03/13/21 PITIFUL EXCUSES and GOD’s PATIENCE and PROVISION #5

Exodus 4:6-9 (ESV) 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.”

God was well aware of Moses’ reluctance and sense of personal inadequacy. And He knew in advance that it would take SEVERAL miraculous tools and signs to convince Moses and the Hebrews that the Lord God was raising up Moses to deliver His people from their slavery and suffering. God our Father was patient with them as He still is with us. But, in the end, He expect ed confident, faithful obedience from them as He does from us today.

03/08/21 PITIFUL EXCUSES and GOD’s PATIENCE and PROVISION #4

Exodus 4:1-5 (ESV) 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.”

Then Moses said. In a third objection, Moses gave an unworthy response, after the lengthy explanation by God to Moses in 3:14-22. At this point, the hypothetical situation proposed became more objection than reasonable inquiry.

4:2-9 In response to the hypothetical situation of Israel's rejecting God as having appeared to him, Moses was given 3 signs to accredit him as the chosen spokesman and leader. Note the purpose stated: "That they may believe that the Lord... appeared to you" (v. 5). Two of these signs personally involved Moses right then and there—the rod to snake and back, the hand leprous and healed.

“WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND?... THROW IT ON THE GROUND”: Only God Himself can take WHATEVER we have, whatever is in OUR hands, and turn it into something godly and powerful! NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION MOSES COULD ENVISION HIMSELF FACING, GOD HAD SUFFICIENT RESOURCES TO AUTHENTICATE HIS MAN, AND MOSES WAS NOT TO THINK OTHERWISE. It’s the same for us; we can trust God to support us as we do His work. (adapted from The MacArthur Study Bible)

03/08/21 PITIFUL EXCUSES and GOD’s PATIENCE and PROVISION #4

Exodus 4:1-5 (ESV) 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.”

Then Moses said. In a third objection, Moses gave an unworthy response, after the lengthy explanation by God to Moses in 3:14-22. At this point, the hypothetical situation proposed became more objection than reasonable inquiry.

4:2-9 In response to the hypothetical situation of Israel's rejecting God as having appeared to him, Moses was given 3 signs to accredit him as the chosen spokesman and leader. Note the purpose stated: "That they may believe that the Lord... appeared to you" (v. 5). Two of these signs personally involved Moses right then and there—the rod to snake and back, the hand leprous and healed.

“WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND?... THROW IT ON THE GROUND”: Only God Himself can take WHATEVER we have, whatever is in OUR hands, and turn it into something godly and powerful! NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION MOSES COULD ENVISION HIMSELF FACING, GOD HAD SUFFICIENT RESOURCES TO AUTHENTICATE HIS MAN, AND MOSES WAS NOT TO THINK OTHERWISE. It’s the same for us; we can trust God to support us as we do His work. (adapted from The MacArthur Study Bible)

03/01/21 PITIFUL EXCUSES and GOD’s PATIENCE and PROVISION #2 —

Exodus 3:13-15 (ESV) 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.

“THEN MOSES SAID TO GOD”: Was Moses at this point crossing the line from reasonable inquiry to unreasonable doubt? GOD'S PATIENT REPLIES instructing Moses on what He would do and what the results would be, including Israel's being viewed with favor by the Egyptians (3:21), ought to CAUTION THE READER FROM HASTILY CLASSIFYING MOSES' ATTITUDE AS ALTOGETHER WRONG from the very beginning of the interaction between him and the Lord. A response of divine anger comes only in 4:14 at the very end of Moses' questions and objections. See 4:1.

“‘WHAT IS HIS NAME?”: Moses raised a second objection. Israel might ask for God's name in validation of Moses' declaration that he had been sent by the God of their fathers. Significantly, the question was NOT "WHO is this God?" The Hebrews understood the name Yahweh had been known to the patriarchs (which Genesis well indicates). Asking "WHAT" meant they sought for the relevancy of the name to their circumstances. "WHO?" sought after TITLE, NAME, and IDENTITY, whereas "WHAT?" inquired into the CHARACTER, QUALITY, or ESSENCE of a person.

“I AM WHO I AM”: This is the ONLY time God announces this particular name in ALL the Scriptures! This name for God points to His SELF-EXISTENCE and ETERNALITY; it denotes "I AM THE ONE WHO IS / WILL BE"… The significance in relation to "THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS" is immediately discernible: HE'S THE SAME GOD THROUGHOUT THE AGES! (adapted from The MacArthur Study Bible) Praise the Lord!