Exo 3:14 | KingComments | STEP | Moses comes up with a second objection. He is not convinced. Who actually sends him? He thinks he does not know enough about God to be able to speak of Him when asked. In His goodness and grace God also meets this objection of Moses. He acts with us the same way. He meets all our objections as long as they arise from our weakness and not from our unwillingness. In that way He speaks with an objecting Ananias whom He sends to Paul ( ) and with an objecting Peter whom He sends to Cornelius ( ). First God points out the immutability of His Person: “I AM WHO I AM.” He is the eternal Being Himself, the totally independent One. He finds everything in Himself and everything and everyone depends on Him. The Lord Jesus calls Himself so too. He says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” ( ), which means that before Abraham’s existence He has always been there as the I AM. He is the eternal One, always true to Himself. Then God continues, ”furthermore”, ( ) with His answer, pointing out that He has Himself made contact with the patriarchs: He is “the LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. This also means that He will fulfill the covenant He has made to them. The patriarchs have died, but the promises of God have not failed. To reassure Moses, God then tells him what will happen. He is the One “declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done” ( ). Moses and the elders must tell the king of Egypt that “the LORD, the God of the Hebrews” has come to them ( ). In this name, which Moses later mentions to Pharaoh ( ), the LORD shows that his people are a company of pilgrims. They were instructed by Him to “go a three days’ journey into the wilderness”, that they “may sacrifice to the LORD” their God. In we have read the purpose of salvation: serving God. Now we see a special aspect of serving God: to sacrifice to Him. They cannot sacrifice to God in Egypt. This requires “a three days’ journey into the wilderness”. The number three is associated with the thought of the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: from the death of the cross to the resurrection are three days ( . The three days’ journey speaks of this. By believing in the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus a person is delivered from the power of the world, sin and death and can serve and sacrifice to God. Pharaoh, by his refusal, gives God the opportunity to show His power. It is ultimately a battle between God and Pharaoh with God’s people as a stake. When they leave Egypt, the Israelites have to claim the outstanding wages of many years of slave labor. In this way God settles the debt Egypt has with His people. The payment will be made in kind, in the form of objects of valuable metals and clothing. These are things that are used in Egypt by the Egyptians to the dishonor God. However, these objects can be used by God’s people to God’s glory. Thus, the metal objects are later used for the building of the tabernacle.

‏ Exodus 3:14

Second Objection and God’s Answer

Moses comes up with a second objection. He is not convinced. Who actually sends him? He thinks he does not know enough about God to be able to speak of Him when asked. In His goodness and grace God also meets this objection of Moses. He acts with us the same way. He meets all our objections as long as they arise from our weakness and not from our unwillingness. In that way He speaks with an objecting Ananias whom He sends to Paul (Acts 9:10-17) and with an objecting Peter whom He sends to Cornelius (Acts 10:9-16).

First God points out the immutability of His Person: “I AM WHO I AM.” He is the eternal Being Himself, the totally independent One. He finds everything in Himself and everything and everyone depends on Him. The Lord Jesus calls Himself so too. He says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (Jn 8:58), which means that before Abraham’s existence He has always been there as the I AM. He is the eternal One, always true to Himself.

Then God continues, ”furthermore”, (Exo 3:15) with His answer, pointing out that He has Himself made contact with the patriarchs: He is “the LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. This also means that He will fulfill the covenant He has made to them. The patriarchs have died, but the promises of God have not failed. To reassure Moses, God then tells him what will happen. He is the One “declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done” (Isa 46:10a).

Moses and the elders must tell the king of Egypt that “the LORD, the God of the Hebrews” has come to them (Exo 3:18). In this name, which Moses later mentions to Pharaoh (Exo 5:3 ; Exo 7:16 ; Exo 9:1 ; 13 ; Exo 10:3), the LORD shows that his people are a company of pilgrims. They were instructed by Him to “go a three days’ journey into the wilderness”, that they “may sacrifice to the LORD” their God. In Exo 3:12 we have read the purpose of salvation: serving God. Now we see a special aspect of serving God: to sacrifice to Him.

They cannot sacrifice to God in Egypt. This requires “a three days’ journey into the wilderness”. The number three is associated with the thought of the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: from the death of the cross to the resurrection are three days (Mt 16:21 ; Mt 17:22-23 ; Mt 20:18-19. The three days’ journey speaks of this. By believing in the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus a person is delivered from the power of the world, sin and death and can serve and sacrifice to God.

Pharaoh, by his refusal, gives God the opportunity to show His power. It is ultimately a battle between God and Pharaoh with God’s people as a stake.

When they leave Egypt, the Israelites have to claim the outstanding wages of many years of slave labor. In this way God settles the debt Egypt has with His people. The payment will be made in kind, in the form of objects of valuable metals and clothing. These are things that are used in Egypt by the Egyptians to the dishonor God. However, these objects can be used by God’s people to God’s glory. Thus, the metal objects are later used for the building of the tabernacle.