Knowing God #3: Never An Ornamental Extra (Exodus 3:13-4:17)

October 1, 2023 Nate Holdridge

"God is my co-pilot," reads the bumper sticker. But perhaps not. Perhaps God is our Maker who knows we are at our best when we center ourselves more completely upon him. We are made in his image, meant to reflect and enjoy him forever, and he is discontent to be an accessory to our lives. He is not like optional floormats—a nice cosmetic addition if you can afford it. He is not like a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner before a football game, a moment of sentiment on Sundays followed by the real game of life. Nor is he like oil in the engine that makes our journey, wherever we're headed and whatever we're doing, a little smoother.

God is too magnificent, transcendent, and glorious to be an ornamental extra to our lives. In Exodus, he is more like a black hole, pulling in everything he wants into himself. He is more like a raging fire, unable to be ignored. He is more like the vehicle, taking us to his desired destination. He is not the co-pilot, but the captain of our souls and the centerpiece of our lives.

In the passage before us today, Moses interacts with this God. He has seen him the bush that burned but was not consumed. He has heard God's call—he would be the instrument God would use to deliver his people from Pharaoh's oppression. He has received God's promise—they would be set free and worship God on that same mountain. But Moses grew reluctant, and in this passage, he learned more of this God who longs to be at the center of his people.

1. God is inexhaustibly enough (3:13-15).

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. (Exodus 3:13–15, ESV)

Having been that God that would go with him into Egypt, Moses asked God, in a roundabout way, about his name (13). It is challenging to decipher the nature of his question. Had Israel completely forgotten God while in the luxury (and then slavery) of Egypt? Was there a special name or knowledge about God that acted as a password for Moses to seem credible to the Hebrews? Or was Moses playing the asking-for-a-friend card? Was he the one who wanted to know more about this God who spoke with him from the midst of the fire?

Whatever the nature of his question, it is clear that Moses wondered about opposition in Egypt, not from the Egyptians, but from the Hebrews. He worried they wouldn't receive him and wouldn't believe he'd been in contact with God.

To remedy this, he wanted further revelation about God. He wanted to know God's name, which, in biblical times, meant he wanted to know God's nature. Less "What do I call you?" More "What are you like?" The events of Genesis are a distant memory at this point, and Moses is himself eighty years old, having spent forty years shepherding in the wilderness. His knowledge of God is a little rusty, so he asks for a crash course refresher.

God's reply is one of the most discussed and analyzed passages of Scripture, yet it remains one of the most mysterious—and that is probably intentional. He said to Moses, "I am who I am" (14). Then he said, "Say this to (them): 'I am has sent me to you'" (14). But there was more. He said, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you'" (15).

As I said, there has been a ton of discussion about the enigmatic way God responded to Moses, but the question remains: what is God's name? His name is I AM. He explains this first by saying, "I am who I am" and second, "I am the God of the promises I made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (14-15). The first answer is grammatical—I am who I will be. I will be who I am. I am. I am unchangeable. I am outside of time. I am the God of past, present, and future. The second answer is connected to his promises—I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am still with you, fulfilling my ancient promises. All I said I would do to raise up a deliverer who would rescue the world will be done. I am that God.

In the context of this conversation, God is saying more than that he always exists, but that he is committed to being with his people, being whatever they need. Moses had just asked, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (3:10). In a sense, God replies, "It does not matter what you are because I am everything you need." And the Hebrews were struggling. How would they escape? Only with the God who is—with them, for them, and planning out a future and hope for them.

God is not an ornamental extra but is "in every situation the key active ingredient."[^1] One scholar called this the "is-ness" of God—he is what is needed and required in the moment. He is the inexhaustible God—the I AM.[^1]

Against the backdrop of Genesis, this title for God is powerful. Some in Genesis had given God names. Hagar called him El Roi: The-God-Who-Sees (Gen. 16:13). Abraham called him El Shaddai: God-Almighty (Gen. 17:1). Then he called God Yahweh Jireh: The-God-Who-Provides (Gen. 22:14). Genesis speaks of God as Creator God, God Most High, and the Eternal God (Gen. 1:1, 14:18, 21:33).

But now, God says, I am so much more than all those titles. They all point to my truest identity. They were like sides of a grand mountain, but I am the mountain. I AM seeing, almighty, providing, creator, most high, and eternal. I AM what is required for my people.

And when Jesus came along, he was brazen enough to adopt this title for himself, saying, in reference to himself, "Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58). And all throughout John's gospel, he presented himself as what is required for God's people.

I am the bread of life who satisfies the deepest hunger in humanity.
I am the light of the world that exposes every human heart.
I am the door to the sheep pen, so I keep my people and guard them from predators.
I am the good shepherd who knows, defends, feeds, and leads his flock.
I am the living water, the one who can transform the barren wasteland of spiritual lifelessness into a garden of grace.
I am the resurrection and the life, the one who will restore humanity and redeem a decaying world through my cross.
I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except by me.
I am the true vine that brings vitality to all connected to me. Again, what you are not, I am. I am inexhaustibly enough for you.

At this point, we should wonder about what God's inexhaustible "enoughness" should do to us. God said this was his name forever, so this understanding of him is not to be relegated to ancient history (15). When we've been there ten thousand years, and there is no sun or temple because God is our light who dwells in our midst, we will know of him as the Great I AM. We will know of him as inexhaustibly enough. And in this life, when every person we know, every experience we have, and every pleasure we taste is exhaustible, we must remember the inexhaustible God. He is. He is what we need. In a way that nothing in the kingdoms of men can provide, God delivers.

2. God is the author of the great reversal (3:16-22).

16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ 18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” (Exodus 3:16–22, ESV)

Here, God gives Moses the plan. It is an overview of Exodus 5-12, so much so that it could have ended with and that's what happened, because that's what happened. Moses was supposed to go to the elders of Israel and tell them what God had seen, said, and promised (16-17). They would listen to Moses—initially and eventually—so Moses would go to the king of Egypt with a request to go three days' journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord (18). His firm rejection of their request—even just for what sounded like a week off for a religious practice—was evidence of his hard heart. So God promised to stretch out his hand and strike Egypt with wonders—after that, Pharoah would let them go (20). And when he did, the Egyptians would welcome the plunder of their silver, gold, and clothing, perhaps as back pay for the generational slavery and oppression the Hebrews had suffered (22). Through the plagues, all would be reversed. Pharaoh and the Egyptian society would be pushed down, while God and the Hebrews would emerge on top, plunderers of the greatest empire on earth.

It seems we are meant to see the God of the exodus as the God who reverses the natural order of things. That is our God—he is always the God of the great reversal. He takes the worst the world offers and uses it for his purposes. At this point in the story, Israel already had ample examples of this truth, but a shining one in the life of Joseph. Betrayed by his brothers as a teenager, he quietly ascended to the right hand of Pharaoh, becoming one of the most powerful men in the world. Eventually, he and his brothers reconciled. They were reunited, along with their father, Jacob as a family in Egypt.

After their dad’s death, Joseph's brothers wondered if Joseph would exact revenge upon them. The answer? No. He knew something powerful. They had an evil design, but God had a good design. They had a purpose, but so did God. So he assured them:

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20).

But we have a greater revelation than they had that God is the originator of the great reversal. Not only do we know how Exodus ends, but we know what it ultimately pointed towards—the great exodus provided by the cross, the ultimate in the great reversal. Think of it—the enemies had a purpose in the cross, but so did God. Satan had his design, but so did God. “God meant it for good.”

The cross was designed to stop Jesus’ message—the religious leaders wanted to silence Jesus—but God meant it as the message (1 Corinthians 1:23).
The cross was designed to destroy a movement—the Romans and religious leaders wanted to put a stop to the wild popularity of Jesus—but God meant it to create a movement (Acts 4:20).
The cross was designed to bring shame—the Romans used the cross as a way to embarrass the victim—but God meant it to bring billions of us out of shame and into glory (Hebrews 12:2).
The cross was designed for death—the ultimate goal of the cross was the death of its victim—but God meant it for life (Hebrews 2:10).
The cross was designed to keep Christ’s message from human ears, but God meant it to put the message in our hearts—the cross made a way for the message to get past our ears and into our hearts, just as prophets like Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Joel had predicted (Hebrews 8:10).

Because of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, a great reversal has occurred, is occurring, and will occur. And one day, we will discover, like the Pevensie children in The Chronicles of Narnia that all our life and all our adventures in this world were only the cover and title page and that God has brought us into his great story that goes on forever and ever. The great reversal will come.

3. God is the ultimate power (4:1-9).

1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” (Exodus 4:1–9, ESV)

So Moses continued his campaign to get out of his mission. If he'd started out with true humility, now he seems to drift to cowardice and disrespect. Grasping at straws, he tells God that the Hebrews will not believe him or listen to him and will deny that God had appeared to him (1). We are tempted to lose patience with Moses, but God does not, and he answers Moses with three signs (9).

Signs are meant to point to larger truths.

The first sign God gave Moses was that his staff would turn into a serpent. Pharaoh identified with serpents—think of the common cobra-like headdress of Egyptian Pharaohs—so the first sign might have said something about God's power over Pharaoh.
The second sign God gave Moses was that his hand turned leprous and was then healed after putting it inside his cloak. Moses ran away when his staff turned into a snake, but he couldn't run from his own leprous hand. This sign might have been God's way of declaring power over human health.
The final sign God gave Moses was that he would turn the Nile River into blood. It was the one sign Moses could not practice—he was far from the Nile—but it stood as a clear sign of God's judgment. Pharaoh had turned the Nile into a river of blood when he commanded Hebrew boys to be thrown into it. And now God is declaring his judgment on the life source of Egypt. They thrived and prospered because of the nutrients and water the Nile brought to their otherwise arid landscape and now God would judge it.

God is presented here as the ultimate authority over world powers like Pharaoh, bodily health, and life and death itself. And since God is more powerful than any earthly power, all worldly systems, and even sickness and death, we should worship, respect, and honor him, but we should also look to him for the exodus from all these painful entrapments.

The Egyptians had attributed their success and prosperity to the wrong things. Now God will cripple them in a way that should have driven them (and every other nation watching these cataclysms) to him. And perhaps these introductory signs should have prepped them to turn to the living God, who had real authority over the elements they thought other gods had authority over.

Here, Moses offered his final objections to God's calling. First, he said his speaking ability was not up to the task—they say a fear of public speaking is one of our most common fears. But Moses put together quite an eloquent speech to declare his inability to eloquently speak (10).

So God reminded him that he is the ultimate power by reminding Moses that he made everything, including man's mouth and its ability to speak (11). He promised Moses that he would empower him.

But that's when Moses finally came out with it—he didn't want to go. "Oh, My Lord, please send someone else" (13). Finally, after this fifth objection, God was angry with Moses (13). You'd have been angry with Moses too—maybe mixed with some unholy feelings, but God's anger was righteous. Moses was no longer speaking out of fear but out of disobedience, and God wasn't down. Too much was at stake—Israel's survival, the witness of Israel to the nations, and the Israelite Messiah who would save the world were all hanging in the balance. Moses had to go. Of course, God was angry.

So God told Moses that his older brother Aaron would be his mouthpiece (14). Just as prophets spoke for God, so Aaron would speak for Moses, and God would be with both of them (15-16).

God is also seen as the ultimate power in this movement because he tells Moses he can speak just fine through a bumbler or stutterer and will speak through both Moses and Aaron, but also because he's already prepared himself for Moses' pushback—"Behold," God said, "Aaron is coming out to meet you" (14). Before Moses resisted, Aaron was on the way! God had already made provision for Moses' resistance. This shows God is powerful enough not to institute Plan B but to author a new Plan A. God is not the author of Plan B; he is the continual author of Plan A, because he is the ultimate power.

What about you? Can you trust God to use you? Can you trust him to work out his perpetual Plan A?

Conclusion

Once Israel came out of Egypt, God gave them the instructions for building his dwelling place. He even prescribed its location—all the tribes were supposed to camp surrounding the Tabernacle. Three tribes were to camp to the north, with three more on the south, east, and west—twelve in all. This meant that God was always located at the center of his people.

In our passage today, God appears to Moses as discontent to be thought of as an ornamental extra. He is meant to be at the center of his people, the focus of our lives. He is all that we are not. He is altogether sufficient—our "ever-present and ever-present interventionist for good."[^1] He is inexhaustibly enough; originates the great reversal humanity needs; is the ultimate power of powers, even the power of death; and is the sovereign Lord who works out his plans—and he longs to be at the center of our lives.

Let's adore him as he is—never as an ornamental extra, but the one on whom we center ourselves, the foundation upon which we build, the God whom we worship!

[^1]: Motyer, Alec. The Message of Exodus: The Days of Our Pilgrimage. Edited by Alec Motyer and Derek Tidball. The Bible Speaks Today. Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2005.

Study Questions

Head:

Why do you think Moses was so reluctant to follow God's call, even after God demonstrated His power? In his conversation with God, what fears or insecurities did Moses reveal?
How did God display His patience and grace when responding to Moses' objections? What does this teach us about God's character?

Heart:

When have you been hesitant to obey God's leading in your life? What were the reasons or fears behind your resistance?
How does this passage increase your awe and worship of God, considering his infinite power and sufficiency? What emotions does it stir up in you?

Hands:

What are some areas of your life where you need to allow God to be at the center rather than an "ornamental extra"? What would that look like practically? Is there anything that needs to change in your schedule or habits?
How can you remind yourself daily of God's inexhaustible sufficiency amidst life's challenges? What spiritual disciplines or practices would help with this?

Resources

Alec Motyer, The Message of Exodus: The Days of Our Pilgrimage.

Christopher J. H. Wright, Exodus, ed. Tremper Longman III, The Story of God Bible Commentary.

John D. Hannah, “Exodus,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures.

John Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary.

Kenneth L. Barker and John R. Kohlenberger III, Expositor’s Bible Commentary.

Kevin D. Zuber, “Exodus,” in The Moody Bible Commentary.

Michael L. Morales and Benjamin L. Gladd, Exodus Old and New – A Biblical Theology of Redemption.

T. Desmond Alexander, “Exodus,” New Bible Commentary.