“Don’t Give Excuses to God’s Calling” Exodus 3:16-4:17
Introduction
At the burning bush God and Moses are discussing Moses leading the Hebrew people out of Egypt. At this command Moses gives five excuses. The first is, Excuse #1 “Someone Else Would Be Better at This Than Me” Who Am I? Moses asks God who he was to do such a difficult thing. God’s response was that it did not matter who he was because God was with him.
Then Moses asks who God was, and Excuse #2 “I Don’t Know God Well Enough” Who Is God? Then God reveals Himself as being the Great I Am. Then God gives Moses detailed information about what he wanted Moses to do.
A Message for the Israelites (vv. 16-17)
16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
A Message for the Egyptians (vv. 18-22)
18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness[1], that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
God tells them exactly how the Exodus would go, “The people will believe, the king will be hardened, the Egyptians will be plagued, the deliverance will occur, and finally the Egyptians will be despoiled!”[2]
In response to these messages Moses gives his third excuse:
Prayer
Excuse #3 – 3 “No One Will Believe Me”
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.’”
Every prophet is to say exactly the words that were given to him from God – not his interpretation of the burning bush, or his opinion about the words, but the very words themselves and what happened. Then those hearing the words have to determine if these are the words and actions of God or is this man a false prophet. 2 Peter 1:20 “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
In verse 18 God said to Moses, “And they will listen to your voice,” but them Moses says to God, “yeah, but what if they won’t listen.” God has said something to be true, but then Moses says, yes but what if it isn’t true. In spite of this defiance, God gives Moses three signs that will show people that what Moses is saying is true. These are signs will comfort Moses, and give evidence to the elders and the Egyptians that Moses speaks for God.
Sign #1. Staff to Snake – Something ordinary can become something extraordinary.
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.”
As a shepherd Moses would have the staff with him. Every shepherd would use a staff to guide the sheep, fight off wild animals, etc. Later in 4:20 Moses’ staff is called “the staff of God.” When it is Moses’ staff it is just a stick, that can be easily thrown down and replaced with another stick. But once God uses it, it becomes the staff of God that does amazing signs. Moses is struggling with self-doubt and he is saying, “who am I to go to the pharaoh?” If God can do this with a stick, imagine what He can do with you.
You are not less than a stick. Jesus says something similar in Luke 12:24 “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”
Also, the serpent was a symbol of Egyptian power, “for the Egyptians worshiped the serpent as a source of wisdom and healing.”[3] God can pick up and drop down Egypt whenever he wants – God is more powerful than the gods of Egypt.
Also, the plagues are follow as Moses makes the request before pharaoh to let the people go free. Frogs, gnats, flies are all normal things that God uses in an extraordinary way. An ordinary man, an ordinary stick, an ordinary hand, and ordinary water – in the hands of God become something extraordinary.
Sign #2. Leprous Hand Restored
6 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.
Later when the law is given, leprous skin was considered unclean. In Luke 17 when Jesus comes across a group of lepers, “When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.” In order to be allowed back into society a priest had to look at confirm that the leprous skin was healed. These men cried out from a distance, they were outcasts and ceremonially unclean.
But this Exodus passage was before the law, the temple, priests, etc. But God was going to take an unclean people and restore them to health. They would be freed from slavery and oppression and given a special responsibility among the nations of the earth. God will restore them.
Moses had tried to be the leader on his own and had failed, he had run to the wilderness to live for forty years. He made a mistake, he was a murderer – now God will use him, he will be restored. The God of the Bible is the God of restoration.[4]
Sign #3. Water to Blood – The Source of Life
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.”
The third sign for Moses was the first of the plagues to come (the Nile to blood). For the Egyptians the Nile was the source of life. God was showing He had power of life and death for the Egyptian people.
Also, it was the Nile that the blood of many Hebrew infants would have been shed and drowned on account of the Pharaoh’s command (Ex.1:11). This also would be a sign of judgement for the Egyptian people.
These three miracles or signs was to prove that Moses spoke for God. Later Jesus would also perform miracles in order to show that He was God.
Excuse #4 “I’m Not Good At What You Are Asking Me To Do”
10 But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
Moses in his fourth excuse is concerned that he lacks the ability to persuade people when he speaks, for “I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Moses is not saying that he has a speech impediment (such as stuttering), but that he is fearful that when the time comes he won’t be able to persuade with his ability to speak eloquently.
The words he will choose to say will be wrong in getting the pharaoh to do what God wants him to do. God has already told him exactly what to say earlier, (v. 16) “Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them,” and then in (v. 18), “you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him . . .”
Moses’ focus is on himself, “I am not eloquent” and “I am slow of speech and of tongue,” God’s response to Moses is to try and get Moses to focus on Him instead. God responds by reminding Moses that it was God who made him the way he was, “Who has made man’s mouth?” and regardless of how God had made his mouth, “I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
This is the second time where God has said, “I will be with you.” If God has called you to do something, he will be with you as you go to do it.
Matthew 25:14-15 is the parable of the talents. Jesus tells the story, “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.” Then later the man returns and asks his servants what they did with the money that he had given them, (v. 19) “Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.”
Two of the servants made even for money for the man, but one of the servants did nothing, His one coin was taken from him, “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
This parable shows that it is not about how good you are at something, compared to someone else, but what you do with what you have been entrusted. God gave Moses a mouth, He gave him the words to say, and He promised to be with Him. God never tries to convince Moses that he is more talented than he thought he was, or that he was a better leader than he thought he was – those things don’t matter. God said I will be with you.
Excuse #5 “Just Send Someone Else.”
13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
God has told Moses to go four times up to this point. “So now, go, I am sending you to Pharoah” (3:10); “Go and gather the elders of Israel” (3:16); “You and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt (3:18), and then again in 4:12 “Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what to speak.” Go, go, go, go.
And to God’s repeated commands to go Moses offers excuse after excuse, and then finally the truth of Moses heart comes out, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” The real issue was that Moses just did not want to go. “Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses,”
There comes a moment in the dialogue between Moses and God, where the fifth question was too much. Moses was not trusting what God was saying. There is a moment where we can pray, and ask questions, and all the while God is saying, go, go, go, go – and we reply back, “yeah but what about this?” and “what about that?” There comes a time when we are not wanting answers, but we are giving excuses for disobedience, and this kindles God anger toward us.
In response to Moses’ feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, God says, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well.” – Why does God do this? Look at Moses’ excuses 1) “Someone else would be better at this than me” – God responds by saying, “I will be with you” and he gives Moses a sign of one worshiping on that same mountain. 2) “I don’t know God well enough” – God responds by telling Moses His name, I AM WHO I AM. 3) “No one will believe me” so God responds with three more signs, staff to snake, leprous hand, and water to blood 4) “I am not good at what you are asking me to do,” – God says, I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say.
All these things is God working through something, God’s power changing something. Then we move to Moses’ fifth excuse 5) “I don’t want to do this” – so God sends Aaron to stand beside Moses, but the relationship is described as “you will be as God to him.” This is about Moses’ giving God full control of his life and trusting God with everything.
When you limit what you allow God to fully control,
you lose the blessing that goes along with His control over that area of your life.
Moses is out in the desert, defeated, wounded, old and just wants to disappear. God says, no, you are going to speak for me. I will tell you what to say, I will be with you, but you will go and lead my people. Moses goes on to be one of the greatest leaders who has ever walked the planet. There is power in the word, yes, I will go. Moses goes, but not fully as God intended, it was an altered plan – changed by Moses’ untrusting heart. The plan goes forward but altered by man’s hardened heart.
God’s last words to Moses in this exchange “Moses don’t forget your staff.”
___________________
[1] Was God being dishonest? Only three days with the real intention of never returning. Ruse de guerre – a justifiable stratagem in time of war.
[2] Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word, Exodus (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2015) 93.
[3] Ryken, 97.
[4] Peter Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 2000) 110.
Drew’s Top Ten For 2024
During the winter months there is the inevitable weather closing, seasonal slowdown, or the purposeful taking of time to reflect on the previous year. The following are my top ten items for a leader as they are beginning a new year. These are not in order of importance, only the order that they fell out of the sky and landed on my subconscious.
- The time you spend quitting is time away from moving forward. Don’t quit.
- Don’t listen to people who haven’t done anything. Be careful who you allow to influence you.
- Trust yourself – your first instinct is probably right.
- Surround yourself with people who will help you move the needle in the right direction. The team is important.
- Your character is the most important determining factor of your long-term success. Guard rails are important.
- Deal with the problem – stop putting it off.
- It doesn’t have to be perfect – keep pushing forward. Do the best you can with what you have. Do something. Try.
- Get organized – the more tasks you can handle the further your reach goes. Planning is important.
- Take care of yourself, be disciplined in the right areas.
- Set a goal that seems impossible. People who try hard things occasionally become people who have done hard things. What seems hard to other people becomes easier for you.
“The Spray Across the Water” Indicators of Mission Speed
“The Spray Across the Water”
Indicators of Mission Speed
In the sport of high diving there are twists, turns, and flips that take place within seconds of knifing into the water. Once the diver jumps from the platform or board they are relying on years of coaching, training, and knowing when to make a specific move at a certain height from the water. So, the diver must know how high they are at every given moment of the dive.
As they move at speeds of over 35mph it is incredibly dangerous if they hit the surface of the water incorrectly. In order to assist divers with their perception a jet of water is shot across the surface of the water. This helps the diver to judge depth and height. Without that point of reference, the diver may pull out of a twist or any number of mistimed maneuvers that will at a minimum cost them points or worse a serious injury.
Leadership involves directing and guiding people, and once the ‘train has left the station’ (to mix metaphors) to stop or turn at the wrong point could cause disaster. The leader needs a ‘spray across the water’ or some indicator of how fast they are moving and where they are in the process. If the leader moves too fast or too slow it could cause danger to the mission – and they need awareness of where they are – which often times is difficult to determine if you are moving a what feels like mac speed.
How do we know how fast we are going?
How do we know when it is time to deploy or wait?
Indicators of Mission Speed
- Grumbling and Complaining; Once you are moving your group from one place to another grumbling and complaining may be a sign you are going too fast. Create channels or avenues so that you can get the information you need – if they only complain behind your back you may never know until it has caused damage. Grumbling and complaining may also be an indicator that the mission is moving forward after years of non-movement.
If you are walking around in the desert in circles for forty years, does it really matter how fast you are going? (see Joshua 5:6)
- Rituals and Celebrations; After you have been traveling for some time you may cycle through events that come year after year (Christmas, Easter, etc.) In the church world there may be annual celebrations – these give you a feeling of tradition and stability – but they may also pull you from your mission if can’t explain why these events are important. One of these annual ‘rotations’ for the leader may be vacations, breaks, get-aways, etc. Time away from the mission may help to determine how healthy you are and the health of the mission.
- Staff & Leadership Turnover; Another indicator of timing is how fast you have turn over in key positions. Long term volunteers, staff, etc. may be an indicator that they feel appreciated, and understand the importance of the mission. A frequent or high turn-over may indicate that you may be lacking in the above-mentioned areas. If your people are getting burned-out it may be an indicator that you need to slow down. There must be a balance of caring for people and accomplishing the mission. Don’t treat your people as though they are disposable.
- Accomplishing Short-Term Goals; Again, we are looking at indicators of speed and the ability to make moves at the right time. So, there should be a series of weekly, monthly, or short term goals that are being accomplished (or not being accomplished) on a regular basis – and are these things getting accomplished with excellence? If they are not, you may be moving too fast. If they are, it may be time to things up. If the short-term goals are not being accomplished, then you may need to further break down the goals into sub-goals — to a point to where things are getting done, and work up from there.
Leaders Who Hold On Too Tight For Too Long
In Mark 12 we find Jesus teaching in the temple during the week leading up to Passover. This is the week that the Jewish believers would remember how God had passed over the homes who had marked their doorpost with blood (see Exodus 12) and it involved a special symbolic meal that represented various things around that historical event. During this week Jesus would teach in the temple during the day, and it was during this time that he overturned the tables of moneychangers, drove out livestock traders, and kept people from cutting through the Gentile court (Mark 11).
Trying to trap Jesus various religious groups came up to him with scenarios, theological and political questions, and each time Jesus skillfully escaped their word games. By Mark 14 and in other gospels we are told that they were trying to develop a plan to kill him. So what was the disconnect between Jesus and these Jewish religious groups – didn’t they have the same law of Moses?
At the end of the day you can boil it all down to one word – influence. Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah – the promised king who would bring salvation to His people. He proved this by teaching “as one who had authority,” and performing miracles (casting out demons, raising the dead, healing the blind and sick, controlling weather, multiplying bread and fish to feed thousands, etc.).
These religious leaders were trying to kill Jesus because he threatened their influence over the people. When John the Baptist faced this same situation early in Jesus’ ministry he came to the conclusion, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Understanding who Jesus was and John’s role as preparing the way for Jesus, when it was time for him to step aside and let Jesus take the spotlight, John stepped aside. So from a leadership perspective . . .
How do you know if you are being like the Pharisees or John the Baptist?
We all know of leaders who held on too long – they may have been the founder, planter, original leader, or just in the same position for a long time, but their ability to take the ministry, church, organization has been overshadowed by the job itself (it has grown past their ability or skillset).
(1) Have You Clearly Heard From the Lord? Ministry is hard, and there will always be tough issues to work through. So, the spiritual leader must understand their role in the organization and execute that to their fullest. In ministry, I have experienced the Lord telling me to hang on and keep going, and there have been times when He has said, “Drew, your time here is over.” Keep praying until you clearly hear one or the other.
(2) Are You Afraid to Surround Yourself With Great Leaders? Bad leaders feel threatened by new leaders who seek excellence, are growing and developing – while they decline and are becoming obsolete. Good leaders try to sure up where they are weak, and put people where they have blind spots. If you feel so threatened by people who are better at things than you are, then it may be time to step aside. Part of this concept is raising up new leaders, to eventually replace you or to multiply the work. If a person is so threatened to mentor another, then they are keeping the organization stagnant on purpose.
(3) Why Do You Do What You Do? When John the Baptist would preach and baptize people Mark tells us that, “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” This would have been thousands of people traveling out to the wilderness just to see, hear, and be baptized by John. If John had been a prideful man, then all that popularity and influence would have been very difficult to let it go.
For the Pharisees, Sadducees, high priests, scribes, etc. this influence was intoxicating to them – they loved it. Jesus even said, Matthew 23:5-7 “They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.” This is something about leadership that is hard to identify when you are in the moment – you may not see how people’s response to you drives your reason for serving in a particular position.
(4) Are You In Touch With Reality? The Pharisees, Sadducees, High Priests, and Scribes had to ignore all the miracles, fulfilled prophecies, and clear signs that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Even at the testimony of the guards who saw Jesus rise from the dead, they paid them off to say the disciples came and moved the body. They ignored reality because they wanted to hang on to power and influence.
Take a good hard look at your current situation – are you having to overlook constant and clear signs that it is time for you to go, or do you see how God is using you to move the needle, and push the organization forward? Don’t ignore what is right in front of your face, so that you can hold on to power and influence. Ups and Downs are a part of any organization, so don’t be discouraged if you are “down.” If you are called to be there, surrounding yourself with good leaders, taking solid steps forward then hang on, and learning as-you-go then it will get better.
Remember, you are in between the last leader, and the one that will come after you. Therefore, you are a steward of the organization now, but you will not be there forever. So, leave it better than you found it.
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