The King’s English

Exodus 16:1-18

When we hear of “fleshpots” we’ll likely think of sexual temptation.  As in…

—  “he had lived the life of a roué in the fleshpots of London and Paris.”

But in their original, biblical context, “fleshpots” are literally cauldrons of meat.  They are a temptation, but there’s nothing sexual about them.

Here’s their mention in Exodus 16:

“the children of Israel said unto [Moses and Aaron], Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”  (Exodus 16:3)

The children of Israel have come out of slavery through the Red Sea and now wander in the wilderness.  It’s not an instant translation from the house of bondage to the land of milk and honey.  In between there is hardship and testing.

It is a picture of our own Christian lives – saved from sin and Satan, brought out into newness of life but not yet living with Christ in the new creation.  Right now is a time of daily dependence on the LORD.  And just like the Israelites, we too are tempted to grumble about our present and to idealize our non-Christian past:

“Egypt was wonderful” we conveniently misremember.  “It was feasting and fullness!”

That’s how the Israelites recall their slavery and genocide.  “Forget the taskmasters, remember the barbecues??!”

Fleshpots are not about our sex-life – they are about our old-life.  But lusting after some nostalgic conception of the past can be even more spiritually poisonous.

In the wilderness years the Israelites would often look back with rose-tinted glasses.  For example:

We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:  (Numbers 11:5)

Very literally they looked on the past as their green salad days.  But now?  Now they see only desert and scarcity.

When Jesus leads us into a desert place we re-imagine life without Him as fleshpots.  We grumble:

Our past was care-free.  And all our non-Christian friends are blissfully happy millionaires.  Jesus has led me away from life and fullness and into this desert.

Such grumbling grieves our LORD who has fought to the death to buy our freedom.   Our fond reminiscences of Egypt are like some Stockholm Syndrome – where captives develop feelings for their captors.  Jesus is pained by our nostalgia for the darkness.

As an aside we should note that the Bible is full of complaints that are addressed to God.  Those aren’t grumbles.  Those are called prayers.  And they are wonderful and godly things.  The Psalms are full of complaining prayers. “LORD this is terrible, I can’t handle it, what are you going to do?”  That’s a perfectly good prayer.  But moaning to one another in unbelief, wishing to be completely without the LORD and wallowing in a complaining spirit while never addressing our complaint to the Manager?  That’s grumbling.  And the LORD takes offence.

Of course He takes offence.  As the verse above shows, grumbling portrays the LORD as a murderer.  It paints Him as anti-life when the truth is, Egypt was anti-life.

The LORD won’t have this kind of grumbling against Him.  So what does He do?

He does the only thing that truly takes our eyes off the fleshpots and steals the complaints from our mouths:

It’s astonishing really.  We’ll see tomorrow that He showers grace on the grumblers.  For now let’s ask ourselves, are there ways we are misremembering our non-Christian past?  Are there ways we’re glamourising the non-Christian world?  Do we need to get our eyes off the fleshpots and onto Jesus?

Exodus 14:1-31

When introducing people to the cross of Jesus it’s very common to hear this objection:

“Hang on!  If you’re saved from judgement by Jesus’ sacrifice, won’t you just keep on wallowing in sin?  Doesn’t the cross mean that Christians will be complacent about sin and go on indulging in it?”

Actually the opposite is true.  Jesus doesn’t save us for sin, He saves us from sin.  And here’s how.  He doesn’t just die for us, He also rises to new life for us.

Or to put it in Exodus terms.  We don’t just enjoy a Passover, we also experience a Red Sea.  We’re not just sheltered under the blood of the Lamb, we’re also brought out of the land of slavery.

Those who benefited from the sacrificial lamb were also those who left Egypt.

And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.  (Exodus 12:11)

The lamb was not given so that God’s people could enjoy Egypt.  It was given to bring them out.  Any who said ‘Yes’ to the substitutionary sacrifice were also saying ‘No’ to the old life.

And the LORD makes sure they are brought out with a one-way ticket, once and for all.  He leads them by his chosen ruler Moses to the waters of the Red Sea.

It’s important to note that “waters” in the Bible very often represent judgement.  And this particular stretch of water certainly proves to be a ravenous grave for the Egyptians (Exodus 15:12).

But “by a strong east wind” called down by Moses the waters are parted (Exodus 14:21).  This phrase – “strong east wind” – might as well be translated “Mighty Ancient Spirit”.  It calls to mind Genesis 1 where the Spirit hovered over the waters and the Word parted them, making a safe space for man.

So here is the picture: through God’s chosen ruler and by the Ancient Spirit the impossible is made possible – God’s people are led out of slavery through the waters of judgement and into a new life.

The Apostle Paul looks back at this event as a baptism of sorts (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).  The people were baptized into Moses.  The people couldn’t get themselves out of slavery.  They couldn’t get themselves through the deserved judgement and out the other side.  But, by the power of the Spirit, Moses could.  And so they threw their lot in with Moses.  They were united to him and went with him through the waters and into newness of life.

It’s the same with us today.  Just as they were baptized into Moses, we are baptized into Jesus.

And in union with our Spirit-filled Ruler we are not simply Passover people – united to Jesus’ death.  We’re also Red Sea people – united to Jesus’ resurrection.  We don’t glory in the cross while bedding down in sin.  We are brought out from sin into a risen life.  By the Spirit we have followed Jesus out of the darkness and slavery of our spiritual Egypt.

Therefore the Apostle Paul writes this:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  (Romans 6:1-4)

Exodus 12:1-30

John the Baptist was a wild and holy prophet whose whole mission in life was to prepare the way for the LORD Jesus.  And when his big moment came to announce Christ onto the world stage, what did John say?

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

Think of all the ways John could have described Jesus.  “Behold the Son of God”, “Behold the Word of God”, “Behold the Christ of God”, “Behold the great I AM”,

But no.  The foundational identity of Jesus is this: The Lamb of God.

Behold God’s Bleeding Victim!

That’s the most fundamental introduction to Jesus. And if we want to understand why, we need to understand Passover.

Passover is the tenth and final plague on Egypt.  Here is the ultimate judgement of God.  But, as with all God’s judgement, there is a way of salvation.  What is it?

On the 10^th day of the 1^st month, take a lamb into your household. (Exodus 12:3)  It has to be a lamb – if your household can’t afford a lamb, a budgie will not do.  If you’re broke then club together with other families so that you can get a lamb (v4).  Only a lamb will do.

This insistence on a lamb would have put the people in mind of that ancient promise from Genesis 22: 8

God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.

The faithful would have known that this lamb would be playing the part of the Messiah Himself – the Lamb of God atoning for the sins of the world. (See here for more).

The Passover lamb had to be male – it stood in for the firstborn son, so it’s ‘like for like’ (v5).  And it had to be without defect – not some cheap old thing, a precious lamb without spot.

Verse 3 says, “adopt it into family life.”  ‘Flossy’ will become a pet for the next 4 days – one of the family.  But on the 14^th day of the month, at twilight, I’m afraid ‘Flossy’ gets it in the neck.  Then using some hyssop plant as a paintbrush, paint the blood on the outside of your doorframes (v22).

After this, go inside and don’t come out again till morning – you’re only safe as you shelter under the blood of the lamb.  Once inside, roast the lamb with bitter herbs and eat it with unleavened bread (verses 8-11).  On this night you can forget everything your mother told you about table manners: Eat it fast, eat it standing, eat it ready to leave the country because this is the last night you’ll ever be in Egypt.

The lamb given for you to save you would be the lamb given to you to sustain you.  His blood would shield you from judgement.  His flesh would feed you for the journey out of slavery.

Verse 23 – at midnight when the LORD goes through the land, He will pass over every house which shelters under the blood of the lamb.  But for the Egyptians who did not heed the LORD’s warnings, He strikes down the firstborn of every household (v29).

On that night every house had someone dead in it.  Either there was a dead lamb or there was a dead son.  If there was not a dead lamb there would certainly be a dead son.

In this way the Passover lamb was a substitutionary sacrifice.  He died in the place of the firstborn.

What does Passover teach us?

Well let’s imagine three Israelite houses on the night the LORD passes through.

House A is a very religious house.  They love to have Moses over to hear the words of God.  They’re always praying.  They’re always talking about father Abraham.  They’re always doing good deeds around the neighbourhood.  They hear about Passover and on one level they’re disappointed because they’d quite like the LORD to come inside.  They’re sure He’d pass over them once He saw how religious they all were.  Thankfully Moses persuades them out of that suicidal idea and they kill the lamb and apply the blood.

House B is not like House A.  In House B they were going to be in that night anyway because they all have ASBO’s.  They are drunkards, gluttons, liars, benefits cheats and notoriously promiscuous.  But somehow they catch wind of Passover and they figure they had probably better cover themselves.  They’re not sure it’ll do any good because if the LORD pokes His head around the door He’s bound to judge them anyway. But nonetheless, they kill the lamb and apply the blood.

House C is nothing like as good as A and nothing like as bad as B.  But in C everyone is very nervous. They keep calling up house A and saying ‘I’ve killed the lamb, I’ve applied the blood but I’m just not sure.  I mean I don’t really see how the blood of a lamb can make a difference.’  And they spend the night pacing up and down wondering whether the blood will do the trick.

Next morning – which house loses its firstborn son?  A, B or C?

None of them do!

Of course none of them do.  Because it’s got nothing to do with what’s on the inside of the house.  You won’t often hear a Christian say this, but it doesn’t matter what’s on the inside.  It’s what’s on the outside that counts!

It’s not about the LORD inspecting each household to see whether it’s up to scratch.  It’s only about whether the household is sheltering under the blood.  That is the only issue.

And it’s not even about how much faith you have in the blood.  If the blood is applied at all, you’re saved.  Strong faith in the blood and wavering faith in the blood lead to exactly the same outcome.  Because it’s not the faith in the blood that saves.  It’s the blood.

Do we see how Passover teaches us about our Christian lives?  Christ is our Lamb.  And His death on the cross was the true Passover – a plague of judgement that provides salvation for all who shelter under Him.

Therefore our salvation is entirely down to Him.  It’s not about the quality of our living, speaking, acting, praying.  It’s not even about the quality of  our own faith.  It’s only about the blood.  It’s the quality of His death, not the quality of our life.  Our salvation has nothing to do with our performance and everything to do with His performance.

Passover takes our eyes off our sins and off ourselves.  Our salvation is entirely outside ourselves.  It’s all about Jesus our Lamb.

Exodus 10:1-29

Hard´-heart`ed    (~härt`ĕd)

a.

1.

Unsympathetic; inexorable; cruel; pitiless.

The wisdom of Solomon gave us this proverb:

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.  (Proverbs 4:23)

Our lives are governed by our hearts.  What we love determines who we are.

Philosophers might define a human being as a “rational animal”.  Biologists may label us homo sapiens (men of wisdom/knowledge).  But a more biblical description might be homo adorans (men who love).   Our lives issue from our hearts.

These days if we come across an uncaring person we might say “Have a heart!”  But in the Bible the uncaring do have hearts – just hard hearts. And this is a problem.

Because in fact we all have a congenital heart condition.  We are not born with soft hearts.  We do not, by nature, love the things we ought to love – supremely the LORD and our neighbour (Mark 12:28-31).  We are forever doing what we want.  But we can’t just decide to want the right things.  We need to be swept off our feet.  We need a heart change.   And this is precisely what the LORD offers.  He comes by His Spirit to woo us from sin and self and the world.

But here’s the issue for today.  If our hearts are not warmed and softened by the LORD, we are not left in a neutral state.  If the LORD is not softening our hearts, He is hardening them.

This was the archetypal experience of Pharaoh in Exodus.

Throughout the plagues on Egypt Pharaoh’s heart became increasingly hardened.  And that hardening is described variously as ‘The LORD hardening’, ‘Pharaoh hardening’ and simply his heart ‘being hard’.

The LORD will harden his heart (Exodus 4:21)

The LORD hardened his heart (7:13)

Pharaoh’s heart was hardened (7:14)

Pharaoh’s heart was hardened (7:22)

Pharaoh hardened his heart (8:15)

Pharaoh’s heart was hard (8:19)

Pharaoh hardened his heart (8:32)

Pharaoh’s heart was hardened (9:7)

The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh (9:12)

Pharaoh hardened his heart (9:34)

Pharaoh’s heart was hardened (9:35)

The LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart (10:1)

The LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart (10:20)

The LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart (10:27)

The LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart (11:10)

There is an interplay between Pharaoh’s hardening and the LORD’s.  But it is striking that the LORD’s agency is highlighted more than Pharaoh’s.

What’s going on?

Well, just as a resolve can be hardened so can a heart.  Its direction is not changed, only reinforced.  This is the sense of the LORD’s hardening of Pharaoh.  You could even translate it, “The LORD strengthened his heart.”

Pharaoh wanted to reject the LORD and exalt himself.  And in the poetic justice of the LORD, He gives Pharaoh exactly what he wants.  This is the essence of God’s judgement – to “give us over” to our “lusts”, our “affections”, our “minds” (Romans 1:21-28).  It is a mark of our heart-sick condition that “getting what we want” is such a terrible curse.  Yet as Jesus says, all our fallen desires are death-wishes:

“All they that hate me love death.”  (Proverbs 8:36)

We are in a desperate plight when our deepest natural inclinations are hell-bent.

But the LORD Jesus has a solution for us.  It’s not in our hearts, for our hearts are naturally perverse.  It’s not in our minds or our wills, for they are ruled by our fallen hearts.  The solution is outside of ourselves.  A new heart – a soft heart – that is the gift of Jesus by His Spirit:

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  (Ezekiel 36:26)

Whatever Walt Disney tells you – Don’t trust your heart!  The Hero does not lie within. Cry for help.  Trust Jesus and He will transform you from the inside out.

Exodus 9:1-35

If you watch news footage of disasters in the third world you see people who know what to do.  This is a sad time.  The people are sad.  They weep and wail and mourn.  And this is entirely appropriate.

But watch news footage of disasters in the west and what do you see? Not weeping and mourning. There’s one dominant emotion on display: shock.

How could this happen?  How could this happen here?  How could this happen to us?

We feel entitled to good health, financial security, national security, job security – any and every kind of safety.  And when these rights are threatened or removed we are completely de-stabilized.

The original plagues of biblical proportions were meant to humble a sinful people.  To bring them to a godly grief – a repentant frame of mind.  But they ended up hardening a proud people who careered towards further destruction.

The purpose of the plagues was two-fold – to reveal the LORD and to humble Pharaoh.

First – to reveal the LORD

The LORD’s repeated phrase as calamity rains down is:

and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God

Through the plagues, the LORD’s Name will be made known to the Israelites (Exodus 6:7), to Pharaoh (Exodus 7:17), to all the earth (Exodus 9:16), and to the generations to come (Exodus 10:2).

You might ask, “What kind of God is known through plagues?”

Answer: A God who’s trying to get through to a deaf people.

There’s a saying: Most people never look up until they’re flat on their backs.  This being the case, disasters can be a severe mercy.

The original plagues of biblical proportions are just the kinds of “wake-up calls” to rouse a stubborn king and his evil regime.

From blood to frogs to gnats to wild beasts to pestilence to boils to hail to locusts to darkness to the death of the firstborn the plagues become more and more deadly. At each point there is an opportunity for Pharaoh to repent and let the Israelites go.  Yet the madness of the human condition is seen in his hard-hearted rejection of the LORD, plunging himself and his land into ruin.

Second – to humble Pharaoh

For 400 years Egypt had ‘humbled’ Israel (Genesis 15:13).  They had afflicted, enslaved and impoverished them.  Moses, at the head of this afflicted people became the most humble man on earth (Number 12:3).  He is therefore the polar opposite of Pharaoh – one raised up before all the earth (Exodus 9:16) and who “refuses to humble himself before the LORD.” (Exodus 10:3)

This is what the plagues are for – humbling.

In Amos 4 we see plagues falling on Israel and the constant refrain is – “yet have ye not returned unto me.”

“I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt… yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.  (Amos 4:10)

The LORD expects that plagues should humble us, not harden us.

Again in Revelation 15 and 16 we see plagues that fall on the whole earth.  And yet those suffering refuse to turn:

and they repented not to give him glory.  (Revelation 16:9)

The plagues on Egypt are foretastes of the judgement that will befall the whole earth.  One day there will be a cosmic shake-down, a mighty revelation of the LORD Jesus, a humbling of everything lifted up.  That is the intention.  And yet, when calamity strikes, there are many who fail to be humbled.  Instead they are hardened.

And that is an immense tragedy:

“God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” (Prov 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5)

“The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.” (Psalm 147:6)

“For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.” (Psalm 149:4)

“Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:3)

In Exodus, the humbling plagues increase until there’s only one place of shelter: the blood of the lamb.  All the plagues lead to Passover.  And all the judgements of God lead to the cross.

The cross is the ultimate plague.  There the LORD’s name is revealed and the LORD’s people are humbled.  Even the Judge of all is humbled in the darkness, perishing under judgement.

The question is this:  Will we be humbled by the judgements of God or hardened?  Will God’s judgements bring us low?  Will they lead us to the LORD Jesus lifted up?  Or will we lift ourselves up and so be cast down by God?

Exodus 5:10-23

Moses and Aaron deliver the LORD’s message: “Let my people go” But Pharaoh is singularly unimpressed.

“Who is the LORD?”  (Exodus 5:2)

“I’ve heard of Ra, Amun, Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephthys, these gods I know.  Who is this LORD??”

Pharaoh has no time for weak men preaching a weak message about an unknown God.  Baffled and angry, he turns up the heat on the Israelites:

Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.  (Exodus 5:6-7)

This is what happens when you meet earthly power with the weakness of preaching.  In the end the earthly power comes tumbling down, but in the short-term the people of God suffer more.

Yet as we read Exodus 5 about their burdens, this isn’t just a history lesson for us.  This is our story.

Jesus will say, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”  (John 8:34)  We were born into a spiritual Egypt – a slavery to sin and Satan and self.

And here is how it’s described:

Verse 4: “Works” and “burdens” – they weigh us down.
Verse 6: “Taskmasters” – We go from task to task to task and the world is our slave-driver.  God might be a Father, but the world is a taskmaster.  And verse 8 is the beat of its drum:
Verse 8: “ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle”.
Verse 9: “Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein”
Verse 11: “not ought of your work shall be diminished!”

This is the treadmill of ‘the world, the flesh and the devil.’

You’re enslaved to sin, working harder and harder to prove yourself and getting less and less recognition.  Even as you do more and more you are branded as lazy.  Our slavery to sin and Satan is just like this.  We chase after moving targets and never get the verdict we’re looking for.

The world is a place of taskmasters.  But the LORD Jesus is different.  He does not demand our labour but buys our freedom.  And He speaks these words today to those suffering and enslaved:

I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: ⁷ And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.  (Exodus 6:6-8)

Exodus 5:1-9

Moses was 80 and his brother Aaron was 83 when they confronted Pharaoh.  They went as a double-act – Moses putting words in Aaron’s mouth.

Their message has become famous

Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go (Exodus 5:1)

A chapter previously the LORD put it slightly differently:

Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto [Pharaoh], Let my son go, that he may serve me  (Exodus 4:22)

The LORD’s people aren’t simply His favoured nation – they are His children. He takes an intense personal interest in His own people.  The LORD – the Maker of heaven and earth – is not ashamed to be called the tribal deity of His people.  In fact He is their Father.  And all His fatherly concern is aroused for His particular inheritance.

He therefore stands implacably against Pharaoh – the head of the house of the wicked.  Pharaoh is very much a Satan figure in the Exodus and as such he enslaves the people.  Pharaoh, like the devil, is only interested in works.  He only focuses on what you produce, on what you can perform.  Being under his rule is bondage, (as we will see tomorrow).

But the LORD does not want slaves, He wants sons.  Whatever service the LORD wants, it’s the service of children.  And so the LORD is the original Freedom Fighter.  His desire is to emancipate His people.

That is the meaning of the term “Redeemer.”  A redeemer is literally one who pays the ransom price to release the slaves.  When you say “Let my people go” there’s a price tag.  And for the ultimate redemption there was an ultimate price.

Jesus said of Himself:

For even the Son of man came not to be [served], but to [serve], and to give his life a ransom for many.  (Mark 10:45)

This is how committed God is to our freedom.  The Father who said “Let my son (Israel) go,” was willing to sacrifice His eternal Son – Jesus – for us.  And the LORD Jesus was willing to put Himself in our place.  He became the servant of all and gave His own life away to buy our redemption.

So often we’re tempted to think that the world, the flesh or the devil are offering us freedom.  Perhaps this choice or experience or opportunity to prove myself will liberate me.  But actually, without the LORD, these things that promise so much deliver only slavery.  It’s not the LORD who is the kill-joy, it’s Satan.

So may the Spirit open our eyes afresh to a Father and Son who value our freedom more than their own Life!

Exodus 4:1-17

If you accuse me of putting words in your mouth you’re probably complaining that I’m misrepresenting your views.  Perhaps I have elaborated on your statement in a way you never intended.  “Stop putting words in my mouth,” you’ll say.

But the biblical origin of the phrase is a little different. In the Bible, Moses is meant to put words in his brother Aaron’s mouth.  And both Moses and Aaron are very happy about the whole arrangement.  You see Moses doesn’t want a podium or a microphone.  If he’s going to play any part in this whole Exodus caper he wants his brother to be his mouthpiece

This is quite understandable from a human viewpoint.  Moses’ last attempt at leading the Israelites was 40 years ago.  It was a failed coup and he’d spent the last four decades as a stranger in a strange land.  He’s not exactly brimming over with confidence:

Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?  (Exodus 3:11)

Moses is full of self-doubt.  So what does he need?

Well ask anyone today and they’ll tell you: the solution to self-doubt is self-confidence.  That’s the modern cure-all for whatever ails you.  Have more confidence in yourself!

That’s what the world says.  What does the LORD say?

I will be with thee  (Exodus 3:12)

There used to be a saying in tennis that the greatest doubles team imaginable was John McEnroe and anyone.  John McEnroe and anyone could win Wimbledon.

If you happened to be that anyone it would be absurd to spend the whole pre-match press-conference saying “Who am I to win a tennis match? Who am I to win Wimbledon?  I’m not a brilliant tennis player!”

What would John McEnroe say?  Apart from ‘You cannot be serious?’  He’d say, “I will be with you.  Enough about yourself, really it’s irrelevant.”

This is how the LORD seeks to address Moses’ self-doubt.  Not to instil self-confidence, but God-confidence.

Well Moses responds asking about the LORD’s identity.  And the LORD responds pronouncing His name: “I AM THAT I AM.”

Even if Moses’ self-confidence is flagging, His LORD knows who He is.  He’s strong enough to get the job done.

But Moses still has his doubts:

Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice.  (Exodus 4:1)

Well, the LORD gives Moses three miraculous signs to authenticate his ministry.

But even this is not enough.

Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.  (Exodus 4:10)

If we were reasoning with Moses at this point we’d probably head in two directions.  We’d either give up in exasperation or we’d pander to his inverse pride: “Nonsense Moses, you have a lovely speaking voice I’m sure you’ll be just brilliant!”

But the LORD is different.  Again he seeks to take Moses’ eyes off himself:

And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? (Exodus 4:11)

Which is harder, making a mouth or putting words in it?  If the LORD has done the hard thing, don’t we think he can do the easier thing too?

But Moses responds, effectively saying “Send someone else.”  (Exodus 4:13)

And the LORD is angry with him (v14).  Not for some failure of self-confidence, but for his failure of God-confidence.  Moses does not trust the LORD to do in him what He commands of him.

And so we come to our phrase for today.  The LORD brings up Aaron, Moses’ elder brother, and says to Moses:

thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.  And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people:  (Exodus 4:15)

In this way the LORD redeems the situation.  In spite of Moses’ sin, the LORD will use this turn of events to reveal truth about Himself.

In verse 16 the LORD says that Moses will be like God to his brother.  This is because God addresses the people only and always through His Prophet, Jesus Christ (Acts 3:22-23).  God speaks through His Son the way Moses spoke through Aaron.

As Jesus says:

as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.  (John 8:28)

all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.  (John 15:15)

When we hear the words of Jesus, He is not speaking on His own.  The grace and truth that drop from His lips are the words which the Father puts in His mouth.

And for all of us, do you lack confidence in the calling God has placed on your life?  Let this story teach you.  We mustn’t look within – we will only find reasons for doubt there.  Look out to Christ, He is the great I AM.  The Christian does not have self-confidence, we have Christ-confidence which is better by far!

Exodus 3:14-22

Egypt was not a bad land.  In fact it was a very good land.  Genesis 13:10 describes it as “like the garden of the LORD”!  And under the wise and righteous rule of Joseph it had flourished, with the Israelites enjoying “the fat of the land.”

But since Joseph had been forgotten (Exodus 1:8) it was no longer a good land for the Israelites.  Instead, for the seed of Abraham, it was a “house of bondage” and a “furnace of affliction.” (Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 4:20; Isaiah 48:10).

Importantly, the hope for the Israelites was not a coup d’etat in which they seized control of Egypt.  Their hope lay beyond Egypt in a land that was promised to them before there was ever a seed of Abraham. (Genesis 12:7)

For Israel in slavery, home was a place they had never been.  But the description is held out to them again and again.  This promised land “flows with milk and honey.”  It’s a word for “gushing forth abundantly” and the verb is used with this phrase 20 times in the Old Testament.  In that context it only ever to refer to Canaan – the promised land.

Under the curse, Adam was told that the ground would produce thorns and thistles for him (Genesis 3:18).  But by faith, the seed of Abraham awaited a land that would bubble over with luxury goods. There would be no more scrounging for the bare necessities.  There would be nothing mean or plain about the land – it would overflow with fatness and sweetness.

Milk and honey are put together in only one other context in the Bible – when the bride belongs to the bridegroom (Song of Solomon 4:11; 5:1).  That richness of rest and enjoyment is an experience of “milk and honey.”

We all long for this homeland – a future resting place we’ve never yet experienced.  But we won’t get this by moving to Jerusalem.  Not even Abraham found this rest by dwelling in Canaan.  But as the book of Hebrews explains:

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.  (Hebrews 11:9-10)

That small strip of land at the end of the Mediterranean was never the point. It was always a token of a far greater inheritance.  We, along with Abraham, look to “a better country” (Hebrews 11:16).  We look to the whole world set to rights when its true Joseph – King Jesus – stands upon it to rule in wisdom and righteousness.

For now we are sojourners in a land not our own.  But one day soon this earth will be resurrected and renewed, just as Jesus Himself was.  And we will be settled in the land.  Thorns and thistles will give way to milk and honey.