EXODUS LESSON 5


    We will begin this lesson in 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 the mountain of God,
[even] to Horeb."

    It appears that Moses, after forty years, was still working for his
father-in-law. Jethro and Reuel, as we said in the last lesson, were,
probably, the same person. Jethro means "his excellence", which is a
title, and Reuel was his name. Here, we see Moses leading this flock
away from so many of the neighbor's flock, to a place where,
probably, very few came.  The Mount of God, called Horeb here, was,
probably, Sinai.  At least, they were in the same range. This flock,
mentioned here, are, probably, sheep.  We see Moses for the last forty
years living a very peaceful life, settling down, and having a family,
and actually changing from a youthful forty to an old man of eighty
years. At any rate, he has had plenty of time to think about his life.

    Exodus 3:2 "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame
of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the
bush burned with fire, and the bush [was] not consumed."

    This appearance here, in my opinion, was actually the Spirit of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We know that the baptism that Jesus brings is the
baptism of fire, and also, Jesus is the Lord.  This was not a regular
fire, but the fire of the Spirit, because a regular fire would have
burned this bush up. This had to be the fire of the Spirit.  In
Matthew 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he
that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy
to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and [with] fire:"
This fire, I believe, is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus.

    Exodus 3:3 "And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this
great sight, why the bush is not burnt."

    For this shepherd, it would not have been unusual to see a bush
catch on fire and burn up, but to see one on fire that did not burn up
had caught Moses' attention, and he went to investigate this phenomenon.

    Exodus 3:4 "And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God
called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.
And he said, Here [am] I."

    Here, we see the call of Moses to a very great task.  God calls to
each of us, but some of us do not answer, "Here am I".  Notice, here,
that the Spirit of God can appear in any form. God is a Spirit, We see
in John 4:24 in Jesus' own words, because it is printed red in the
Bible, John 4:24 "God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship [him] in spirit and in truth." You see, God does not have to
conform to what we believe.  We believe, when He does it His way.  We
see, here, the Spirit of God speaking to Moses from the bush.

    Exodus 3:5 "And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes
from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy
ground."

    This, to me, is something that we all forget from time to time.
In the presence of God is holy ground. I feel that our place of
worship, is a holy place, and should be approached with great respect.
The actual room in the church where the preaching takes place, I
believe, should be treated with great respect. There should be no
eating, or drinking, or even really loud talking. This one place, I
believe, should be set aside as a special place to come and talk with
God. Our society has gotten far too casual with God. God deserves our
respect and worship.

    Exodus 3:6 "Moreover he said, I [am] the God of thy 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."

    Here, again, we see that this was, probably, the one we know as Jesus,
 because He is the God of the faithful. Abraham was the father of the
 faithful, as we see in Galatians 3:6 "Even as Abraham believed God,
 and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Galatians 3:7 "Know
 ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children
 of Abraham." Probably, Moses had been taught by his Hebrew mother to
 reverence God.  Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

    Exodus 3:7  "And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction
of my people which [are] in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason
of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;"

    The Lord was telling Moses that He was aware of the terrible cruelty
these taskmasters had shown the Israelites.  God is not unaware of
our problems. He not only knows, but cares. If we cry out to Him for
help, He is always there to answer.  In the case of these Israelites,
they were a long time asking, but now God had heard them and was about
to free them.

    Exodus 3:8 "And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of
the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land
and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place
of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the
Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites."

    Notice, here, that it was God who would deliver them.  Moses was the
instrument God used, but it was God who delivered. This desert land of
Egypt had become a real heartache.  By this time, they had cultivated
the land around Goshen to the extent that the land was not producing
like it first did.  God was promising these descendents of Abraham a
better life. This promised land that God was promising is about 11,000
square miles, and would be large enough to handle this approximately
three million people.  However, it is a very small area compared to
other countries.  It is approximately the size of one of the smaller
states here in the U.S.  This land, when God was speaking to Moses, was
already occupied by ungodly people.  This was, however, the land that
God promised Abraham a few hundred years before. God had given these
people, who were in the land, a space to repent of their evil ways; and
they had not, and now the Israelites were to claim their inheritance.

    Exodus 3:9 "Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of
Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith
the Egyptians oppress them." Exodus 3:10 "Come now therefore, and I
will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people
the children of Israel out of Egypt."

    God is always in sympathy with the oppressed.  He was even more in
sympathy with the Israelites, for they were His covenant people. God is
always against those who are cruel to others, and that certainly was the
case here. These Egyptian taskmasters had been very cruel. Here, we
see God telling Moses exactly what his (Moses') call was. He was to go
to Pharaoh and represent all the Israelites. Moses was commanded of
God to bring them out of Egypt.  Sometimes, the things that God calls
us to do seems very near impossible to carry out; but we must remember
that when God calls us to do a task, He will see to it that it is
possible for us to do it.

    Exodus 3:11  "And Moses said unto God, Who [am] I, that I should
go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel
out of Egypt?"

    Here, we see Moses, humble, believing that he was not capable of
doing this job that God had called him to do.  Some have called Moses
the most humble man who ever lived, except for Jesus. One of the
reasons God calls anyone to service for Him, is because He realizes
that within themselves they cannot do the job.  God doesn't call
someone to work for Him, because he can already do whatever He has
called him for.  God wants to work through us.  The only thing we
need to do, is be willing to be used of God. One of the very first
things those working for God must realize, is that within ourselves we
do not have the power, or know-how to accomplish the job at hand. We
must totally submit ourselves to God.  It is His power in us, not our
own power, that gets the job done.  God just wants a willing vessel. He
will furnish the ability and power (from Him) to accomplish the task.
I say one more time, the most important attribute God is looking for is
someone who knows they can't do the job. They must know that God,
working in them, gets the job done. All He wants us to say is "Here am
I, send me". A willing, humble heart is what God is looking for. If we
are proud of ourselves and self-sufficient, He can't use us. Moses
knows that he tried to help an Israelite brother and had to flee for
his life. He knows that this venture will fail if Moses has to depend
upon himself. God had made a good choice. Moses knows his need for God
working in him. We, too, must realize to accomplish anything for God,
we have to just be an open vessel. We must receive from God ourselves,
and use this power from God to work.  God does it. We just furnish the
body. The nearer we are to God, the more we feel capable of doing the
things He has called us to. In our weakness, God is strong. Our
sufficiency is of God, and not ourselves.  I cannot say it enough. We
are not capable within ourselves to do anything for God. We must allow
the Holy Spirit of God to work in us and through us. The power is
God's power, not our own.
                          Exodus 5 Questions


1.  Whose flock did Moses keep?
2.  Who was Jethro?
3.  Where did Moses take the flock?
4.  How many years had Moses worked in Midian?
5.  What was another name for Jethro?
6.  Why had Moses gone here?
7.  What Mount was the same as Horeb?
8.  How old was Moses in chapter 3?
9.  Who appeared to Moses in the flame of fire in the bush?
10. What was unusual about this burning bush?
11. Who does the author believe the angel appearance was?
12. What was different about Jesus' baptism from John the Baptist's
    baptism?
13. Why did Moses go to see the bush?
14. When God called Moses, what did Moses answer?
15. What does St. John 4:24 tell us about God?
16. Why was Moses told to remove his shoes?
17. What two things does God deserve from us?
18. Whose God did this voice say He was?
19. Why did Moses hide his face?
20. What does Galatians chapter 3 verses 6 and 7 tell us about
    Abraham?
21. Why had God come to Moses at this time?
22. When we cry out to God for help, what can we expect?
23. Where was God going to send the Israelites?
24. Who was in Canaan at this time?
25. Who would deliver them?
26. What was Moses in all this?
27. What part of Egypt had these Israelites lived in?
28. The promised land was about how many square miles?
29. Who had God promised this Canaan to, many years before?
30. Whose cry had come up to God?
31. Who was God sending Moses to?
32. What was Moses to do with the Israelites?
33. Who is God always in sympathy with?
34. When we feel the task God has called us to do seems very near to
    impossible, what must we remember?
35. What humble remark did Moses make to God?
36. What is one reason God calls certain people to work for Him?
37. What power do we have within ourselves?
38. What power must we draw upon to successfully work for God?
39. What is the only thing we furnish?
40. When God calls us, what should we answer?