Wake Up, Listen Up, Get Up

Exodus 3:1-10

Have you ever wondered where your life is headed? Some of you may be wondering what you want to be when you grow up. Some of you may feel your best years are behind you. Have you ever felt that your life had become ordinary, predictable, and perhaps even disappointing?

Moses probably felt that way.

Exodus 3 begins with:

Exodus 3:1 (NKJV) Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

To understand the context, we must realize that forty years have passed since Moses fled Egypt. He is now alone with his father-in-law’s sheep, and he has led the sheep to what Exodus 3:1 calls “the back of the desert.”

Forty years earlier, he had lived in Pharaoh’s palace. Now, at eighty years old, he is tending sheep in the back of the desert.

Just how desolate does a place have to be to be called “the back of the desert?” This is where Moses finds himself at 80.

Forty years earlier, Moses was a great man in Egypt. Exodus 2:11 says:

Exodus 2:11 (NKJV) Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

When this passage says “Moses had grown,” it does not mean he had become an adult. The word chosen here means “to become great or to magnify or make a big deal of.” Moses was a big deal in Egypt. Acts 7:22 says:

Acts 7:22 (NKJV) “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

Moses was a great man in Egypt, and we find him 40 years later watching his father-in-law’s sheep on the back side of the desert. 

Exodus 3 tells us:

Exodus 3:2-3 (NKJV) 2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush [was] not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

Let’s briefly think about this. Moses is in the desert. This means it is very dry. However, there is enough grass to feed the sheep. Enough grass to feed the sheep would be enough grass to feed a fire. Grass and the danger of fire are not mentioned in the Bible, however, it is something that might have crossed Moses’s mind. If I were in the same situation, I would be concerned. If dry vegetation is available, fire spreads extremely fast.  So, fire is a serious hazard for sheep. For this reason, Moses would have been very concerned about any fire he saw. Initially, he was probably alarmed. But then, it became clear that the fire was not spreading. It was not consuming the bush. It was not transferring to other vegetation. This was amazing. This is not how fire works. So Moses says, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight.”

I like to imagine Moses alone, doing a job far beneath his talents as a “great man.” The Bible does not tell us that Moses didn't have any great plans, but I  don’t think he had plans beyond that day. He was 80 years old, and the ambitions of youth were far behind him. The burning bush was God’s way of getting Moses’s attention. This was God saying, “WAKE UP!”

Getting Moses’s attention was only the beginning.

At some point in our lives, we will get a “wake-up” call from God. It probably will not be verbal or quite as dramatic as Moses’s, but God will confront us with the truth and call us to Himself.

Samuel got a “wake-up” call in the middle of the night when God spoke to him, saying, “Samuel, Samuel.” David’s wake-up call was when Samuel showed up and anointed him as king. Paul received a wake-up call when a bright light appeared on the road to Damascus. At some point in your life, God has or will speak to you, usually not verbally, but He will get your attention. Too often, we ignore or dismiss His wake-up call. 

If you do not remember your wake-up call, ask God to remind you, and take time to think about it. Make a note to do it later, because Moses’ story does not end here. 

The story continues when Moses goes over to see this sight. Let’s read Exodus 3:4-6.

Exodus 3:4-6 (NKJV) 4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where 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.

First, God got Moses’ attention, and then He said, “Do not approach. Take off your sandals because you are standing on holy ground.”

What is going on here? Why does God do this?

Actually, it is quite simple. God is setting boundaries on the relationship. First, God reminds Moses who He is. Moses clearly got the message. The text says, “Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.” When Moses realized that He was in the presence of God, he felt his unworthiness, the shame of his sin, and his weakness. In this moment, Moses understands that God is in charge. He is God, and He is the boss. Moses needs to pay attention and listen. This is God saying, “Listen up!”

At some point in our lives, God has or will tell each of us to “Listen up!” 

Paul’s moment was when Jesus said to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

Each of our experiences is unique. But one thing will always be clear when God says, “Listen up!” We are weak, but He is strong. We are sinful, but He offers forgiveness and acceptance. He can do what we cannot. He can heal us. When God speaks to us, we are immediately faced with our sinfulness. Moses hid his face. Paul was blinded. Adam hid himself.

It is at this point that many people decide they will not listen. Facing our shame is painful. Admitting our sin takes courage. However, for anyone willing to confess their sins and acknowledge their shame, God offers forgiveness, cleansing, healing, and friendship.

Once God had Moses’ attention, He explained what He was doing. We find this explanation in Exodus 3:7-10.

Exodus 3:7-10 (NKJV) 7 And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who [are] in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 “So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 “Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

First, God makes it clear that He understands. He hears their cries. He knows their sorrows. Then God gives the good news. He has come down to deliver His people. God says He will bring them up to a new land. Twice God says that He hears their cries and sees their oppression. And then says, “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

This is God saying, “Get up!” Later, in Exodus 4:12, God will command Moses quite forcefully, “GO!” “NOW!”

This was God saying, “Get up!”

Can you think of anyone in the Bible who did not have a mission or a purpose? Samuel was a prophet. David was a king. Paul was an Apostle. 

Some people end up on the wrong side of purpose. Pharaoh refused to acknowledge God and served an evil purpose. Judas lived with Jesus every day for three years, but did not believe and ended up serving an evil purpose.

Every person God gives life to has been created for His purposes. God made you for His purpose. In Jeremiah 1:5, God says,

Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

God ordained Jeremiah as a prophet to the nations. If God has ordained any of us here today as a prophet to the nations, it is not obvious yet. But you can be sure that before you were born, God knew you and ordained you.

You do not need to go on a quest to find God’s purpose. You are in the middle of it. We often imagine God’s will is hidden somewhere far away. But throughout Scripture, God finds people exactly where they are. Moses was tending sheep. David was watching sheep. Peter was fishing. Matthew was collecting taxes. Saul was traveling to Damascus. God’s purpose found them because God knew exactly where they were.

We are much more in danger of refusing God’s call than missing it. Moses said, “Send someone else!” But he yielded to God and went in the end. We are often tempted to do as Pharaoh did. Pharaoh said, “Who is God that I should listen to Him?”

Moses began this chapter as an eighty-year-old shepherd on the back side of the desert. By the end of the chapter, the direction of his life had changed dramatically.

The same God who called Moses calls each of us.

He still says,

“Wake up.”

“Listen up.”

“Get up.”

When we respond by obeying the voice of the Lord, our lives are changed dramatically!

The Deliverer God Prepared

The Deliverer God Prepared 

Exodus 2:11-25

 

 

Exodus 1–2:10 records how God prepared a deliverer for His people despite Pharaoh’s determined efforts to prevent it.

 

Pharaoh attempted to control the Hebrew population through slavery and the murder of Hebrew baby boys (Exodus 1). God had other plans.

 

In a remarkable display of God’s sovereignty, Pharaoh’s own daughter became the means by which Moses was preserved and raised (Exodus 2:1-10).

 

When she named him Moses, she did so because she had drawn him out of the water (Exodus 2:10). It was an appropriate name for the child she rescued. Yet unbeknownst to her, God was preparing a much greater “drawing out.” God was about to draw an entire nation out of slavery.

 

More than two million people would eventually be delivered through the man who had first been lifted out of the Nile. Every generation since has retold the story of God’s mighty deliverance through Moses.

 

In Exodus 2 we begin to see God’s preparation of the deliverer.

 

First, we see Moses’ early training.

 

Moses was nursed by his Hebrew mother and then raised in Pharaoh’s household (Exodus 2:7-10). According to Acts 7:22, he received the finest education available in the ancient world. He became a man of learning, influence, and ability.

 

Exodus 2:11 tells us that “many years later” Moses went out to visit his people. Acts 7:23 reveals that he was forty years old at this point.

 

The Hebrew expression translated “grown up” carries the idea of becoming great. By the age of forty, Moses had become great in the eyes of Egypt. He possessed education, position, influence, and ability. He knew he was a Hebrew, and Acts 7:25 indicates that he understood God had called him to deliver his people.

Acts 7:25 (NKJV) “For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.

 

Moses was educated, capable, and confident. He seemed ready for the task.

 

Yet everything fell apart.

 

Seeing an Egyptian mistreating a Hebrew slave, Moses killed the Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-12). The following day, when he attempted to intervene between two Hebrews, he was rejected with the question, “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?” (Exodus 2:13-14).

Exodus 2:13-14 (NKJV) 13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”

 

The Hebrews rejected him. The Egyptians sought to kill him (Exodus 2:15).

Exodus 2:15 (NKJV) When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

 

Hebrews 11:24-25 tells us the deeper issue. Moses had chosen to identify himself with God’s people rather than enjoy the privileges of Pharaoh’s house. His murder of the Egyptian became the excuse, but the real issue was his identification with the Hebrews.

Hebrews 11:24-25 (NKJV) 24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

 

As a result, Moses fled into the wilderness.

 

For the next forty years he tended sheep in Midian (Exodus 2:15-22). These years were not wasted years. They were years of preparation.

 

At forty, Moses thought he was ready.

 

At eighty, Moses thought he was incapable.

 

When God appeared to him at the burning bush, Moses responded with the question, “Who am I?” (Exodus 3:11).

Exodus 3:11 (NKJV) But Moses said to God, “Who [am] I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

 

Could this be the same man who forty years earlier had acted so boldly?

 

God had used the first forty years to teach Moses the wisdom of Egypt. He used the second forty years to teach Moses dependence upon God.

 

Both were necessary.

 

God was preparing a deliverer, but the deliverance would not be accomplished through human greatness. Many years later, Zechariah would summarize this principle in a single statement: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6).

Zechariah 4:6 (NKJV) … ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

 

God was teaching Moses that the work ahead would not be accomplished by education, influence, or personal strength. It would be accomplished by the power of God.

 

At the same time God was preparing the deliverer, He was also preparing the people to be delivered.

 

Acts 7 reminds us that Israel initially rejected Moses (Acts 7:35). The same chapter contains Stephen’s stern rebuke concerning Israel’s long history of resisting God’s work (Acts 7:51).

Acts 7:35 (NKJV) “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent [to be] a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.

 

Acts 7:51 (NKJV) “[You] stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers [did,] so [do] you.

 

When Moses first attempted to help his people, they wanted nothing to do with him.

 

Forty years later things were different.

 

By the end of Exodus 2, the suffering of the Israelites had become unbearable. They were groaning under their bondage and crying out to God (Exodus 2:23-25). When God speaks to Moses in Exodus 3, He repeatedly refers to hearing their cries and seeing their affliction (Exodus 3:7-10).

Exodus 3:7 (NKJV) And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who [are] in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

 

The people who once rejected Moses had now reached the point where they knew they could not save themselves.

 

The deliverer was ready.

 

The people were ready.

 

God’s time had come.

 

It is at this moment that God reveals Himself to Moses as “I AM” (Exodus 3:14).

Exodus 3:14 (NKJV) And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

 

This is God’s personal covenant name. We rightly think of Him as Creator, Provider, Shepherd, Savior, and King. Yet in humanity’s greatest moments of weakness and need, we discover the comfort of the God who simply says, “I AM.”

 

He is everything His people need Him to be.

 

God still works deliverances today, and they still follow the same pattern.

 

Those whom God uses must learn that His work is accomplished through His power rather than their own abilities. Knowledge, training, and experience are valuable, but they are never sufficient. God’s servants must learn dependence upon Him.

 

Likewise, those who are delivered must come to the end of themselves. As long as we believe we can save ourselves, we will never truly seek God’s salvation.

 

This points us directly to Jesus Christ.

 

Moses was a deliverer, but Jesus is the Deliverer.

 

Moses delivered Israel from Pharaoh. Jesus delivers sinners from sin, death, and judgment.

 

The Exodus stands as one of the greatest acts of deliverance in history, yet it points forward to a greater deliverance accomplished through Christ.

 

Acts 4:12 reminds us that salvation is found in no one else. There is no other name by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:12 (NKJV) “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

 

There are two mistakes people commonly make.

 

One is believing that once we have been delivered, we can deliver others through our own wisdom and strength.

 

The other is believing we can deliver ourselves.

 

Scripture repeatedly teaches a far simpler truth.

 

Romans 10:13 tells us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:13 (NKJV) For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

 

That is the pattern we see throughout the Exodus account. God heard the cries of His people and acted according to His covenant promises. The miracles that followed were demonstrations of His power and faithfulness.

 

The same God still hears those who call upon Him today.

 

If you need deliverance, call upon Him.

 

If you need grace, call upon Him.

 

If you need strength, call upon Him.

 

If you need a miracle today, call on Him, just call.