“God spoke further to Moses and said to him, ‘I am the LORD;'”— Exodus 6:2
“Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.'” — Exodus 6:5-6
I love this passage of scripture!!
When Moses had grown up, he went and looked at how his fellow Hebrews were being treated and it grieved him to see an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew man. In response to seeing the Egyptian beating a Hebrew, Moses struck the Egyptian and hid him in the sand, burying him.
The next day, Moses saw two Hebrew people fighting, and in an attempt to calm the situation, he asked one of the men why they would strike their companion. The Hebrew man turned and said to Moses, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” And that was enough to put fear into Moses, and so Moses ran away.
Now, fast forward after Moses runs away, Moses becomes a shepherd, and he leads his flock to this place called Horeb, or the mountain of God. The angel of the Lord, or in other words, God, shows up in the form of a burning bush!! Moses takes a closer look because the bush was on fire, but it was not consumed. God called Moses by name and Moses replied saying, “Here I am!” After God tells Moses to remove his sandals, the Lord says that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This clicks in Moses’ brain and out of fear, Moses hides his face. But then, God reminds Moses of who He is. God comforts him.
“The LORD said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.'” — Exodus 3:7
After the Lord comforts Moses, God promises to take them from slavery in Egypt and into a land that’s good and spacious, one that is flowing with milk and honey, to this promised land!
The best part of all is God finished by saying, “Moses, I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may bring my people out of Egypt.”
Can you imagine the hesitation Moses felt, the initial doubts, the confusion that must have swarmed his mind? Moses was on that mountain at the burning bush all because the last time he sensed injustice he struck the oppressor, which completely backfired on him!! He had run away because he was scared, he messed up and he felt sooooo unworthy.
Because God’s people were wrongfully enslaved, God chose Moses to tell Pharaoh to free them. And what comes next is why I love this so much!!! “But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” — Exodus 3:11
And God says to Moses, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” — Exodus 3:12
When Moses told God how inadequate he felt, God reminded Moses who was sending him, and who was going to be with him – the God of the universe!!!
There are a bunch of back-and-forths here, Moses saying things like, what do I tell Egypt the name of God is? What if they do not believe me? Moses even says that he isn’t a good enough speaker to pull this off.
But again, for every concern, the Lord responded with I will, I am, not you will, or you are!
“Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.” — Exodus 6:7-8
Moses tells God that he doesn’t have what it takes; God tells Moses that he will be part of God’s people and that Moses will know that He is the Lord God who brought them out from slavery!
We can be still and know He that God is God today, because although we may not be physically in slavery, being spiritually enslaved to SIN is the case for many. When God told Moses that He would deliver them from bondage and redeem them, He is the same God who can redeem us today as well!
If we are wrongfully enslaved to sin, God is faithful to redeem and rescue us out of sin because He is God! We can be still today, and know that He is God. I challenge you today, if there is something that you shamefully cannot stop repeating, and it eats at you because you feel powerless, honestly tell your father in heaven that you need help. I dare you to do it, over and over if you have to, bring your burdens to His feet and know that He can rescue and redeem you!
By: Gideon Tekle
