06/18/2008
Exodus 3:11 - 14 (HCSB) 11But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12[God] answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.”
13Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them: The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, “What is His name?’ what should I tell them?”
14God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”
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The generation of Joseph’s rule in Egypt had passed. A new Pharaoh sat on the throne. The Hebrews multiplied in Egypt and the Egyptians feared they would soon be outnumbered and thus subjected the Hebrews to forced labor. In an effort to taper the population growth of the Hebrews, the Pharaoh ordered that all the male babies be killed at birth. When this failed, he ordered that all the male infants be thrown into the Nile.
Moses’ mother, loving her child as any mother would, sought to preserve her child. She made a basket and having made it water-tight set it adrift among the reeds. Although the scripture does not specifically state it, I am wondering if her intent was that Pharaoh’s daughter would find the baby. So it happened, and Moses became an adopted son in Pharaoh’s household.
Yet after an altercation in which Moses killed an Egyptian soldier, he fled to the wilderness. There he is taken in by a local priest and becomes a shepherd. While out in the fields one day, he observes the burning bush and goes to see what it is. God then speaks to him from the bush and orders Moses to address the Pharaoh on behalf of the Hebrews—to let them leave Egypt.
Moses response is so much like most of us. But I wonder if Moses was really concerned about his preparedness for the task or if he was trying to find a way out.
Do we do that sometimes? Do we try to find a way out of doing what God is asking us to do?
One of the most important things we need to remember is that when God assigns us to a task, He will equip us. So we need not worry about our preparedness. Our objective must be to remain a willing vessel for His purposes.
A second point I want to bring out is the manner in which God addresses Himself. “I AM WHO I AM.” Although on the surface it may seem like a trite answer, the Hebrew connotation is that He is emphasizing His self-existence. The God who is self-existent: there is none above Him, there is no cause besides Him, and there was none before Him.
The Greek, Roman, Babylonian, and Egyptian gods all had beginnings, parents and other influences. But our God identifies Himself as the sole originator of everything, and He Himself is self-existent.
Some time ago, I came across a Shirley McClain writing in which she would recite to herself in the morning, as an affirmation of her own constitution, “I am. I am.” I don’t know why she would have chosen that mantra as it immediately strikes me as blasphemous. Only God can claim the right to call Himself “I AM.”
In summary, we should remember two things when given a task by God. First, He will equip us as necessary to complete the task, and second, He is the God of all and is certainly capable of bringing about His will. He allows us to participate with Him as a blessing to us.
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
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