Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 3:1 - 3:22

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Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 3:1 - 3:22


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THE CALL AND MISSION OF MOSES.

EXPOSITION

Exo_3:1-22

THE MISSION OF MOSES. After forty years of monotonous pastoral life, affording abundant opportunity for meditation, and for spiritual communion with God, and when he had attained to the great age of eighty years, and the hot blood of youth had given place to the calm serenity of advanced life, God at last revealed Himself to Moses "called him" (Exo_3:4), and gave him a definite mission. The present chapter is' intimately connected with the next. Together, they contain an account of that extraordinary and indeed miraculous interchange of thought and speech between Moses and God himself, by which the son of Amram was induced to undertake the difficult and dangerous task of freeing his people, delivering them from their bondage in Egypt, and conducting them through the wilderness to that "land flowing with milk and honey," which had been promised to the seed of Abraham more than six centuries previously (Gen_15:18). Whatever hopes he had entertained of being his people's deliverer in youth and middle life, they had long been abandoned; and, humanly speaking, nothing was more improbable than that the aged shepherd, grown "slow of speech and of a slow tongue" (Exo_4:10)—his manners rusticised—his practical faculties rusted by disuse—his physical powers weakened—should come forth from a retirement of forty years' duration to be a leader and king of men. Nothing less than direct supernatural interposition could—one may well believe—have sufficed to overcome the natural vis inertiae of Moses' present character and position. Hence, after an absolute cessation of miracle for more than four hundred years, miracle is once more made use of by the Ruler of the Universe to work out his ends. A dignus vindice nodus has arisen; and the ordinary laws of that Nature which is but one of his instruments are suspended by the Lord of All, who sees what mode of action the occasion requires, and acts accordingly.

Exo_3:1

Moses kept the flock
. The Hebrew expresses that this was his regular occupation. Understand by "flock" either sheep or goats, or the two intermixed. Both anciently and at the present day the Sinaitic pastures support these animals, and not horned cattle. Of Jethro, his father-in-law. The word translated "father-in-law" is of much wider application, being used of almost any relation by marriage. Zipporah uses it of Moses in Exo_4:25
, Exo_4:26; in Gen_19:12, Gen_19:14, it is applied to Lot's "sons-in-law;" in other places it is used of "brothers-in-law." Its application to Jethro does not prove him to be the same person as Reuel, which the difference of name renders improbable. He was no doubt the head of the tribe at this period, having succeeded to that dignity, and to the priesthood, when Reuel died. He may have been either Reuel's son or his nephew. The backside of the desert, i.e. "behind" or "beyond the desert," across the strip of sandy plain which separates the coast of the Elanitic Gulf from the mountains, to the grassy regions beyond. He came to the mountain of God, even Horeb. Rather, "the mountain of God, Horeb-way," or "towards Horeb." By "the mountain of God" Sinai seems to be meant. It may be so named either by anticipation (as "the land of Rameses" in Gen_47:11), or because there was already a sanctuary there to the true God, whom Reuel and Jethro worshipped (Exo_18:12).

Exo_3:2

The angel of the Lord
. Literally, "an angel of Jehovah." Taking the whole narrative altogether, we are justified in concluding that the appearance was that of "the Angel of the Covenant" or" the Second Person of the Trinity himself;" but this is not stated nor implied in the present verse. We learn it from what follows. The angel "appeared in a flame of fire out of the midst of the thorn-bush"—not out of "a thorn-bush—which may be explained by there being only one on the spot, which however seems improbable, as it is a common tree; or by Moses having so often spoken of it, that, when he came to write to his countrymen, he naturally called it "the bush," meaning "the bush of which you have all heard." So St. John says of the Baptist (Joh_3:24
) that "he was not yet cast into the prison, meaning, prison into which you all know that he was cast. Seneh, the word translated "bush," is still the name of a thorny shrub, a species of acacia, common in the Sinaitic district.

Exo_3:3

I will turn aside
. Suspecting nothing but a natural phenomenon, which he was anxious to investigate. The action bespeaks him a man of sense and intelligence, not easily scared or imposed upon.

Exo_3:4

When the Lord saw … God called
. This collocation of words is fatal in the entire Elohistic and Jehovistic theory, for no one can suppose that two different writers wrote the two clauses of the sentence. Nor, if the same term was originally used in both clauses, would any reviser have altered one without altering both. Out of the midst of the bush. A voice, which was the true voice of God, appeared to Moses to proceed out of the midst of the fire which enveloped the thorn-bush. An objective reality is described, not a vision. Moses, Moses. The double call implies urgency. Compare the call of Samuel (1Sa_3:10
).

Exo_3:5

Draw not nigh
. The awful greatness of the Creator is such that his creatures, until invited to draw near, are bound to stand aloof. Moses, not yet aware that God himself spoke to him, was approaching the bush too close, to examine and see what the "great thing" was. (See Exo_3:3
.) On the general unfitness of man to approach near to holy things, see the comment on Exo_19:12. Put off thy shoes. Rather, "thy sandals." Shoes were not worn commonly, even by the Egyptians, until a late period, and would certainly not be known in the land of Midian at this time. The practice of putting them off before entering a temple, a palace, or even the private apartments of a house, was, and is, universal in the East—the rationale of it being that the shoes or sandals have dust or dirt attaching to them. The command given to Moses at this time was repeated to Joshua (Jos_5:15). Holy ground. Literally, "ground of holiness "—ground rendered holy by the presence of God upon it—not "an old sanctuary," as some have thought, for then Moses would not have needed the information.

Exo_3:6

The God of thy father
. "Father" here is used collectively, meaning forefathers generally, a usage well known to Hebraists. (Compare Exo_15:2
, and Exo_18:4.) The God of Abraham, etc; i.e. the God who revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and entered into covenant with them (Gen_15:1-21; Gen_26:2-5; Gen_35:1-12). The conclusion which our Blessed Lord drew from this verse (Mat_22:32) is not directly involved in it, but depends on his minor premiss, "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Moses hid his face. A natural instinctive action. So Elijah, on the same site (1Ki_19:13) and the holy angels before God's throne in heaven (Isa_6:2). In the religious system of Rome, the augurs when discharging their office, and all persons when offering a sacrifice, veiled their heads. (See Liv. 1.18; Virg. Aen. 3.405; Juv. 6.390.)

Exo_3:7

I have surely seen
. Literally "Seeing I have seen"—an expression implying continuance. On the force of the anthropomorphic terms "seeing, hearing, knowing," as used of God, see the comment on Exo_2:24-25
. Taskmasters. Not the general superintendents of Exo_1:11, but subordinate officials, who stood over the labourers and applied the rod to their backs. (See above, Exo_2:11.)

Exo_3:8

I am come down
. Another anthropomorphism, and one very common in Scripture (Gen_11:5
, Gen_11:7; Gen_18:21; Psa_18:9; Psa_144:5, etc.), connected of course with the idea that God has a special dwellingplace, which is above the earth. To bring them up. Literally correct. Palestine is at a much higher level than Egypt. (Compare Gen_12:10; Gen_13:1; Gen_37:25; Gen_39:1; Gen_42:2; Gen_46:3, Gen_46:4; Gen_50:25.) A good land and a large. The fertility of Palestine, though not equal to that of Egypt, was still very great. Eastward of Jordan, the soil is rich and productive, the country in places wooded with fine trees, and the herbage luxuriant. Vast tracts in the spring produce enormous crops of grain, and throughout the year pasturage of every kind is abundant. "Still the countless flocks and herds may be seen, droves of cattle moving on like troops of soldiers, descending at sunset to drink of the springs-literally, in the language of; the prophet, "rams, and lambs, and goats, and bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. The western region is less productive, but by careful cultivation in terraces may be made to bear excellent crops of corn, olives, and figs. Palestine proper to a modern European seems small, being about the size of Belgium, less than Holland or Hanover, and not much larger than Wales. It contains about 11,000 square miles. To an Israelite of the age of Moses such a land would appear sufficiently "large;" for it was considerably larger than the entire Delta of Egypt, whereof his nation occupied the smaller half; and it fell but little short of the entire cultivable area of the whole land of Egypt, which was the greatest and most powerful country known to him. It may be added that the land included in the covenant which God made with Abraham (Gen_15:18-21), and actually possessed by David and Solomon (1Ki_4:21), was a "good land and a large," according even to modern notions, including (as it did) besides Palestine the whole of Syria, and thus containing an area of from 50,000 to 60,000 square miles. The phrase flowing with milk and honey, first used here, and so common in the later books (Num_13:27; Deu_26:9, Deu_26:15; Deu_31:20; Jer_11:5; Jer_32:22; Eze_20:6, etc.) was probably a proverbial expression for "a land of plenty," and not intended literally. See what the spies say, Num_13:27

The enumeration of the nations of Palestine here made is incomplete, five only of the ten whose land was promised to Abraham (Gen_15:19-21) being expressly mentioned. One, however, that of the Hivites, is added. We may suppose that they had succeeded to the Kenizzites or the Kadmonites of Abraham's time. The only important omission is that of the Girgashites, who hold their place in most other enumerations (Gen_10:16; Gen_15:21; Deu_7:1; Jos_3:10; Jos_24:11, etc.), but seem to have been the least important of the "seven nations,"and are omitted in Jdg_3:5.

Exo_3:9

This is a repetition, in substance, of Exo_3:7
, on account of the long parenthesis in Exo_3:8, and serves to introduce Exo_3:10. The nexus is: "I have seen the oppression—I am come down to deliver them—come now, therefore, I will send thee"

Exo_3:11

And Moses said … Who am I, that I should go
, etc. A great change had come over Moses. Forty years earlier he had been forward to offer himself as a "deliverer." He "went out" to his brethren and slew one of their oppressors, and "supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them" (Act_7:25
). "But they understood not" (ibid.) They declined to accept him for leader, they reproached him with setting himself up to be "a ruler and a judge" over them. And now, taught by this lesson, and sobered by forty years of inaction, he has become timid and distrustful of himself, and shrinks from putting himself forward. Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh? What weight can I, a foreigner, forty years an exile, with the manners of a rough shepherd, expect to have with the mighty monarch of all Egypt—the son of Rameses the Great, the inheritor of his power and his glories? And again, Who am I, that I should bring forth the children of Israel? What weight can I expect to have with my countrymen, who will have forgotten me—whom, moreover, I could not influence when I was,in my full vigour—who then "refused" my guidance and forced me to quit them? True diffidence speaks in the words used—there is no ring of insincerity in them; Moses was now as distrustful of himself as in former days he had been confident, and when he had become fit to be a deliverer, ceased to think himself fit.

Exo_3:12

Certainly I will be with thee
. Literally, "Since I will be with thee." Moses had excused himself on the ground of unfitness. God replies—"Thou wilt not be unfit, since I will be with thee—I will supply thy deficiencies—I will impart all the qualities thou needest—and this shall be a sign unto thee of my power and faithfulness—this shall assure thee that I am not sending thee upon a fruitless errand—it is determined in my counsels that not only shalt thou succeed, and lead the people out, but after that,—when thou hast so done—thou and they together shall serve me on this mountain." The "sign" was one which appealed to faith only, like that given to Hezekiah by Isaiah (1Ki_19:1-21
:29), but, if accepted, it gave a full assurance—the second step involved the first—the end implied the means—if Moses was of a certainty to bring the Israelites to Sinai, he must first lead them out of Egypt—he must in some way or other triumph over all the difficulties which would beset the undertaking.

Exo_3:13

What is his name?
It is not at all clear why Moses should suppose that the Israelites would ask him this question, nor does it even appear that they did ask it. Perhaps, however, he thought that, as the Egyptians used the word "god," generically, and had a special name for each particular god—as Ammon, Phthah, Ra, Mentu, Her, Osiris, and the like—when he told his people of "the God of their fathers," they would conclude that he, too, had a proper name, and would wish to know it. The Egyptians set much store by the names of their gods, which in every ease had a meaning. Ammen was "the concealed (god)," Phthah, "the revealer," Ra,"the swift," etc. Hitherto Israel's God had had no name that could be called a proper name more than any other. He had been known as "El," "The High;" "Shad-dai," "The Strong;" and "Jehovah," "The Existent;" but these terms had all been felt to be descriptive epithets, and none of them had passed as yet into a proper name. What was done at this time, by the authority of God himself, was to select from among the epithets one to be distinctly a proper name, and at the same time to explain its true meaning as something more than "The Existent"—as really "The Alone Existent"—the source of all existence. Henceforth this name, which had previously been but little used and perhaps less understood, predominated over every other, was cherished by the Jews themselves as a sacred treasure, and recognised by those around them as the proper appellation of the one and only God whom the Israelites worshipped. It is found in this sense on the Moabite stone, in the fragments of Philo-Byblius, and elsewhere.

Exo_3:14

I AM THAT I AM
. No better translation can be given of the Hebrew words. "I will be that I will be (Geddes) is more literal, but less idiomatic, since the Hebrew was the simplest possible form of the verb substantive. "I am because I am" (Boothroyd) is wrong, since the word asher is certainly the relative. The Septuagint, Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν , explains rather than translates, but is otherwise unobjectionable. The Vulgate, sum qui sum, has absolute exactness. The idea expressed by the name is, as already explained, that of real, perfect, unconditioned, independent existence. I AM hath sent me to you. "I am" is an abbreviated form of "I am that I am," and is intended to express the same idea.

Exo_3:15

The Lord God
. In the original Jehovah elohey—"Jehovah, God of your fathers," etc. The name is clearly an equivalent of the "I AM" in the preceding versa The exact mode of its formation from the old root hava, "to be," is still disputed among the best Hebraists. This is my name for ever. Henceforth there will be no change—this will be my most appropriate name so long as the world endures—"The Existent"—"The Alone Existent"—"He that is, and was, and is to come" (Rev_1:4
, Rev_1:8; Rev_4:8; Rev_11:17; Rev_16:5). My memorial. The name whereby I am to be spoken of.

Exo_3:16

Gather the elders
. It is generally thought that we are to understand by "the elders" not so much the more aged men, as these who bore a certain official rank and position among their brethren, the heads of the various houses (Exo_6:14
, Exo_6:25; Exo_11:1-10 :21), who exercised a certain authority even during the worst times of the oppression. Moses was first to prevail, on them to acknowledge his mission, and was then to go with them to Pharaoh and make his representation (Exo_3:18). I have surely visited you. The words are a repetition of those used by Joseph on his deathbed (Gen_50:24), and may be taken to mean, "I have done as Joseph prophesied—I have made his words good thus far. Expect, therefore, the completion of what he promised.''

Exo_3:18

They shall hearken to thy voice
. Moses thought they would despise him—turn a deaf ear to his words—look upon him as unworthy of credit. But it was not so. The hearts of men are in God's hands, and he disposed those of the elders to receive the message of his servant, Moses, favourably, and believe in it. (See Exo_4:29-31
.) Thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt. This future is perhaps one of command rather than of prophetic announcement. The elders do not seem to have actually made their appearance before Pharaoh. (See Exo_5:1-4.) They may, however, have authorised Moses and Aaron to speak in their name. The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us. Through our representative Moses. "Met with us" is undoubtedly the true meaning. That we may sacrifice. There was reticence here, no doubt, but no falseness. It was a part of God's design that sacrifice, interrupted during the sojourn in Egypt for various reasons, should be resumed beyond the bounds of Egypt by His people. So much of his purpose, and no more, he bade Moses lay before Pharaoh on the first occasion. The object of the reticence was not to deceive Pharaoh, but to test him.

Exo_3:19

I am sure
. Literally, "I know," a better rendering, since, "I am sure" implies something leas than knowledge. No, not by a mighty hand. Or "not even by a mighty hand." Pharaoh will not be willing to let you go even when my mighty hand is laid upon him. (See Exo_8:15
, Exo_8:19, Exo_8:32; Exo_9:12, Exo_9:35; Exo_10:20, Exo_10:27.) "But by strong hand" (marg.) is a rendering which the rules of grammar do not permit.

Exo_3:20

I will stretch out my hand
. To encourage Moses and the people, to support them in what was, humanly speaking, a most unequal contest, this important promise is made. It is a confirmation, and to some extent, an explanation of the pledge, already, given, "Certainly I will be with thee" (Exo_3:12
). It shows how God would be with him—he would smite Egypt with all his wonders—what those would be was left obscure. He would come to his people's aid, and openly assert himself, and afflict and strike terror into their enemies-until at last even Pharaoh's stubborn spirit would be broken, and he would consent to let them go.

Exo_3:21, Exo_3:22

The "spoiling of the Egyptians" has called forth much bitter comment. (See Kalisch, note on Exo_3:22
.) It has been termed a combination of "fraud, deception and theft"—"base deceit and nefarious fraud"—"glaring villainy," and the like. The unfortunate translation of a verb meaning "ask" by "borrow" in Exo_3:22, has greatly helped the objectors. In reality, what God here commanded and declared was this:—The Israelite women were told on the eve of their departure from Egypt to ask presents (bakh-sheesh) from their rich Egyptian neighbours, as a contribution to the necessary expenses of the long journey on which they were entering; and God promised that he would so favourably incline the hearts of these neighbours towards them, that, in reply to their request, articles of silver and of gold, together with raiment, would be freely and bounteously bestowed on them—so freely and so bounteously, that they might clothe and adorn, not only themselves, but their sons and daughters, with the presents; and the entire result would be that, instead of quitting Egypt like a nation of slaves, in rags and penniless, they would go forth in the guise of an army of conquerors, laden with the good things of the country, having (with their own good-will) "spoiled the Egyptians." No fraud, no deceit, was to be practised—the Egyptians perfectly well understood that, if the Israelites once went, they would never voluntarily return—they were asked to give and they gave—with the result that Egypt was "spoiled." Divine justice sees in this a rightful nemesis. Oppressed, wronged, down-trodden, miserably paid for their hard labour during centuries, the Israelites were to obtain at the last something like a compensation for their ill-usage; the riches of Africa were to be showered on them. Egypt, "glad at their departing," was to build them a bridge of gold to expedite their flight, and to despoil herself in order to enrich her quondam slaves, of whom she was, under the circumstances, delighted to be rid.

Exo_3:22

Borrow
. The Hebrew word means simply "ask" ( αἰτήσει , LXX.; postulabit, Vulg.). Of her neighbours. The intermixture to some extent of the Egyptians with the Hebrews in Goshen is here again implied, as in Exo_1:1-22 and Exo_2:1-25. And of her that sojourneth in her house. Some of the Israelites, it would seem, took in Egyptian lodgers superior to them in wealth and rank. This implies more friendly feeling between the two nations than we should have expected; but it is quite natural that, after their long stay in Egypt, the Hebrews should have made a certain number of the Egyptians their friends.

HOMILETICS

Exo_3:1, Exo_3:2

The Burning Bush.

All nations have seen in fire something emblematic of the Divine nature. The Vedic Indians made Agni (fire) an actual god, and sang hymns to him with more fervour than to almost any other deity. The Persians maintained perpetual fires on their fire-altars, and supposed them to have a divine character. Hephaistos in the Greek and Vulcan in the Roman mythology were fire-gods; and Baal, Chemosh, Moloch, Tahiti, Orotal, etc; represented more or less the same idea. Fire is in itself pure and purifying; in its effects mighty and terrible, or life-giving, and comforting. Viewed as light—its ordinary though not universal concomitant—it is bright, glorious, dazzling, illuminative, soul-cheering. God under the Old Covenant revealed himself in fire, not only upon this occasion, but at Sinai (Exo_19:18; Exo_24:17), to Manoah (Jdg_13:20), to Solomon (2Ch_7:1-3), to Ezekiel (Eze_1:4-28), to Daniel (Dan_7:9, Dan_7:10); under the New Covenant, he is declared to be "a consuming fire" (Heb_12:29), "the Light of the world" (Joh_8:12), "the True Light" (Joh_1:9), "the Sun of Righteousness." Of all material things nothing is so suitable to represent God as this wonderful creation of his, so bright, so pure, so terrible, so comforting, To Moses God reveals himself not merely in fire, but in a "burning bush." In this respect the revelation is abnormal—nay, unique, without a parallel. Surely this was done, not merely to rouse his curiosity, but to teach him some lesson or other. It is well to consider what lesson or lessons may have been intended by it. First, Moses would see that "the ways of God were not as man's ways;" that, instead of coming with as much, he came with as little, display as possible; instead of showing all his glory and lighting up all Sinai with unendurable radiance, he condescended to appear in a small circumscribed flame, and to rest upon so mean, so poor, so despised an object as a thorn-hush. God "chooseth the weak things of the world to confound the strong;" anything is sufficient for his purpose. He creates worlds with a word, destroys kingdoms with a breath, cures diseases with clay and spittle or the hem of a garment, revolutionises the earth by a group of fishermen. Secondly, he would see the spirituality of God. Even when showing himself in the form of fire, he was not fire. Material fire would have burnt up the bush, have withered its fair boughs and blasted its green leaves in a moment of time; this fire did not scathe a single twig, did not injure even the most delicate just-opening bud. Thirdly, he might be led on to recognise God's tenderness. God's mercy is "over all his works," he will not hurt one of them unnecessarily, or without an object. He "careth for cattle" (Jon_4:11), clothes the lilies with glory (Mat_6:28-30), wilt not let a sparrow fall to the ground needlessly (Mat_10:29). Lastly, he might learn that the presence of God is "consuming" only of what is evil. Of all else it is preservative. God was present with his people in Egypt, and his presence preserved them in that furnace of affliction. God was present in each devout and humble heart of his true followers, and his presence kept them from the fiery darts of the Wicked One. God would be present through all time with his Church and with his individual worshippers, not as a destroying, but as a sustaining, preserving, glorifying influence. His spiritual fire would rest upon them, envelop them, encircle them, yet would neither injure nor absorb their life, but support it, maintain it, strengthen it.

Exo_3:3

The impulse to draw nigh.

Moses saw a strange sight; one that he had never seen before; one that struck him with astonishment. His natural impulse was to inquire into its cause. God has implanted in us all this instinct, and we should do ill if we were to combat it. Natural phenomena are within reason's sphere; and Moses, who had never yet seen a supernatural sight, could not but suppose, at first beholding it, that the burning bush was a natural phenomenon. That he approached to examine is an indication that he was a man of spirit and intelligence; not a coward who might have feared some snare, not careless and unobservant, as too many country folk are. He drew near to see more clearly, and to use his other senses in discovering what the "great thing" was—acting like a sensible man and one who had had a good education.

Exo_3:4-6

The prohibition, and the ground of it.

Suddenly the steps of the inquirer are arrested. Wonder upon wonder! a voice calls to him out of the bush, and calls him by his own name, "Moses, Moses!" Now must have dawned on him the conviction that it was indeed a "great thing" which he was witnessing; that the ordinary course of nature was broken in upon; that he was about to be the recipient of one of those wonderful communications which God from time to time had vouchsafed to his forefathers, as to Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Hence his submissive, child-like answer, "Here I am." (Compare 1Sa_3:4, 1Sa_3:6.) Then came the solemn prohibition, "Draw not nigh hither." Man, until sanctified, until brought into covenant, must not approach near to the dread presence of the Supreme Being. At Sinai Moses was commanded to "set bounds" to keep the people off, that no one might "go up into the mount, nor touch the border of it" (Exo_19:12). The men of Bethshemesh were smitten with death, to the number of 50,070, for looking into the ark of the covenant (1Sa_6:19). Uzzah was slain for putting forth his hand to touch it, when he thought that there was danger of its falling (2Sa_6:7). God, under the Old Covenant, impressed on man in a multitude off ways his unapproachableness. Hence all the arrangements of the Temple; the veil guarding the sanctuary, into which only the high-priest could enter once in the year; the main temple-building, only to be entered by the priests; the courts of the Levites, of the Israelites, and of the Gentiles, each more and more remote from the Divine Presence. Hence the purifications of the priests and of the Levites before they could acceptably offer sacrifice; hence the carrying of the Ark by means of staves forming no part of it; hence the side-chambers of the Temple, emplaced on "rests" in the walls, "that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house" (1Ki_6:6). It was so needful to impress on men, apt to conceive of God as "such an one as themselves," his awful majesty, purity, and holiness, that artificial barriers were everywhere created to check man's rash intrusion into a Presence for which he was unfit. Thus reverence was taught, man was made to know and to feel his own unworthiness, and, little by little, came to have some faint conception of the absolute perfectness and incomprehensible greatness of the Supreme One. Further, God being such as this, each place where he makes himself manifest, becomes at once holy ground. Though "heaven is his throne, and earth his footstool," and no "place" seems worthy of him or can contain him, yet it pleases him, in condescension to our infirmities and our finiteness, to choose some spots rather than others where he will mare himself known and make his presence felt. And these at once are sacred. So was the mount to which Moses went up; so was Shiloh; so was Araunah's threshingfloor; so was Jerusalem. And so in our own days are churches and the precincts of churches. God's presence, manifested in them, albeit spiritually and not materially, hallows them. And the reverent heart feels this, and cannot but show its reverence by outward signs. In the East shoos were put off. With us the head should be uncovered, the voice hushed, the eye cast down. We should feel that "God is in the midst of us." So felt Moses, when God had proclaimed himself (Exo_3:6), and not only bared his feet as commanded, but shrouded his face in his robe "for he was afraid to look upon God." All his own sinfulness and imperfection rushed to his thought, all his unworthiness to behold God and live. Jacob had once seen God "face to face," and had marvelled that "his life was preserved" (Gen_32:30). Moses shut out the awful Vision. So Elijah, on the same site, when he heard the "still small voice"(1Ki_19:13); and so even the seraphim who wast continually before God's Throne in heaven (Isa_6:2). Consciousness of imperfection forces the creature to stand abashed in the presence of the Creator.

Exo_3:7-10

The call of Moses.

With face covered, but with ears attent to hear, Moses stands before God to learn his will. And God takes him, as it were, into counsel, not only calling him to a certain work, but revealing to him why he is called, what exactly he is to do, and what will be the issue of his enterprise.

1. WHY HE IS CALLED. He is called because the affliction of Israel—their sufferings—from the constant toil, from the brutal taskmasters, from the cruel Pharaoh, from the apparent hopelessness of their position—had reached to such a point that God could allow it to go on no longer. There is a point at which he will interfere to vindicate the oppressed and punish the wrong-doers, even if the oppressed are too much crushed, too downtrodden, too absolutely in despair, to cry to him. Their case calls to him; their "blood cries from the ground." But in this instance actual despair had not been reached. His people had "cried to him." And here was a second reason why he should interfere. God is never deaf to any prayers addressed to him for succour; he may not always grant them, but he hears them. And if they are sustained, and earnest, and justified by the occasion, he grants them. Such was the case now, and Moses was called because of the extreme affliction of the Israelites, and because of their prolonged and earnest cry to God under it.

2. Moses is told WHAT HE IS TO DO. He is to "bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt" (Exo_3:10); and, as a preliminary step, he is to "go to Pharaoh" (ibid.). Thus he is directed to return to Egypt forthwith, and to put himself into communication with the new king who had succeeded the one from whom he had fled. So much is made clear to him. He, an exile for forty years, and a mere hireling shepherd of the desert during that space, is to seek an interview with the great monarch of all Egypt, and to plead the cause of his people before him—to endeavour to induce him to "let them go." A difficult enterprise, to say the least; humanly speaking, a hopeless one. How should a king be induced to allow the departure of 600,000 able-bodied labourers, whose condition was that of state slaves, who could be set to any work which the king had in hand—to keep cattle, or make bricks, or build cities, or erect walls, or excavate canals? What inducement was to be offered to him to make the sacrifice? Such thoughts would naturally occur to Moses under the circumstances, and would naturally have risen to his lips but for the distinct announcement made with regard to the further point.

3. WHAT WOULD BE THE ISSUE OF THE ENTERPRISE. The Divine declaration, "I am come down to deliver them, and to bring them up out of that land into a good land and a large," was so definite and clear a statement, so positive a promise of success, as to override all objections on the score of the task being an impossible one. God "had come down to deliver" his people, and would undoubtedly do it, whatever opposition was raised. Thus, to counteract the despondency which the consideration of the existing facts and circumstances was calculated to produce, there was held forth before Moses the positive assurance of success; the certainty that God would make good his word; would, however difficult it seemed, lead his people forth, deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptian, and make them the masters of another land, large and good, flowing with milk and honey, into possession of which they would enter through his might and by his irresistible assistance.

Exo_3:11

Fitness of Moses to be God's instrument in delivering Israel.

The fitness of Moses to be Israel's deliverer will appear if we consider, first, What were the qualities which the part of deliverer required; secondly, how far they were united in him; and thirdly, what reasons there are for believing that, at the time, they were not united to the same extent in any other person.

1. NECESSARY QUALITIES OF THE DELIVERER. As having to deal, in the first instance, with a great king and his court, it was necessary that the Deliverer should be familiar with the habits of the court, should be able to assume its manners, speak its language, and not unwittingly infringe its etiquette. Not being set merely to petition, but to require—to prefer demands—it was requisite that he should feel himself, socially, on a par with the monarch, so as not to be timid or abashed before him, but able without difficulty to assert himself, to use freedom of speech, to talk as prince with prince, and not as mere courtier with monarch. Again, as having to meet and baffle Egyptian priests, and further, to be not only the Deliverer, but the Teacher and Educator of his nation, it was to the last degree necessary that he should be "learned in all the wisdom" of the time; that he should have had as good an education as any other man of the day; be able to foil the priests with their own weapons; and, after delivering his people out of bondage, be capable of elevating them, instructing them, advancing them from a rabble of slaves into an orderly, self-sufficient, fairly-enlightened, if not highly-civilised, nation. Once more: a moral fitness was necessary. The Deliverer needed to have high aspirations, a bold spirit, fervent zeal, and yet to have all these under control; to be calm, quiet, serf-contained, imperturbable in danger, persevering, prompt, considerate. Moreover, he needed to be a religious man. Anyone not upheld by high religious principle, anyone not possessed of deep and true faith, would have fallen away in some of the trials through which the nation had to pass; would have desisted, or murmured, or "lusted after evil things" (1Co_10:6), or waxed proud and wanton, or grown weary of seemingly interminable wanderings, and settled down in Arabia or even returned to Egypt.

2. MOSES' POSSESSION OF THESE QUALITIES. Moses was familiar with the customs of the Egyptian court, having been brought up in the household of a princess, and been himself a courtier until he was nearly forty years of age. Though he had subsequently spent forty years in the desert, this would not unfit him; since, in the first place, Egyptian manners and customs were unchanging; and secondly, life in the desert is at no time a bad school of manners. Arabian shepherds are not like European ones. As much politeness is often seen in the tent of a Bedouin as in the drawingroom of an empress. Moses probably thought that his forty years of seclusion rendered him less suited for the atmosphere of a court, but he was probably mistaken. What he may have lost in polish he gained in simplicity, directness, and general force of character. Moses,, again, could speak with the Pharaoh almost as an equal, since as the adopted son of a princess he had born accounted a prince, and may even, before his flight, have met Menephthah in the royal palace on terms of social equality. On the education and "wisdom" of Moses we have already descanted, and it will scarcely be questioned that in these respects he was eminently fitted for the part assigned to him by Providence. His character, too, as chastened and ripened in Midian, made him exceptionally fit. Audacity, high aspirations, strong sympathies, a burning zeal, had shown themselves in the conduct that led to his exile. These had been disciplined and brought under control by the influences of desert life, which had made him calm, self-contained, patient, persevering, considerate, without quenching his zeal or taming his high spirit. And of his religious principle there is no question. If he angered God once by "speaking unadvisedly" (Psa_106:33; Num_20:10), this does but show that he was human, and therefore not perfect. Apart from this one occasion his conduct as leader of the people is, as nearly as possible, blameless. And his piety is everywhere conspicuous.

3. NO ONE BUT MOSES POSSESSED THE NECESSARY QUALITIES. With the limited knowledge that we possess, the negative is incapable of positive proof. But, so far as our historical knowledge goes, there is no one who can be named as possessing any one of the necessary qualities in a higher degree than Moses, much less as uniting them all. No Hebrew but Moses had had, so far as we know, the advantages of education and position enjoyed by Moses. No Egyptian would have been trusted by the Hebrew nation and accepted as their leader. No one who was neither Egyptian nor Hebrew would have had any weight with either people. Thus Moses was the one and only possible deliverer, exactly fitted by Providence for the position which it was intended he should take: raised up, saved, educated, trained by God to be his instrument in delivering his people, and so exactly fitted for the purpose.

Exo_3:11-12

Moses' timidity notwithstanding his fitness.

It is not often that those are most confident of their powers who are fittest for God's work. Great capacity is constantly accompanied by a humble estimate of itself. Jeremiah's reply when God called him was: "Ah! Lord God, I cannot speak, for I am a child" (Jer_1:6). Newton seemed to himself a child gathering shells upon the shores of the ocean of Truth. The exclamation of Moses, "Who am I that I should go," etc. has been echoed by thousands. If, however, God's call is clear, the voice of self-depreciation is not to be much listened to. He knows best whether we are fit to work out his purposes, or no. Whether the call is to be an ordinary minister, or a missionary, or a bishop, or a civil leader, the foremost in a political movement, or a general at the crisis of a war, or anything else, too much timidity ought not to be shown. There is cowardice in shrinking from responsibility. If the call be clearly from without, not courted by ourselves, not sought, not angled for, not assignable to any unworthy motive, then it is to be viewed as God's call; and the proper answer is "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." Unfit as we may think ourselves, we may be. sure that he will not leave us to ourselves—his grace will be sufficient for us—he will give us all the strength we need.

Exo_3:13-15

God's revelation of himself under the name Jehovah, and the meaning of it.

At first sight the name by which God shall be called may seem unimportant, as it is unimportant whether a man be called Tully or Cicero. But, originally, each name that is given to God is significant; and according as one name or another is commonly used, one idea or another of the Divine nature will be prevalent. Hitherto God had been known mainly to the Semites as El, Eliun, Elohim, "Exalted, Lofty," or Shaddai, "Strong, Powerful." Another name known to them, but rarely used, was JHVH, "Existent." (The vocalisation of the name has been lost, and is uncertain.) God was now asked by Moses under what name he should speak of him to the Israelites, and was bidden to speak of him as JHVH. What, then, was the full meaning of JHVH, and why was it preferred to the other names? Probably as a security against polytheism. When words expressive of such attributes as exaltation, strength, knowledge, goodness, beautifulness, even creative energy, are made into names of God, there is a temptation at once to extend them from the one to the many, from the possessor of the attribute in the highest degree to others who possess it, or are supposed to possess it, in a high degree. Thus all such words come to be used in the plural, and the way is paved for polytheism. But if God is called "the Existent," this danger disappears; for there are but two kinds or degrees of existence, viz; self-existence, and created, dependent existence. "The Existent" must mean "the Serf-Existent," who must necessarily be One. Hence JHVH never had a plural. The only way by which an Israelite could become a polytheist was by deserting Jehovah altogether and turning to Elohim. In vindicating to himself the name Jehovah, "He who exists," or "He who alone exists," God declared himself to be—

l. eternal;

2. uncaused;

3. unconditioned

4. independent;

5. self-sufficient.

He placed a gulf, profound—not to be bridged—between himself and every other being. He indicated that all other gods were unrealities—breath, vapour, shadows of shades; that he alone was real, stable, to be trusted; and that in him his worshippers might have "quietness and assurance for ever."

Exo_3:16

The Divine injunction to gather the elders.

God here added another injunction to those which he had previously given (Exo_3:10), as to the modus operandi which Moses was to adopt. He was to go to the children of Israel, but not immediately or as the first step. Before making any appeal to them he was, in the first instance, to "gather the elders of Israel together." In this is involved a principle of very general application. When great designs are on hand, consultation should first be with the few. With the few matters can be calmly and quietly discussed, without passion or prejudice; questions can be asked, explanations given. And the few will have influence with the many. This was the whole idea of ancient government, which was by a king, a council, and an assembly of the people, which last was expected to ratify the council's decision. Direct appeal to the masses is, as much as possible, to be avoided. The masses are always, comparatively speaking, ignorant, stolid, unimpressible. Great ideas take root and grow by being first communicated in their fulness to a "little flock," who spread them among their companions and acquaintance, until at length they prevail generally. So our Lord called first the Twelve, and then the Seventy, and made known his doctrine to them, leaving it to them to form the Church after his ascension.

Exo_3:17, Exo_3:18

The promises to the elders, and to Moses.

The elders were promised two things:

(1) that they should be brought forth out of the affliction of Egypt, and

(2) that they should be established in a good land, "a land flowing with. milk and honey" Ordinary men—men who are, spiritually speaking, backward and undeveloped—require to be stirred to action by comparatively low motives. Escape from present suffering and unpleasantness, enjoyment of happiness in the future—these are practically the two chief moving powers of human action. Neither of them is a wrong motive; and Moses was instructed to appeal to each by a special promise. So may the preacher rightly do with his congregation, the minister with his flock, the father with his children. As long as men are what they are, appeals to the lower motives cannot be dispensed with at first. Care must, however, be taken that before each one, as he becomes fit for it, higher motives are set—such as duty, the love of goodness for goodness' sake, and—last, not least—the highest motive of all, the love of God, our Creator, Sustainer, Sanctifier, "in whom we live, and move, and have our being." Moses was promised at this point, to stimulate him to action, immediate success. He had doubted whether his people would listen to him, or regard him as anything but a dreamer. He is told, "they shall hearken unto thy voice." A great comfort to every one who feels that he has a mission is the acceptance of it by others. Each man, more or less, misdoubts himself, questions his own ability, sincerity, singleness of heart. The seal of an apostleship is the success of the apostolic efforts (1Co_9:2). Direct promise of success at the mouth of God was, to one so faithful as Moses, as powerful to cheer, encourage, and sustain, as success itself.

Exo_3:19, Exo_3:20

Pharaoh's obduracy, and God's mode of overcoming it.

There are stubborn hearts which no warnings can impress, no lessons teach, no pleading, even of God's Spirit, bond. With such he "will not always strive." After they have resisted him till his patience is exhausted, he will break them, crush them; overrule their opposition, and make it futile. God's will surely triumphs in the end. But it may be long first. God is so patient, so enduring, so long-suffering, that he will permit for months, or even years, the contradiction of sinners against himself. He will not interfere with the exercise of their free-will. He will warn, chide, chasten, afflict, contend with the sinner; try him to the uttermost; seek to lead him to repentance; give him chance after chance. But he will not compel him to submit himself; man may resist to the last; and even "curse God and die" at war with him. The final success in such a struggle cannot, however, rest with man. God "will not alway be chiding, neither keepeth he his anger for ever." At the fitting time he "stretches forth his hand and smites" the sinner, strikes him down, or sets him aside, as the storm-wind sets aside a feeble barrier of frail rushes, and works his own will in his own way. Mostly he works by natural causes; but now and again in the history of the world he has asserted himself more openly, and has broken the power and chastised the pride of a Pharaoh, a Benhadad, or a Sennacherib, in a miraculous way. Such manifestations of his might produce a marked effect, causing, as they do, "all the kingdoms of the earth to know that he is the Lord God, and he only" (2Ki_19:19).

Exo_3:21, Exo_3:22

God brings good out of evil.

Had Pharaoh yielded at the first, the Egyptians would have seen the departure of Israel with regret, and would have in no way facilitated it. The opposition of the king and court, the long struggle, the ill-usage of the Israelites by the monarch who so often promised to release them, and so often retracted his word, awoke a sympathy with the Israelites, and an interest in them, which would have been altogether lacking had there been no. Opposition, no struggle, no ill-usage. Again, the plagues, especially the last, thoroughly alarmed the Egyptians, and made them anxious to be quit of such dangerous neighbours. "Egypt was glad of their departing, for they were afraid of them" (Psa_105:38). But for Pharaoh's obduracy the plagues would not have been sent; and but for the plagues the departing Israelites would not have been looked upon by the Egyptians with the "favour" which led to their going out laden with gifts. Thus Pharaoh's stubbornness, though it led to their sufferings being prolonged, led also to their final triumphant exit, as spoilers, not as spoiled, laden with the good things of Egypt, "jewels of silver and jewels of gold," and rich apparel, the best that the Egyptians had to offer. History presents an infinitude of similar cases, where the greatest advantages have been the result of oppression and wrong. Extreme tyranny constantly leads to the assertion of freedom; anarchy to the firm establishment of law; defeat and ill-usage by a conqueror to the moral recovery of a declining race or nation. Each man's experience will tell him of the good that has arisen to him individually from sickness, from disappointment, from bereavement, from what-seemed at the time wholly evil. God brings good out of evil in a thousand marvellous ways; at one time by turning the hearts of oppressors, at another by raising the tone and spirit of the oppressed; now by letting evil run riot until it produces general disgust, anon by making use of adverse circumstances to train a champion and deliverer. Countless are the evidences that God causes evil to work towards good; uses it as an instrument-evolves his own purposes, in part, by its means, vindicating thus his absolute lordship over all, and showing that evil itself, though it fight against him, cannot thwart him.

HOMILIES BY J. ORR

Exo_3:1-5

Moses at the bush.

We do not now see burning bushes, or hear voices calling to us from their midst. The reason is, that we do not need them, The series of historical revelations is complete. Revelation in the sense of the communication of new truth—of truth beyond the range of our natural faculties, or not capable of being derived, under the guidance of God's Spirit, from revelations already given—is not to be expected. The Bible is the sum of God's authoritative revelations to the race. This bush, e.g; still burns for us in Scripture, where at any time we can visit it, and hear God's voice speaking out of it. But in another sense, revelation is not obsolete. It is not a tradition of the past, but a living reality. It has its objective side in the continuous (non-miraculous) revelation going on in nature (Psa_19:1; Rom_1:19, Rom_1:20) and history (Act_17:26, Act_17:27); and in the tokens of a supernatural presence and working in the Church (Mat_28:20; 1Th_1:3-10; Rev_2:1). And it has its subjective side in the revelation (mediate) of Divine things to the soul by the Holy Spirit (Eph_1:17), and in the manifestation of God to the heart in private spiritual experience (Joh_14:21, Joh_14:23; Rom_5:5; Rom_8:16). The veil between the soul and the spiritual world is at all times a thin one. The avenues by which God can reach devout minds are innumerable. The Word, sacraments, and prayer are special media, the Divine Spirit taking of the things of Christ, and showing them to the soul (Joh_16:15), illuminating, interpreting, applying, confirming. But, in truth, God is "not far from every one of us" (Act_17:27); and by events of providence, in workings of conscience, through our moral and spiritual intuitions, enlightened and purified as these are by the Word, by numberless facts of nature and life, he can still draw near to those who tarry for him; meets them in ways as unexpected and surprising as at the burning bush; awes them by his wonders; flashes to them the messages of his grace. Viewing this revelation at the bush as a chapter in spiritual history, consider—

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF IT. The revelation came to Moses—

(1) unexpectedly;

(2) while in the way of duty—he "kept the flock;"

(3) in a solemn place—"mountain of God," a natural oratory and place of sacred repute—and probably while revolving solemn thoughts;

(4) from a most unlooked-for quarter—a common bush; and at first

(5) impersonally. The bush burning had no apparent relation to Moses more than to another. It was there for him to look at, to inquire into, if he chose. It invited, but did not compel, or even ask for, his attention. All which circumstances are significant.

1. The Divinity is ever nearer to us than we think. So Jacob, as well as Moses, found it. "Surely God is in this place, and I knew it not" (Gen_28:16).

2. Revelations are not to be expected, save in the way of duty.

3. God may be met with anywhere (Joh_4:24), but some places are more favourable for communion with God than others—the closet (Mat_6:6), the sanctuary (Psa_73:16, Psa_73:17), natural solitudes (Mat_16:23). And revelations have usually a relation to the state of mind of those who receive them—answering questions, resolving perplexities, affording guidance, adapting themselves to psychological conditions (cf. Job_2:12, Job_2:13; Dan_2:29; Dan_9:20, Dan_9:21; Dan_10:2-6; Act_10:3, Act_10:10; 1Co_12:9; Rev_1:10). It is in every way likely that Moses' thoughts were at that moment deeply occupied about Israel's future.

4. God's discoveries of himself are marked by great condescension. Lowliness of situation is no bar to the visits of the King of Heaven, while humility of heart is indispensable to our receiving them. He who dwelt in the bush will not refuse the dwelling place of the contrite heart (Isa_57:15). God's most wonderful discoveries of himself have been made through "base things of the world, and things which are despised" (1Co_2:1-16 :28). The highest example of this is Christ himself, of whose incarnation the angel in the bush may be regarded as a prophecy. "He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness," etc. (Isa_53:2).

5. God's revelations act as a moral test. This applies to the objective revelation—to the tokens of the supernatural strewn everywhere around us in life and history, as well as to Nature and the Bible. We may pass them unheeded, or we may draw nearer to inquire. The Bible invites attention by the supernatural in its history, as well as by its teachings. It is only when we draw nearer to it that the Word becomes personal, and seizes on the conscience with spiritual power. Attention on man's part is rewarded by further self-discovery on God's.

II. ITS INTEREST FOR MOSES. We may connect his turning aside to see (verse 4)—

1. With an appeal to his faculty of wonder. This is one function of miracle—to arrest attention, and awaken in the witness of it a powerful consciousness of the Divine presence.

2. With a general habit of devout inquiry. It may be true that "many a man has been led through the pale of curiosity into the sanctuary of reverence" (Parker); but it is also true that to a merely curious disposition God usually reveals little, and to an irreverent one nothing. The habit of inquiry is as valuable, if one's ultimate aim is in all things to become acquainted with God and his will, as in science and philosophy, or any other form of the pursuit of knowledge; but let inquiry be devout. "Search the Scriptures" (Joh_5:39). Ponder thoughtfully events of providence and facts of history. Study Nature with an eye to spiritual suggestions—to underlying spiritual analogies. Give to whatever you read or hear, which seems to have truth or value in it, the attention it deserves. Inquiry throws the mind into the attitude most favourable for receiving Divine revelations. Moses was not called by name till he "turned aside to see."

3. With the perception that in this circumstance God was specially calling him to inquire. As Moses gazed, he would be prompted to ask about this bush—What means it? What invisible power is here manifesting itself? Why is it burning at this place, and at this time? What mystery is contained in it? Has it a message for me? And he would not be long in perceiving that it must be burning there with the special view of attracting his attention. And is it not thus that the Divine usually draws near to us? Attention is arrested by something a little aside from the course of ordinary experience, and the impression it makes upon us produces the conviction that it is not unintended; that it is, as we say, "sent;" that it has a meaning and message to us we do well to look into. Every man, at some point or another in his history, has felt himself thus appealed to by the supernatural. The impression may be made by a book we feel drawn to read, or by something we read in it; through a sermon, through some event of life, by a sickness, at a deathbed, by the sayings and doings of fellow-men, or in hours of solitude, when even Nature seems peopled with strange voices, and begins to speak to us in parables. But, originate as it may, there is plainly in it, as in all special dealings of God with us, a call to inquire, to question ourselves, to ask whether, from the midst of the mystery, God may not have some further message for our souls.

III. THE SIGHT ITSELF. The bush that burned (verse 2) was—

1. A token of the Divine Presence. Moses would soon feel that he was standing in presence of the Unseen Holy.

2. A significant emblem. It represented the Israelites in their state of affliction, yet miraculously surviving. Possibly, in the questionings of his spirit, Moses had not before sufficiently considered the "token for good" implied in this astonishing preservation of the nation, and needed to have his attention directed to it. It was a clear proof that the Lord had not cast off his people. If Israel was preserved, it could only be for one reason. The continued vitality, growth, and vigour of the nation was the infallible pledge of the fulfilment of the promise.

3. An answer to prayer. For what could be the meaning of this portent, but that the long, weary silence was at length broken; that the prayer, "O Lord, how long?" was at last to receive its answer? Faith can see great results wrapped up in small beginnings. For nothing in God's procedure is isolated. Beginnings with God mean endings too.

IV. THE PERSONAL CALL. As Moses wondered—

1. The revelation became personal. He heard himself addressed by name, "Moses, Moses" (verse 4). Solemnised, yet with that presence of mind which could only arise from long habituation to the idea of an invisible spiritual world, he answered, "Here am I." This was to place himself unreservedly at God's disposal. Mark the order&m