Exodus 3
Summary for Exod 3:1-4:28: 3:1–4:28 a This section presents Moses’ call to rescue the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. It is divided into two subsections, 3:1–4:17 b and 4:18-28 c. The first deals with the call itself, while the second addresses the full implications of accepting that call. Moses was not presented with a mere vocational change; he faced an entire reorientation of his life.Summary for Exod 3:1-10: 3:1-10 d In these verses, the stage is set for the reorientation of Moses’ life. 3:1 e Sinai is the name usually used for the mountain where God later revealed himself in the covenant (see, e.g., 16:1 f; 19:1-2 g). Here and in 17:6 h and 33:6 i the Hebrew text uses the proper name Horeb. Both names presumably refer to the same mountain, so the NLT consistently uses Sinai.
3:2 j Technically, the angel of the Lord is the Lord’s officially authorized envoy, but the expression may be used more broadly of other visible manifestations of the Lord (see Gen 16:9-13 k; Judg 13:3 l, 6 m, 21-22 n).
• In the Bible, blazing fire often represents God’s transcendent holiness (see Exod 19:18 o; Gen 15:17 p; 1 Kgs 18:38-39 q; Isa 33:14 r).
• didn’t burn up: This may show that God does not wish to consume the vehicle that he sets ablaze for his purposes.
3:4 s Moses! Moses! God knows his people by name, and individuals are important to him.
3:5 t The soil around the bush was holy ground, while the soil on the bottom of Moses’ sandals was common. The common cannot touch the holy without being transformed or destroyed (see thematic note for Clean, Unclean, and Holy at end of chapter). At the outset of the Exodus, God was making it plain that he is absolutely “other” than his creation, a reality that cannot be overlooked in a proper divine-human relationship. The word holy occurs only a few times in the Bible prior to Exod 3:5 u. It now becomes the central descriptor of God in the Old Testament. In other Semitic languages, the same root occurs infrequently. It does not describe a moral quality in these other languages but simply what is “other than” human. The pagan gods, for instance, were “holy” only in the sense of being “other”—they did everything humans do, good and evil, but on a larger scale. In the Bible, by contrast, moral perfection is a central idea of the term holy. The one true God is the only being in the universe who truly stands apart from this world and is worthy of being called “holy” in this general sense. The true God is perfectly consistent and moral in his character. Here, at the burning bush, God revealed his otherness. Later at Sinai, he revealed his moral character in his requirements for those who would be his covenant partners (see Exod 19:6 v; 20:1–23:33 w; see also Lev 11:45 x; 1 Pet 1:13-16 y).
3:6 z This transcendent God had committed himself to Moses’ ancestors in a faithful promise maintained for hundreds of years. Moses was in awe of the one, holy, and transcendent God of Abraham. Jesus quoted this verse when he was sparring with the Sadducees about the concept of resurrection (Matt 22:32 aa; Mark 12:26 ab; Luke 20:37 ac).
3:7 ad The continued slavery and distress of Israel touched God’s heart.
3:8 ae God would not only rescue them but would take them to their own ... land that he had promised to Abraham (Gen 13:14-18 af).
• flowing with milk and honey: The land was agriculturally rich, with pasturage for cattle and crops with blooms from which bees could make honey.
• Canaanites ... Jebusites: The list of peoples who lived in Canaan indicates the importance of this strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Desert. As a vital crossroads for trade and communication between Egypt and the rest of the ancient Near East, it was a hotly contested prize. That Israel could end up in sole possession of it seemed an impossibility.
3:10 ag God would act compassionately to save his suffering people, but it would be through a human agency. Often God is known among us because of the way his people carry out his will.
Summary for Exod 3:11-4:17: 3:11–4:17 ah Moses, in his response to God, presented four reasons why he was not the one to fulfill God’s call. Although each reason supposedly relates to Moses and his ability, God’s answers show that they were really questions about God.
Summary for Exod 3:11-12: 3:11-12 ai Moses first protested that he was unworthy of such a great task, but God responded that this was not the issue. Human worthiness is of no significance if God’s presence is with that person.
3:12 aj In the Bible, a sign often occurred after a person or a nation had already had to decide whether to act in faith or not (see Isa 7:14 ak). A sign cannot create faith where there is none (see Matt 12:39 al; 16:4 am). Rather, it encourages the one who has exercised the faith he or she already has.
Summary for Exod 3:13-22: 3:13-22 an Moses’ second protest was that he had inadequate knowledge. He did not know God’s name. This might mean that God’s personal name had not yet been revealed (see study notes on 6:2-3). It is also possible that Moses meant he did not know the secret, magic formula that a man of power might have been expected to make use of. Interest in such things was common in the ancient Near East. God’s direct response is almost a riddle, but the majority of his answer is a statement of his faithfulness in the past and a demonstration of his knowledge of the future. There is nothing magical about the name Yahweh. Knowledge of secret formulas and magic powers is not the issue; the issue is the character of God and his lordship of history. The reason there is “something about that name” is because of the incomparable character and nature of the one who bears it.
3:14 ao I Am Who I Am: This name speaks of a God who is self-sufficient, self-existent, all encompassing, and without limitations, the one being in the universe who is not dependent on something else for his existence.
3:15 ap Yahweh is probably a form of the Hebrew verb “to be,” so it could mean “he causes to be,” or “he who is,” or “I am.” Later Jews were not permitted to speak God’s name aloud, so the Hebrew text supplies the vowels from the word ’adonay (which means “lord” or “master”) whenever God’s proper name, YHWH, appears. In oral reading, the Hebrew reader would pronounce ’adonay, even though the written text is YHWH. We do not know the pronunciation of the divine name. The widely used Yahweh is an informed guess. The English word “Jehovah” is an artificial term made by combining the vowels of ’adonay with the consonants Y-H-W-H. In the NLT, this name is usually translated “Lord” (with small capitals), but it is transliterated “Yahweh” in the few instances, like this verse, where a point is made about the name itself. Also in 6:2-3 aq; 15:3 ar; 33:19 as; 34:5-6 at.
Summary for Exod 3:16-17: 3:16-17 au Moses was to tell the people of Israel that the God who now spoke to them was the same God their ancestors knew and worshiped, and that he would lead them into a fruitful land wrested from the hands of many others. Moses’ message was not a magical formula, but the word of a God who, standing outside of history, can yet enter and direct it.
• flowing with milk and honey: See study note on 3:8.
3:18 av Hebrews: See study note on 1:15.
• a three-day journey ... to offer sacrifices: If we think of the primary purpose of the Exodus as rescuing the Israelites from bondage, this seems like a disingenuous request. But God’s primary purpose was to create a people for himself, and he was taking them into the wilderness to teach them to worship him.
3:19 aw I know: See thematic note for Hardened Hearts at end of chapter.
Summary for Exod 3:20-21: 3:20-21 ax God’s power would be obvious, and the Egyptians would not only allow the Hebrews to leave, they would pay them to do so.
Thematic note: Clean, Unclean, and Holy
The rites and regulations establishing cleanness and uncleanness were to distinguish Israel from the surrounding nations. To understand a rationale behind these regulations, one suggestion has been that unclean things are associated with death or the ground (see, e.g., Lev 21:1 ay, 11 az; 22:8 ba). Recent studies, however, suggest the principle of “normalcy.” God is a God of order. Things that are normal in God’s order are called “clean” and are “permitted.” Abnormal things would be unfit for food or offerings and would be “unclean.” A normal land animal would be a vegetarian (see Gen 1:30 bb). A normal human body would have no infections or discharges. A normal piece of cloth would have no mildew on it. If abnormalities occurred, the animal, person, or cloth was unclean.
What is unclean is not sinful but represents a kind of unworthiness that cannot come in contact with what is holy (e.g., Lev 11:44-45 bc). If it is cleansed, it acquires the potential for holiness; it may be dedicated to God and become holy. If what is holy (such as the Sabbath) is treated like something common, God is blasphemed and the thing is profaned. If what is clean becomes unclean, it is defiled and requires cleansing. Some things, such as unclean animals, fish, or birds, remain unclean by definition and can never be cleansed, and, thus, can never become holy.
In the new covenant, things that were previously unclean have been declared clean (Acts 10:15 bd, 28 be, 45 bf). Yet God is still a God of order (1 Cor 14:33 bg) and wants worship to be conducted in an orderly way (1 Cor 14:40 bh). While God’s grace is abundant to repentant sinners, some things are still repulsive to his holiness and should never be brought into his presence (e.g., Ananias and Sapphira’s offering; see Acts 5:1-11 bi).
Passages for Further Study
Gen 7:2 bj; Lev 11:1–15:33 bk; 21:1-23 bl; 22:3-8 bm; Num 19:1-22 bn; Deut 14:1-21 bo; 21:1-9 bp; Pss 19:9 bq; 24:3-4 br; 51:7-10 bs; Isa 52:11 bt; Matt 8:2-4 bu; John 13:10-11 bv; Acts 10:9-28 bw; Heb 9:13-15 bx, 23 by
Thematic note: Hardened Hearts
Exodus repeatedly states that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exod 4:21 bz; 9:12 ca; 10:1 cb, 20 cc; 11:10 cd; 14:4 ce, 8 cf). These statements can be troubling. Was Pharaoh forced to sin against God?
Other factors need to be taken into account: (1) The Lord knew ahead of time that Pharaoh would harden his heart (3:19 cg); (2) Pharaoh himself became stubborn (8:15 ch, 32 ci); and (3) Pharaoh remained stubborn despite clear warnings (8:19 cj). Pharaoh was not a well-meaning, misguided individual who was not allowed to repent. Although God was ultimately in control of Pharaoh, Pharaoh himself was accountable for his actions.
This interplay between human choice and divine sovereignty is found in other places in Scripture. The Israelites hardened their hearts and refused to believe God in the wilderness (Ps 95:8-10 ck). God hardened the hearts of the Canaanites so that they did not seek to make peace with the Hebrews (Josh 11:20 cl). The message God gave to Isaiah hardened the hearts of his hearers (Isa 6:9-10 cm); similarly in the New Testament, many people hardened their hearts in response to the message of the gospel (Matt 13:15 cn; John 12:40 co; Acts 28:27 cp). People are responsible for their choices, but no one makes choices in a vacuum. Rather, they make them in the context of how God has made his world and providentially directs it.
The emphasis in Exodus on God’s control of Pharaoh puts the conflict between two belief systems into stark contrast. Pharaoh believed that he was sovereign and divine, able to do whatever he pleased. God demonstrated that this was not the case: Pharaoh was dependent, as much the prisoner of his choices as any other creature on the planet. There is only one absolutely independent “I Am,” and that is Yahweh, the Lord (see 3:6-14 cq; 6:2-8 cr; 20:2 cs; 34:6-7 ct; Isa 45:3-7 cu; 48:17 cv; Mark 14:62 cw; John 8:23-28 cx).
Passages for Further Study
Gen 8:21 cy; Exod 3:19 cz; 4:21 da; 8:15 db, 19 dc, 32 dd; 9:12 de; 10:1 df, 20 dg; 11:10 dh; 14:4 di, 8 dj; Josh 11:19-20 dk; 2 Chr 36:11-13 dl; Ps 95:8-11 dm; Isa 6:9-10 dn; Ezek 11:18-21 do; 36:22-27 dp; Matt 12:34-35 dq; 13:10-17 dr; Luke 8:4-15 ds; John 12:37-40 dt; Acts 28:23-28 du; Rom 2:14-16 dv; 11:7-12 dw; 2 Cor 3:13-18 dx; Eph 4:17-24 dy; Heb 3:6-19 dz; 6:4-8 ea
Exodus 4:1-13
Summary for Exod 4:1-9: 4:1-9 eb Moses’ third protest was that he lacked power. God answered in a very convincing demonstration of divine power by instantaneous creation of a snake and of a severe skin disease.4:3 ec Across the ancient Near East, the snake was a symbol of both death and healing. The person who demonstrated power in these areas was powerful indeed.
4:6 ed severe skin disease: The Hebrew word underlying this phrase has traditionally been translated “leprosy.” However, the symptoms of this condition as described in the Bible are not those of the disease we know as leprosy (Hansen’s disease). The biblical term seems to describe several kinds of highly contagious inflammations and skin lesions.
4:9 ee As with the previous two signs, the fact that the water from the Nile will turn to blood also demonstrated God’s power over life and death.
Summary for Exod 4:10-17: 4:10-17 ef Moses’ fourth and final protest was that he could not speak effectively. Moses was apparently grasping at straws in trying to escape this dangerous and unpleasant assignment, and God was becoming angry at Moses’ refusal to grasp the truth. The outcome did not depend on Moses’ ability, but upon his willingness to let God’s power operate through him.
4:11 eg God created the organs of speech and has ordained every person’s particular abilities in this area. He is able to use what he has made and ordained.
4:13 eh Having run out of protests, Moses simply asked to be excused.
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