Exodus 3:11-2211And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 13And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou 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, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. 16Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: 17And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. 18And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 19And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. 20And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. 21And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: 22But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. (Exodus 3:11‑22)
The fleshly energy with which Moses had slain the Egyptian was now gone, and when God called upon him to go into Egypt for the deliverance of His people, he could only raise difficulties. After forty years in the desert, he not only was unwilling to be used on the magnificent mission with which the Lord had entrusted him, but he raised objection after objection, until he wearied the tender patience and long-suffering of the Lord. Moses’ difficulty ceased to be weakness, but rather the working of self and unbelief. Unbelief can always find an excuse, and we know only too well how often we make excuses when we do not want simply to obey.
But every fresh failure of Moses was but an occasion for the display of greater grace on the Lord’s part, though Moses suffered through his whole life from his reluctance to obey the voice of the Lord. And this is the history of the flesh in all of us; now it is too forward, now it is too backward. There was only one perfect Servant, God’s only beloved Son, our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. He only was ever equal to all God’s will, and could say, “I do always those things that please the Father.”
“And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” verse 11.
It is a good thing when we are willing to own our utter weakness, but faith would bring God in, for when He sends, it is not a question of what we are, but of what He is.
“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them?” verse 13.
Had not God revealed Himself to Moses as the God of his fathers? Was not this enough? But nothing can ever satisfy doubts and fears. But what a sad condition Israel must be in if they might not know who the God of their fathers was. God bears in grace with His servant, and replies, “I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” verse 14. He is the ever existing One. We find the Lord Jesus using the name of I AM on more than one occasion, and when He did so in the Garden of Gethsemane all of His enemies went backward and fell to the ground. He allowed just a little ray of His glory to shine out, for Jehovah of the Old Testament was revealing Himself “in (the) Son of the New.
Not only did God say that He was going to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, but He even assured Moses that the elders of the people would hearken to His voice, for He is the disposer of the hearts of men.
God also warned Moses that Pharaoh would not be willing to let the people go, but that He would smite Egypt and give His people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, they would not go out empty. They would be repaid with the wealth of the Egyptians for all the slavery and bondage they had endured. They had never been paid by the Egyptians for their toil, but God would see to it that it would all come back to them in the end. How wonderfully God would order for the deliverance and blessing of His people, unworthy as they were.
ML 07/28/1968