CHAPTER 3

(1491 B.C.)

THE BURNING BUSH

¹Now 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. (What God would do with Moses was not learned in the palaces of Egypt, but was learned at the backside of the desert.)

²And the Angel of the Lord (actually, the Lord Himself) appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush (40 years in the desert was needed to humble the strength of the flesh and destroy its hope; the possible king of Egypt was now an obscure shepherd): and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (The flame of fire in the lowly desert bush the emblem of Deity and Humanity of Christ and the great name I AM proceeding out from the fire revealed this Almighty Power to Moses. If its done in the flesh, it will consume the person, i.e., the bush; however, if its done by the Power of the Holy Spirit, the bush will burn and not be consumed.)

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

⁴And when the LORD saw that he (Moses) 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. (The Voice that called, Moses, Moses, was the very same Voice that said, Martha, Martha. Nothing can be more interesting or instructive than the mode in which Jehovah was pleased to reveal Himself to Moses.)

⁵And He (God) said, Draw not near hither: put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place whereon you stand is Holy ground. (Wherever God is, that place is Holy. And it is Holy only as long as God is there.)

⁶Moreover He said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (the God of the Covenants given unto these men). And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. (As far as we know, this appearance by God to Moses was the first appearance since Jacobs going down into Egypt about 215 years before. As well, if it is to be noticed, the Lord didnt say, I was the God of Abraham... etc., but I am..., proving that these Patriarchs were still alive, even though they had died physically a long time before.)

⁷And 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 has seen, He has heard, and He knows);

⁸And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians (Egypt was a type of the world; the Lord delivers us from this present evil world; he does so by the means of the Cross [Gal. 1:4]), and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey (the Lord delivers us from something [sin], and thereby to something [Salvation], typified by Canaanland); unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (While Egypt represents the world, these various tribes which then occupied the Promised Land typify flesh which endeavors to hinder the Believer. All victory is won by and through Christ and the Cross.)

THE COMMISSION

⁹Now 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. (Henry says concerning this: As the poorest of the oppressed are not below Gods cognizance, so the highest and greatest of their oppressors are not above His check, but He will surely visit for these things.)

¹⁰Come now therefore, and I will send you unto Pharaoh, that you may bring forth My People the Children of Israel out of Egypt. (With one man, the Lord would deliver nearly 3 million of His people out of the mightiest nation on Earth, determined to hold them captive. It is the same presently! All the Lord needs is one man, or woman, who will be willing to preach His Word, and deliverance will be effected, even for the hardest cases. God is able!)

¹¹And 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? (The carnal mind is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be. The very Moses, who in 2:11-13 stepped forward with energy to champion his people, is the very same Moses, who in 3:11-13 steps back and declares himself unequal to the task. Faith neither steps forward nor backward, but holds the Hand which says: Certainly I will be with you.)

¹²And he said, Certainly I will be with you; and this shall be a token unto you, that I have sent you: When you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain (Mount Sinai, where the Law was given, and which happened exactly as the Lord said it would).

¹³And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the Children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His Name? what shall I say unto them? (The human heart is full of questions; consequently, it reasons and questions when unhesitating obedience is that which is due to God; and still more marvelous is the Grace that bears with all the reasonings and answers all the questions. To the Israelites, God had been known by titles, such as El or Elohim, which mean The Lofty One; or Shaddai, which means The Powerful; or Jahveh or Jehovah, The Existent One. However, these Names were more descriptions than anything else.)

¹⁴And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shall you say unto the Children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you. (Dr. Pentecost translated the Name, I was, I am, and I shall always continue to be. I am whatever you need!)

¹⁵And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shall you say unto the Children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me unto you: this is My Name for ever, and this is My Memorial unto all generations. (The Lord reminds Moses to tell Israel that He is the same One Who spoke to the Patriarchs and, as well, that this Name, I AM THAT I AM, will be His Name forever. He changes not; He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. His Name is Jesus; and that is Gods greatest Name!)

¹⁶Go, and gather the Elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt (God sees everything that is done to His children, be it negative or positive):

¹⁷And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. (Before, Moses had made the plans [when he killed the Egyptian], and they could not succeed. Now, God makes the plans, and they are guaranteed of success.)

¹⁸And they shall hearken to your voice (this was the Message; and Moses faith in delivering it was strengthened beforehand by the Divine assurance that it would be believed): and you shall come, you and the Elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and you shall say unto him, the LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us: and now let us go, we beseech you, three days journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. (The three days journey was not deceitfully proposed by God, but furnished as a test for Pharaoh.)

¹⁹And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. (Through foreknowledge, God knew that Pharaoh would not allow the Children of Israel to leave.)

²⁰And I will stretch out My Hand, and smite Egypt with all My Wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. (The Lord would use Pharaohs obstinate heart to serve as a warning of the Power and Glory of God to all the surrounding nations.)

²¹And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when you go, you shall not go empty (God planned that His people should receive proper wages for all their hard labor before leaving Egypt, and so they did!):

²²But every woman shall borrow (ask) of her neighbor, and of her who sojourns in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and you shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and you shall spoil the Egyptians. (Upon hearing this, Im sure the Elders of Israel must have been somewhat surprised! They couldnt imagine Pharaoh letting them go, much less loading them down with jewels and raiment, etc. However, whatever God says that He will do, irrespective as to how preposterous it might seem at the beginning, how unlikely, how virtually impossible, to be sure will come to pass. God cannot lie!)