Read with Me
Exodus 3:7-10 (HCSB)
Then the LORD said, “I have observed the misery of My people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I know about their sufferings. I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the territory of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The Israelites’ cry for help has come to Me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
Listen with Me
This short passage overflows with revelations to Moses (and to people down through the ages) of who God is and of what He is like. It begins with His omniscience and his omnipresence. God had not merely heard about the plight of the Israelite in Egypt, but He had seen it Himself. He had heard their cry for relief with His own ears, and He knew first hand their sorrows.
But even more, far from being a God who knows but who then stays far off, He had come down, entered the material realm, in order to deliver His people from their bondage. And not only that, but He had come down to bring them entirely out of Egypt, and to lead them to a new country, the one He had promised to give them through oaths He had made to their ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The land that God was leading them to was a land that was both good and spacious. This was very unlike the land of Egypt, where the only habitable portions were narrow strips on each side of the Nile River, outside of which were only sandy wastelands. The whole land of Canaan in those days with green and lush, covered with grasslands and forests.
But in order to bring the people out, God needed a human agent to work in His name and in His power. And he had chosen Moses. Therefore, God’s next words were words of command. Moses was being sent, so his duty was to go. This was not a request with “pleases” and “thank yous” attached. It was a command from the God of the universe. And, of course, the only correct response would be to get moving forward on this mission.
Pray with Me
Father, this short passage puts to rest doubts about both Your ability to know what is going on and Your willingness to get involved, to help. You are the God who sees, who knows, and who acts. But You are also the God who commands, because while You have occasionally done miracles without any human involvement, You created us as Your agents, Your representatives here on earth. That means that the method You normally use to do your mighty works is to work in us and through us. This requires our willing obedience when we hear Your call. Only then can we see Your deliverance, Your freeing power, and even Your mighty miracles. Lord, today my answer is yes to all You are calling me to do. Amen.