02/26/21 PITIFUL EXCUSES and GOD’s PROVISION: GOD AND MOSES #1 —

Exodus 3:10-12 (ESV) 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.”

“WHO AM I”: The first response is an objection from Moses to the divine summons, an expression of inadequacy for such a serious mission. It sounded reasonable, for after 40 years of absence from Egypt, what could he, a mere shepherd in Midian, do upon return?

“BUT I WILL BE WITH YOU”: The divine promise, one given also to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, should have been sufficient to quell all the chosen agent's fears and sense of inadequacy for the task.

“YOU SHALL SERVE GOD ON THIS MOUNTAIN”: A second divine promise signified the future success of the mission, suggesting that Israel would not be delivered simply out of bondage and oppression, but rescued to worship (cf. Ac 7:7). (adapted from The MacArthur Study Bible)

But Moses was NOT satisfied with God’s TWO promises—His presence along the way and the certainty of the success of the mission. Like so many of us, Moses continued to offer a string of objections… Stay Tuned!