These two chapters in the Holy Bible present a wonderful conversation between God and Moses. This conversation was written first hand by Moses himself and has great values. Let us meditate these chapters in detail.
1. Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals.
Taking sandals off was customary in those times and represented reverence. This can be compared to men tying their towels on their tummy in south India when they pose in front of land lords some decades back.
Before even God introduces Himself or any other dialog, God first wants us to be in reverence in his presence. This can be compared with “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Pro 1:7).
The first step even before knowing God or stepping into anything spiritual is reverence. Without that quality nothing is worthy in God’s presence. This is a commandment which should be taken fearfully.
2. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
This sentence gives us a clear hint that Moses was brought up as an Egyptian. We can see that when Zipporah identifies him in Chapter 2. But, God uses him to lead and deliver his people out of Egypt. This is a great encouragement for us.
God does not say “I am your God” here. Unless we accept Him, he does not claim to be ours or claim us to be His. This is one important step we should take in Christendom. By being brought up as a Christian never implies we are one.
In Cp.2:24, we see that God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the reason why God mentions this to Moses and wants Moses to repeat this to the Israelites multiple times. When we are in trouble or even when lost totally and have forgotten the Almighty, He remembers and helps us recollect his blessings and the covenant he made with us. But, God does not save unless we accept and worship Him. He does his job of helping us remember how great He is.
3. I have come down
God created the universe, the earth and everything in and out of it with mere words. But, one thing that God does not do is manipulate men’s minds. Our mental qualities are not controlled by God. This is the reason why God personally comes down to earth and fights in a very ethical way. He wants the Israelites to trust Him and the Egyptians to take the decision of sending Israelites out of Egypt. So, He personally comes down and acts so that His people are delivered.
This should be compared to Jesus’ arrival. When we were afflicted in sin, God came down as Jesus for our deliverance.
We do not have any event in the bible that says “God made somebody obey or love Him”. It is a choice given to us. Our requirement is to Love him (The greatest commandment).
Also, we should understand the kind of trouble God goes through in this process. To win our acceptance, He keeps trying again and again. The whole dialog between God and Moses will clearly demonstrate this.
4. I will be with you
Moses who was brought up as a prince should have great talents. But, he was scared on the situation by telling God that “Who am I? What qualities are you seeing in me to give this great responsibility”? God does not comfort Moses here by telling that “Hey, do not undervalue yourself. I have given you enough training” etc. God answers this with “I will be with you”.
This is the only quality that is required for achievement. Whatever goodness and talents may have, or however discouraged we are, the event of God being with us will enable us fight against mighty kings and dictators.
In the later verses we can see that God says “I will bring you out”, “I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt”, “I will give you favour in the sight of the Egyptians” etc.
This is not just for Moses. We all have this wonderful opportunity of having the Holy Spirit inside us. This comfort is a lot more than that of Moses. God was with him. The Holy Spirit lives inside us knowing our every move and leading us in every situation however small and delicate it is.
5. I AM WHAT I AM
The Eternal Name of our Father God. God says “I AM there for you. I AM responsible.” I am present and active. You should not worry because I AM there.
There is nothing else that can be compared with what I AM.
This also points to the truth that I will be what I AM. Do not expect me to compromise on anything. You may be in different generations or families or where ever. The Father does not change. We are the citizens of His kingdom and we are expected to change and move towards gaining his full Acceptance.
The Christian way is really interesting. First God works to gain our acceptance. This is Grace. After this we keep working to gain His acceptance. This is Faith.
This pattern will be seen in our lives. The miracles God does are not for our comfort and happiness alone. The purpose of miracles is to build our faith towards Him. As we grow up in spirit, we are expected to handle situations ourselves with God’s strength.
6. You shall be to him as God.
When God gives us responsibilities, delegation is not right. God ensured Aaron gets his responsibility as the high priest in due time. But, this responsibility as the spokesman is not what God desired.
Giving away responsibilities or sharing them is not what God is happy about. The responsibilities are individual and God does not evaluate us as a group. But, He expects us to work as a group with fellowship and love towards each other. We need to ensure that individual tasks are completed in a group environment. The evaluation is done individually. In a church or anywhere else... delegation is God’s work. Let us not give away our responsibilities.
7. God met Him and sought to kill Him.
When God has called us for a higher calling, it is very important for us to analyse deeply for what disqualifications we have. Negligence in this can be fatal. Even a single act of disobedience can cause this. We may have excuses like “God, I was bought up as an Egyptian and now settled in Midian for 40 years”. Disobedience in spite of knowledge is not at all tolerated by God.
God was merciful and gave Moses time till he started towards Egypt. But, the real action started when Moses meets Aaron and starts testifying. Before the start of God’s work, it is important for us to double check any disobedience we are displaying deliberately.
Conclusion
These two chapters show how God comes down to our small and stupid un-belief and keeps encouraging us and does whatever He should to make us believe. It would have been great if we start believing as soon as God calls us. But, we keep questioning him and display our distrust. God is patient and kind.
This meditation is not a complete study of the two chapters. These are just a few thoughts. We have lots to learn from these chapters. Let’s keep on meditating.
1. Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals.
Taking sandals off was customary in those times and represented reverence. This can be compared to men tying their towels on their tummy in south India when they pose in front of land lords some decades back.
Before even God introduces Himself or any other dialog, God first wants us to be in reverence in his presence. This can be compared with “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Pro 1:7).
The first step even before knowing God or stepping into anything spiritual is reverence. Without that quality nothing is worthy in God’s presence. This is a commandment which should be taken fearfully.
2. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
This sentence gives us a clear hint that Moses was brought up as an Egyptian. We can see that when Zipporah identifies him in Chapter 2. But, God uses him to lead and deliver his people out of Egypt. This is a great encouragement for us.
God does not say “I am your God” here. Unless we accept Him, he does not claim to be ours or claim us to be His. This is one important step we should take in Christendom. By being brought up as a Christian never implies we are one.
In Cp.2:24, we see that God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the reason why God mentions this to Moses and wants Moses to repeat this to the Israelites multiple times. When we are in trouble or even when lost totally and have forgotten the Almighty, He remembers and helps us recollect his blessings and the covenant he made with us. But, God does not save unless we accept and worship Him. He does his job of helping us remember how great He is.
3. I have come down
God created the universe, the earth and everything in and out of it with mere words. But, one thing that God does not do is manipulate men’s minds. Our mental qualities are not controlled by God. This is the reason why God personally comes down to earth and fights in a very ethical way. He wants the Israelites to trust Him and the Egyptians to take the decision of sending Israelites out of Egypt. So, He personally comes down and acts so that His people are delivered.
This should be compared to Jesus’ arrival. When we were afflicted in sin, God came down as Jesus for our deliverance.
We do not have any event in the bible that says “God made somebody obey or love Him”. It is a choice given to us. Our requirement is to Love him (The greatest commandment).
Also, we should understand the kind of trouble God goes through in this process. To win our acceptance, He keeps trying again and again. The whole dialog between God and Moses will clearly demonstrate this.
4. I will be with you
Moses who was brought up as a prince should have great talents. But, he was scared on the situation by telling God that “Who am I? What qualities are you seeing in me to give this great responsibility”? God does not comfort Moses here by telling that “Hey, do not undervalue yourself. I have given you enough training” etc. God answers this with “I will be with you”.
This is the only quality that is required for achievement. Whatever goodness and talents may have, or however discouraged we are, the event of God being with us will enable us fight against mighty kings and dictators.
In the later verses we can see that God says “I will bring you out”, “I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt”, “I will give you favour in the sight of the Egyptians” etc.
This is not just for Moses. We all have this wonderful opportunity of having the Holy Spirit inside us. This comfort is a lot more than that of Moses. God was with him. The Holy Spirit lives inside us knowing our every move and leading us in every situation however small and delicate it is.
5. I AM WHAT I AM
The Eternal Name of our Father God. God says “I AM there for you. I AM responsible.” I am present and active. You should not worry because I AM there.
There is nothing else that can be compared with what I AM.
This also points to the truth that I will be what I AM. Do not expect me to compromise on anything. You may be in different generations or families or where ever. The Father does not change. We are the citizens of His kingdom and we are expected to change and move towards gaining his full Acceptance.
The Christian way is really interesting. First God works to gain our acceptance. This is Grace. After this we keep working to gain His acceptance. This is Faith.
This pattern will be seen in our lives. The miracles God does are not for our comfort and happiness alone. The purpose of miracles is to build our faith towards Him. As we grow up in spirit, we are expected to handle situations ourselves with God’s strength.
6. You shall be to him as God.
When God gives us responsibilities, delegation is not right. God ensured Aaron gets his responsibility as the high priest in due time. But, this responsibility as the spokesman is not what God desired.
Giving away responsibilities or sharing them is not what God is happy about. The responsibilities are individual and God does not evaluate us as a group. But, He expects us to work as a group with fellowship and love towards each other. We need to ensure that individual tasks are completed in a group environment. The evaluation is done individually. In a church or anywhere else... delegation is God’s work. Let us not give away our responsibilities.
7. God met Him and sought to kill Him.
When God has called us for a higher calling, it is very important for us to analyse deeply for what disqualifications we have. Negligence in this can be fatal. Even a single act of disobedience can cause this. We may have excuses like “God, I was bought up as an Egyptian and now settled in Midian for 40 years”. Disobedience in spite of knowledge is not at all tolerated by God.
God was merciful and gave Moses time till he started towards Egypt. But, the real action started when Moses meets Aaron and starts testifying. Before the start of God’s work, it is important for us to double check any disobedience we are displaying deliberately.
Conclusion
These two chapters show how God comes down to our small and stupid un-belief and keeps encouraging us and does whatever He should to make us believe. It would have been great if we start believing as soon as God calls us. But, we keep questioning him and display our distrust. God is patient and kind.
This meditation is not a complete study of the two chapters. These are just a few thoughts. We have lots to learn from these chapters. Let’s keep on meditating.
