Moses - Birth of Faith (Exodus 3:1-12)

Every believer’s faith has a beginning. Once this faith begins it continues to glorification, for the just shall live by faith. He begins in faith, he continues in faith and he ends in faith. Faith is of utmost importance in every believer’s life, for without faith God says it is impossible for anyone to please Him (cf. Hebrews 11:6). Without faith a sinner cannot please God because he refuses to believe that Jesus Christ died for his sins and rose from the dead for his justification. The sinner will die in sin and find himself spending eternity in hell. In the case of a believer, he cannot please God if he does not live his Christian life by faith. The believer will have wasted his life and borne a bad testimony for Christ and will have the major portion of his life on earth characterised by God as wood, hay and stubble. His life with Christ after salvation could have been lived for Christ and God’s glory but it was wasted in the pursuit of carnality and will be destroyed when it is tested by the fire of truth and holiness.  He will arrive home in glory with little to show in terms of his faithfulness before God because he did not live by faith. 

God desires all His children to be found faithful at the end of their earthly sojourn. When faith begins it must continue. This was Moses’ experience when God called him to bring Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land. Moses was already a child of God i.e. he possessed faith in Christ before the incident of the burning bush (cf. Exodus 3:1-12). Moses’ birth of faith is with reference to the exercise of his faith in his service and calling. 

1. An Appropriate Birth (vs. 1-3) – The appropriate birth was intended to strengthen Moses’ faith throughout the entire journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Moses did not know it yet but the LORD knew. That is all that matters. This manner of calling into the ministry was for Moses. Different servants of God are called differently according to the nature of their ministry. Spontaneous combustion was a common sight in the wilderness, especially during the dry summer heat. Bushes burned all the time as Moses tended to his father-in-law’s sheep in the past 40 years. But this time the bush that burned was not consumed by the fire. It was a most unusual sight that Moses had never seen before. He needed to remember his call for the rest of his long life (Moses was 80 years old here and died at 120). Moses would realize that bringing Israel out of Egypt was the easy part. Bringing Israel out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land was the hard part. There was no end of murmuring and complaining from the 2 million plus Israelites. Thousands would die in the wilderness because of unbelief. There would be rebellion against his eldership by his older brother and sister. There would be an open challenge to the Aaronic priesthood. Moses needed to remain faithful. His life of faith and trust in the Lord was tested to its limits. Whenever he was discouraged, he would be reminded of his high calling through the numerous burning bushes during the 40 years of wilderness wandering. What is your “burning bush incident” that reminds you to keep on serving to the end?

2. A Holy Birth (vs. 4-6) – When God called Moses, Moses replied by saying, “Here am I.” This is like a man placing his whole life before God for God to use as God pleases. Moses did exactly that. God revealed to Moses that the birth of his ministry was one of holiness. He told Moses to take off his shoes from off his feet as he approached the burning bush. The Lord told him that the ground he was approaching was holy ground. The shoes are in constant contact with the ground everywhere we walk. The shoes keep us clean from the dirt and filth of the earth. Moses as a born again child of God was holy and “clean.” His shoes were not clean, spiritually speaking, because of its contact with the world. This symbolic gesture from the Lord taught Moses the importance of approaching God only in holiness. The ministry of every child of God can be holy and ought to be holy because he is holy in Christ. The means and the ends of all that he does must be holy, i.e. according to Scriptures. The motive is the love of Christ. The service is the best he can give and be. When the Lord introduced Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He wanted Moses to know that what he was called by the Lord to do was a continuation of what the Lord had begun in the lives of Moses’ forefathers. Every servant of God must know this too. The standard of holiness that the Lord demanded from His past servants is the same today and forever. “Be ye holy as I am holy” was given by God to both Israel and the church (cf. Leviticus 11:44-45; 1 Peter 1:15-16). This same continuity in holiness is required of all of us today. 

3. A Spiritual Birth (vs. 7-12)– The beginning of every believer’s ministry is spiritual. It is never carnal. The Lord said that He had seen the afflictions of Israel and their cry had been heard. It was time to deliver them out of bondage and bring them into the Promised Land. This was not a simple migration of any Gentile nation. This was a spiritual exercise to give birth to a spiritual nation through which the Messiah would be born in the distant future. Without this nation the plan of God to save mankind would be thwarted. Israel must leave Egypt and enter the Promised Land at all costs! The salvation of the world depended on what God would do in Moses. Moses had to realize this. Moses lacked courage as he was afraid of Pharaoh. His faith was real but weak. The Lord needed to strengthen his faith before Israel left Egypt. The Lord told Moses that He would be with him (cf. v12a). This was the assurance that Moses needed. One day Moses would arrive at this mountain where he was right now (i.e. Horeb or Sinai). This happened a few weeks after Israel left Egypt. Moses was definitely assured that the Lord was with him as the Lord kept His holy Word. The Lord showed Moses that He was with him through the Ten Plagues. At the end of the ten plagues, Moses’ faith had grown sufficiently to bring Israel into the wilderness and on to the Promised Land. 

Conclusion – The salvation of a sinner transforms him into a child of God instantaneously. He can enter heaven immediately. But if the Lord leaves him on earth, it is because He wants him to serve. All of God’s servants must serve in faith. From the time he is called to the end of his life, he needs to serve faithfully. This is the way pleasing to God. Are you serving God faithfully?

Yours faithfully in the Saviour's Service,
Rev (Dr) Quek Suan Yew, Pastor