March 8, 2023

Who do you say God is?

Exodus 3 - 4

Robin Dutton
Wednesday's Devo

March 8, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

March 8, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

March 8, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

March 8, 2023

Big Idea

God reveals the way and His will through His Word.

Key Verse | Exodus 3:13-14

Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

Exodus 3 - 4

The Burning Bush

1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And 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 at God.

7 Then 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. I know their sufferings, 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 broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” 1 3:14 Or I am what I am, or I will be what I will be And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, 2 3:15 The word LORD, when spelled with capital letters, stands for the divine name, YHWH, which is here connected with the verb hayah, to be in verse 14 the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 3 3:19 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew go, not by a mighty hand 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Moses Given Powerful Signs

1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’” 2 The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the LORD said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Again, the LORD said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” 4 4:6 Hebrew into your bosom; also verse 7 And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous 5 4:6 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

10 But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”

24 At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' 6 4:25 Hebrew his feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

27 The LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Footnotes

[1] 3:14 Or I am what I am, or I will be what I will be
[2] 3:15 The word LORD, when spelled with capital letters, stands for the divine name, YHWH, which is here connected with the verb hayah, “to be” in verse 14
[3] 3:19 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew go, not by a mighty hand
[4] 4:6 Hebrew into your bosom; also verse 7
[5] 4:6 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
[6] 4:25 Hebrew his

"Why does God harden Pharaoh's heart?"

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Exodus 3 - 4

While I was serving as a missionary in South Sudan, the local pastor's wife and I led a conference for some other Sudanese pastors' wives. We had no idea that they were afraid to pray even silently. Why? They didn't feel equipped or worthy, and they were scared they would fail. We were shocked! We changed our entire plan for the week and walked them through what God did in Moses' life.

Three days later, they came and asked us if they could go into the villages to share their faith. Around 30 people came to know the Lord that day! These women went from fear to faith. Their boldness came from knowing that it was the Lord who was working through them, and it wasn't about their skill or education.

In this passage, Moses is about to make the leap of faith to follow God that inspired the pastors' wives, starting with that awe-inspiring moment when God speaks to Moses through the burning bush. Doesn't that make you want to respond in faith, worship, and do exactly what God says? Moses' first response to God's call, however, is fear. He comes up with excuse after excuse after excuse about why God can't use him.

It's tempting to judge Moses' excuses and fear because of the signs and wonders God shows him. Yet, how many times do we say, "But God . . . " and make an excuse for why we can't do what He's called us to do? It's easy for us to forget who is working in our lives. We get tempted to think we must do what God asks using only our own strength and ability despite our inadequacies and failings. No wonder we try to disqualify ourselves! We argue that our past, our lack of a certain skill, our timidity, etc. keeps us from being able to serve the Lord. We forget to take ourselves out of the way and trust the Lord who created the world to work through us. When God calls us to do something, He is working through us; and we do not need to fear.

This month's memory verse

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

– John 14:27

Discussion Questions

1. How are you tempted to say, "But God, I can't . . . ," when He calls you to do something?

2. How can you remind yourself of God's faithfulness to work through you?

3. Is there a moment when you have been able to see the Lord work through you?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

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Hugh Stephenson

GM Robin! Love this “…from fear to faith”. It’s not about who I am but about the Great I Am. The “I am” statements have always been a challenge for me. In that, I’m focused on Moses’s journey of trial, election, and preparation. The key for me initially is his journey of pride and impulsiveness to humility and careful thought. Decades in a foreign land as a shepherd. Hmm. Sounds familiar. I get a hint in the burning bush- which presages more appearance of fire later in Exodus. Moses’s humility indicates to me he’s ready for the call...but not sure of who God is. Borrowing HEAVILY form the notes- He was more self-conscious than God conscious. “We need to balance the truth of John 15:5 with that of Philippians 4:13” As the sign on the church marquee proclaimed: "God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called."
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Hugh Stephenson

Understanding God’s holiness and purity is key- “…you’re standing on holy ground.” As the notes say, God told him to stand at a distance but still talks to him “face-to-face”. Not only that but “sees, hears, knows and comes down”. "To the Hebrew 'to be' does not just mean to exist as all other beings and things do as well—but to be active, to express oneself in active being..." The God who acts- "I am what in creative activity and everywhere I turn out to be," or "I am (the God) that really acts." Wow. God is fully focused and fully present. Not some distant referee with a striped shirt and a whistle. Deeply engaged and deeply loving in the true sense of agape love, https://www.gotquestions.org/agape-love.html On God’s response-
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Hugh Stephenson

"I am the God of your forefathers, who proved Myself long ago as completely adequate for all their needs; so it really doesn't matter who you are, Moses!" "The answer Moses receives [in verse 14] is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a name. It is an assertion of authority, a confession of an essential reality, and thus an entirely appropriate response to the question Moses poses." “Other translations are, "I will be what I will be," "I am the existing One," and "I cause to be what comes to pass." One writer paraphrased God's answer, "It is I who am with you." Another, "What does it matter who I am?" In these, I more fully understand the Sovereignty, Sufficiency, and Supremacy of God. Pharaoh does not. "Who is the LORD?” Oswald talks about “external following” versus “internal following”. The internal one becomes “an invasion”, https://utmost.org/the-life-of-power-to-follow/ https://www.gotquestions.org/I-AM-WHO-I-AM-Exodus-3-14.html
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Michael Sisson

Re: Ex 3:1 Ex 3:1 (NASB) Now Moses was pasturing the flock of >>>Jethro his father-in-law,<<< the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to >>>Horeb, the mountain of God.<<< Jethro (a.k.a. Reuel; see Ex 2:18) Horeb (a.k.a. Sinai) Re: Ex 3:2 According to Jewish tradition, Moses came to the burning bush exactly one year prior to the first Passover. Re: Ex 3:10 Ex 3:10 (NASB) “Therefore, come now, and >>>I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”<<< In Ch. 1 of his book, TYPOLOGY, James Hamilton likens G-d sending Moses back to Egypt to deliver the Hebrews (Ex 3:10) to Abraham sending his servant, Eliazer, back to Ur to fetch from his kinsmen a wife for his son Isaac. (Gen 24:2-9) G-d intends to enter into a marital covenant with the Hebrews (Jer 31:32). Re: Ex 4:3 Ex 4:3 (NASB) Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and >>>it became a serpent;<<< and Moses fled from it. Where is Jesus in Exodus 4? Note, Moses’ staff…the "Staff of G-d" (Ex 4:20) became a serpent. The Staff of G-d is a type of Yeshua. (Jesus) Moses would become as G-d to Pharaoh (Ex 7:1). Moses casting the staff in his hand down, it becomes a snake, and becomes a staff again when it returns to his hand seems to parallel Messiah Yeshua leaving His place at G-d's right hand (Pr 8:22-31), dwelling among men to be rejected by them (the Despised Messiah pictured as a serpent on a staff; see Phl 2:5-8, Jn 3:15), only to be enthroned again at His Father's right hand. (Lk 22:69; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1) Re: Ex 4:6-7 Ex 4:6-7 (NASB) The LORD furthermore said to him, “Now put your >>>hand<<<into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his >>>hand was leprous<<< like snow. Then He said, “Put your hand into your bosom again.” So he put his >>>hand<<< into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was >>>restored like the rest of his flesh.<<< Where is Jesus in Exodus 4? Moses would become as G-d to Pharaoh (Ex 7:1), and his hand (probably the right hand) is a type of Yeshua (Jesus; Who is the Despised Messiah). Here Moses’ hand, which is healthy (Ex 15:6; Ex 33:22; Ps 108:6; Isa 59:1) before being concealed in his bosom, is revealed to be leperous (As Yeshua came to tabernacle among us and “bear our sickness” and we utterly rejected Him; Isa 53:3-4), and is concealed and revealed again whole. (Ps 110:1; Lk 22:69; Jn 3:35; Jn 10:28-29; Acts 7:55; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; 1Pet 3:22) See also: THE LEPER MESSIAH by One For Israel https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-based-teaching-from-israel/the-leper-messiah/ Re: Ex 4:8 Ex 4:8 (KJV) And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither >>>hearken to the voice<<< of the first sign, that they will >>>believe the voice<<< of the latter sign. See Dt 18:18-19. Re: Ex 4:17 Ex 4:17 (NASB) “You shall take in your hand this staff, >>>with which you shall perform the signs.”<<< Note, Moses will perform signs through the agency of the "Staff of G-d." The Staff of G-d is a type of Messiah. (See Ex 4:3,20; Acts 2:22) Re: Ex 4:20 Ex 4:20 (NASB) So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the >>>staff of God<<< in his hand. Moses’ staff = the “Staff of G-d.” Re: Ex 4:22 Ex 4:22 (NASB) “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, >>>‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is My son, My firstborn.’”<<<
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Chris Landry

Thanks for devotional, Robin! Love the expression "fear to faith." My wife (before we met) went to Sudan to partner and visit with a good college girlfriend of hers that was a local missionary to the Sudanese women. Great stories out of that trip. "Fear to Faith" stands out to me this morning. Especially after hearing the Sunday sermon about God's call on our life will include suffering. In Moses's suffering and wandering and seeing a bush aflame....he was fearful. To the point that it kindled the Lord's anger (Exodus 4:14). 😳 I hope and pray today that my consistent abiding with Jesus (John 15:5) will produce a bounty of fruit and sweetness that any suffering or fear will propel me to a deeper faith. (Not a big faith....but a deeper one). Like a sports car, I hope my fear to faith speed is astonishing to those who witness it. 🙏🏻🙌🏻
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Michael Scaman

"God never calls His people to a fair fight" John Piper. Pharaoh will be plundered and it will be the Jewish woman who do it. That's a twist. Delivered by a baby and now will be plundered by women. Many of the materials they plundered the Egyptians for will be used for the tabernacle to be used a year after the Exodus.
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Michael Scaman

Moses had several problems. Sbake-o-phobia He ran from the rod turned snake. God said 'catch it by the tail' ! That's one way to overcome fear. Fear of public speaking. God already was sending Aaron on the way and they would meet somewhere in between in the desert. That's like you walking leaving Dallas and a friend is on the way from Houston without using roads hiking randomly in that direction and meeting in between somewhere. The problems are to move us to trust the God who is the same yesterday to day and forever and doesn't grow weak and burns like the burning bus that's not consumed. He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses empathized with the sufferings and injustices he say with his people especially and God has seen and heard the suffering of His people.
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Sue Bohlin

Thanks Robin—GREAT devo! Greetings from Costa Maya, Mexico! The Cruise Queen is back in her happy place! As I was reading and journaling today’s chapters, the cruise director made a PA announcement about today’s events. At the same time that I was writing some of the same verbiage from the Lord multiple times (recording what the text says about God), the CD was repeating the same information we heard last night, which was in the daily news letter, and which is in the app on our smart phones: that recently Mexico made it illegal to smoke in public, or even open spaces. If any of the passengers were to get caught, it could mean a $300 fine, and the possibility of being detained for 36 hours– which means missing the ship! What struck me about these two things happening at the same time is the need to repeat what’s important over and over again. Because people frankly just don’t listen. And God knows this. So he repeats things over and over. Because He’s good like that, and “He knows we are but dust.” Boy, things haven’t changed much over the last several thousand years, have they?!
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Amy Lowther

1. I am tempted to tell God I can’t do things when I reach the last few things on a long “to do list”. 2. I try to think of things I have learned at church or have read in the Bible as I am working to apply the values of God and the values Jesus in daily life. 3. I was able to see the Lord shine when I volunteered as an Ambassador at Children’s Health Medical Center and when I volunteered as a tutor for Reading for 2nd Graders at RISD.