What signs has the Lord used in your life to get you to see His purpose for you in your life? For Moses a bush burned without burning up. More signs followed.
Exodus 3: 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." 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, 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.
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 favour in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty,
22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbour, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewellery, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians."
Exodus 4: 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." And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous 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' 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.
Things to think about…
1. Note the first line in Ex 3:1. Moses was called from the land of Midian and the burning bush was on Mt Horeb (Mt Sinai). The land of Midian is in modern day Saudi Arabia (As Paul also says in Gal 4:24, 25) – not the Sinai Peninsula as many bibles have it in the colour maps at the back. St Catherine’s monetary as completed by Justinian 1 – 545-565AD marking Mt Sinai is in the wrong place. The true Mt Horeb/Sinai (mountain of God) is in Saudi Arabia. It is also here that the Lord said Moses would return to after he had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. Remember Moses would would return to this mountain after receiving the law, Ex 3:12, cf Ex 20. He would also stand opposite the land of Israel, but not be allowed to enter.
2. Jesus is the One who speaks from the bush in Ex 3:14 – this is who Moses is speaking to, cfJohn 8:58. How incredible that we speak to this same God when we pray and read scripture!
3. The Lord makes sure His people would be blessed as they left Egypt. They would be given wealth from the Egyptians as they left. The Lord blesses even when it comes from worldly wealth – Ex 3:22. If it is from His hand – let us not call unclean what the Lord has made clean. This blessing is not from illicit gain but general wealth that the world uses to survive. Our Lord also uses this for His glory.
4. I love the interaction between Moses and the Lord in Ex 4:1-17. Moses really doesn’t want the job of being the Lord’s mouthpiece. But in all the dialogue, have a look at vs 11. Meditate on this. Nothing happens outside God’s will, even if there seems to be a marring of His image through blindness, deafness and being mute. It all happens for a reason; that reason is that He would get the glory – cf John 9. In weakness our Lord’s strength is shown.
5. It seems amazing that even after the Lord turns Moses’ staff into a snake and then back to a staff. The Lord then turns Moses’ hand leprous, then heals it. But Moses still doubts that the Lord can use him because of his perceived lack or gifting in speech. Moses still had a lot to learn. The Lord is merciful and allows his brother Aaron to speak on his behalf. Let’s never judge but encourage those who are not strong in their faith. Christ is their strength unto salvation. May we love as He does.
6. Moses was told to go to Pharoah and do all the miraculous signs, Ex 5:21. Consider that Moses had already been told by the Lord that He would harden Pharoah’s heart so he would not let the children of Israel go. Pharoah would even be told by Moses that his firstborn son would die, vs 23. This would have been discouraging for Moses to hear. Sometimes we go into ministry knowing that the people are hard in heart and mind to repent of sin and follow Christ but go we must.
7. Circumcision was given to Abraham as a sign of the Lord’s covenant with His people. Moses would have known this well having been circumcised as a Hebrew baby before being given over to Pharoah’s daughter. God is about to strike down Moses for not carrying out this act of obedience to his son, Ex 4:24. Note that the Lord was about to put Moses to death, not the child. God has mercy in the level of knowledge and accountability we carry. Circumcision is enacted by Zipporah, the wife of Moses, a Midianite, Ex 4:24-26. Think about this, she stopped the Lord’s wrath against Moses. God was going to kill Moses. The text seems to infer that Zipporah called Moses a “bridegroom of blood’ from that point on. Praise God for faithful wives. They suffer much when married to men who are called to a difficult ministry. We all need to obey a holy God. Praise God this is done through our Intercessor – Jesus Christ. His covenant is surer than circumcision of the flesh, but of the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit.
8. The Lord knows our weakness and had already prepared Aaron to go to Moses in the wilderness, Ex 4:27. Note the affection of the brothers, it says Aaron “kissed him”. May we see this affection grow in the western church. Moses tells him all the Lord had shown him and they return to Egypt. Aaron begins convincing the Elders of Israel that the time of their redemption is near and they believe, vs 31. Our redemption is also near. Consider the signs and the ripening of the age in our generation. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer points
1. Pray for Sally and Tony that they be delivered from dementia.
2. Pray for Nepal. Thousands have perished and 35 Australians are still missing. Praise God 8 have been found.
3. Pray for peace as Iran, Israel and Ukraine.
4. Pray for the church in Australia to rise up and preach the entire truth of scripture.
5. Our political leaders in Australia and the spiritual heart of our country.
6. Pray for our leaders in Australia that they press in closer to Christ.
7. The Royal Commission that the Jewish people will feel safe in Australia.
8. Pray for new people to step into ministries at CBC – eg worship, café, Kids@church, sound/technical, giving, podcast.
9. Reform and Revival over our city and country.
10. Finances to cover our needs
11. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for His word on Sunday – The Armour of God and our brother Mathys.
2. Praise God for the peace we have over this country and the freedoms we enjoy.
3. Café team every week. Thankyou to all those who serve and bring food. Especially Fiona, Maddie and Suzy and those who supply it every week Eg Ros - Milk.
4. Worship, Admin and Technical teams – Graham, Nita, Brendon, AJ, Suzy, Maddie, Mathys, Doug.
5. The Lord’s faithfulness this year to CBC and all who have served in ministries.
6. Praise God for our Elders and Ministry Leaders
7. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and life group, Wednesday 6:30pm.
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for September...
Q. 5. Why ought you to glorify God? A. Because he made me and takes care of me.
Bible References – Rom.11:36; Rev.4:11; Dan.5:23.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
