Preached 2/21/10

First Sunday in Lent / Exodus #4

Preached by Dr. Paul R. Smith

West Side Presbyterian Church

Contact: office@wspc.org

QUESTIONING GOD

[Exodus 3:9 - 4:17]

Introduction to the Scriptures: We return this morning to one of the best-know stories in history. Most of us know the essential story, but there are so many details when you stop and look at it closely, so many things we can learn. The Old Testament in particular is so vivid, so real – so much like our own lives, a very authentic story that brings out some of the essentials of who we are and how we relate to God. Last time, you will remember, we talked about who God is. He had met with Moses. Nobody had been talking to God for awhile. The children of Israel had been in Egypt as slaves for centuries. They didn’t know but what God, the God of their fathers had forgotten all about them. It turns out He’s not forgotten them. He’s been listening to their prayers, He’s been watching, and now He is about to act. So God introduced himself to Moses last week. We’re going to pick up and run through that and the continuing conversation, beginning in verse 9 of chapter 3. God is talking to Moses, and He says: “And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me [their prayers, I’ve heard them], and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them [I’ve verified the accuracy of their prayers]. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

[Continue reading Exodus 3:10 - 4:17]

Prayer for Illumination – Father, as we continue to look at your word, we not only want to see it in its context from centuries ago, but how that word is relevant to our lives today. So awaken us, keep us alert, listening and understanding your word but also responsive to it deep in our spirits. We pray it in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Message

You’ll remember in our last study from Exodus 3, we met the awesome, magnificent God Who Is, who simply reveals himself as I AM. Not only is He the source of all being, He is saying “what you see is what you get”. This is who I am, this is what I do. He is the God who is. It doesn’t matter if this is the God you and I would prefer, He is the God Who Is, and we had better be prepared to deal with that. He Is Who He Is.

But among the striking things we learned about Him last week was that He pays attention to everything that is happening in our lives. Centuries may go by – He’s not forgetting. That is where we pick up the story in our text this week. Verse 9 – I’ve heard your cry for help, I’ve seen it for myself, and I intend to act upon it. But then came the surprise which we need to explore this week. Moses, like all of us, was no doubt delighted that God was finally going to act on behalf of His people. Now what would He do? Would He rend the heavens and come down, like Isaiah the prophet asked? Would He send a fearsome battalion of celestial beings to route the Pharaoh and ferry His children to the Promised Land? But God said to Moses, I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t you do it?

It didn’t sound like a better idea to Moses. It wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. Not really what you and I have in mind either! Every time we come to God in prayer we have a carefully crafted work order for Him, don’t we? “God, here’s what I want you to do for me today!” Does that sound like your prayers? It sounds a lot like mine I’m afraid. It’s silly when you really stop and think about it, isn’t it? Is prayer where we get God to do our will? Or is prayer where God gets us to do His will? It might be worth reflecting on that.

Well, if prayer is essentially conversation with God, the rest of our text this morning is a prayer, and it’s a very real prayer. I hope my prayers and yours can become more and more like this conversation. We’ll look at it and see who gets who to do whose will in the end, but here’s a little clue: If you think prayer is frustrating for you, try looking at it from God’s perspective!

God has said to Moses, in verse 10, “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” And Moses replies: Wait, wait, wait! “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Now we have already seen in an earlier study how remarkably God has prepared Moses for this role, but Moses doesn’t see it yet. And he’s clearly not real excited about being singled out, nor at the prospect of making himself vulnerable to the risks of attempting to do God’s will in a hostile environment, a place where nobody is going to be real pleased that you’re doing God’s will.

Really, God, I . . . I mean, who am I? I’m just a simple shepherd. I wouldn’t have a clue how to even begin with that. I don’t have the skills or the experience. I mean, nobody even knows my name. The Pharaoh? The Pharaoh of Egypt? You’ve got to be kidding! You need an ambassador of some sort, you need another “head of state.” Somebody with authority and influence. No, I . . . besides, I’m really busy here. My father-in-law is depending on me. I, you know, I’ve got a family now. I mean, thanks, really! I appreciate your confidence in even considering me, but I don’t really think I’m at all qualified for that.

That sounds humble, doesn’t it? And God appreciates humility. We know pride is a particularly noxious sin. We understand and appreciate the person who refuses to promote himself or herself, the person who is self-deprecating, or at least self-effacing.

But the problem is, we have just asked entirely the wrong question. We have asked the question, Who am I? Essentially God replies, “Who you are is not the question. The question is who I am. I am the God who has called you. I am the God who has been preparing you for this moment all your life. I am the God who will be accompanying you on this mission. I am the God who has set out to do something, and I assure you, I am the God who will bring it to pass. The question is not who you are. The question is who I am.”

You understand, self-distrust is good – but only if it leads to trust in God as opposed to trust in yourself. Self-distrust which does not lead you to trust in God simply leads to spiritual paralysis, somebody that doesn’t accomplish much of anything. We’ve all known people like that, who are so full of self-doubt they never accomplish anything. The only good reason for self-doubt is to take your eyes off yourself and put them on God instead. Self-doubt that keeps us from stepping out in faith is a false humility which guarantees our failure.

God’s Word assures us that each of us is called to serve God in some way. And if God calls, be assured that He has made no mistake. God does not say, “Oh really, Moses? Don’t you think you can do it? Well, golly, I wonder who could?” That is not God’s response. No, He says, “What are you talking about? If I said you can do it – you can do it!” We may not be good at everything, but if God calls us to do a particular thing, it is because He has prepared us for it, and whether or not we are confident in ourselves, we need to “Just Do It”! In the doing He will stretch us, and in any case, He has made us far more capable than we think.

Incidentally, God also tells Moses in verse 12 that He will give him a sign that He really is with him, but not until after he has jumped in and begun the job. He doesn’t give it to him ahead of time. He tells him what it is going to be. The proof will be in the pudding, He says. When you get back to this mountain, accompanied by the whole people of Israel, then you’ll know I really was working through you. But for now, you’ve got to trust my call.

Bringing this back to us for the moment, we have just launched our Nominating Committee to seek out who might serve the Body of Christ at West Side as elders and deacons. (You know where this is going.) When we ordain and install officers, our Book of Order explains that God has called every officer “through the voice of this congregation.” We take that responsibility seriously. The Nominating Committee does not launch a popularity contest, nor does it root around desperately trying to talk somebody into taking some responsibility around here. Rather the committee prays diligently and regularly for weeks. They spend many hours considering possible candidates and discussing the degree of spiritual growth they have seen in each one. Then they proceed with a blind, weighted vote which allows the persons to surface who are rated highest by the largest number of members of the committee. Only then do they come to talk to you. So you had better believe they have not come and knocked on your door randomly. Sometimes there are things they do not know about you which may disqualify you, at least for now. But you had better take their call seriously. This is one of the lessons, I think, from this text today. This is the method by which God raises up leadership for His people!

There are other ways He calls us to other roles and responsibilities. Whether or not we are officers, He has made it clear in scripture that every member of the Body of Christ has a significant role to play within the church. What is yours? What opportunities do you see? What abilities do others affirm in you? Or within your family: If you are married, be assured that God has called you to your role as a husband or a wife and He has revealed what that role is pretty clearly in His Word. The same with parents – if you have children, you are called by God to be involved, loving, effective parents. And the point He is making here is that whatever He has called you to do, He has promised to be with you, and to help you do it. The question is not Who are you. The question is Who is He.

Well, Moses realizes he has no further argument here. He’s lost that one, so he moves to a different category of questions. If he is not to be allowed to question himself and his own abilities, then he really ought to be realistic about the issues involved. So he begins questioning the possible barriers he might run up against, should he undertake this task. Perhaps they are insurmountable. Maybe God has called him to an impossible task. So he starts down a line of questioning which we, if we are honest, are all too familiar with.

So okay, just for argument’s sake, let’s say that against my better judgment I undertook this Quixotic mission, (verse 13), “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘[Who’s he?] What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” The issue here is that for the Hebrews, a name revealed character, and a new name revealed something new about that character. Sure, they knew the God of their fathers, but the last time anyone had seen or heard anything of Him was over 400 years ago. They have been slaves the whole time. So what can you tell us that is new about this God, Moses? How will you convince us that God has now spoken to you, and you have learned something new to tell us about Him?

Oh, I can give you a name, Moses. And it is a profound name. Tell them “I AM WHO I AM.” “I AM has sent me to you.” They may or may not be impressed, but it doesn’t matter. The truth is, I really Am Who I Am, and I Will Be Who I Will Be. You are worried about whether they will doubt your authority and the commission I have given you. But you know what? It doesn’t matter what they think. What matters is that you tell them what I tell you to tell them. Because that is in fact what I am going to do. I am asking you to tell them the truth. Their response to that is my problem. It is not your problem. I am just asking you to give them the message. Don’t back away from it. Don’t water it down. Don’t apologize for it. Just tell them. I’ll deal with their response.

But in fact, he tells Moses down in verse 18, you don’t need to worry about their response because they will listen to you. So then I want you to take the elders with you and go to see Pharaoh, and I want you to tell him, “YAHWEH, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us.” And then ask him if he will let you take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to YAHWEH your God.

Now, if Moses is paying attention here, I think he may have the same troubling question you and I have. Wait a minute, did I hear you right? Three days? I thought we were leaving town for good! And God, of course, consistently says, “Oh yes, that’s the plan. I’m here to deliver you from the hand of the Egyptians for good.” Whereupon Moses might be tempted to ask the question we ourselves are a bit uncomfortable asking: “So . . . are we lying to him?”

To which God would no doubt reply, no, of course not. I am not capable of lying. It is a straightforward question: Would you be willing to let us take a three-day journey into the desert to worship our God? That’s the question. He can answer that “yes” or he can answer it “no, I would not be willing to do that.” If he were to say, “Yes, of course. How can I help you?” we could go on to the next question. We could say, “I’m glad to see that you respect our God. Thank you for that. By the way, He has also told us that He wants you to set us free. Would you be willing to do that?”

“But,” God says in verse 19, Don’t worry about that, because I know he’s going to answer “no” to the first question. “I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him.” This refusal of a trivial request will make it clear to everyone involved, including the Pharaoh himself, that the issue is not his arguably legitimate concern for the economy of his nation. No, his issue really is his utter refusal to acknowledge THE GOD WHO IS. So I am prepared to introduce him to THE GOD WHO IS. Verse 20: “I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.”

By the way, this Hebrew word translated “wonders” in verse 20 is similar to the word “miracles,” but with a fundamental distinction. It does not connote some transcendent reversal of the natural order. Rather the Hebrew would think of it as a marvelous use of the natural order by the God who created and controls the natural order. The Hebrew did not particularly distinguish between the natural and the supernatural. It was all just what God did. What we tend to call “natural” is in reality just as awesome as what we call “supernatural” if you stop and think about it. That visible matter is formed out of invisible energy! The only thing in this room is essentially invisible energy, but look around you. That’s a miracle. That’s supernatural. That the dust of the earth can breathe! That some inconceivable force called “life” ripples throughout the material universe!? Or by the same token, we could say that what we call “supernatural” is really quite natural. It’s all just what God is doing.

So God is reassuring Moses, “Yeah, well, the Pharaoh may seem awesome to you, but sooner or later he is going to have to go up against THE GOD WHO IS, and then we’ll just see how awesome he is, won’t we?”

Verses 21 and 22 sometimes trouble people also, because we read it as if the Israelites deceived the Egyptians, pretending to borrow their treasures for a few days and then absconding with them. But there was no deceit. No Egyptian woman in her right mind would hand over all her treasure to a slave heading off into the desert for a few days. By the time they asked for the treasures, it was clear that they were leaving for good. Those treasures weren’t being “borrowed.” No one suggested they were. That was God’s justice. By demanding harsh labor for survival wages, the Egyptians had already taken from the Israelites for years, for generations what was rightfully theirs. (“A laborer is worthy of his hire.”) Now God was simply making it clear to the Egyptians that He had no intention of having them profit indefinitely from their unjust treatment of His people. He would see that His people were compensated for all the years they had spent serving the Egyptians.

So we come to chapter 4, and God has covered every detail of Moses’ questions. “Really, don’t worry, Moses. I’ve got everything under control. That’s what sovereignty means!”

But Moses still has his eyes on the problem and not on the LORD. Do we do that? In fact, he’s right back there where he was when God began explaining how it would all work. But, but, but . . . what if they don’t? “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”

I love this conversation! It is so real. It is so authentic, so like our own conversations with God, isn’t it? Moses is saying: But what do we do if it doesn’t happen the way you said? Think about that question for a minute. It is really saying, What if you are not sovereign after all?

And I think God would answer: Moses, if I am not sovereign then we’re all in deep trouble! But I AM sovereign. Trust me! And that’s always the question, isn’t it? Are we willing to trust God and His sovereignty or not? That was the question Adam and Eve faced in the Garden of Eden, and it is the question for every successive generation in human history. Do you trust Him or not?

And I think God has to be getting a little exasperated with Moses by this time. I can almost see God rolling His eyes and saying: What do you want, Moses? Do you want some miracles? You know, miracles are not really necessary. I can get anything done that I want to do without miracles. In fact, miracles are cheap solutions. They’re short-cuts. The real test of my sovereignty is accomplishing exactly what I set out to do without throwing in a cheap magic trick, without having to manipulate things all the time. I can take anything that happens in history – any decision you or anyone else makes – and I can use it to accomplish my perfect will. That’s real sovereignty. No magic! Just sovereignty.

But Moses, if your faith is still in kindergarten, then I’ll show you a few miracles. [Verse 2], “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” Moses replies. Well, “throw it on the ground,” God says. And when Moses does, it turns into a deadly snake and Moses runs from it in terror. So God tells Moses to grab it by the tail, which had to be a serious test of his faith, and it turned back into a staff. No big deal, God is saying. After all, I made you out of the dust of the earth. Show your people that I can animate what is dead and inanimate, and they will know who has sent you. I am the God of their fathers, I am the God of Creation.

Or try this one: “‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. ‘Now put it back in . . .’” and when Moses withdraws his hand the second time it is completely restored. Do you want to know who I am? I am the God who sustains you, I am the God who heals all your diseases.

And if the Egyptians are not impressed, I’ll give you one more, which, just between you and me, is a direct challenge to their own imaginary gods. They think the Nile River is a god who gives them life. Well, pour out some of that water on the dry ground and I’ll turn it into blood. Everybody knows spilled blood is an unmistakable image of Death. They need to learn that the Nile does not give them life. I give them life. “The LORD gives and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” [Job 1:21]

Are you getting my point here, Moses? There are no “What ifs” in my world. I do what I say, no matter what. You can count on it.

Well, are you convinced? I’m convinced! Let’s go! This should be fun!

But Moses is still hanging back. “Ah . . . You know? . . . Um . . . I . . . ah, I just don’t think I’m your man. Sorry, but you’ve overestimated me. You know, I’m just not particularly gifted. I wasn’t before, and while I’ve appreciated our little chat here, I don’t really feel any different now that it’s over. I . . . why don’t you just go on ahead? Maybe I’ll catch up later. Or maybe I can do something else that would be helpful. It’s just that, well, you know, I’ve never really been eloquent, and this little job description that you’ve laid out here seems to involve a fair bit of eloquence, persuasion. But me, “I am slow of speech and tongue.”

I can just see God fixing Moses in his gaze while Moses kind of shuffles his feet and looks at the ground. And then God draws a deep breath and says, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

God is saying, do you really think I’m that incompetent, Moses? If I call you to do something, I am going to equip you to do it.

Now Moses finally tips his hand. He has been hiding behind all these questions. “Who am I?” sounds humble, but it is not really questioning ourselves. It is questioning the God who made, called, and equipped us, is it not? “What if . . . ?” sounds like a person is being reasonably cautious. It’s a legitimate question, isn’t it ? But do we really think God has overlooked some of the potential concerns we might have? Questioning whether God has taken into account our own evaluation of ourselves, or worse, has not really adequately prepared us for our mission, which is implicit in Moses’ comment, is a flagrant act of mistrust.

So now Moses, with nothing else to hide behind, finally admits what was really the problem all along. He doesn’t want to do it. “O Lord, please send someone else.”

I wonder if any of you have seen yourselves yet in this very revealing dialogue which Moses is having with God. When we resist God’s calling, is it really because we are so humble? Or is it really because we don’t think God is being realistic about how hard the task might be? Or do we think it is because God has overestimated our abilities?

Or is it in fact because we don’t really want to do it. We don’t want to make the effort. We don’t want to take the risks. We would rather do what is comfortable and pleasing, and maybe safe.

Well, as our text concludes this morning, God makes sure Moses (and we) know that is just not acceptable. He is going to get it done, one way or the other. He will use other people as necessary. But you know what? He still doesn’t let Moses off the hook. Essentially the passage ends with God saying: Moses, I’ve answered all your questions, I know what I’m doing, I’ve done all the prep work, I will make sure you have everything you need to do the job, I don’t intend to waste all the time and effort I have already invested in you, now (I don’t think God will mind if I paraphrase a bit here) get up off your behind and get going. We’ve got a job to do.

You and I have a job to do, folks. Are we willing to get after it?

Closing prayer – Father, this is an important conversation; we’ve been listening in, and we’ve seen ourselves in it I am sure. My prayer now is just that we would listen to your voice, that we would trust your sovereignty, when you call us we would say, “Maybe that’s scary but I know you’ll be with me. I’ll do it.” As we come now to your Table, may we recognize that even this is equipping for your call. This is part of how you equip us to be able to do your will. We can trust you. We place ourselves in your hands, through Christ our Lord, AMEN.