Aug. 11, 2021

“THE LIFE OF MOSES”

“SECOND CHANCES”

EXODUS 3:1-10

1.   God’s Timing

The 3rd chapter of Exodus opens with a simple description of what had become the common practice of Moses.

Exodus 3:1 “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

The day on which God chose to end His forty-year training period with Moses began as just an ordinary day in the desert.

*God’s method is the same today.

2.   God In The Bush

Exodus 3:2-3 “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

*In the midst of commonplace situations, God will often get our attention by causing an uncommon event to occur. Many times we refer to these special occasions as “coincidences.”

3.   The Need

It was not until Moses turned to look at the burning bush that “God called out to him.”

Exodus 3:4 “So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 

“Here I am.”

Through these word, he indicated both his acknowledgement of the call and his availability to respond further. Then Gos spoke to him again:

Exodus 3:5 “Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 

The Lord commanded Moses to consider the piece of desert that he is standing on as sacred.

Exodus 3:6 “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.”

When Moses heard this, he realized that the One whom he had failed in Egypt was now facing him in Midian. This struck terror and guilt into his heart. “Moses hid his face.”

Exodus 3:7-9 “And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.”

*The Lord wants us to be attentive to His voice and available for His work.

4.   The Lord’s Call

After spending forty years in obscurity in Midian as the result of failure, the eighty-year-old Moses heard God commission him to return to Egypt and deliver the Hebrews.

Exodus 3:10 “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

*Even after we have failed God and think that we are useless, He will return to restore us and call us back into His service. When He does, there are four responses we can make:

1.  We Can Run Before We Are Sent

2.  We Retreat After We Have Failed

3.  We Resist When We Are Called

4.  We Can Remain Available While We Wait, And We Can Respond Obediently When We Are Called

 Which way are you reacting to God’s work in your life?