Read with Me
Exodus 3:11-12 (HCSB)
But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.”
Listen with Me
Here, at the beginning of his discourse with God, Moses raised the first of four “excuses” that he tried to use to avoid the task that God was giving him. Forty years earlier, Moses had been so anxious to be the deliver of the Israelites that he had killed an Egyptian slave driver to make a start (Exodus 2:11-12). But now, after that failure and after forty years of living humbly as a shepherd, he was not so confident in his own ability as he had been. So, his response to God’s plan to him was, “Who am I to do something like that?”
Some criticize Moses for being timid in the face of God’s commandment. But actually, he was being quite clear-eyed about the whole thing. In himself, Moses did not have the presence, the intelligence, or the power to do what God was commanding him to do. He was just a human being, and 80-year-old man, in fact, who was just playing out what he considered to be his few remaining years. In his mind, the time for him to begin a grand new adventure was long past.
God’s answer to Moses’ objection was short and concise: I will certainly be with you. In other words, Moses was nobody, but God is the supreme somebody. Moses will not only go to Egypt to do what God was commanding him to do, but God will be going with him, supplying everything he needs to be successful the moment he needs it.
God then gave Moses what He called a “sign”, but which today would be considered more of a goal. Moses would lead the people out of Egypt all the way to Horeb, the Mountain of God, in Midian so that they could meet with Him as well. When that was accomplished, it would be proof positive that God had been with Moses the whole time, and that he had accomplished the first major step of His plan to deliver Israel from their suffering and their bondage.
Pray with Me
Father, in Your promise to Moses, I can’t help but hear Your promise to us made through Jesus in Matthew 28:20: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We are in exactly the same place as Moses was. We have been given the commandment to go and set free those held captive to sin. And we say, “Who am I? I don’t have the power or the ability to do that!” And then Your promise comes: “I will certainly be with you.” And that promise makes possible every commandment that You give us. ALL things become possible as long as You are with us. Thank You, Lord, for this assurance. Amen.