Message 5
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In chapter one of Exodus we saw the children of Israel under slavery, and in chapter two we saw the preparation of a savior. In this message we come to Exodus 3, where we shall consider God’s calling of the prepared one.
The motivation of God’s calling was the cry of the children of Israel (Exo. 2:23-25; 3:7, 9). Exo. 3:7 says, “And Jehovah said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows” (Heb.). Not only did God hear their cry, but He also visited them in the place of their affliction. Hence, He fully knew their situation and was eager to rescue them from it.
Although God wanted to deliver the children of Israel out of bondage, He had to wait until Moses had been fully prepared. These chapters of Exodus reveal that God is very patient. Even before the birth of Moses, the children of Israel were suffering in Egypt. But God still waited for at least eighty years. It is easy to be patient if you do not have the strength or ability to do anything about the situation. In such a case, you have no choice except to wait. But for one who is capable and qualified, it is difficult to be patient. God was certainly able to deliver the children of Israel; His power was sufficient. Nevertheless, He waited patiently.
Sometimes we are exhausted by God’s patience and ask, “How long, Lord? Have You heard our prayers? Lord, where are You? Don’t You care for us? How long will it be before You do something for us?” It seems that there is no God in this universe. In the psalms such questions are asked again and again, for the psalmists were the same as we are.
It is good for us to be exhausted by the patience of God because after we are exhausted, we rest. We may be so exhausted that we give up praying. We know that God is true and real and that He has His timing. Therefore, we learn to leave the matter with Him. Then we shall be at rest.
After forty years of his life had gone by, Moses could no longer wait to deliver the children of Israel. He had received the highest education, and he had become a man powerful in words and in deeds (Acts 7:22). According to his own estimation, no doubt he thought he was qualified and ready to act on behalf of his people. But God set Moses aside for another forty years, until he was fully prepared according to God’s standard. In this we see the patience of our God.
What made it necessary for God to wait those eighty years? None of us would have been willing to wait such a long time. Surely God wanted a way to come in earlier than He did, but there was no one among the children of Israel to whom He could come. Therefore, God had to wait until Moses was born. Forty years later Moses was there, and had grown up, but God still had to wait because Moses was so natural. God had to wait because there was the lack of a prepared one.
Here we see a principle. In every age God has desired to do something. The problem has not been on His side; it has always been on the side of His people. The question has always been this: where is one who is ready to receive God’s call? In our age also God is eager to do certain things. But who is ready for His call? More than nineteen centuries ago the Lord Jesus said that He was coming quickly (Rev. 22:7). But He still has not come. If we ask the Lord why His coming back has been delayed so long, He may reply, “Where are those who are ready for Me to come back? When I see that a sufficient number are ready, I shall come. I am very eager to come back, but there must be something for Me to come back to.”
In Exodus God could not come in when Moses was a child or when he was still trusting in his natural strength and ability. God had to wait until Moses was eighty years of age. Then, after Moses had been prepared, God came in to call him. The children of Israel cried out because of the tyranny, the persecution, and the oppression, but God still had to wait for Moses to be prepared. In the same principle, the Lord continues to delay His coming back because not enough of His people are ready for Him to return.
In chapters two and three of Exodus we see that the persecuted children of God were crying out to Him and that the God of mercy, grace, and love was eager to rescue them. But Moses was growing slowly unto maturity. The cry of the Israelites was desperate and the eagerness of God was great, but the growth of Moses was slow. The situation is the same today. Many saints have been sighing and longing for the Lord to come back, and the Lord is yearning to come back. But where are the prepared ones? Therefore, instead of complaining to the Lord about today’s situation, we should give ourselves to grow in life.
When by God’s sovereignty Moses was set aside, he must have been very disappointed and he must have lost all hope. Having lost hope, he became content to be a shepherd caring for the flock in the land of Midian. A man who had been educated in the royal palace was now forced to live as a shepherd in the wilderness. As the years went by, he lost everything — his confidence, his future, his interest, his goal. Eventually, Moses probably reached the point where he had no further thought that he was the one whom God would use to rescue the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt. Moses might have said to himself, “I must care for this flock. But not even this flock is mine; it belongs to my father-in-law. I have no empire, no kingdom. There is nothing left for me to do except to labor in support of my family. My immediate concern is to find fresh grass for the flock and water for them to drink.” But one day, when Moses had been thoroughly processed, God appeared to him and called him. At the age of eighty, in the eyes of God Moses was fully prepared and qualified, and at the precise time He came to him.
The record of God’s calling of Moses is longer than the record of His calling of any other person in the Bible. The record of His calling of Abraham is brief, and so is that of Isaiah. The same is true of the calling of Peter and of Saul of Tarsus. But the record of the calling of Moses is lengthy and detailed. In this account we find all the basic points concerning God’s calling. Thus, if we would know the full significance of God’s calling, we must pay close attention to God’s calling of Moses in Exodus 3.
Moses was the first complete, qualified, and perfected servant of God in history. Noah was used by God to build the ark, but he was not the kind of servant Moses was. Not even Abraham, the father of faith, was perfected as a servant of God in the way Moses was. Because he was the first fully qualified servant of God in the Bible, Moses is the standard model of God’s servant, and God’s calling of him is the standard for His calling of all His servants. In principle, we all need to be called the way Moses was.
Exodus 3:1 says, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.” One day Moses led the flock to the back side of the desert. This indicates that we can be called only when we are at the back side of our situation, never when we are at the front. I believe that Moses led the flock to the back side of the desert because he was looking for the best pasture. He might have been dissatisfied with the familiar places, and he might have desired a new place. Thus, he went to the back side.
If we would receive God’s calling, we also must be in the proper place. This place is firstly the back side of our situation. If you are a teacher, God cannot call you at the front side of your teaching profession. You must be at the back side. In the same principle, if you are a businessman, you must go to the back side of your business in order to be called by God.
To be at the back side means that we are not content with our present situation. For years Moses fed the flock on the front side of the desert. But one day, discontented and dissatisfied, he decided to go to the back side to see what was there. If you are dissatisfied with your occupation or with your marriage, this dissatisfaction may turn you to the back side. Every one who has been called by God can testify that he was called at the back side.
In the calling of Moses, who came to whom? Did Moses come to God, or did God come to Moses? I would say that both were traveling, and they eventually met at a certain spot. God traveled there from the heavens, and Moses traveled there from where he was living. Thus, it is difficult to say who came to whom. According to our experience, we one day came to a certain place, and there we met God.
When Moses went to the back side of the desert, he “came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.” Many times the back side of our situation turns out to be the mountain of God. Moses, however, did not know that the mountain of God was at the back side of the desert. Nevertheless, as Moses was slowly making his journey with the flock to the mountain of God, God was already there waiting for him.
In verse 5 God said to Moses, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy sandals from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy soil” (Heb.). The “holy soil” in this verse refers to land untouched by man. This indicates that God’s calling occurs in a place where there is no human interference. God’s calling always comes to one who is on virgin soil, soil touched only by God. This means that every genuine calling comes in a place where there is no human manipulation or opinion. If we would be called by God, we must be in a place reserved wholly for Him.
On this holy soil there is a thorn-bush. Verse 2 says, “And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a thorn-bush: and he looked, and, behold, the thorn-bush burned with fire, and the thorn-bush was not consumed” (Heb.). The thorn-bush represents Moses himself. The fact that God called from the midst of a thorn-bush indicates that the place of God’s calling is within us. God does not call us from the heavens; He calls from within us. Some may wonder whether this principle applies in the case of Saul of Tarsus. Initially, Saul was called by the Lord out of heaven, but eventually this calling became something within Saul. The Lord who called him came into him, into the “bush” from Tarsus.
Our experience bears witness to the fact that the place of God’s calling is within us. Every one who has truly been called by God can testify of this. At the beginning it might have seemed as if God were calling from the heavens. Eventually, however, it became clear that God was calling from within the “thorn-bush.”
Verse 2 speaks also of “a flame of fire.” This refers to the glory of God’s holiness. In the Bible God’s holiness is likened to fire. Whenever God calls someone, He calls him in the glory of His holiness. By calling a person in such a way, God separates him unto His holiness.
Apparently God’s calling occurred at the back side of the desert; actually it took place at the mountain of God and, particularly, on holy soil. Experientially, it was from within the midst of a thorn-bush, and, ultimately, it was from the flame of fire. This was the place of God’s calling of Moses: at the back side, on the mountain, on holy soil, in the midst of a thorn-bush, and in a flame of fire. In the fire God was calling Moses. In fact, God was the flame of fire, for the voice which called Moses came out of the fire. Hence, it was the fire that was speaking, that was calling. We all need to be in such a place. Then God’s calling will come to us.
To be called by God is not simply a matter of consecrating ourselves to the Lord, attending a Bible school or seminary, and then being ordained after graduation. Such a “calling” means nothing in the eyes of God. God’s calling takes place at the back side of our life in the world, on the mountain of God, and in a place where there is no human interference. Furthermore, we are called by God in the glory of His holiness from within the midst of a burning thorn-bush.
It is of vital importance that the one who is called know the name of the One who is calling him. Exodus 3 reveals the name of God, the calling One, in a full way, more fully perhaps than any other portion of the Word. When God called Moses, Moses said, “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say unto me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?” (v. 13). Here we see Moses’ concern with the divine name. He wanted to know the name of the One calling him.
The One who called Moses was firstly the Angel of Jehovah (v. 2). In his translation, Darby capitalizes the word “Angel” to indicate that this Angel was someone unique. Actually, it was Christ, the Son of God, who is God’s Angel, the unique sent One. According to the Bible, an angel is a messenger, that is, one who is sent. In the book of Revelation the leading ones in the churches are called angels, messengers, sent ones. The Angel of the Lord, therefore, in 3:2 is God’s sent One.
When we put verses 2 and 4 together, we see that this sent One, the Angel of Jehovah, is actually Jehovah Himself. Verse 4 says, “And when Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the thorn-bush” (Heb.). This proves that the Angel of Jehovah is Jehovah Himself and that Jehovah is God. The New Testament reveals that the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, came as the Father’s sent One. As God’s sent One, He was God Himself.
For the purpose of calling and sending Moses, God, the sending One, appeared to him as the sent One. Only the One who has been sent can send out the sent ones. For example, the apostles, the sent ones in the New Testament, were sent out by the Lord Jesus, God’s sent One. In John 20:21 the Lord Jesus said to the disciples, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” Therefore, we, the Lord’s disciples, are sent out by God’s sent One, who is Christ as the Angel of Jehovah.
According to Exodus 3, the calling One is the sent One. This is a crucial point in God’s calling. The one who knows how to use his employees and how to properly supervise them is the one who has done their particular job already. In the same principle, because Christ is God’s sent One, only He knows how to send forth others.
Regarding creation, Genesis 1 says that in the beginning it was God who created the heavens and the earth. But in Genesis 2, when God came to contact man and to develop a relationship with him, the name “Jehovah” is used. Here in Exodus 3 God came in to call Moses, not directly in the name of God nor firstly in the name of Jehovah, but in the name of the Angel of Jehovah. In this chapter it is not a matter of creation nor of developing a relationship with man; it is a matter of calling Moses. To be such a calling One there is the need for someone with the qualifications of a sent one, qualifications met uniquely by Christ as the Angel of Jehovah. Because it is the sent One who calls the sent one, the Angel of Jehovah, the Son of God, came to send Moses.
Why is the title “the Angel of Jehovah” not used in the first two chapters of Exodus? It is not until chapter three that Moses was prepared and ready. Therefore, God came to him as the Angel of Jehovah to call him and to send him. For the sending of Moses, there was the need of One with the experience of having been sent. According to Zechariah 2, the sending One is the sent One, and the sent One is the sending One. We see the same principle at work in chapter three of Exodus. The Angel of Jehovah is Jehovah Himself. The sent One of God, the Son of God, is actually God Himself. The very One who was in the beginning with God and who is God Himself was sent by God.
The title “the Angel of Jehovah” mainly refers to Christ, the Son of God, sent to save God’s people from their situation of suffering (see Judg. 6:12, 22; 13:3-5, 16-22). Here in Exodus 3 the Lord came to call Moses for the delivery of the children of Israel from bondage. Hence, He came as the Angel of Jehovah.
The second title revealed in this chapter is Jehovah, which means “He who was, who is, and who will be.” This title is composed basically of the verb “to be.” Apart from the Lord, all else is nothing. He is the only One who is, the only One who has reality of being. The verb “to be” should not be applied absolutely to anyone or anything except to Him. He is the only self-existent being. In the universe all things are nothing. Only Jehovah is “He who was, who is, and who will be.” In the past, He was; in the present, He is; and in the future, He will be.
Hebrews 11:6 says that “he who comes forward to God must believe that He is.” According to this verse, God is, and we must believe that He is. God is, but we are not.
If we would be called by God, we must know that the calling One is firstly the sent One of God and secondly, Jehovah, the One who was, who is, and who will be. We must know that the God who calls us is and that we are not. We all need to know God in such a way.
This calling One is the very God (3:4, 6, 14). The Hebrew word for God is Elohim, which means the mighty One who is faithful in His oath. God is not only mighty, but also faithful to fulfill His covenant. If we would be called by the Lord, we must realize that He is mighty and faithful, mighty to do everything for us and faithful to keep His word.
Verse 6 says, “Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” The phrase “the God of thy father” denotes history with God. When God comes to call you, He should not be a stranger to you. If He is a stranger as far as you are concerned, then you are not qualified to be called by Him. To say that God is the God of our father does not mean that He is the God of our father in the flesh, for our natural father may not be a child of God. When we were saved, we gained another genealogy, a spiritual lineage. For this reason Paul told the Corinthians that he begot them in the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15). Paul was not married, and thus he had no children in the flesh. But he had a great many spiritual children. Every believer in Christ has a spiritual father. In the eyes of God, the Lord who calls you is the God of your spiritual father. Moses’ father in the flesh was a godly man. Therefore, when God called Moses, He referred to Himself as the God of “thy father.” This indicates a history with God. When God appeared to Moses and called him, He was not a stranger, for He had been with Moses’ family for generations.
The God of Moses’ father was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. This means that God is the God of every kind of person. We may be a good person like Abraham, a somewhat neutral person like Isaac, or a supplanter like Jacob. But whatever we are, God is our God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the all-inclusive God. Whenever God comes to call you, He is always the all-inclusive One.
God is the God of our father, and He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. These titles of God also indicate the God of the covenant. The covenanting God is for everyone. No matter who you may be, He is your God, and He is qualified to call you.
Now we come to the most wonderful title of God: “I AM THAT I AM” (3:14-15). In verse 14 the Lord instructed Moses, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” The Lord’s name is I Am. In other words, His name is simply the verb “to be.” We are not qualified to say that we are. We are nothing; only He has being. Therefore, He calls Himself, “I AM THAT I AM.” The Chinese version speaks of Him as “the self-existing One and ever-existing One.” “I Am” denotes the One who is self-existing, the One whose being depends on nothing apart from Himself. This One is also the ever-existing One, that is, He exists eternally, having neither beginning nor ending.
In John 8:58 the Lord Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham came into being, I am.” As the great I Am, the Lord is the eternal, ever-existing God.
We have seen that in 3:14 the Lord told Moses to say to the children of Israel that I Am had sent him. The words “I Am” are not a complete sentence, but function here as a name, even a unique name. This name, as we have seen, is actually the verb “to be.” Only God qualifies to have this verb applied to His being, for only He is self-existent. You and I must realize that we are not self-existent.
As I Am, God is everything we need. To the words “I Am” we can add whatever we may need. Are you tired? The I Am is your rest. Are you hungry? He is your food. Are you dying? He is life. In the New Testament the Lord uses many things to describe Himself: “I am the true vine” (John 15:1), “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35), “I am the light” (John 8:12). As I Am, God is everything — heaven, earth, air, water, trees, birds, cattle. This is not pantheism, the religious belief that identifies God with the material universe. I do not say that everything is God, but I do declare that God is the reality of every positive thing. This implies that God must be you, even the reality of your very being. We can say to Him, “Lord, You are me.” If the Lord is not us, then we are nothing, and we have no reality. This great I Am, the all-inclusive One, is the One who has come to call us. It is not heresy to say that our God is the all-inclusive One. It is a truth full of light. Only those who are blind and who are in darkness oppose such truth.
I can testify that for the more than fifty years of my Christian life the I Am has been sustaining me. Because of His sustaining me with what He is, I have never backslidden. Furthermore, I have been able to continue in the ministry for more than forty years. I know the One who called me. I have been called by the I Am. The One who called me sustains me all the time. No human language can adequately express what He is.
Finally, the calling One is “Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews” (3:18, Heb.). The word “Hebrew” means river-crosser. The river-crossers are a separated people, people separated from the world. If we would be called by God, we must see that, as the calling One, God is the God of the river-crossers, the separated people. As such a God, He is not the God of those in Babel nor is He the God of those in Egypt, because they are not separated. If we are not separated from the world, God cannot be our God. He is not the God of the Egyptians, but the God of the Hebrews, of the people who have crossed the river for the fulfillment of His purpose.
