Sermon #6 from "Take Off Your Sandals" series on Exodus

What is God really like?

Based on Exodus 3:11-22

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[b] will worship God on this mountain.”

13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[d] 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,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation.

16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

18 “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.

21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Discussion Questions

1. What does God command Moses to do, in Exodus 3:10?
2. How does Moses respond in Exodus 3:11?
3. "Every Christian has three callings: the call to salvation, the call to sanctification, and the call to service." Can you share an example of how God has called you in one of these three ways?
4. Based on Moses' response to God ("Who am I?"), he feels inadequate. Why might Moses feel inadequate for the task?
5. Can you describe a time or a situation where you felt inadequate?
6. What does God promises Moses in Exodus 3:12?
7. What light does 2 Corinthians 12:9 shed on our inadequacy?
8. What are some things we learn about the divine name in Exodus 3:13-15?
9. Philip Ryken says that the word "I am" reveals that God is unsearchable, eternal, and self-sufficient. How can this reassure Moses? How can this reassure us?
10. What do these verses reveal about Jesus Christ: John 8:58, Hebrews 13:8?
11. Where do you need for God to be sufficient in your life today?