Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Exodus 18:1) When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses's father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt; (2) Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses's wife, after he had sent her back,
Moses's father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard all that the Lord had done for Moses and the children of Israel, bringing them out of Egypt. He then took his daughter, Moses's wife, Zipporah, and went to meet him. It is not clear when Zipporah and Moses's sons returned to Midian to her father, but it may have been when they were on the way to Egypt from Midian, at the inn, when Zipporah took the sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses's feet (Exodus 4:25). That was the last we read of her until now. Perhaps she had been alarmed at the danger to which one of her sons had been exposed, and afraid of even worse, left Moses and returned to her father. Or perhaps Moses, foreseeing the troubles to which his wife and children were likely to be exposed had he taken them to Egypt, sent them back to his father-in-law until such time when God would deliver His people. Jethro, now finding that God had delivered them and destroyed their enemies, went to visit Moses and to bring his wife and sons back to him.
(3) And her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”; (4) And the name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”. (5) And Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, took Moses's wife, Zipporah, and his two sons with him. Gershom was Moses's firstborn son, as we read in Exodus 2:22, and his name literally meant "refugee"; he was born when Moses had fled to Midian to escape Pharaoh and was a stranger in that foreign land. Moses's second son was Eliezer, which literally meant "God of help" or "God is help"; he so named him because God was his help and delivered him from Pharaoh. Jethro came with Zipporah and her sons Gershom and Eliezer, to Moses in the wilderness where he camped at Mount Horeb.
(6) And he said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” (7) And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him; and they asked each other about their welfare, and they went into the tent.
Jethro obviously sent word to Moses when he was a way off that he was coming with Moses's wife and children. Moses went out to meet him, bowed out of respect to him, kissed him, and they each asked about how the other was doing, and then went inside the tent.
(8) And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had delivered them. (9) And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
Moses told Jethro about all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians in order to deliver Israel from their hands. He told him about all the hardships they had encountered in the wilderness, and how the Lord had delivered them out of each and every one. Jethro was very happy to hear of all the good things the Lord had done for Israel.
(10) And Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. (11) Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, for in the thing in which they dealt proudly, He was above them.”
Jethro gave the glory to God for what He had done. Now Jethro knew that the Lord was greater than all the other gods. In all the ways they acted proudly, whether it was the way they enslaved the children of Israel, or the magicians who tried to mimic the Lord, or Pharaoh himself laying down the law, in all the ways they dealt proudly, the Lord was greater than the Egyptians and all their gods. It was Matthew Henry who pointed out in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, "While the Israelites were themselves murmuring, notwithstanding all God's goodness to them, here was a Midianite rejoicing." Jethro was a priest, a Midianite priest. What exactly did that mean with regard to his belief in the one true God? He was a godly man; that part seems obvious by his words and behavior. I don't believe Moses would have married the daughter of a pagan priest. Some say he was always a believer in the one true God, and this was just confirmation to him. Others believe he was at this time converted to the one true God. I believe it might be a little of both. Midian was a son of Abraham from his wife Keturah (Gen. 25:1-2). I have read that the Midianites worshiped a variety of gods, but as Abrahamic descendants, they would have had knowledge of the one true God. From scripture, we have to assume they had indeed turned away from the one true God as they were not included with God's children of Israel. Jethro, having knowledge of the one true God, and having now heard of His miraculous rescue and provision for His people, was convinced that this was the one true God, greater than all other gods he may have worshiped previously.
(12) And Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses's father-in-law before God.
I believe it may have been to confirm with a sign of his belief in the one true God, and his desire to worship and give glory to the Lord, that Jethro then gave a burnt offering and offered sacrifices to the Lord. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to share and eat in the place of the offered sacrifices to the Lord.
(13) And it came to pass on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. (14) And when Moses's father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand by you from morning until evening?” (15) And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. (16) When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”
Even though his father-in-law had come for a visit, it appears that on the next day, Moses was back to work, apparently counseling the people, answering inquiries, and judging controversies between people. It appears to have been an unending task, as people were lined up before him from morning until evening. Jethro asked Moses about it, I think his point being why Moses "alone" sat and judged the people from morning until evening. Moses answered matter-of-factly that he did it because the people came to him. He realized that they saw that God worked through Moses and spoke to him, so they came to him to know the will of God; and I am sure Moses was happy to be a mediator between God and the people, happy that they trusted him to be led by God, and happy they sought their Lord's will. Additionally, when the people had a matter they could not solve, they came to Moses to judge between the parties, making known God's laws in each situation.
(17) And Moses's father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. (18) You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself."
How many times do good people of integrity pile too much on themselves thinking it is their responsibility? Jethro, as the wise father-in-law, was teaching Moses to delegate! Sometimes it takes an outsider to see more clearly what is going on and what is needed. Jethro could see it was no good the way it was being done at present. Not that anything was morally wrong, but he could see how time consuming it was, and that Moses would wear himself out at that rate, and then wouldn't be any good to any of the people. The people's patience would probably wear thin having to wait in lines all day to hear what Moses had to say.
(19) “Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the causes to God. (20) And you shall teach them ordinances and laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do."
Jethro was a wise man and may have been given understanding and a solution to Moses's problem by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He had just confessed that the Lord was greatest of all, and had sacrificed to the Lord, and might well have received insights from the Holy Spirit, as he made it a point to tell Moses to listen to him, he would give him counsel, and God would be with him. Moses was to stand before God between God and the people as their mediator, which sounds like what he had been doing, but it would come to mean just the difficult cases would come before Moses. Moses would teach the people about God's ordinances and laws; then they would not have to bring every little thing to him. He would not just teach them legalism, but he would show them the way in which they should walk before the Lord, and the works they should do. He would teach them about their way of life as children of the Lord.
(21) “Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. (22) And let them judge the people at all seasons; and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. (23) If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”
Additionally, Moses was to select men from all the people to be "rulers", as the scripture says, but their jobs appear to be judges; perhaps "wardens" or "overseers" or "managers" might be the preferred definitions of the word "sar". Although scripture doesn't say exactly how this was to work, I found this rather concise and sensible description of how it worked from the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by Canne, Browne, Blayney, Scott, and others: "Whatever matter the decarch, or ruler over ten, could not decide, went to the pentecontarch, or ruler of fifty, and thence by degrees to the hecatontarch, or ruler over a hundred, to the chiliarch, or ruler over a thousand, to Moses, and at length to God himself. Each magistrate had the care or inspection of only ten men; the decarch superintended ten private characters; the hecatontarch ten decarchs; and the chiliarch, ten hecatontarchs."
I love this description of how Moses was to select judges! They were to be men who feared God, men of truth, and unselfish men who hated covetousness, the idea being that they would do their work for God, and would never pervert justice for personal gain. Imagine if we selected judges by that criteria now! Our land wouldn't be filled with the blood of tens of millions of unborn babies, for one thing! The men Moses selected were to judge at all times, taking care of all the small matters, bringing to Moses only what was too difficult for them to judge. In this way, it would be easier on Moses, as he would have "lower court judges", so to speak, bearing some of the burden of judging the people with him. Jethro offered this good advice and plan, but was modest enough to leave the decision of whether or not to invoke it, to Moses under the direction of God. However, if he did follow this plan, Jethro added that Moses would be able to endure and continue helping the people, and the people would be able to go to their places in peace, having had their disputes handled in a much more timely manner.
(24) So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
Knowing the nature of Moses, I am quite sure he did pray about the matter and receive confirmation from God, and did follow the advice of his father-in-law. Moses was not afraid to take the advice of an outsider or "inferior". John Wesley said it well, "Those are not so wise as they would be thought to be, who think themselves too wise to be counselled; for a wise man will hear, and will increase learning, and not slight good counsel, though given by an inferior."
(25) And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the
people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and
rulers of tens. (26) And they judged the people at all seasons; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
Moses indeed chose judges from among the people and made them heads of groups of people, and they judged the people's smaller matters at all times. Only the more difficult cases were brought to Moses.
(27) And Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land.
After that, Moses "let" his father-in-law leave. Perhaps he had been encouraging him to stay, as many of the commentaries I read point to a passage in Numbers believing it to be the same time as this, when Moses was doing just that. Perhaps he reluctantly allowed this wise counselor and aid to him to depart back to his own country. It does seem that Jethro now had, if not a new, definitely a renewed and enhanced knowledge of the Lord that he would now take back to his people in Midian. I am struck by this awesome example of how God often uses people to enact His will. God could have easily told Moses Himself how to set up this "judicial system". By using Jethro, someone who could have been considered Moses's inferior, Moses was helped by remaining humble and teachable. A "lesser" man could have certainly become terribly prideful by this time. God, in His mercy, was constantly teaching and refining Moses. In addition, think of all the good that could come from Jethro going back to his people to tell them of all that the Lord had done, and how he was convinced that He was the greatest of all gods. I always love watching a Godly plan come together!
Showing posts with label Jethro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jethro. Show all posts
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Moses and the Burning Bush
Continuing from the last blog post a chronological study of the Bible:
(Exodus 3:1) 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 Horeb, the mountain of God.
In the last chapter, it appeared that Moses's father-in-law was Reuel. Probably Reuel was the patriarch of the family, and as we read about the sons and daughters of Jacob, or the sons and daughters of Abraham, who were actually descendants further down the line than first sons and daughters, so was probably the case with the daughters of Reuel. We read elsewhere (Acts 7:30) that forty years had passed since Moses first came to Midian, so perhaps Reuel had died, and now Jethro was the patriarch of the family. Some of the early commentaries wrote that Jethro was actually Moses's father-in-law, the father of Zipporah, and Reuel was her grandfather, where others believed Jethro was Moses's brother-in-law, Reuel being his father-in-law. The original word "chathan" which was translated as "father-in-law" was generally understood to mean that, but its actual literal meaning is "to contract affinity through marriage (especially through the bride)", so father-in-law or brother-in-law, either one, would seem reasonable. I tend to believe Jethro was Moses's father-in-law as he would later become someone from whom Moses would take "fatherly advice".
Moses tended the flock of his father-in-law, and at this time led the flock to the back part of the desert, where there were probably good pastures for feeding the flock. He came to Horeb, the "mountain of God", a name that was probably given it after the incident which happened next, or perhaps after God gave His people the law from this mountain. Horeb and Sinai were two peaks of the same mountain.
(2) And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
In Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, Mr. Clarke wrote that this was no ordinary angel, "not a created angel certainly... but Jesus, the Leader, Redeemer, and Savior of mankind." Some other Biblical scholars agree, but it was from studying Clarke's writings that I was referred to other passages in the Bible that convinced me it was true. The original word translated as "angel" was "malak", a "messenger", and the word used for "LORD" was Jehovah. This messenger of Jehovah would a few verses later give His name. He could be speaking for Jehovah God, but Who is the Word of God? John 1 tells us clearly that the Word of God is Jesus. Additionally, Clarke pointed out that in Exodus 23:20-21, God spoke of an Angel He would send. He said to beware of that angel and obey His voice because God's name was in Him, and God's name was Jehovah, so that appeared to be the same messenger of Jehovah as is referenced in verse 2 above. I'm not sure that I understood that phrase to mean Jesus before. These same words were used for the angel of the LORD who spoke to Hagar. Maybe the identity of this messenger of God is not what is most important, but we can be certain any messenger would be given the full authority needed to fulfill the will of God at any given time. Maybe Jesus, the actual Word of God, is who God chose to use from time to time, whereas He may have used a created messenger at other times. Either way, we can be sure what Moses was about to experience was from God Himself.
(3) And Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”
Moses wrote about this incident after it happened, so he came to know that it was the Angel of the LORD appearing to him in that bush, but I don't believe he knew it at the time, or at least not at first. However, he was very interested in trying to figure out how that bush was burning, but was not being burned up.
(4) And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
The first thing that caught my attention was that the LORD saw, and God called. The LORD is "Jehovah", the name for God Himself. The word translated as "God" is "Elohiym", and it's plural! That is something I'm not sure I ever before realized. I've known that Elohim was a name for God, but more specifically, it appears to be the name for the entire Godhead--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jehovah God saw, and then Jehovah God, with the Word Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God, called to Moses. Note that "Eloahh" is the singular form of Elohiym.
Note that the scripture says, "when the LORD saw...". That would seem to imply that if Moses had not taken notice of the burning bush, God would not have spoken to him at this time. 40 years before this time, Moses seemed to have received a calling that he would rescue his people, but it didn't seem the time was right then. Maybe even now at this time, God was testing Moses to see if he was ready. In Paul's writings in the New Testament he wrote about the spirit in man (Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 2), and the natural man with the spirit of the world cannot see the things of God. I think back to Esau, who did not appear to see the things of God, but valued more the base things of the world. Jacob, on the other hand, constantly strove for the blessings of God. You might think a burning bush that was not consumed would interest anyone, but I am willing to bet there was a spiritual element to this burning bush (obviously, right?) that perhaps only one ready to receive the spiritual things of God would perceive. Maybe it's like that when God calls us to salvation. Of course, God would already know if we were going to accept Him or not, just like He already knew that Moses would turn aside to see the burning bush, so are these tests really necessary? I believe they are for us ourselves. How many times can we look upon in our past where we can see the leading of God's Holy Spirit that we may not have recognized at the time? It's important for us to begin to recognize and discern the things of God and I believe God may give us practice for our benefit. Oh, maybe it's not really designed as "practice"; He's always there and always working, refining us as gold. But it is important for us to learn to recognize the Holy Spirit because there are many false spirits in the world and many masquerading as angels of light. Once we start to recognize the Holy Spirit, we are more apt to look for His leading in the future. God saw that Moses was ready to hear Him and called audibly out to him. Moses answered right away. It surely must have taken him by surprise, but in his spirit he must have known this was God calling him, and he answered immediately, ready not just to listen, but to do whatever He asked of him.
(5) And He said, “Do not draw near this place; take your shoes off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Moses turned aside toward the burning bush, but God commanded that he not come near, that he keep his distance. He furthermore told him to remove his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. I don't believe it was previously known as holy, as some have suggested, but was holy because of the presence of God at this moment. If it had always been considered holy ground, Moses would surely have known about it. He was instructed to remove his shoes as was the custom of respect and submission, but more than that, this ground was made holy because of the presence of the Lord, and Moses was being cautioned not to enter it lightly or rashly or with irreverence. Moses was to approach God with a solemn pause, observing proper distance because of the awesome majesty and power of the Lord God, and he was not to tread near with soiled shoes.
(6) Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
God told Moses that He was the God of his father Amram, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The significance of this statement is more apparent when you consider Jesus's words in Mark 12:26-27a (and other places):
“And concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living..."
By this statement, God declared to Moses that He was God, the God of his fathers gone before him, teaching him that there was a future state for those who looked to God and had faith in His promises. Abraham was dead, yet God said, "I am the God of Abraham", not "I was (when he was living)..." Abraham's soul lived, as did the souls of Moses's fathers before him who had faith in God's promises, and that should give Moses confidence in the fulfillment of the promises made to his forefathers. Moses realized he was in the presence of God and hid his face, probably ashamed as well as afraid to look upon God.
(7) And the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows."
The Lord told Moses that He had seen the affliction of His people in Egypt. Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that the word translated as "taskmasters" above was a different word than the one used previously, and indicated more like "oppressors, harassers, or tyrants". God saw, God heard, and God knew... I believe that was expressed in three distinct ways because God knew the hearts and inward secret sorrows that were not openly expressed.
(8) "And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. (9) Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them."
Furthermore, God told Moses He had come down to deliver His people from the Egyptians. Because God is omnipresent and is everywhere, He didn't actually physically move from heaven above down to Egypt to deliver His people, but He did make Himself manifest to Moses to declare His plan of deliverance. However, in the form of Jesus Christ, God did indeed come down from heaven to deliver us! Not only was God going to deliver His people out of the hand of the Egyptians, but He was going to bring them to a good and large land, in contrast to the small tract of Goshen. It would be a vast land of richness and abundance, a place then occupied by the Canaanites, etc. God repeated that He had indeed seen the oppression of His people.
(10) “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
God concluded with His commission to Moses that he go to Pharaoh as an ambassador for his people, to negotiate their release from the burdens and oppression, and to bring them out of Egypt.
(11) And Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Moses saw himself as weak, insufficient, and incapable of performing the task at hand. As Moses thought of himself, he couldn't see that it was even possible that he could accomplish such a thing.
(12) And He said, “Certainly I will be with you; and this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Moses was right, he himself could not do such a thing, but God told him that He would surely be with him to accomplish the task. The words "shall be" were added by the KJV translators for what they thought was clarity, but I don't believe God was telling Moses that the sign would be that he would serve God on that mountain. Rather, I believe He was saying that this, the burning bush, was the sign that God was surely with him and was the One sending him on such a seemingly impossible mission. Then when he had brought the people out of Egypt, they would return to this mountain and serve God there.
(13) And Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
Not only did Moses feel inadequate to challenge Pharaoh, but he felt inadequate to convince the people. Although that question that Moses expected the people to ask always seemed a strange one to me, it is true that at this time in their existence the children of Israel had been deeply entrenched in Egyptian customs and probably in their superstitions and idolatrous ways. They probably spoke of many gods who did this and that, and when Moses told them about a supernatural deliverance, he was probably right to assume they would want to know to which god they could attribute such a feat. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, pointed out that the Israelites at this time probably didn't have much knowledge of the true God. They lived in oppression under idolatrous pagan tyrants and were surely surrounded by false gods and superstitions. They certainly had no written Biblical word at this time. I guess I never thought of it like that before. For that reason, maybe I can understand a little more the people's lack of faith during the exodus, a little... God certainly showed Himself to be the Almighty true God, but to a people who were surrounded by so many gods who constantly failed them, maybe that is the reason they seemed to lose faith so easily. At any rate, Moses expected the people to ask him the name of the god who would deliver them, sort of like, "by whose authority, do you propose these things?" Moses suspected they would probably test him to decide whether or not they would cooperate with him.
(14) And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
God answered Moses without hesitation. It wasn't a stupid question proposed by a fearful would-be hero. The original words given by God were, "Hayah Asher Hayah", and they denoted self-existence, a God eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, today, and forever. He was the God who was faithful and true to all His promises, unchangeable in His word and in His nature.
(15) And moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘The LORD 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 this is My memorial to all generations.’”
God, Elohim (the plural Godhead), told Moses to tell the people that Jehovah Elohim, "yehovah" itself meaning "self-existent or eternal", the true eternal God of their fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that God, had sent Moses to them. No matter how long they had lived in oppression and idolatrous surroundings, they surely remembered the true eternal God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! If the name "I AM" was new or confusing to them, they surely knew Jehovah Elohim of their fathers, a name more familiar and one that surely stood as a memorial to them through the generations since Abraham. With the new name given personally by God, and with the reference to the Lord God of their fathers, specifically, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God made Himself known to His people that He might revive among them the religion of their fathers, and remind them of His covenant and raise their expectations that now was the time.
(16) “Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt;" (17) And I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.'"
God then told Moses to gather the elders of Israel and tell them exactly what God had told Moses. The "elders" were probably not men of any authority in church or government, as the people surely were not able to govern themselves. In this case, the word probably just meant the older men, probably the elder heads of their tribes of families. Once again God instructed Moses to call Him the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. Additionally, by telling the people that God had said He had "surely visited" the people and that He would bring them out of Egypt to the land flowing with milk and honey, it was an exact fulfillment of the prophetic prediction of Joseph in Genesis 50:24, when he said that God would surely visit them and bring them out of that land to the land which He had sworn to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
(18) “And they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now let us go, we beseech you, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’”
God assured Moses that the elders would listen to him and would go with him to the king of Egypt. This first petition to Pharaoh was a humble one and one that would have caused no inconvenience or damage to the Egyptians. It was a reasonable request that they be allowed to go three days' journey, which was undoubtedly to that "mountain of God", which was said to have been a three days' journey, to worship their God in a place He would have appointed to worship and serve Him purely away from the idolatry of Egypt. Indeed it was God's plan to remove His people completely from Egypt, but if this simple reasonable request had been granted, then the people would have been free, but of course, they weren't, and God knew that. In being so modest and reasonable in this first request, the denial of it would prove just how unreasonable and inexcusable Pharaoh's actions were.
(19) “And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.”
Indeed, God did know that Pharaoh would refuse this request, but it was important for Moses to proceed in this humble way and let Pharaoh prove who he was. The words translated as "no, not even" above have various other negative meanings and perhaps should probably have been translated as "not without", as we know that even though Pharaoh refused after many demonstrations of God's mighty hand, he eventually did let them go.
(20) “And I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.”
Even if the proper translation and sense in verse 19 was that Pharaoh would not let them go even by a mighty hand, God said that once He struck Egypt with all His wonders, he would let them go. That little word translated as "all" was "kol", and it literally meant "the whole". After Egypt was struck with the totality of God's wonders, then Pharaoh would let them go. God let Moses know that eventually Pharaoh would relent. I'm sure that bit of prophecy would give Moses faith to persevere even though it would seem to him that Pharaoh would never let them go.
(21) “And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall come to pass, that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed. (22) But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her who dwells near her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; and you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
God told Moses that when His people left, they would not go empty-handed. He would give His people favor with the Egyptians so that they would gladly give them all kinds of jewels and clothing. I'm sure it wouldn't be for some great love for the Hebrews that the Egyptians would do this, but rather recognizing the power of their great God, they would be glad to be at peace with them and be rid of them with anything they asked. God said in that way they would plunder the Egyptians. Actually, the original word, "natsal", which was translated as "plunder" also meant "rescue" or "recover". That is actually the better sense of the word. In this way, God's people would justly be repaid for all their hard service to the Egyptians. This would be the fulfillment of a prophecy given to Abraham in Genesis 15:14, “And also that nation whom they serve I will judge; and afterward they shall come out with great substance.”
(Exodus 3:1) 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 Horeb, the mountain of God.
In the last chapter, it appeared that Moses's father-in-law was Reuel. Probably Reuel was the patriarch of the family, and as we read about the sons and daughters of Jacob, or the sons and daughters of Abraham, who were actually descendants further down the line than first sons and daughters, so was probably the case with the daughters of Reuel. We read elsewhere (Acts 7:30) that forty years had passed since Moses first came to Midian, so perhaps Reuel had died, and now Jethro was the patriarch of the family. Some of the early commentaries wrote that Jethro was actually Moses's father-in-law, the father of Zipporah, and Reuel was her grandfather, where others believed Jethro was Moses's brother-in-law, Reuel being his father-in-law. The original word "chathan" which was translated as "father-in-law" was generally understood to mean that, but its actual literal meaning is "to contract affinity through marriage (especially through the bride)", so father-in-law or brother-in-law, either one, would seem reasonable. I tend to believe Jethro was Moses's father-in-law as he would later become someone from whom Moses would take "fatherly advice".
Moses tended the flock of his father-in-law, and at this time led the flock to the back part of the desert, where there were probably good pastures for feeding the flock. He came to Horeb, the "mountain of God", a name that was probably given it after the incident which happened next, or perhaps after God gave His people the law from this mountain. Horeb and Sinai were two peaks of the same mountain.
(2) And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
In Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, Mr. Clarke wrote that this was no ordinary angel, "not a created angel certainly... but Jesus, the Leader, Redeemer, and Savior of mankind." Some other Biblical scholars agree, but it was from studying Clarke's writings that I was referred to other passages in the Bible that convinced me it was true. The original word translated as "angel" was "malak", a "messenger", and the word used for "LORD" was Jehovah. This messenger of Jehovah would a few verses later give His name. He could be speaking for Jehovah God, but Who is the Word of God? John 1 tells us clearly that the Word of God is Jesus. Additionally, Clarke pointed out that in Exodus 23:20-21, God spoke of an Angel He would send. He said to beware of that angel and obey His voice because God's name was in Him, and God's name was Jehovah, so that appeared to be the same messenger of Jehovah as is referenced in verse 2 above. I'm not sure that I understood that phrase to mean Jesus before. These same words were used for the angel of the LORD who spoke to Hagar. Maybe the identity of this messenger of God is not what is most important, but we can be certain any messenger would be given the full authority needed to fulfill the will of God at any given time. Maybe Jesus, the actual Word of God, is who God chose to use from time to time, whereas He may have used a created messenger at other times. Either way, we can be sure what Moses was about to experience was from God Himself.
(3) And Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”
Moses wrote about this incident after it happened, so he came to know that it was the Angel of the LORD appearing to him in that bush, but I don't believe he knew it at the time, or at least not at first. However, he was very interested in trying to figure out how that bush was burning, but was not being burned up.
(4) And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
The first thing that caught my attention was that the LORD saw, and God called. The LORD is "Jehovah", the name for God Himself. The word translated as "God" is "Elohiym", and it's plural! That is something I'm not sure I ever before realized. I've known that Elohim was a name for God, but more specifically, it appears to be the name for the entire Godhead--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jehovah God saw, and then Jehovah God, with the Word Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God, called to Moses. Note that "Eloahh" is the singular form of Elohiym.
Note that the scripture says, "when the LORD saw...". That would seem to imply that if Moses had not taken notice of the burning bush, God would not have spoken to him at this time. 40 years before this time, Moses seemed to have received a calling that he would rescue his people, but it didn't seem the time was right then. Maybe even now at this time, God was testing Moses to see if he was ready. In Paul's writings in the New Testament he wrote about the spirit in man (Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 2), and the natural man with the spirit of the world cannot see the things of God. I think back to Esau, who did not appear to see the things of God, but valued more the base things of the world. Jacob, on the other hand, constantly strove for the blessings of God. You might think a burning bush that was not consumed would interest anyone, but I am willing to bet there was a spiritual element to this burning bush (obviously, right?) that perhaps only one ready to receive the spiritual things of God would perceive. Maybe it's like that when God calls us to salvation. Of course, God would already know if we were going to accept Him or not, just like He already knew that Moses would turn aside to see the burning bush, so are these tests really necessary? I believe they are for us ourselves. How many times can we look upon in our past where we can see the leading of God's Holy Spirit that we may not have recognized at the time? It's important for us to begin to recognize and discern the things of God and I believe God may give us practice for our benefit. Oh, maybe it's not really designed as "practice"; He's always there and always working, refining us as gold. But it is important for us to learn to recognize the Holy Spirit because there are many false spirits in the world and many masquerading as angels of light. Once we start to recognize the Holy Spirit, we are more apt to look for His leading in the future. God saw that Moses was ready to hear Him and called audibly out to him. Moses answered right away. It surely must have taken him by surprise, but in his spirit he must have known this was God calling him, and he answered immediately, ready not just to listen, but to do whatever He asked of him.
(5) And He said, “Do not draw near this place; take your shoes off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Moses turned aside toward the burning bush, but God commanded that he not come near, that he keep his distance. He furthermore told him to remove his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. I don't believe it was previously known as holy, as some have suggested, but was holy because of the presence of God at this moment. If it had always been considered holy ground, Moses would surely have known about it. He was instructed to remove his shoes as was the custom of respect and submission, but more than that, this ground was made holy because of the presence of the Lord, and Moses was being cautioned not to enter it lightly or rashly or with irreverence. Moses was to approach God with a solemn pause, observing proper distance because of the awesome majesty and power of the Lord God, and he was not to tread near with soiled shoes.
(6) Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
God told Moses that He was the God of his father Amram, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The significance of this statement is more apparent when you consider Jesus's words in Mark 12:26-27a (and other places):
“And concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living..."
By this statement, God declared to Moses that He was God, the God of his fathers gone before him, teaching him that there was a future state for those who looked to God and had faith in His promises. Abraham was dead, yet God said, "I am the God of Abraham", not "I was (when he was living)..." Abraham's soul lived, as did the souls of Moses's fathers before him who had faith in God's promises, and that should give Moses confidence in the fulfillment of the promises made to his forefathers. Moses realized he was in the presence of God and hid his face, probably ashamed as well as afraid to look upon God.
(7) And the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows."
The Lord told Moses that He had seen the affliction of His people in Egypt. Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that the word translated as "taskmasters" above was a different word than the one used previously, and indicated more like "oppressors, harassers, or tyrants". God saw, God heard, and God knew... I believe that was expressed in three distinct ways because God knew the hearts and inward secret sorrows that were not openly expressed.
(8) "And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. (9) Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them."
Furthermore, God told Moses He had come down to deliver His people from the Egyptians. Because God is omnipresent and is everywhere, He didn't actually physically move from heaven above down to Egypt to deliver His people, but He did make Himself manifest to Moses to declare His plan of deliverance. However, in the form of Jesus Christ, God did indeed come down from heaven to deliver us! Not only was God going to deliver His people out of the hand of the Egyptians, but He was going to bring them to a good and large land, in contrast to the small tract of Goshen. It would be a vast land of richness and abundance, a place then occupied by the Canaanites, etc. God repeated that He had indeed seen the oppression of His people.
(10) “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
God concluded with His commission to Moses that he go to Pharaoh as an ambassador for his people, to negotiate their release from the burdens and oppression, and to bring them out of Egypt.
(11) And Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Moses saw himself as weak, insufficient, and incapable of performing the task at hand. As Moses thought of himself, he couldn't see that it was even possible that he could accomplish such a thing.
(12) And He said, “Certainly I will be with you; and this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Moses was right, he himself could not do such a thing, but God told him that He would surely be with him to accomplish the task. The words "shall be" were added by the KJV translators for what they thought was clarity, but I don't believe God was telling Moses that the sign would be that he would serve God on that mountain. Rather, I believe He was saying that this, the burning bush, was the sign that God was surely with him and was the One sending him on such a seemingly impossible mission. Then when he had brought the people out of Egypt, they would return to this mountain and serve God there.
(13) And Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
Not only did Moses feel inadequate to challenge Pharaoh, but he felt inadequate to convince the people. Although that question that Moses expected the people to ask always seemed a strange one to me, it is true that at this time in their existence the children of Israel had been deeply entrenched in Egyptian customs and probably in their superstitions and idolatrous ways. They probably spoke of many gods who did this and that, and when Moses told them about a supernatural deliverance, he was probably right to assume they would want to know to which god they could attribute such a feat. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, pointed out that the Israelites at this time probably didn't have much knowledge of the true God. They lived in oppression under idolatrous pagan tyrants and were surely surrounded by false gods and superstitions. They certainly had no written Biblical word at this time. I guess I never thought of it like that before. For that reason, maybe I can understand a little more the people's lack of faith during the exodus, a little... God certainly showed Himself to be the Almighty true God, but to a people who were surrounded by so many gods who constantly failed them, maybe that is the reason they seemed to lose faith so easily. At any rate, Moses expected the people to ask him the name of the god who would deliver them, sort of like, "by whose authority, do you propose these things?" Moses suspected they would probably test him to decide whether or not they would cooperate with him.
(14) And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
God answered Moses without hesitation. It wasn't a stupid question proposed by a fearful would-be hero. The original words given by God were, "Hayah Asher Hayah", and they denoted self-existence, a God eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, today, and forever. He was the God who was faithful and true to all His promises, unchangeable in His word and in His nature.
(15) And moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘The LORD 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 this is My memorial to all generations.’”
God, Elohim (the plural Godhead), told Moses to tell the people that Jehovah Elohim, "yehovah" itself meaning "self-existent or eternal", the true eternal God of their fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that God, had sent Moses to them. No matter how long they had lived in oppression and idolatrous surroundings, they surely remembered the true eternal God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! If the name "I AM" was new or confusing to them, they surely knew Jehovah Elohim of their fathers, a name more familiar and one that surely stood as a memorial to them through the generations since Abraham. With the new name given personally by God, and with the reference to the Lord God of their fathers, specifically, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God made Himself known to His people that He might revive among them the religion of their fathers, and remind them of His covenant and raise their expectations that now was the time.
(16) “Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt;" (17) And I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.'"
God then told Moses to gather the elders of Israel and tell them exactly what God had told Moses. The "elders" were probably not men of any authority in church or government, as the people surely were not able to govern themselves. In this case, the word probably just meant the older men, probably the elder heads of their tribes of families. Once again God instructed Moses to call Him the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. Additionally, by telling the people that God had said He had "surely visited" the people and that He would bring them out of Egypt to the land flowing with milk and honey, it was an exact fulfillment of the prophetic prediction of Joseph in Genesis 50:24, when he said that God would surely visit them and bring them out of that land to the land which He had sworn to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
(18) “And they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now let us go, we beseech you, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’”
God assured Moses that the elders would listen to him and would go with him to the king of Egypt. This first petition to Pharaoh was a humble one and one that would have caused no inconvenience or damage to the Egyptians. It was a reasonable request that they be allowed to go three days' journey, which was undoubtedly to that "mountain of God", which was said to have been a three days' journey, to worship their God in a place He would have appointed to worship and serve Him purely away from the idolatry of Egypt. Indeed it was God's plan to remove His people completely from Egypt, but if this simple reasonable request had been granted, then the people would have been free, but of course, they weren't, and God knew that. In being so modest and reasonable in this first request, the denial of it would prove just how unreasonable and inexcusable Pharaoh's actions were.
(19) “And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.”
Indeed, God did know that Pharaoh would refuse this request, but it was important for Moses to proceed in this humble way and let Pharaoh prove who he was. The words translated as "no, not even" above have various other negative meanings and perhaps should probably have been translated as "not without", as we know that even though Pharaoh refused after many demonstrations of God's mighty hand, he eventually did let them go.
(20) “And I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.”
Even if the proper translation and sense in verse 19 was that Pharaoh would not let them go even by a mighty hand, God said that once He struck Egypt with all His wonders, he would let them go. That little word translated as "all" was "kol", and it literally meant "the whole". After Egypt was struck with the totality of God's wonders, then Pharaoh would let them go. God let Moses know that eventually Pharaoh would relent. I'm sure that bit of prophecy would give Moses faith to persevere even though it would seem to him that Pharaoh would never let them go.
(21) “And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall come to pass, that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed. (22) But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her who dwells near her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; and you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
God told Moses that when His people left, they would not go empty-handed. He would give His people favor with the Egyptians so that they would gladly give them all kinds of jewels and clothing. I'm sure it wouldn't be for some great love for the Hebrews that the Egyptians would do this, but rather recognizing the power of their great God, they would be glad to be at peace with them and be rid of them with anything they asked. God said in that way they would plunder the Egyptians. Actually, the original word, "natsal", which was translated as "plunder" also meant "rescue" or "recover". That is actually the better sense of the word. In this way, God's people would justly be repaid for all their hard service to the Egyptians. This would be the fulfillment of a prophecy given to Abraham in Genesis 15:14, “And also that nation whom they serve I will judge; and afterward they shall come out with great substance.”
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