto His people.  So then, who is this Lord God who calls and sends His servants unto His people to lead them and help them – “What is his name?”  In verse 8 the Lord had pronounced His purpose to deliver His people from their affliction and to bless them with abundance.  So then, who is this Lord God who will help and deliver His servants and His people in their affliction – “What is his name?”  In verse 4 the Lord had proclaimed His personal recognition of His people’s sufferings and sorrows.  So then, who is this Lord God who personally knows the sorrows of His servants and His people – “What is his name?”  Yea, what is the name and the nature of this Lord God, the Lord our God?

Meditations in Exodus

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God called Moses unto Himself that He might send Moses to serve as the deliverer of His people Israel from their affliction and oppression under the hand of the Egyptians.  Therein the Lord God declared unto Moses, “Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”  In Exodus 3:11 we find Moses’ response to the Lord God’s call – “ And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  Herein Moses expressed his humility, and even his hopelessness, concerning his own ability to fulfill the Lord’s call.

Meditations in Exodus

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God revealed His purpose to Moses, saying, “Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”

In Exodus 3:7-8 the Lord God had revealed that He knows the sorrows of His people and that He is moved to deliver His people from their sorrows.  As He continued His message unto Moses from “the burning bush,” He further revealed unto Moses His purpose and plan for the deliverance of His people.  Indeed, the Lord God expressed His call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance.  Even so, we find so often that when the Lord our God moves on behalf of His people, He does so by calling and sending a man through whom He might accomplish His work.

Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 3:7-8 reads, “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”

Exodus 3:1-6 introduces us to the occasion wherein the Lord God acquired Moses’ attention with “the burning bush” and met with Moses’ out of “the burning bush.”  In verses 7-8 the account continues as the Lord God reveals unto Moses the reason for His meeting with Moses.  Indeed, the Lord our God reveals that He knows the sorrows of His people and that He is moved to deliver His people from their sorrows.

Meditations in Exodus

This meditation is a companion to a previous meditation:  I Will Now Turn Aside - Exodus 3:1-4    

Exodus 3:1-4 reads, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.  And he said, Here am I.” 

A bush that caught fire in the desert under the oppressive heat of the sun was not an amazing sight.  Yet, certainly, a bush that burned, but was not consumed was a very amazing sight.  Thus Moses decided to turn aside from his common path as a shepherd in order to observe this amazing sight more closely.  Yet this amazing sight did not exist simply for the sake of Moses’ curiosity.  Rather, it existed in order that the Lord might get Moses’ attention.  Even so, when Moses turned aside to approach the amazing sight of the burning bush, the Lord God “called unto him out of the midst of the bush.”  Thus Moses’ perspective of this event was brought to a change.  He now understood that he was not simply approaching an amazing sight, but was actually approaching the Almighty God.  Indeed, the Lord God immediately stopped Moses from approaching any further in order that He might teach Moses how to approach aright.

Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 3:1-4 reads, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.  And he said, Here am I.”

Sometimes in this life we become content and comfortable simply to maintain our existence in this life and to experience some enjoyment in this life.  Yet in so doing, we neglect to pursue the call of the Lord our God upon our lives.  This was just the walk of life into Moses had fallen in Exodus 2:21-22.  Yet the Lord our God does not allow us to remain in such a self-contented and self-comfortable condition.  Rather, He confronts us in order to stir us up unto His purpose for our lives.

Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 2:23-25 reads, “And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.  And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.”

Herein we find the tribulation of God’s people and the tenderness of the Lord God toward his people in the midst of their tribulation.

Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 2:11-15 reads, “And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.  And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.  And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?  And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?  Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?  And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses.  But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.”

Furthermore, Acts 7:22-29 reads, “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.  And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.  And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: for he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.  And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?  But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?  Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?  Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.”

These two passages speak concerning a choice that Moses made when he was forty years old.  He had been adopted by Pharaoh’s own daughter and had been raised in the palace as her own son.  Yet at the age of forty, it came into Moses’ heart “to visit his brethren the children of Israel” and to look “on their burdens.”  This Moses did because he recognized that Lord God had called him for His work of deliverance on the behalf of His people.  In fact, he even supposed that the children of Israel themselves “would have understood how that God by his [by Moses’] hand would deliver them.”  Indeed, Moses visited the children of Israel, attempting to find a way to bring about this deliverance on behalf of his brethren.  Yet at that time Moses failed in his attempt because he made the attempt in dependence upon his own ability, rather than in dependence upon the Lord his God.