Encounter with God (Exodus 3:1-12)

by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

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Moses lived to 120 years old. In the Bible, the years of Moses’ life are divided into three stages of 40 years each. The first 40 years is the `royal foundation’ years. Moses received the best education in the palace of Egypt. The Bible said he was mighty in speech and in deeds. The 2nd 40 years was his `desert preparation.’ In these 40 years in the wilderness, Moses lived as a shepherd, tending sheep and goats. The 3rd 40 years was his `desert leadership’ years. Moses became the leader of 2 million Israelites. He led them out of Egypt to Canaan.

When we talk about Moses, we immediately think of a great spiritual leader, a man who stood by the Red Sea holding up his staff and parted the waters, a man who stood before God 40 days, a man who spoke to God face to face and whose face became radiant from his meeting with God. Moses was indeed a great man. But at the end of the first 40 years of his life, he was but a murderer, a fugitive pursued by Pharaoh who escaped into the wilderness. At the end of his 2nd 40 years, Moses was but a shepherd in the wilderness. He was an old man waiting for his time. He said, “The length of our days is seventy years or eighty, if we have the strength.” He was still strong at 80, but he was an old man waiting for his end; nobody thought that by the end of his 3rd 40 years, Moses would become the hero of 2 million Israelites. What happened during Moses’ 3rd 40 years, what happened to this old man in his last 40 years?


During Moses’ last 40 years, he had three encounters with God. These three encounters transformed Moses’ life. The first encounter was in Exodus 3 which we call the vision of the burning bush. The second encounter was when he received the laws and commandments of God. The 3rd encounter is recorded in Exodus 32, when Moses prayed for the Israelites on the mountain. These three encounters all changed Moses’ life. When we encounter God, our lives will also be transformed. Our God is a God who transforms lives. When we encounter Him, our lives will definitely experience change. Today, let us reflect on Moses’ first encounter with God, the amazing transformation of his life.

I. Moses Realized His Position in God’s Plan 5-10

Verses1- 4: The Miracle of the Burning Bush. In the desert, trees and plants can easily burn up because the sun is very hot. It is a usual thing for a bush to burn up in the desert. The amazing thing about Moses’ experience is that the bush did not burn up. The Lord wanted to let Moses know through this miracle that the Israelites will not be destroyed by their suffering, because the Lord will preserve them. I will not discuss this miracle with you in detail, instead, I want you to focus on verses 5 to 9. What are these 5 verses saying? The Lord told Moses his plan for the Israelites. John 5:17 says “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” From eternity to eternity, God is at work, but he never carelessly does anything, he has a plan, he is a God who makes preparations. The Lord told Moses that he had seen the suffering of the Israelites, he had heard their cries, and he will come down and deliver them, he will lead them out of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites�”a land flowing with milk and honey. The Lord clearly knew what he was doing, but most importantly, in verse 10, He said, “So now, go I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” The phrase `so now’ is very important. When Moses was told of God’s plan, the Lord went on to say “so now…you”. The Lord wanted to let Moses know where he fitted in God’s plan.

A healthy life must seek to satisfy three important and basic questions: first, the meaning or purpose of life, second is one’s choice of environment and third is healthy interpersonal relationships. The first question is a basic question. You must know your purpose in life. Many people live without knowing their purpose in life. There is a story of a man who asked another man striking rocks, “Why are you working so hard striking the rocks?” The second man answered, “To earn money.” When asked why he wanted to earn money, he replied, “So I can buy meat to eat.” Again, asked why he wanted to buy meat to eat, he answered, “So I can have a healthy body. I need a healthy body to be able to strike rocks.” This story may sound funny but isn’t that a portrait of many people and their lives?

No matter how long you have been going to church, how many messages you have heard, the most important thing is whether you have a part in God’s eternal plan? If you have heard tons of messages but you have never acted upon them nor accepted them, all of those would be useless. I have shared this testimony before: when I first arrived in the Philippines, I ate almost anything, except for balut. To me, balut seemed a frightening delicacy to eat, until one time when some sisters bought balut for me to eat. I said I don’t want to eat because it is not pleasant-looking. Then a power shortage occurred. Some sisters said, “Now there is a brownout, you cannot see it, it cannot see you, eat it now!” So, I tried it. When I did, oh how delicious it tasted! Now, you don’t need to force me to eat balut. Isn’t it like that with our lives, we have heard many messages about Jesus and the many benefits of believing in Jesus, but if we don’t make the move, our life will not experience any change. When you receive it, like Moses, you will have an abundant life. How about those who are already believers in Christ, when you come to church, do you know the plans of the church, the vision of the church? Let me ask you – “So…you, where are you?” In the church’s vision, in the church’s plan, do you know where you fit in? The Church has five main purposes – mission, worship, fellowship, discipleship, and ministry, in which one do you belong? Where can you offer yourself? When Moses came to know God’s plan, he found out where he fitted in God’s plan – God wants me to go see Pharaoh, this was Moses’ place in God’s plan.

If you know Chinese chess, you know that there are different positions for the chess pieces. There is the soldier, the horse, the cannon, the elephant, the chariot, and the commander in chief. The soldier plays the role of a soldier, the chariot is the chariot, every chess piece has its own position and function. Many people do not want to play any role except that of a commander in chief. May the Lord help us understand that it is not important what we do, what is important is that we are all part of God’s eternal plans. I remember when my son was in kindergarten. One day he brought home a memo saying he had to buy a costume and tickets as he was going to have a part in the school play. Of course, in support of my son, I was willing to shell out the cost. On the day of the play, the whole family went to watch him. As the program began, I took my camera and started to take pictures. But I couldn’t find my son, so I asked my wife, `Where is Isaac?’ She also couldn’t see him, so we searched the whole stage. Suddenly, we saw him. It turned out that his role was that of a Roman soldier who stood as a guard and did not have to move at all. From beginning till the end of the play, he stood there unmoving and his face was even covered by his hat. That time, I was not very pleased, but later on I thought to myself, `That is alright for at least he had a part.’ Isn’t it the same in God’s family?

The Moses 40 years ago was not without his plans, he had a great plan. He was willing to give up his position in the palace in Egypt, he was willing to give up the pleasures and comfort of the palace, the glory and wealth of the world to deliver his people from slavery. This was a greater cause than the emancipation of slaves by President Lincoln of the USA, this was more difficult that Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” in 1963. Moses not only had a dream and a goal, he took action. When he saw his fellow Israelite oppressed by an Egyptian, he couldn’t bear it and killed the man. In Moses’ heart, he was waiting for the people to applaud him and say: `You are so great.’ But he was rejected by his own people, he was told in Exodus 2:14 “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Why? Because Moses, 40 years before, wanted to be the protagonist in delivering the Israelites, he wanted to be the savior of the Israelites. God was simply a supporting character in Moses’ plan – when Moses needed God, he will call on God to help him, but the lead player was Moses, not God. God did not agree. God led him into the wilderness forty years. After 40 years, God made Moses realize `I, am the lead player in salvation, not you. I will lead the Israelites out of Egypt into Canaan, not you. Moses, you are but one of my chess pieces, not the lead player, I am the lead player.’ When Moses met the Lord, Moses realized God’s plans, but most importantly, he realized his place in God’s plan.

II. Moses Came to Know Himself 11-12

Verse 11 is Moses’ question while verse 12 is God’s answer. Moses told the Lord, “Who am I?” The Lord did not say, “You are Moses.” The Lord instead answered him, “I will be with you.” It seemed as if the Lord did not answer Moses’ question. But in reality, the Lord did answer his question. The Lord was saying to Moses, “Who you are is totally unimportant, who I am is what’s most important. Not that you are able to bring the Israelites out, but you will able to do so only because I am with you.” In Exodus 4:2, the Lord asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” Moses replied, “A staff.” God asked Moses to throw the staff onto the ground, the staff then became a snake. Later, the Lord used ten plagues to deal with the Egyptians. In the ten plagues, aside from the plague on the firstborn, all the other nine plagues had to do with the staff. The Lord told Moses to throw the staff into the water and the water turned into blood, to strike the dust and they became gnats; the Lord commanded Moses to lift up the staff, and frogs, locusts, hail, darkness came upon Egypt.

What do these tell us? The staff in Moses’ hand represents his profession, it represents him. Moses was a shepherd for 40 years. The staff in his hand represented his profession. Just like, when we see a stethoscope, we know the person is a doctor, when we see a pastor’s robe, we know the man is a pastor. The tool represents the man’s profession. The staff in Moses’ hand represents a shepherd, an insignificant character. When Moses put the staff in God’s hand, Moses became God’s man. He no longer remained an insignificant person. In God’s kingdom, he became an important character, all because he placed his life in God’s hand. How does one submit one’s life into God’s hand? By faith. We submit our lives to God by faith. Hebrews 11:24-27 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” Moses submitted himself to God by faith. We see in these four verses what true faith is.

1. True Faith Results in Action

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. By faith, he chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. By faith, he left Egypt. True faith results in action. The Book of James says, “Faith without deeds is dead.” We must submit our lives to God, by faith. Sometimes we think too much and lose one precious opportunity after another. We say we believe but we do not take any action.

2. True Faith Results in Choices

Moses, by faith, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. By faith, Moses, chose to be mistreated along with the people of God, forsaking life in the palace and choosing the life of a slave. Moses, by faith, refused to enjoy the pleasures of sin and forsook the treasures of Egypt. A man with true faith will make choices. The choices we make demonstrate what we value. This is true in our marriages, our families, and in our spiritual services. What do you value? In choosing your life partner, you show your values – wealthy, beautiful, handsome, talented, spiritual or a person of character – all these show what you value. Moses, by faith, made a choice. He surrendered the staff in his hand to God’s use and it became God’s staff. Moses became the man of God, Moses. True faith will make choices. In your heart, you may believe in God, you may believe Jesus is your Savior, but have you taken action, are you willing to submit yourself into His hands?