1. Under what circumstances did the Lord appear to Moses at Horeb? "And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here I am. And He said, Draw not nigh hither; put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground. 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." (Exodus 3:4-6)
2. For what purpose did the Lord appear to him? "And 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; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now 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. Come now therefore, and I will send you unto Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:7-10)
3. By what name did the Lord say He would be known? "And 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? And 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. And 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." (Exodus 3:13-15)
4. What is the significance of this name? The One who is; the self-existence and eternal One.
5. What similar terms do we find in the New Testament? "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne." (Revelation 1:4) "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)
6. What sign was given to Moses, by which the Israelites might know that the Lord had appeared to him? "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, The Lord has not appeared unto you. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod. And He said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth your hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared unto you." (Exodus 4:1-5)
7. What additional sign was given? "And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now your hand into your bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And He said, Put your hand into your bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh." (Exodus 4:6-7)
8. What further sign was Moses to give in case the Israelites should not believe the first two? "And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which you take out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land." (Exodus 4:8)
9. What excuse did Moses then make? "And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since You have spoken unto your servant; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." (Exodus 4:10)
10. What rebuke and encouragement did the Lord give him? "And the Lord said unto him, Who has made man's mouth? or who makes the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall say." (Exodus 4:11-12)
11. What reply did Moses make? "And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray You, by the hand of him whom You will send." (Exodus 4:13)
12. With what did Moses thus indirectly charge God? See note.
13. How did the Lord regard this? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses." (Exodus 4:14)
14. What further encouragement did He give Moses? "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said, Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he comes forth to meet you; and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. And you shall speak unto him, and put words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. And he shall be your spokesman unto the people; and he shall be, even he shall be to you instead of a mouth, and you shall be to him instead of God." (Exodus 4:14-16)
15. What practical lesson may we learn from this occurrence? See note.
Notes:
When Moses said to the Lord, "Send, I pray You, by the hand of him whom You should send," (Exodus 4:13) he indirectly charged God with not knowing who He ought to send. If the Lord had not seen that Moses was the best man for the place, He would not have selected him. While God does not want a man to run when he has not been sent, (See Jeremiah 23:2) He does want a man to go when He sends him. If God indicates that He wants a man to do a certain work, that is sufficient evidence that He will sustain him in that work.
It is a terrible thing to refuse to obey the Lord. To beg off from labor to which one has been appointed, is not always humility. It may be an evidence of pride or stubbornness.
This case under consideration may naturally call to the minds of many the case of Jonah, although Jonah was not like Moses except in that he did not want to do what the Lord wanted him to do. The motives of the two men were different. The teacher, however, who exhausts the lesson before the allotted time has expired, will do well to call attention to the case of Jonah, and of others that come to his mind, as different phases of this shrinking from duty.
Very often people who plead inability to do a certain work in the church or Sabbath-school, to which they are called, think that their refusal is an evidence of their humility, when, in fact, it is an evidence of nothing but pride. They fear that if they should take hold of it, they might make mistakes, and that people might not think so much of them in consequence. And so, in order to avoid possible criticism by men, they are content to be drones, and to risk the displeasure of God. That is one of the worst kinds of pride.--Signs of the Times, December 21, 1888--Original title: The Commentary. Shrinking from Duty--Exodus 3:4 to 4:16.
E.J. Waggoner