CHAPTER TWO<\/p>\n
ONE OF LIFE\u2019S DETOURS<\/p>\n
Exodus 2:11\u201325<\/p>\n
Have you ever been driving and come upon a sign that reads, \u201cDetour?\u201d I hate it when that happens. I find detours extremely frustrating. They take you on unfamiliar roads, in a direction that you did not plan to go, and delay your arrival at your destination. Detours always result in wasted time.
\nDetours occur not only on the highways, but also sometimes in our lives. Sometimes we are planning on heading in one direction in life, then circumstances change drastically, sending us in a totally unexpected direction. Have you ever experienced a detour like this in your own life? I have experienced these detours many times.
\nSometimes my detours came as a result of circumstances beyond my control. Perhaps this has happened to you. Detours are sometimes the result of unforeseen events related to our health, employment, or family situation. At other times, however, I have caused my detours through my own deliberate actions and decisions. Sometimes these detours have been a product of wise and godly decisions, but I have also created detours in my life through unwise and rash decisions. Regardless of the cause of my life detours, when I encounter them my first reaction is very similar to the reaction I have when coming upon a detour while travelling in my car\u2014I feel like I am wasting time in reaching my ultimate destination.
\nWhen Moses was around forty years old, he too experienced one of life\u2019s detours. The course of his life was altered by an unwise and rash decision. This detour in Moses\u2019 life was significant; it lasted forty years. My guess is that during that lengthy detour Moses must have felt like that part of his life was an incredible waste of time. But actually God used this detour to prepare Moses for his role as mediator of the old covenant.<\/p>\n
A MAN OF PRIVILEGE<\/p>\n
If we are to understand how God used the detour in Moses\u2019 life to prepare him for his calling, we must first understand what caused the detour and why it was necessary for Moses to have such a course correction. The root cause was pride\u2014pride crept into Moses\u2019 heart because of his privileged background. During the first forty years of Moses\u2019 life he was a man with many advantages.
\nAs we saw in the previous chapter, the first privilege that Moses enjoyed was God\u2019s providential care. When Moses had no capacity to defend himself, God orchestrated his steps, and the steps of others, to ensure Moses\u2019 survival. As a young man, Moses also enjoyed the privileges of royalty. He was raised as a prince in Egypt. Because of this he never went without anything. Unlike his fellow Israelites, Moses never lived as a servant; rather, others served him. A third privilege Moses enjoyed in his youth was a first-class education. Moses received religious instruction from his mother, so he understood the wisdom of God, but he also received a top-notch secular education in Egypt: \u201cMoses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action\u201d (Acts 7:22). Moses had the privilege of learning both godly and worldly knowledge.
\nFinally, Moses was blessed with the privilege of a divine calling. He was called to be the mediator of the old covenant and the deliverer of God\u2019s people. Even though Moses was not yet aware of the full scope of this calling during his youth, the Scriptures reveal that he had some sense of this role. We know this because when he observed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, Moses described the Hebrew as \u201cone of his own people\u201d (Ex. 2:11). Stephen\u2019s sermon, particularly Acts 7:24\u201326, confirms the idea that Moses had a sense that God had called him to rescue his people. Moses had the privilege of being called by God to a great task.
\nMoses was clearly a privileged man, but like many men of privilege he allowed this privilege to give birth to personal pride and self-sufficiency. It was his pride that would bring about his fall and his forty-year detour.<\/p>\n
A MAN OF PRIDE<\/p>\n
Privilege often leads to pride. We hear stories like this every day in our world. Young men and women, who grow up surrounded by wealth and opportunity, allow their privilege to lead to personal pride. Often these stories do not end well as these young people perceive themselves as operating above the law and according to their own standards. This usually leads to their destruction and the loss of their advantages. When the seeds of privilege yield the harvest of pride, God sends correction; he did this in the life of Moses by sending him on a detour.
\nThe detour in Moses\u2019 life was caused by his prideful act that is recorded in Exodus 2:11\u201314. In this account we learn that Moses observed a Hebrew man being beaten by an Egyptian and he responded by killing the Egyptian. At first glance, Moses\u2019 actions, while wrong, seem to be motivated by sympathy for his fellow Hebrew and caused by impulsive, \u201cheat of the moment\u201d decision making. Also, other passages of Scripture, at least at first glance, seem to vindicate Moses for this rash decision. But when we examine more closely what occurred here, we see that Moses\u2019 decision was wrong and was motivated by his own prideful self-sufficiency. There are two ways in which we see Moses\u2019 pride in his decision to kill the Egyptian.
\nFirst, we see his pride in the fact that he attempted to impose his own timetable for the deliverance of the Hebrews. Moses understood that one of his own was being harmed here, and he also had some sense of his calling to be involved in the liberation of his people, but God had not yet revealed the plan for this deliverance. Accordingly, when Moses inserted himself into this situation, he was presuming that he understood his role and that it operated according to his own timetable. Whenever we attempt to replace God\u2019s timetable with our own, we are acting in a prideful manner.
\nA second way in which Moses\u2019 pride emerges in this account is the method that Moses chose to employ in the liberation of his people. God had a plan for how he would deliver the Israelites, a plan constructed to display God\u2019s glory and power. Moses\u2019 plan involved using his own physical strength. God\u2019s plan of deliverance was intended to publicly display his glory, but Moses\u2019 method involved an act in secret to hide his shame. We can see Moses\u2019 shame in the fact that he looked to the left and the right to make sure no one saw his deeds (Ex. 2:12). Whenever we substitute our methods for God\u2019s methods we are acting in a prideful manner.
\nThese prideful actions of Moses\u2014using his own timetable and employing his own methods\u2014are things we struggle with all the time as Christians. It is so easy for us to convince ourselves that God is not moving fast enough or that his methods are inefficient. I often face the temptation to accomplish my goals in my timing and in my way. Perhaps you too struggle with this temptation. The reality is that when we engage in this type of prideful behavior we are essentially declaring that we believe we are sovereign over our own lives and circumstances. Autonomy, pride, and self-sufficiency are simply a reflection of our self-love and self-idolatry. The end result of this type of pride is set forth for us in Proverbs 16:18, which says, \u201cPride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.\u201d This is exactly what happened to Moses after his prideful actions\u2014he experienced a destructive fall.
\nThe first destructive consequence of Moses\u2019 prideful actions was that they led him to being discredited among his own people. We can see this reality in the response that he received when he tried to break up an altercation between two Hebrews on the day after he killed the Egyptian. One of the Hebrew men in the fight said to Moses, \u201c\u00a0\u2018Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?\u2019 Then Moses was afraid and thought, \u2018What I did must have become known\u2019\u00a0\u201d (Ex. 2:14). Because of his pride, Moses had lost his moral authority as a leader of his own people.
\nMoses\u2019 pride also made him an enemy of Pharaoh. When Pharaoh learned of Moses\u2019 actions, he became angry and sought to kill Moses (Ex. 2:15). Moses was discredited among his own people and the Egyptians. He was a man without a people and without a country. He became a fugitive from the law and had only one choice\u2014to run.
\nBy his prideful actions, Moses was implying that he could go it alone. By using his own timetable and methods, Moses was declaring that he did not need God. The result of his prideful attitude and actions was that God let him go it alone for a while. Moses ran off alone to Midian. He ventured onto a great detour that would delay his involvement in the deliverance of God\u2019s people for forty years. But this forty-year detour was not wasted time; rather, it was necessary because Moses was not yet ready for service. He needed more preparation and that\u2019s exactly how God used this detour in Moses\u2019 life.<\/p>\n
A MAN PREPARED<\/p>\n
Moses\u2019 pride led him on a detour to nowhere. He found himself in the desert land of Midian. There he was a foreigner, a failure, and a fugitive. Gone were the pomp, circumstance, and luxuries of Pharaoh\u2019s house. Whereas he had once been a son in Pharaoh\u2019s palace, now he was reduced to being a lowly shepherd in the desert (Ex. 3:1). Once he had prospects of being the deliverer of the Hebrew people, but now he was a captive himself.
\nMoses must have thought that all was lost, but in actuality it was his forty years in the desert that prepared him to be what he was destined to become\u2014God\u2019s servant to deliver the Israelites out of bondage. Before he experienced this detour, Moses lacked two essential qualities that God requires of his servants: empathy and humility. Moses would cultivate both of these fruitful attributes while in the barren desert of Midian.
\nWe know that Moses had a sense of connection with the Hebrew people prior to his detour to Midian. But while Moses had a sense that he was a Hebrew and ethnically identified with them, prior to his detour he lacked any real sense of what it was like to be a Hebrew in Egypt. Remember, Moses was a Hebrew who grew up in Pharaoh\u2019s house. He knew nothing of the slavery and suffering of his people. But then in Midian he found himself in a form of bondage. He had been taken from his land and placed in a strange land among a strange people. He had lost his privileges. He had to work for a living, and he became a shepherd. In Midian he got a taste of what it was like to be a Hebrew in slavery in a foreign land. He could now identify and empathize with the Hebrew people whom he was destined to deliver by the power of God.
\nEmpathy is one of the qualities God demands from those called to be his servants. A deliverer in God\u2019s kingdom is required to identify and relate to those he is delivering. Moses began to understand the condition of the Hebrews while in Midian. He was now truly one of them and was prepared to lead and deliver them. Scripture attests to the development of this empathy in Moses in the words that the writer to the Hebrews uses to describe Moses in Hebrews 11:24\u201326:<\/p>\n
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh\u2019s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.<\/p>\n
Moses \u201cchose to be mistreated along with the people of God.\u201d When he saw the Hebrew being beaten by the Egyptian he had a sense of ethnic identity, but in Midian he began to embody a sense of ethnic empathy. It was in the desert of Midian that Moses truly learned what it was like to be a Hebrew.
\nMoses also learned humility while in Midian. Before Midian, Moses was full of himself. In Midian, he learned to be empty of self. It would be very easy to become full of yourself if you were raised in a setting of privilege like Moses was. You would never experience want, you would have servants at your beck and call, and everyone would cater to you and your needs.
\nWhile our culture sometimes admires and advances people who are full of themselves, God operates a very different type of economy. God requires his appointed leaders to empty themselves of pride and privilege. God seeks a humble and contrite heart and hates a prideful heart. God calls us to empty ourselves of ourselves. Interestingly, Moses began to understand this principal of emptiness at a place of filling.
\nAfter fleeing Egypt, Moses found himself near a well where seven daughters of a Midianite priest had come to fill their troughs (Ex. 2:16\u201317). But the seven daughters were being harassed by some shepherds and were prevented access to the well. When Moses saw this, he \u201cgot up and came to their rescue and watered their flock\u201d (Ex. 2:17). Moses\u2019 response reveals a massive change of heart. Think about what he did here. The women he assisted were not Hebrews and yet he helped them, and he did so without violence. He did not violate any commandments in pride and haste. Further, he not only rescued these women, but he also \u201cwatered their flock\u201d (Ex. 2:17).
\nNow think about Moses\u2019 actions for a moment. He had just left Egypt, where he was served by others and had never really engaged in any hard labor. Yet, here we find Moses serving a group of foreign women. He took the role of a servant. When he entered Midian, he began to serve rather than be served. He emptied himself of \u201cself\u201d and began to put the interests of others before his own. His fall from grace in Egypt and this episode in Midian put Moses on a path toward humility and service to others. It was a lesson he learned so well that in Numbers 12:3 he is described in these terms: \u201cNow Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.\u201d It was in the desert of Midian that Moses learned to be a servant; he learned about humility and its importance in God\u2019s kingdom. Moses\u2019 detour in Midian was not wasted time; it was time redeemed by God to prepare his servant.<\/p>\n
PREPARED FOR SERVANTHOOD?<\/p>\n
It is worth pausing to note how these two qualities, empathy and humility, are not only prerequisites for leadership in God\u2019s kingdom, but are also marks of the mature Christian life. All Christians are called to cultivate empathy and humility. Consider, for example, the following call for empathy issued by Paul from Philippians 2:2\u20134:<\/p>\n
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.<\/p>\n
Like Moses, we are called to move the focus off of ourselves and instead consider the lives, circumstances, needs, and interests of others. We are called to empathy.
\nHow are you doing in this area of your Christian walk? Are you like Moses before Midian, being consumed with your selfish ambition and pride? Or have you learned that the Christian life is about serving rather than being served? Have you, like Moses, learned how to water the flocks of others?
\nSimilarly, as Christians we are all called to humility. Humility involves self-emptying. Jesus makes it quite clear that the Christian life requires that we first empty ourselves so that we may find ourselves: \u201cWhoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it\u201d (Matt. 10:39). It is as if we are like a glass and we begin by being filled with ourselves. The glass full of self must be poured out like water, and then, and only then, can we begin to be filled with Christ. The idea that fullness begins with emptiness is one of the many paradoxes of the Christian life.
\nWhat is in the glass of your life? Are you like Moses before Midian, filled with self-love and pride, or have you learned what Moses learned? The fullness of life with God is found only when we empty our lives of self-love.<\/p>\n
A LIFE WITHOUT DETOURS<\/p>\n
We have seen that Moses required a detour in his life to equip him with the requisite attributes to become a successful servant-leader in God\u2019s kingdom. Moses had to go through Midian before he could lead God\u2019s people out of Egypt. His time in Midian was anything but wasted time. His detour, like many of our own detours, was used by God to prepare him for his calling. We, like Moses, often require a course correction in our lives. But Moses\u2019 detour not only serves to remind us of how God uses our mistakes to mold us for service; more importantly, it points us to the glory of Jesus.
\nThe people and events of the Old Testament often serve as types in foreshadowing the glory of Jesus and the new covenant. Sometimes these Old Testament types show us Jesus by means of their Christlike actions, but other times they show us the glory of Jesus by means of their failures and inadequacies. The latter is the case here with Moses\u2019 detour.
\nMoses is arguably the most revered Old Testament saint. He is certainly in the top three, along with Abraham and David. But, as with Abraham and David, Moses was a flawed man. He was also a flawed mediator. He did not volunteer to become empathetic, but instead was forced into it by his own sinful actions. Moses also did not willingly humble himself, but instead he had to have the glass of his life poured out forcefully by God sending him to Midian.
\nIn contrast, when we look at the life of our Savior, we see a starkly different picture. Jesus required no detour in his life. He was always singularly focused on the fulfilling of his Father\u2019s will. In Jesus, empathy and humility were always there and they were made manifestly evident in his incarnation and work on the cross. Listen to how Paul describes Jesus in Philippians 2:6\u20138:<\/p>\n
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death\u2014even death on a cross!<\/p>\n
Like Moses, Jesus was sent to deliver his people out of bondage, but Jesus willingly submitted to becoming like us so that he could deliver us. He understood that he had to identify and empathize with the people he came to save:<\/p>\n
For this reason he had to be made like them [or like his brothers], fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. (Heb. 2:17)<\/p>\n
He was willing to be born of a woman and born under the law that he himself made in order to \u201credeem those under the law\u201d and so that we \u201cmight receive adoption to sonship\u201d (Gal. 4:4\u20135).
\nUnlike Moses, Jesus required no detours and he never deviated from the path of God\u2019s will. It is this glorious reality that gives us hope and assurance in our salvation. Our redeemer, unlike Moses, never deviated from the course of his calling, and because of his steadfast, unswerving, and perfect obedience, we are delivered from the bondage of slavery to sin.<\/p>\n
FOR FURTHER REFLECTION<\/p>\n
1. This chapter focuses on a detour in Moses\u2019 life that took him in a direction that he did not want to go, but ultimately made him more useful to God. Have you ever taken such a detour in your life?<\/p>\n
2. Moses was raised as a boy of privilege in the house of Pharaoh. Can you name some of these privileges? What impact did these privileges have on Moses\u2019 character?<\/p>\n
3. Discuss how Moses\u2019 prideful attitude manifested itself in his slaying of the Egyptian. Can you think of other biblical passages which address the sin of pride?<\/p>\n
4. What were the two big lessons that Moses learned while exiled in Midian? How did these two lessons prepare Moses for leadership? Do you think these lessons are still relevant for believers and church leaders today? If so, why are they important?<\/p>\n
5. How does Moses\u2019 detour help us to see the greater glory of Jesus Christ?<\/p>\n
CHAPTER THREE<\/p>\n
A LIFE-CHANGING ENCOUNTER<\/p>\n
Exodus 3:1\u201310<\/p>\n
One day I was sitting in political science class at college when I took notice of a young woman sitting a few desks away from me. She seemed very intelligent to me and also very attractive. That day in class we were discussing the writings of John Calvin and the operation of the city of Geneva during the time of the Reformation. I was not a Christian at that point and was a bit skeptical of Calvin\u2019s worldview. After class I engaged the young woman in a conversation during which she advised me that she actually believed in Calvin\u2019s theology and invited me to attend her \u201cCalvinist\u201d church. I took her up on this offer and visited her church. Eventually, by God\u2019s grace and the ministry of that church, I came to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. I also married that young woman (you probably saw that coming!). That day in political science class changed my life.
\nHave you ever had a life-changing encounter? Have you ever met someone who ultimately altered the course of your life? I am guessing that you have experienced this on some level. Perhaps, like me, you met the love of your life, or maybe you met someone who profoundly influenced your career choice. Of course, if you are a Christian, then you have certainly had a life-changing encounter because you have met the risen Lord. In fact, the entire Bible is really a story of a life-changing encounter between God and man. God, in his merciful condescension, chose to encounter humanity and entered into a covenant with our first parents. After the fall, God, in his gracious condescension, once again chose to encounter his people through a covenant of grace whereby his people would be redeemed through the work of Jesus Christ.
\nWhen we meet God, be it like Paul on the road to Damascus, or through the preached Word, our lives are irrevocably altered. One cannot meet the holy and living God and remain unchanged and unaffected by it. Moses had one of those life-changing encounters with God near Mount Horeb (also known as Mount Sinai) while tending his father-in-law\u2019s flocks on the far side of the desert.
\nAs we explore Moses\u2019 life-changing encounter, we will examine where it happened, who he encountered, what occurred in that encounter, and why God initiated the encounter. In other words, we will look at the where, who, what, and why of this encounter.<\/p>\n
THE MOUNTAINS OF MOSES\u2019 LIFE<\/p>\n
When we experience a life-changing encounter we often recall vividly where it occurred. For instance, I will never forget the political science classroom in which I met my wife for the first time. In the Bible, the \u201cwhere\u201d of an encounter with God often carries great significance. That is certainly the case here. God chose to meet Moses at Mount Horeb, the \u201cmountain of God\u201d (Ex. 3:1). Mount Horeb is generally agreed by scholars to be another name for Mount Sinai. God met Moses at a mountain, God\u2019s mountain.
\nIf you read the Bible carefully, you will quickly note that mountains play an important role in God\u2019s revelation. It is often the case that crucial redemptive events occur at mountains. For example, in the Old Testament, the garden of Eden is described as a mountain (Ezek. 28:13\u201315) and Abraham\u2019s effort to sacrifice Isaac and God\u2019s provision of a sacrifice occurred at a mountain (Gen. 22:1\u201314). The New Testament continues to exhibit this \u201cmountain motif\u201d as Jesus resisted Satan\u2019s temptation on a mountain (Matt. 4:8; Luke 4:5), delivered his great sermon on a mountain (Matt. 5:1; Mark 3:13), pronounced his Great Commission from a mountain (Matt. 28:16), and later, after his death and resurrection, ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:10\u201312). Mountains play a significant role in God\u2019s revelation of himself and the unfolding plan of redemption.
\nAs you can see, where things occur in the Bible is very important, particularly when the \u201cwhere\u201d is a mountain. Moses\u2019 life reveals the truth of this principle. In fact, you can trace the peaks and valleys of Moses\u2019 life by literally examining his life from the perspective of the various mountains that are part of his story. As we have already seen, he is about to have a life-changing encounter here at Mount Horeb (Ex. 3). As we will see in this chapter, this will be a very positive development in Moses\u2019 life. Later in the book of Exodus, Moses will return to this very same mountain to meet with God again and receive the Ten Commandments (Ex. 19\u201334). This latter encounter on Mount Sinai is not only the most important event in Moses\u2019 life, it is also one of the most important events in the entirety of biblical revelation. The peaks of Moses\u2019 life were often experienced on the peak of a mountain. But Moses also experienced some valley moments in his life, and these often occurred while at a mountain as well. For example, later in his life he stood on Mount Pisgah and God allowed him to survey the land of promise, but there God told him that he could not enter the land because of his disobedience in the incident of bringing water from the rock (Deut. 34:1\u20134).
\nIn God\u2019s grace, however, Moses\u2019 mountain experiences did not end with the low note of Mount Pisgah. The Bible describes one additional mountain experience in Moses\u2019 life. In the New Testament, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a \u201chigh mountain\u201d (Matt. 17:1); on that mountain Jesus was transfigured before them. Jesus\u2019 face shone like the sun and his clothes were bright white, as bright as the light (Matt. 17:2). But Jesus was not alone in that glorious moment of his messianic revelation. Jesus had two companions on that occasion\u2014one was Elijah and the other was Moses. Of all of the mountain moments in Moses\u2019 life, none compared to the surpassing glory of being in the presence of his Lord Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is the moment of Moses\u2019 greatest glory as he fulfills his calling of pointing to the prophet and mediator who is greater than he. While Moses may not have entered the dusty ground of the earthly land of promise, there is no doubt that he made it to the Promised Land of heavenly Jerusalem!
\nThe great trek of the mountains of Moses\u2019 life began at Mount Horeb. It is at this location where Moses\u2019 ministry begins. It is at this mountain that Moses\u2019 life changes in profound ways. Ultimately, however, it is not the \u201cwhere\u201d of this encounter that changes his life and alters his course, but rather the \u201cwho\u201d he meets there.<\/p>\n
THE ANGEL OF THE LORD<\/p>\n
The life-changing encounters of our lives generally involve a dynamic person. Sometimes that person is a teacher, the coach of a team, or a youth group leader. The most important \u201cperson\u201d a Christian can encounter, however, is the living God. To be a Christian means that God has intruded into your life, on his own initiative, and changed your life by his wondrous love and grace. In this sense, we share something in common with Moses. For like all Christians, Moses had a life-changing encounter with the living God while at Mount Horeb. But Moses\u2019 encounter with God was also quite different from our personal experience of encountering God. What Moses experienced at Mount Horeb was a unique, one-time event in redemptive history in which he physically encountered the angel of the Lord: \u201cThere the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up\u201d (Ex. 3:2).
\nWho was this angel of the Lord? Who met with Moses that day? Was this encounter similar to that of Zechariah in the New Testament where an angel of the Lord visited Zechariah to declare the forthcoming birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:11\u201320)? It is unmistakable from the text that Moses did not meet with an intermediary sent from God that day at Mount Horeb, but rather with God himself. We can tell this because it is God\u2019s voice that speaks to Moses from the burning bush: \u201cWhen the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, \u2018Moses! Moses!\u2019\u00a0\u201d (Ex. 3:4). In addition to the presence of God\u2019s voice, the text also reveals that this voice clearly identifies who he is:<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not come any closer,\u201d God said. \u201cTake off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.\u201d Then he said, \u201cI am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.\u201d At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.<\/p>\n
The one whose voice cried out from the bush declared himself to be God. Moses did not meet with a mere angel that day, which would have been extraordinary in its own right; instead, Moses experienced something even more extraordinary that day: he experienced a direct personal encounter with the Great I Am. This conclusion finds further support in the fact that Moses is instructed to take off his sandals because he is standing on \u201choly ground\u201d (Ex. 3:4).
\nMost scholars agree that what Moses experienced that day was a theophany\u2014a visible manifestation of God. Some even contend that Moses encountered the preincarnate Son of God in the burning bush. While it is not exegetically settled that this represents an encounter with the Son of God, it is abundantly clear that Moses encountered the living and powerful God who manifested his presence to his servant by means of a burning bush and the angel of the Lord.
\nThe \u201cwho\u201d of this life-changing encounter was the Lord Almighty. God intruded into Moses\u2019 life at Mount Horeb. As is always the case with such manifestations of God\u2019s power and presence, there was a distinct purpose behind this miraculous display of his glory. God had a mission and mandate for Moses. This brings us to the \u201cwhat\u201d of this encounter.<\/p>\n
THE MISSION OF MOSES<\/p>\n
The \u201cwhat\u201d of Moses\u2019 encounter with the Angel of the Lord at Mount Horeb refers to the substance of what was conveyed to Moses there. God called Moses to Mount Horeb because he had a mission for Moses and he communicated it to him in no uncertain terms: \u201cSo now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt\u201d (Ex. 3:10). It was this calling that would drastically alter the trajectory of Moses\u2019 life. Like the World War II posters of Uncle Sam that called young men to enlist in the army, God was pointing his finger at Moses and saying, \u201cI want you!\u201d
\nOne might think that Moses\u2019 reaction to such an illustrious calling would be to express gratitude to God or to be puffed up with pride. After all, God was choosing Moses from among all of the Israelites to lead God\u2019s people out of bondage. God was appointing Moses as the supreme commander over the liberation of the Israelites. What a privilege!
\nThe last time Moses had a sense of this calling it had gone straight to his head, and he usurped God\u2019s timetable by killing the Egyptian who was abusing a Hebrew. But Moses was not the same man now. He had his forty years\u2019 experience of humbling in the desert of Midian. His first reaction to God\u2019s awesome calling upon his life was neither gratitude nor pride; rather, it was doubt and humility: \u201cBut Moses said to God, \u2018Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?\u2019\u00a0\u201d (Ex. 3:11).
\nIn my opinion, this was one of Moses\u2019 best moments and one of his most lucid responses to God. Granted, there were certainly pragmatic reasons for Moses to respond in the manner he did. After all, he was still technically a fugitive from Egypt and had run away from Pharaoh and the Egyptians with his tail between his legs. There was also the reality that he had not seen his Hebrew brethren in forty years and many would likely not even recognize him; those who did would likely recall his shameful exit. In addition to these practical concerns was the reality that Moses was being called to oppose Pharaoh, who was the leader of the mightiest nation in Moses\u2019 world. But while there were certainly numerous pragmatic reasons for Moses to want to shrink from this calling, I think there was something more at work here. I think Moses\u2019 reaction reflected his humbling and his awareness of his own weaknesses. He was no longer the brash young son of Pharaoh\u2019s house. He now understood that attempting to accomplish God\u2019s calling in his own power would be a recipe for disaster. Moses never spoke more true words than when he stated, \u201cWho am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?\u201d (Ex. 3:11).
\nIt is often the case that the greatest spiritual strides forward in our lives begin with the question, \u201cWho am I?\u201d The question reflects awareness that without God we can do nothing. This is what Jesus taught when he spoke of the vine and the branches: \u201cI am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing\u201d (John 15:5). To say \u201cWho am I?\u201d when called to a challenging task does not reflect cowardice or a lack of faith, but rather reflects the knowledge that in our own strength we will fail. Moses now understood his weaknesses and this displayed that he was ready for his calling.
\nAfter Moses\u2019 self-effacing response to God\u2019s amazing calling on his life, God did not accuse Moses of lack of faith, but instead encouraged Moses: \u201cAnd God said, \u2018I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain\u2019\u00a0\u201d (Ex. 3:12). Note that God encouraged Moses by conveying two things to him\u2014God\u2019s presence with him and a sign that assured Moses that his mission would be a success. God filled the void of Moses\u2019 self-acknowledged weakness with the fullness of his loving assurance. Moses knew that the Angel of the Lord was with him.
\nThis interchange between God and Moses should provide assurance for all of us. Although we are not called to the unique redemptive-historical mission that God gave to Moses, we all do have a calling from God on our lives. We are all called to be holy and to live for him. This is an insurmountable task in our own strength. There is no way we can be successful in our calling apart from the work of Jesus Christ. Just as with Moses, we must look that calling square in the face and say, \u201cWho am I?\u201d The response we receive from God is very similar to the one that he gave Moses. God\u2019s Word tells us that he will be with us (Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5) and that he has given us signs to assure us of victory (1 Cor. 11:23\u201325; Col. 2:11\u201312). In fact, every time we come to the Lord\u2019s Table, or when we are once brought, or come to, the baptismal font, we have that assuring combination of God\u2019s presence and a sign confirming our victory through Jesus Christ. Moses had this assurance and it is ours as well through Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n
WHY GOD CAME DOWN<\/p>\n
Now we come to the last aspect of Moses\u2019 life-changing encounter\u2014the \u201cwhy\u201d of the encounter. Why did God intrude into Moses\u2019 life at this particularly significant place, Mount Horeb, and communicate his mission to him through the extraordinary agency of the Angel of the Lord? God makes this clear in Exodus 3:8: \u201cSo I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.\u201d Why did the \u201choly one,\u201d the consuming fire, reveal himself to a fugitive in the backwaters of Midian? He did it to save his people, to fulfill his promises, and to bring redemption.
\nThe importance of the imagery of God coming \u201cdown\u201d to rescue his people should not escape us. This phrase clearly refers to the condescension of God in stooping from his heavenly throne to redeem his earthly people. It not only demonstrates God\u2019s love in condescending to redeem those who don\u2019t deserve it, but it also reveals the monergistic nature of redemption. Monergism simply means that God is the sole initiator and participant in the work of redemption. He is the active one who makes it possible. This is exactly what happened to Israel during the time of their slavery in Egypt. God determined that the time of their redemption had come and he initiated the process of their redemption by choosing an earthly mediator, Moses, to administer his plan. But the entire process was fuelled by God\u2019s condescension, initiative, and redeeming power. All Moses could do is confess in his weakness, \u201cWho am I?\u201d
\nOf course, the biblical-theological parallels between the imagery of Exodus 3:8 and the work of Jesus Christ are unmistakable. The epitome of God\u2019s condescending love is the incarnation of the eternal Son of God. In Jesus Christ, God the Son stooped down and became man. Why did he do this? He did it to redeem his people from bondage to sin and death.
\nBut while there are parallels between the two episodes, the glory of the work of Jesus Christ is also unparalleled in many ways. Israel was freed from bondage to an earthly nation, but Jesus freed us from the much greater foes of sin and death. In reality, Jesus freed us from the wrath of God and made peace between his people and God. Also, in the Exodus account, Moses serves as God\u2019s mediator, but in the new covenant it is Jesus, God himself, who serves as the mediator. The work of Jesus completely eclipsed the work that God did through Moses. As John reminds us in his Gospel, \u201cFor the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ\u201d (John 1:17). Unlike Moses, Jesus would give his perfect life for the redemption of his people. Moses, by the power of God, turned the Nile to blood, but Jesus gave us the sacrifice of his own blood.
\nThis reality of a God who stoops down to save the undeserving is one of the greatest mysteries of our existence, and it speaks to the fathomless depths of God\u2019s love. Why did God intrude into the life of Moses? He did it because he loves his people and because his promises will never fall to the ground. He did it because he is the God who redeems his people from bondage.<\/p>\n
THE GOD WHO CHANGES PEOPLE<\/p>\n
One of the attributes of God is his immutability. When theologians speak of the immutability of God, what they mean, in laymen\u2019s terms, is that God does not change. The Bible teaches this truth in many places. For example, consider Malachi 3:6: \u201cI the LORD do not change\u201d; James 1:17: \u201cEvery good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows\u201d; and Hebrews 13:8: \u201cJesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.\u201d God cannot change and does not change. The reason for this is that he is self-existent, self-sufficient, and perfect. Nothing can act upon him to change him and he has no need to be changed. The same is not true of us. This is why God\u2019s immutability is referred to as an \u201cincommunicable\u201d attribute, that is, it is one that is not reflected in or shared by humanity. We are mutable creatures.
\nWhile God does not change, thankfully, he intercedes in the lives of his people to change them. Our God changes people. This is good news because we, unlike God, are in need of changing. Because of the fall, all mankind is in an estate of sin and misery and we are subject to God\u2019s wrath. The only way out of that horrifying reality is the changeless God who changes people.
\nMoses understood well this reality in his own life. After messing up his life in his early years, he spent forty long years in a desert. What happened in the dust of Midian? God changed Moses. The culminating event of the changes in Moses\u2019 life was the encounter he had with God at Mount Horeb. This was a pivotal point for Moses. He would no longer be a second-rate shepherd in Midian, but he would now become the mediator of the old covenant. Now that\u2019s a life-changing encounter!
\nBut Moses wasn\u2019t the only biblical figure who had his life changed by an encounter with God. Abram was called by God out of Ur of the Chaldees to become the father of a nation. David, the runt of his family and a mere shepherd boy, was called by God to be the greatest king of the Old Testament, foreshadowing the coming of King Jesus. Peter, James, and John were out fishing one day when Jesus called them to drop their nets and become fishers of men\u2014and they did. Paul was struck blind by Jesus on the road to Damascus and was enlisted to become the apostle to the Gentiles. God has a pattern of intruding into the lives of his creatures to alter who they are.
\nNow, it is true that none of us have been called to such important roles in God\u2019s redemptive plan. The life-changing encounters I have listed are nonrepeatable events. But this does not mean that we have not experienced, or cannot, a life-changing encounter with God. In fact, it occurs quite frequently. It occurs every time a sinner repents and confesses Jesus Christ as Lord. Salvation is a life-changing encounter in which God changes not only the trajectory of our lives, but also who we are. When God stoops down to meet us, through his Word and Spirit and by the work of Jesus Christ, we become new creations: \u201cTherefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!\u201d (2 Cor. 5:17).
\nWhat Moses\u2019 life-changing encounter teaches us is that we serve a God who will go to extreme lengths to redeem the lost. He does not cast aside his people because they are unworthy or incapable. Instead he condescends to meet with them, change them, and free them from bondage. The only appropriate response to such glorious grace is, \u201cWho am I?\u201d<\/p>\n
FOR FURTHER REFLECTION<\/p>\n
1. This chapter focuses on a life-changing encounter that occurred in Moses\u2019 life. Have you ever experienced such an encounter in your life?<\/p>\n
2. List several significant events in Moses\u2019 life that took place at a mountain. Can you think of other significant redemptive-historical events that occurred at a mountain?<\/p>\n
3. What is a theophany and how does it relate to the \u201cAngel of the Lord\u201d? Can you think of other theophanies in the Old Testament?<\/p>\n
4. How did Moses\u2019 response to receiving his mission reveal that he was now ready to assume the role of a servant-leader?<\/p>\n
5. Why did God condescend to meet with Moses? What does this tell us about God\u2019s role in our salvation?<\/p>\n
6. This chapter of Moses\u2019 life reveals how God changes people. Can you name some other biblical figures who experienced drastic changes in their lives? How about in your own life? Did God drastically change you?<\/p>\n