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314 i hate to to to burst your bubble it's a massive tax there's been a ton of stuff written on it we're going to glance at it as we move through the chapter but exodus 3 14 is a very important passage concerning who god is theology proper it's always good to ask who god is before we look at what god does i think that gives you a better approach to scripture if you look at what god does first then it could shape the way you see who he is and it's better to know who he is and then ascertain or determine what he does but certainly in discussions concerning theology proper or the doctrine of god exodus 3 14 is a is a huge text for consideration we did at least appeal to it on sunday night we looked at the various statements by our lord jesus in john's gospel those i am statements when jesus says before abraham was i am and the jews picked up stones to throw at him it goes back not only to this but as well to certain statements in the prophet isaiah where god calls himself i am so i'll just read exodus 3 beginning in verse 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 and the angel of the lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush so he looked behold the bush was burning with fire but the bush was not consumed then moses said i will now turn aside and see this great sight why the bush does not burn 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 then he said do not draw near this place take your sandals off your feet for the place where 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 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 task masters for i know their sorrows so 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 now therefore behold the cry of the children of israel has come to me and have also seen the oppression with which the egyptians oppress them come now therefore and i will send you to pharaoh that you may bring my people the children of israel out of egypt but moses said to god who am i that i should go to pharaoh and that i should bring the children of israel out of egypt so he said i will certainly be with you and this shall be a sign to you that i have sent you when you have brought the people out of egypt you shall serve god on this mountain then moses said to god indeed when i come to the children of israel and say to them the god of your fathers has sent me to you and they say to me what is his name what shall i say to them and god said to moses i am who i am and he said thus you shall say to the children of israel i am has sent me to you moreover god said to moses thus you shall say to 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 to you this is my name forever and this is my memorial to all generations go and gather the elders of israel together and say to them the lord god of your fathers the god of abraham of isaac and of jacob appeared to me saying i have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in egypt and i have said i will bring you up out of the affliction of egypt to the land of the canaanites and the hittites and the amorites and the perizzites and the hivites and the jebusites to a land flowing with milk and honey then they will heed your voice and you shall come you and the elders of israel to the king of egypt and you shall say to him the lord god of the hebrews has met with us and now please let us go three days journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the lord our god but i am sure that the king of egypt will not let you go no not even by a mighty hand so i will stretch out my hand and strike egypt with all my wonders which i will do in its midst and after that he will let you go and i will give this people favor in the sight of the egyptians and it shall be when you go that you shall not go empty-handed but every woman shall ask of her neighbor namely of her who dwells near her house articles of silver articles of gold and clothing and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters so you shall plunder the egyptians amen well essentially we have three things going on in this particular passage the commission given to moses in verses 1 to 12 secondly the revelation of god's name to moses in verses 13 to 15 and then thirdly the instructions given to moses in verses 16 to 22. now in terms of the time time frame or at least the age of moses remember that he was likely weaned at about the age of four he was 40 when he killed the egyptian and then he spends 40 years in midian so he's 80 years now when he has this burning bush vision and so we'll look first at this commission given to moses in verses 1 to 12. the first thing we ought to observe is that this is what's called a theophany and a theophany is simply a manifestation of god it is a revelation of of god in this aspect in this burning bush this does not mean that god is a burning bush but rather god chooses to manifest himself this way to moses at this particular time when the dove descends upon the lord jesus christ in matthew 3 at the baptism of jesus that doesn't mean that the holy spirit is a dove this is a theophany a manifestation of god there are several throughout scripture and this is one that i think is very important in scripture but if we look at this theophany the occasion is interesting verse one tells us moses was tending the flock of jethro jethro is also called ruel i made the observation last week probably just a man with two names so either ruel or jethro but he is the father-in-law of moses so moses was tending the flock of jethro his father-in-law the priest of midian it's interesting that he himself didn't have a flock by this time unless he did but he's just doing this for his father-in-law as well it's a pretty menial job not menial in the sense that it's insignificant but to go from that to the deliverer of israel is quite a quite a leap and so one of the observations here is we never quite know what god has in store for us remember moses fled when he understood that pharaoh thought he was guilty of the crime of murder he flees he's 40 years there and as far as he's concerned perhaps he'll never go back to israel perhaps he'll never go back to the land of canaan here he is called by god to engage in a very significant task we read that he led the flock to the back of the desert and came to horeb the mountain of god that's another thing that is at times confusing horeb and sinai are the same place it's just two different names some say it's one sinai was one of the slopes and horeb was the other slope i think it's best just to see sinai as identifiable with horab and i think the only other place that's really referred to as horeb is in the book of deuteronomy a couple places littered throughout the pentateuch but primarily it is referred to as sinai so he is there attending the flock and then he sees this theophany or this manifestation of god and if you notice in the first place in verse two it says and the angel of the of the lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush now often times commentators and bible students make a distinction between an angel of the lord and the angel of the lord and i'm sure at some point that distinction falls down but it's a good general observation when you have angel of the lord with the definite article the it is typically a reference to deity it is a reference to god himself in fact if you look at verse 2 we have the angel of the lord but then in verse 4 so when yahweh saw that he turned aside to look god called to him from the midst of the bush so the angel of the lord in verse 2 is identifiable with the god of verse 4. and so some suggest that the angel of the lord is the preincarnate christ i think there's some trouble with that down the road but i think right now that's a pretty decent and safe observation to make i don't think it's strictly the case that in every instance that there is a theophany that it's the pre-incarnate christ or the second person of the trinity but i think here it probably does fit so we have a manifestation of the angel of the lord who is the lord himself now one of the reasons why god appears in theophanies like this is because we as sinful creatures cannot behold his essential glory in fact if you turn to the book of exodus later on moses is going to ask to see god's face you can turn to chapter or god's glory in exodus chapter 33 at verse 18 and he said please show me your glory then he said i will make all my goodness pass before you and i will proclaim the name of the lord before you i will be gracious to whom i will be gracious and i will have compassion on whom i will have compassion but he said you cannot see my face for no man shall see me and live again the essential glory of god he is too pure and too awesome and too wondrous for us to be whole be added to that god is spirit he does not have a body like man and the older theologians taught that the only way we approach to god is through a mediator and that mediator is obviously our lord jesus christ now there are instances for instance jacob at peniel says i have seen god face to face he had a theophany he wrestled with an angel of the lord so when he says face to face he's not suggesting that he saw the essential glory of god almighty again that's not something we can do in our own strength so when we go back to exodus chapter 3 we see this theophany the appearance was not god in his essential glory but in a manner comprehensible to man and then it's interesting the bush was burning with fire but was not consumed commentators explained this in a in a i think a very interesting and in a good way matthew poole says by a flame of fire was fitly represented god's majesty and purity and power think that is certainly displayed in the fire that is representative or symbolic of god god's majesty and purity and power and then he goes on to say the bush was not consumed which doubtless now i might take some sort of uh uh umbrage is that the word with doubtless i'm not sure it's as doubtless as he says which doubtless represented the condition of the church and people of israel who are now in the fire of affliction yet so as that god was present with them and that they should not be consumed in it whereof this vision was a pledge again i think it's good i'm not sure i'd say doubtless it could possibly go another way but i think that's good puritan commentary on this bur bush that is burning with fire but the bush was not consumed obviously this was a great sight it was a curiosity to be sure not only in terms of nature but in terms of what is happening religiously and so moses wants to see it verse 3 tells us moses said i will now turn aside and see this great sight why the bush does not burn and not only do we have this theophany in verses 2 and 3 but we have the word of god accompanying yet if god doesn't explain if god doesn't interpret if god doesn't tell moses what is happening then moses will go home and tell jethro i saw an interesting thing today i saw a bush that was burning and it wasn't consumed by the fire so that word of god goes alongside of the theophany to explain and to uh highlight the specifics that the lord wants for moses with reference to this particular commission or call so the lord calls to him from the bush moses moses and then we see that the lord instructs him to take off his sandals because this was holy ground it wasn't holy intrinsically it is holy because the holy one of israel is present there this is a way to show respect this is a way to show submission this is the way to indicate our humility obedience and reverence to this god so it's not the case that the ground was natively holy and that's why god appears there but rather god appears there and therefore this particular patch of ground is holy and moses must treat it in that particular manner the ground is holy because that is where the presence of the holy god is now god identifies himself to moses in this instance by indicating that he is the god of your father the god of abraham the god of isaac and the god of jacob again this directly connects us back to the book of genesis and the several promises made to abraham isaac and jacob remember a great deal of time has passed we have 400 years at least has path or have passed since these promises to the patriarch and so god comes now to re uh ratify that to confirm that and to indicate that such that uh moses can take up his place in god's plan to redeem the people and make good the promises that god had given to abraham isaac and jacob so god says i am the god of your father the god of abraham the god of isaac and the god of jacob and then this next statement is most intriguing and moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon god that is consistent with biblical revelation we appealed to this sort of concept the other day in our in our morning worship the reality is is that we don't just look upon god there is the fear of god that certainly ought to attach itself to our heart there's an instance instance in first samuel chapter six you can turn there for just a moment first samuel chapter six when the ark of the covenant is being returned we see in chapter six at um chapter six at verse 17. these are the golden tumors which the philistines returned as a trespass offering to the lord one for ashdod one for gaza one for ashkelon one for gath one for ekron then the golden rats according to the number of all the cities of the philistines belonging to the five lords both fortified cities and country villages even as far as the large stone of abel on which they set the ark of the lord which stone remains to this day in the field of joshua of bethshemesh then he struck the man of bethshemesh because they had looked into the ark of the lord he struck 50 070 men of the people and the people lamented because the lord had struck the people with a great slaughter now this next statement is absolutely consistent with who god is and who we are beforehand it says in the men of bathsheba shemesh said who is able to stand before this holy lord god that's the reality of it when isaiah is confronted with the glory of god he falls down as a dead man ezekiel the prophet does the very same thing when he has a vision there in ezekiel chapter one john the seer at patmos john the apostle sees the glorified christ and he fell as it were as a dead man that is consistent when it comes to a sinful man or woman's dealings with a holy god so back to the theophany moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon god in fact it's not just sin that affects us that way the angels that attend the very throne of god are without sin and yet they cover their face they cover their feet and with two wings they fly this god is a holy god he is a righteous god he is a pure god and majesty purity and power shines forth from him such that when we come into his presence it is consistent with creatures to hide their face because of a fear of looking upon the glory of god almighty that's the god with whom we have to do this idea that god is just our buddy so much of modern singing or modern songs praise and worship songs and you know sort of choruses that oftentimes are choking the churches and the people of god they almost treat jesus like he's our boyfriend in fact i think it's the way i refer to some of these songs jesus or my is my boyfriend kind of songs this does not evoke the proper response from the people of god with the god with whom they have to do when you come to the psalms for instance it's not lighthearted it's not frivolity it's not an attempt to bring god down to our level and make him a fellow or an equal or a buddy but rather the psalter addresses god as the high and lofty one the psalter recognizes that there's this great distance between us and god god is transcendent that means he's far removed god is also imminent that means he is present with and intimate with his people we ought never to forget either of those concepts but the reality of the holiness of god ought to affect the way that we approach it if we have smaller low views of god then when we come into worship it typically will be marked by levity by frivolity by a surface-level nest that's why good rich reformed theology ought to produce good rich reformed worship a worship that is based on the understanding of who god is one that is consistent to obey what god has commanded in terms of approaching him and those sorts of things are called for by the lord he doesn't leave it up to us to to dictate the the terms upon which we will worship he gives us those again as we specified on the lord's day but as well an understanding of who he is will hopefully frame our hearts are right when we come into his presence to pray when we come into his presence to sing when we come into his presence to worship in the corporate uh gathering of god's people so moses the man of god is afraid to look upon god as i said earlier he'll later ask to see god's glory god will explain the impossibility of such a venture you cannot see my face for no man shall see for no man shall see me and live remember john 1 18. no one has seen god the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father he has exegeted him he has demonstrated him he has revealed him now certainly when we look in the face of christ according to john 14 when we see the son we see the father so that's there's a reality in so far as that is concerned but in terms of the essential glory of god almighty we're not going to be appearing on that anytime soon and when we understand who this god is it should frame our hearts a right to worship him in a manner that is consistent with the revealed will of god it's why theology is so important it's why understanding who god is is so important in fact that's the most important thing in the bible we typically think oh my salvation my forgiveness of sins my justification by by god's grace certainly those are in the bible and certainly we are benefactors of that and we are blessed recipients of those things but the scriptures are first and foremost a revelation of who god is in fact many of the old authors in fact i'd say all of them but i haven't read all of them they would say or explain the scope of the scripture is christ himself in other words people come to the bible looking for them in the pages of holy scripture we're there but incidentally we're there as the sinners who need saving but the main theme with reference to scripture is the glory of god in the salvation of sinners by jesus christ is son and when we understand that again it should affect the way that we approach this god in worship so the theophany has given us given to us this manifestation of god in verses one to six now note the rationale in verses 7 to 10. in other words why is god coming to moses why is god calling moses why is god commissioning moses first of all he rehearses that he knows the sorrows of israel notice in verse 7 and 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 task masters for i know their sorrows so he tells moses the reason why i'm manifesting myself to you moses is because of the sorrow of my people in other words moses whatever it is god's going to call you to in this particular instance because again at this point moses doesn't know he is confronted with this theophany this appearance of the burning bush that isn't consumed and now god is speaking to him from this from this position and now he's telling him i've come to you because of the sorrows of israel he saw their oppression he heard their cry he knew their sorrows go back to chapter 2 verse 23 it happened in the process of time the king of egypt died then the children of israel groaned because of the bondage and they cried out and their cry came up to god because of the bondage so god heard their groaning and god remembered his covenant with abraham with isaac and with jacob and god looked upon the children of israel and god acknowledged that we had noted there that it most likely wasn't a cry of repentance it wasn't most likely oh god we have sinned against you please vindicate us from this miserable plight so that we can serve you with an undivided heart they weren't crying out in repentance we looked at a couple of passages in the book of judges that were very similar they were crying out because of the pain they were crying out because of the sorrow they were crying out because it affected them at that level and nevertheless god heard them that's what's glorious and wondrous in this passage it would be wonderful if we only ever went to god with pure and upright and holy motives but you know that's not usually the case so even when we lack those particular motives god nevertheless hears the cries of his people and god nevertheless intervenes to vindicate them and to deliver them and to bring them relief from the various things that are plaguing them so when the lord comes to moses the rationale for the theophany in the first place is the sorrow of israel he then pledges or he then says that he's going to come down to deliver them notice in verse 8 so i have come down remember with an omnipresent being there's no spatial movement god doesn't come down god doesn't go up god doesn't go right he doesn't go left you get the point god is omnipresent this is written in the manner of men it's written to us to describe for us certain things that are true and to help us to sink our teeth into it the idea being that for a time god wasn't delivering them and now he's going to come down and deliver that that's the way history is interpretation interpret it so i have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the egyptians so when we look at the book of exodus i think if you if you remember that we're going way back now to june when we introduced the book but there's three d's that you can sort of outline the book of of of exodus with the first is deliverance there is a deliverance that occurs between chapters 1 to 18 then you have demand in chapter 19 to 24. that's the law section and then 25 to 40 is dwelling you've got deliverance you've got demand and you've got dwelling those are the three large swaths that make up the book of exodus with reference to this aspect of deliverance it's not only to liberate them from the various bondages that they face under egyptian oppression but it's to deliver them into the land of promise it is to not only free them but to bring them safe and secure into the land promised by god to abraham isaac and jacob so remember that two-fold reference with reference to the exodus verse eight 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 now obviously that foreshadows the conquest see when god brings them there all those various ites aren't going to say oh israel's here let's leave that's not going to happen this sets the stage for after moses death when joshua takes the realm or takes the reins and leads the people on the conquest when they dispossess the land of these various heights that had been inhabiting it so god is in a sense giving the program of deliverance and not only deliverance but the conquest and the divvying up of the land that that will come in the book of joshua and judges and then notice in verses 9 and 10 he says what he's going to do verse 9 now therefore behold the cry of the children of israel has come to me and i've also seen the oppression with which the egyptians oppress them again that something we shouldn't gloss over that's not just true of israelites in the land of egypt it's true of the people of god in mass it's true of all of us god knows our sorrows god knows our distresses god knows our afflictions and if we ask the question well why doesn't he just take them all away well the bible offers an answer because he wants to conform us under the image of his son and the son learned obedience through suffering and so the adopted sons most likely are going to learn obedience as well through suffering but when we come to these sorts of afflictions and trials and hardships we as the people of god can never conclude that god doesn't care god does care god cares more for us than we could ever imagine he's most loving he's most gracious he's most kind to his people certainly he cares the reason he doesn't provide immediate relief for deliverance is because he's working through those things to conform us unto the image of jesus but the reality is is that he not only heard the cry or saw the oppression of these israelites in egypt but he sees the oppression of god's people today he sees the persecuted church he sees the situation in china he sees the various things going on all over the world and he always is for his people that's something we believe by faith romans chapter 8 we know that god causes all things to work together for good to those who love god to those who are the called according to his purpose i've said it before and i'll say it again that text means the bad things in our lives we don't need to be told that god does good things to us when we find bags of money we don't need to be told that god is working out good things for us when we get raises we don't need to be told that god works those things for good because they're good already it's a tautology when something good happens to us we don't need somebody to say something good has happened to you the context in romans chapter 8 is bad things he causes bad things to work for good to those who love god to those who are the called according to his purpose we see the the the first example back in genesis chapter 50 at verse 20. you meant these things for evil but god overruled it for good we see the chief worst crime ever committed on the history or in the history of the world was the execution of the lord jesus but it was through that horrid event that god brings the salvation of the world he brings the salvation of his people so we ought never to conclude in the times of affliction or hardship or difficulty that god has forgotten us or that god has abandoned us god doesn't abandon we have that in the book of hebrews i will never leave you i will never forsake you brethren we need to lay hold on that piece of data just like we do believe on the lord jesus christ and you shall be saved so verse 9 ought to be a verse that is very familiar to us as the people of god now 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 now notice verse 10 come now therefore and i will send you to pharaoh that you may bring my people the children of israel out of egypt now how does moses respond he responds the way we would want him to respond he doesn't say you picked the right guy i'm i'm your man god i was fit for this i don't know what i'm doing wandering around these you know the the this wilderness of midian my talents are being wasted out here i'm glad you finally you know got the pro process going and you've called me to yourself that's not how moses responds i've often thought be careful of men who respond that way you know it's the here am i send aaron type of a response that i think is better on the part of the servants of god almighty versus the bravado and the guy who says oh yeah i've got this i can handle this i can do that he's the last guy i want actually as far as i'm concerned but notice what moses says in verse 11. moses said to god who am i that i should go to pharaoh and that i should bring the children of israel out of egypt now his reputation with pharaoh had been strained and that's putting it as nicely as one could put it remember he flees to midian because pharaoh got wind or had gotten wind that this egyptian had been targeted for destruction by moses pharaoh's no fan of moses but as well his relationship with the israelites is strained also remember in acts 7 25 he supposed that his brethren would have understood that god would deliver them by his hand but they did not understand so he's got a bad relationship with pharaoh not a great relationship with israel and so god says moses you're the guy and that happens doesn't it where it looks like there's a square peg getting shoved into a round hole or a round peg getting shoved into a square hole it doesn't always look like it's going to fit but god can make such things fit so moses not the friend of pharaoh and moses not at this particular time not the best friend of the israelites and yet moses the man of god that would be sent on this particular task and then note the assurance god gives him in verse 12. so he said i will certainly be with you think about that answer who who me what what kind of man or who am i that i should go to pharaoh you're the one i'm with that's what's important you're the one i'm with you have no intrinsic ability you have nothing native to you that would put you in this position of being the great deliverer of my people but the reality is is moses i am with you that's your identity it's not that you have all this other gifting but the identity that is crucial is that god is with you that's what's most crucial for moses i will certainly be with you we have something of that in the great commission don't we jesus not only calls us to great exploits for the kingdom of god but jesus promises his presence with us when we go about and engage in that particular activity and lo i am with you always even to the end of the age god promises his presence with joshua god promises his presence with isaiah god promises his presence with men who he calls to do these things and and moses is no different so he said i will certainly be with you and this shall be assigned to you that i have sent you when you have brought the people out of egypt you shall serve god on this mountain it's both sign or token and prophecy he's telling him moses this is going to be a done deal this is going to be achieved this is going to be realized you and the people of israel are going to serve on this mountain horab or sinai if you will so that is the commission of moses now notice secondly the revelation of god's name to moses verse 13 underscores the challenge of living in a polytheistic culture moses said indeed when i come to the children of israel and say to them the god of your fathers has sent me to you and they say to me what is his name what shall i say to that now certainly the israelites were monotheistic they had been taught by the fathers that there is one true and living god but i would suggest that at this point in israel's development in history their theology probably isn't as robust and probably isn't as good as it should be living under egyptian bondage living under those sorts of task masters not being given the freedom to worship and the freedom to honor the god that they serve this would inhibit them this would affect them perhaps pharaoh was a little bit brighter bulb than we imagined don't let those israelites worship their only their true and living god that'll destabilize them even further and make them easier to control and make them easier to deal with the idea that they would come together and worship the true and living god would have given them strength would have given them everything they stood in need of and would have pulled or or brought the people together in a more strict way so moses says who shall i say is sending me anticipating of course a situation that he already faced right remember in chapter 2 when when moses tried to intervene among the two israelites and in verse 14 who made you a prince and a judge over us do you intend to kill me as you killed the egyptian so when we come to this particular section and moses said who do i tell them sent me this isn't sort of uh a supposition on the part of moses moses knows this question is going to come moses understands that when he stands before israel and says look god called me to take you out of this land of egypt remember at least up to a point they enjoyed life in egypt now it had gotten more difficult obviously they are slaves and they're oppressed but when they get get out in the wilderness what do they do they look back on the days of egypt they look back to days of slavery because they had good food they had leeks they had garlic they had meat they had the things that they liked they would rather be slaves eating good food than free men trying to forage out of living on their own it's always better to be a free man trying to forage out of living on your own versus getting the things that your slave masters dole out because as they give it they can stop it as well and that's certainly obtained in the life and experience of israel so what moses says is absolutely crucial who shall i tell them is sending me in other words what's the authority behind this commission and that brings us to the response given verses 14 and 15. it's a two-pronged response on the part of god in the first place he highlights that he is the true and living god in verse 14. god said to moses i am who i am and he said thus you shall say to the children of israel i am has sent me to you now perhaps you've heard the the word tetragrammaton it's the four letters the four consonants that make up this name it's y-h-w-h in english the best pronunciation that we can determine is that it was yahweh jehovah came as a result of those four consonants being pointed with the vowels from the word for uh lord which was adonai and so that produced the reading jehovah but most likely yahweh is probably as close that we get to the to the revelation or the actual uh phonetics of this particular name as it is indicated it's a verbal form other translations include i will be what or who i will be it's a futuristic sort of a thing it's an imperfect uh verb that's utilized here which covers all the various tenses but some have translated it i will be what or who i will be i will cause to be what i will cause to be others gloss it i will be god for you now certainly that's contained in the concept i will be god for you but i doubt that's as as close to the original as as it could be i think what we have here is a good translation i am who i am now again when it comes to this there there's a lot written if you want to spend the next 40 years of your life not traversing the wilderness of midian but trying to figure out the significance of exodus 3 14 then you know come and visit me in my old age home and tell me the fruits of your findings when all is said and done it's just a massive massive subject but the the thing that at least many theologians in our tradition have noticed is that the revelation of the name of god in this instance is theological in nature in fact john gill says it this way this is in his commentary this signifies the real being of god in other words it sort of gets at the nub of god not that there is a nub or whatever but it deals more with the essence who god is we talk about god we make a distinction between god and you know in his essence the oneness of god versus or in addition to the the three persons of the godhead so you've got one in one sense and three in another sense one in essence or substance three in person or personal distinctions within the persons of the trinity so this one god exists eternally as father son and spirit and so commentators and theologians think that what we have in terms of the revelation of 3 14 is who god is essentially so back to gil this signifies the real being of god his self-existence and that he is the being of beings also it denotes his eterna eternity and immutability and his constancy and faithfulness in fulfilling his promises there's a modern commentator he's actually just died not too long ago a fellow by the name of alec motier and if you want a really good book on the psalms it's the psalms for daily reading and what what motive does is he gives his own translation with generous marginal notes for the different ways words can be translated and then he writes a page or two of devotional on on these psalms and i mean you're dealing with motier with a first-rate old testament scholar but in that little commentary and again it's not a a rigorous difficult commentary you could just read the devotional parts that deal with the psalms and be very benefited and very blessed but one of the things he says in there god is what he is yahweh is who he is and i think that's a good distinction as well god is the what-ness and yahweh is the who-ness who he is i am who i am turitan says but since eternal existence omnipotent power and immutable truth belongs to god alone the name jehovah which embraces these three ought to be peculiar to him alone stephen charnock in his ex existence and attributes of god sort of a famous classic puritan study on theology proper he says it signifies his immutability as well as his eternity this comes up often unchangeableness and the eternality of god brings me back to something i said at the outset it's important for us to understand who god is and then what god does there are passages describing what god does that seem to indicate that god changes god relents god is grieved well we need to know who god is in order to properly understand those passages that seem to predicate change with reference to god that's why i said what i said then in case anybody was sort of confused about that and then herman bovink makes this distinction concerning the names of god and typically in systematic theology there will be a section in theology proper that deals with the names of god again the names of god are for our benefit it tells us something about god it educates us it instructs us moses knew that moses says who shall i say sent me baffing makes this distinction the name elohim i'm sure you've all heard that simply the generic name god the name elohim denotes god as creator and sustainer of all things el shaddai represents him as the mighty one who makes nature subservient to grace yahweh describes him as the one who in his grace remains forever faithful yahweh sabayoth yahweh of hosts characterizes him as king in the fullness of his glory who's surrounded by regimented hosts of angels governs throughout the world as the almighty and in his temple receives the honor and acclamation of all his creatures so just a couple of thoughts there in terms of this particular revelation of this name of god i am yahweh is what the lord is saying and this is the backing for moses when he goes on this particular commission but he not only reveals himself as yahweh or jehovah or i am however we want to sort of translate the english version but notice in verse 15 moreover god said to moses thus you shall say to 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 to you this is my name forever and this is my memorial to all generations so you tell them the god who is i am and the god who is over the patriarchs the god who spoke to abraham isaac and jacob the god who called you into this particular situation and the god who's going to deliver you from it so who god is and what god does on behalf of his people is the authority behind moses and now moses has specific instruction and that's verses 16 to 22. in the first place he must communicate to israel notice in verses 16 to 18 god says go and gather the elders of israel together so though they were slaves and oppressed by egypt at least within their internal ranks they had elders among their various families and clans and tribes they had persons that probably overlooked or oversaw various groups of people within israel and so god tells moses to appeal to those elders and instruct them concerning what is happening so go and gather the elders of israel together and say to them the lord god of your fathers the god of abraham of isaac and of jacob appeared to me saying i have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in egypt i have and i have said i will bring you up out of the affliction of egypt to the land of the canaanites and the hittites and the amorites and the perizzites and the hivites and the jebusites to a land flowing with milk and honey then they will heed your voice so he says to uh to to moses go and tell the elders of israel inform them of the plan and they will in fact heed your voice now there are times along the way that people get upset with moses there are times along the way that the people don't like moses and his leadership but to be sure for the most part at least initially they received his leadership and they submitted to the rule of god as he chose moses as the instrument of deliverance so moses must rehearse what he had seen in terms of the revelation of god moses must instruct the people that god was conscious of their suffering that in and of itself would be a great encouragement to hear or understand hey listen fellas listen ladies god knows you're suffering he knows your oppression and he is now coming to act he's going to deal with it he's going to utilize me we're going to blow this clambake and we're going to end up in our new land that's essentially what god tells him to say to the elders now notice with reference to the interaction with pharaoh pharaoh's not going to respond to this well pharaoh's not going to like this one bit pharaoh is going to hear this and and be completely and thoroughly unimpressed and so what we have in these last few verses is sort of programmatic of what's going to follow at least in the first section of the book of exodus chapters 1 to 18. notice in verse 18 then they the elders will heed your voice and you shall come you and the elders of israel to the king of egypt and you shall say to him the lord god of the hebrews has met with us and now please let us go three days journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the lord our god some suggest this is unethical oh no you really want freedom absolutely you don't want to just go three days into the wilderness you get that three days into the wilderness and then the next thing is we want our absolute liberty there's no duplicity here there's no unethical dealings here it's strange what commentators are light on to get their you know get upset or try to call god into question or his servants or whatnot so this is the point this is the purpose let my people go and then verse 19 but i am sure that the king of egypt will not let you go no not even by a mighty hand so i will stretch out my hand and strike egypt with all my wonders which i will do in its mist midst we have the ten plagues beginning in chapter seven at verse eight to chapter 12 verse 51. there are the ten plagues inflicted by god upon this people such that when it's all over they're not only telling them to leave but they're throwing money at them to get them to go asap and that's what it ha that's what the lord alludes to in verse 21. i will give this people favor in the sight of the egyptians and it shall be when you go that you shall not go empty-handed but every woman shall ask of her neighbor namely of her who dwells near her house articles of silver articles of gold and clothing and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters so you shall plunder the egyptians you see that in exodus 12 36 and the lord had given the people favor in the sight of the egyptians so that they granted them what they requested thus they plundered the egyptians but not just in terms of fulfillment way back in genesis chapter 15. remember god made us a covenant with abram or made promises to abram he says you're going to have land and you're going to have seed and abram says how do i know this is going to come to pass so god initiates or institutes that covenant ratification ceremony where the animals are split into parties to the covenant walk between them what the understanding that if one of us reneges on this covenant then may what happens to these animals happen to us god alone walks between the pieces to affirm that he was in fact going to fulfill this well in that great chapter there is this promise also genesis 15 14 and also the nation whom they serve i will judge afterward they shall go out with great possession it's a common theme in the patriarchs they would go into lands where that were less than uh uh hospitable to them and end up leaving the richer foreign the blessing of god was upon them patriarchs the blessing of god is going to be upon israel as a whole when they ultimately depart from the land of egypt so great encouragement to moses but as well to the people of israel the next chapter is going to deal with signs miracles that will affirm and confirm that moses is in fact the mouthpiece of god i think i've said that many times in our studies in acts when you have miracles or signs and wonders they're not circus acts they're not dog and pony shows they're not simply to impress people or to attract people to that particular miraculous activity but they affirm or confirm that the man speaking is authorized by god and that the word he's speaking is of god such that when moses appears before pharaoh and he does these signs it affirms that he has the authority or the backing of i am behind him now just a couple of quick thoughts and then we'll close in the first place the suitability of moses now i said earlier he didn't shoot up his hand and say here am i send me he doesn't do that but with reference to moses by this time or at this point god had in fact prepared it god made moses the moses moses needed to be in order to do the task that god called him to do and in this passage we see he has a fear of god that's absolutely crucial and requisite in any man that would lead man with reference to god he must fear god and that that is certainly something that moses possesses as well he has a proper questioning of himself in verse 11. who am i that i should go to pharaoh and that i should bring the children of israel out of egypt that's a great question who are you moses you're not anything significant you are because i'm with you god says in verse 12 but in and of yourself no you don't have it and then as well he properly invokes the authority of god he knows that if he stands before israel and says hey i'm going to deliver you i'm going to lead you out of here. they're going to say you and what army he's going to say me and jehovah me and yahweh god has called me to deliver this people from this bondage and then secondly in terms of the perfections of god there's a lot going on here in chapter 3 in terms of god's perfections first we have the revelation of god by theophany and word the beautiful thing about our religion is that god speaks we don't have a dumb god you know in psalm 115 and in psalm 135 the psalmist mocks the the pagans who have idols he says they have eyes but they can't see they have ears but they can't hear they have mouths but they can't talk see that's what paganism offers or idolatry offers christianity offers a god who speaks in the beginning god created and we have a written revelation of that and it's a beautiful thing secondly the holiness of god he tells moses to take the sandals off his feet because the ground upon which he stands is holy ground again not intrinsically that dirt was better than all other dirt but it was because god the holy one of israel was there third the faithfulness of god as seen in his covenantal dealings he refers often to this promise to abraham isaac and jacob that connects the people of israel with their past but even more so with their god and to some degree the the the knowledge of god had fallen on hard times based on their condition and situation fourth the goodness of god as seen in his promise to deliver his people the beautiful thing about our god is that he not only promises to do something but he has the power to do it we sing in that one hymn jesus is a willing and jesus is able if we have a willing savior but he's not able i guess that's kind of a nice story but it doesn't do us any good but if we have an able savior and he's not willing that's hyper calvinism that's not real fun either is it but we have a god who is both willing and able and in this we greatly rejoice as well fifthly the sovereignty of god as seen in his ability to deliver his people from egypt what does he tell moses he tells moses pharaoh isn't going to listen and then i'm going to demonstrate my power and my glory and then the children of israel are going to march out how could god do that if he's not sovereign how could god do that if he doesn't determine the end from the beginning how does god know that or announce that if he isn't over all things doing whatsoever he pleases and then ultimately or finally the glory of god as seen in the revelation of the name yahweh he is immutable he is eternal as john gill says he is the being of beings and in that being we rest we find our comfort we find our blessing and we find our salvation let us pray our father we thank you for your word and we thank you for this revelation of your glorious name and i pray that you would encourage our hearts tonight as we perhaps are afflicted or tried or having difficulties help us to remember that you hear that you see and that you remember the the the the trials of your people and we know lord god that even in the midst of these things you are working out your plan and your purpose ever conforming us under the image of your beloved son and we know and confess that you do work all things for good and god i pray that this would be great help to each and every one in this local church each and every one of god's people in the midst of this pandemic and the various trials and difficulties engaged upon by by so many of your people lord may the book of exodus speak fresh peace and grace and comfort to the to the church today and how we thank you that you are this god this glorious god that revealed himself at this bush and we praise you now we ask that you would go with us now and give us grace to glorify you and we pray through christ our lord amen any questions about