Chapter 3
It started out as a regular day. Just like any other, I got up, fixed breakfast, watched the traffic report on the news, and prepared for my hour-long commute. Upon arriving at work, I followed my usual routine of completing daily reports and monitoring my customers’ needs as they came in. At lunchtime, I chatted with a friend on the Yorkie friends list. This was my typical daily routine.
For a couple of years now, my little Canadian Yorkie buddy and I had swapped stories about what our dogs were doing, traded pictures, and so forth. I had gotten to know “Grasshopper” (as I later nicknamed her) pretty well. She and her husband lived in Vancouver, were retired, and loved hockey. She was like a big, grouchy sister. She loved her dogs but was gruff with everything else. I guess that’s what drew me to her—her gruffness. I’ve always been inclined to try to draw the smile out of the gruff.
It had taken years of friendly chatting and hundreds of silly dog pictures, but we finally achieved friendship. As we grew closer, I tried to see if she and her husband were open to the Faith. That door was quickly and harshly slammed shut. So, I respected that and just decided to be their friend.
Then, on one of those normal days, as we met for our lunchtime chat, it happened. The door opened in our conversation, and somehow, it led to her telling me how betrayed she felt by the church and God, and so forth. I let her talk. There was some deep hurt there from her childhood. Then came the pause of silence. I remember asking her, “What about Jesus offended you so much?” She thought for a moment and replied, “Well, nothing about Jesus, just those claiming to follow Him.” That little introduction gave space for Holy Spirit to use me to introduce Jesus into her life.
“Grasshopper” committed her life to Jesus. From that day forward, she just wanted to learn more and more about God’s Word and the personal relationship she now had with Him. Thus, the name, “Grasshopper” (now I am really showing my age to all those who watched KUNG FU back in the 70’s.)
I suppose you may be wondering, “What does all this have to do with Exodus 3?” Well, it was a normal day for me and Grasshopper, just like it started as a normal day for Moses. Our Father met “Grasshopper” on that normal day, and the Heavenly Father met Moses.
The takeaway I get from this chapter, along with the wonderful and excellent pictures of our Savior in it, is to never assume that a day that begins “normally” will end the same way. Our Father is all around us, all the time. Moses was honestly curious and went looking around and found God. And God loves to show Himself to those who are honestly curious even in the course of their normal day. Wonderful things can still happen today!
Moses and the Burning Bush
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. 2 And the angel of Jehovah [Not an angel that was a created being, but the “Angel of God” referring to Jesus.] 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, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” [This simple bush has a wonderful secret within it—another glimpse of our promised redemption. The word used here for “bush” is “sene,” which means “to prick” or “a bush of thorns.” Thorns in the Bible represents sin, as we see in Genesis 3:18 when Adam was cast out of the garden. Fire in the Bible represents judgment. Here, we see judgment within sin, yet the judgment does not consume the sin! Who do we know who judges our sin but does not consume us in our sin, instead showing mercy and grace? It is the man who wore these thorns—the sin of the world! The very man who will be speaking to Moses as we continue to read.] 4 And when Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, “Moses, Moses.” And Moses said, “Here am I.”
5 And God said, “Draw not any closer: take off your shoes from your feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground.” 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.
7 And Jehovah said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people that are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their slave masters; for I know their sorrows; 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 large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me: moreover I have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 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.”
The Mission of Moses
11 And Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “Certainly I will be with you; and this shall be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain.” 13 And Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you;’ and they shall say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM. [Meaning: I Was, I Am Now, and I Always Will Be.] This is what you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
15 And God said also to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘Jehovah, 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 this is my memorial to all generations.”
16 “Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ‘I have surely visited you, and [seen] that which 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 Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.’”
18 “And they shall listen to your voice: and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, ‘Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us: and now let us go, we request of you, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God.’ 19 And I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go, no, not by a mighty hand. [It may seem strange when God asks you to do something and the results you expect don’t’ come about. Here, God tells Moses up front, the request will be denied. But…] 20 And I will put forth my hand, and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst of them: and after that he will let you go.” [God has a plan, and His ways are better than our ways. He wanted it to work out this way for His ultimate plan and purpose.]
21 “And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when you leave, you shall not leave empty. 22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her that lives in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing: and you shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
