Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Exodus 3:6-15
He Reveals Himself as Yahweh, the God of their Fathers With the Promise of Deliverance (Exodus 3:6).
a Yahweh declares that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 3:6 a).
b Moses hides his face because he is afraid to look on God (Exodus 3:6 b).
c Yahweh declares that He has seen the deep affliction of His people and because of it has come down to deliver them (Exodus 3:7).
d He will bring them into a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8).
e He has heard their cry and has seen the oppression and will send Moses to Pharaoh to deliver them (Exodus 3:9).
e Moses defers and rejects the idea that he is capable of being a deliverer (Exodus 3:11).
d God says that He will be with him and gives as a token of his sure success that he will worship God on this mountain (Exodus 3:12).
c Moses explains that the people will want to know the nature of the God Who has made these promises (Exodus 3:13).
b Yahweh replies that His name reveals that He is the One Who acts (Exodus 3:14).
a Yahweh declares that it is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Who is sending him to them (Exodus 3:15).
The parallels here are striking. In ‘a' and in the parallel God is declared to be the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, In ‘b' Moses hides his face because of his fear of God and in the parallel God reveals the amazing wonder of Who He really is. In ‘c' He declares Himself the Deliverer and in the parallel Moses explains that they will want to know His credentials. In ‘d' He declares that He will bring them into a good land (elsewhere His mountain - Exodus 15:17) and in the parallel the sign is that they will serve Him on His mountain here. In ‘e' He appoints Moses as the deliverer and in the parallel Moses professes his inability and unworthiness.
‘Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look on God.'
Up to this point Moses was very uncertain as to who it was who was speaking to him from the bush. But the voice now revealed Himself as the God of his fathers (‘father' is a compound singular). And Moses hid his face in awe and fear. The sense of terror increased. He dared not look at God face to face for he knew that no man could see this God and live (Exodus 33:20 compare 1 Kings 19:13; Isaiah 6:2). Special men may have partial experiences of God in His hiddenness (Genesis 32:30; Exodus 33:22; Deuteronomy 5:24; Judges 6:22) but not in His revealed glory. And he was afraid.
Moses was clearly expected to know about the patriarchs and their special covenant relationship with God. His mother would have educated him in the history of his people, and especially in their sacred stories. Once he considered it this would explain to him Who this God was and why He was about to act. But at this point he was simply stunned.
‘And Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good land and a large land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has reached me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.” '
He learned that ‘Yahweh' their God had taken knowledge of His people (Exodus 2:25). He ‘knows' their sorrow, that is He has entered into their sorrows, and shares them with them. He has seen the affliction, He has heard the cries, He has entered their experience of misery, and now He has ‘come down' as their covenant God for the express purpose of delivering them. That is why He is here. Not just to call Moses but to actively deliver His people.
“I am come down.” One from the heavens has come down to take an active interest in covenant activity on earth. The idea is that He has come down to spend some time there so as to bring about their deliverance because of that covenant. The time for inaction is past. The covenant is again coming to the fore.
There is a contrast here of God with Moses. Moses had seen the affliction of his people, his heart had entered into their sorrows, but he had lost control of himself and had had to flee from Egypt. But now it is God who has come down, their covenant God, Yahweh. And he has remained. Now they will be delivered. In this is also expressed His hatred of oppression.
There are times in history when God has ‘come down', but not very often. It will happen here. It happened in the days of Elijah and Elisha. It happened supremely in the coming of Jesus and the outreach of the early church. Then amazing things happened for God was here in personal expression of His power. It has happened occasionally in amazing ‘revivals'. But it does not happen very often and when it does man has to draw back and God takes over.
“To a good land, and a large land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” A ‘large' land, larger than Goshen with plenty of room, and more, for all His people. A good land for it flows with milk and honey (Numbers 13:27; Deuteronomy 6:3). Milk would flow because there was good pasturage and, apart from in times of famine, plentiful rain. The honey would be from wild bees, (and later domesticated bees, for it was tithed), along with possibly grape and date syrup, and would be plentiful and would later be exported to other countries (Ezekiel 27:17). Thus it provided both nourishment and sweetness. The same description was given of Goshen by the complaining Israelites (Numbers 16:13), but that was partly sarcastic referring the future promise back into the past. Then they had been promised this wonderful land which they had failed to obtain. Well, it seemed to them then in their despair that perhaps Goshen had been like that after all.
The Canaanites and Amorites were terms for the general population of the country and the terms were often interchangeable. Each could be used for the inhabitants of the whole country. However there was sometimes some distinction in that often the Canaanites was the term for those occupying the coastlands and the Jordan valley while the Amorites could be seen as dwelling in the hill country east and west of Jordan. The Hittites may have been settlers who had come from the Hittite Empire further north and had settled in Canaan. Or they may have been longstanding inhabitants of the land (see Genesis 23). The Perizzites were hill dwellers (Joshua 11:3; Judges 1:4 on) and possibly country peasantry, their name being taken from ‘peraza', meaning ‘hamlet'. This is supported by the fact that they were not named as Canaan's sons in Genesis 10:15 on. They are also omitted in a parallel passage to this in Exodus 13:5. The Hivites may have been the equivalent of the Horites (see on Genesis 36). Their principal location was in the Lebanese hills (Judges 3:3) and the Hermon range (Joshua 11:3; 2 Samuel 24:7), but there were some in Edom in the time of Esau (Genesis 36) and in Shechem (Genesis 34). The Jebusites were the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the hills round about (Numbers 13:29; Joshua 11:3; Joshua 15:8; Joshua 18:16). Thus the population was very mixed and open to invasion and infiltration. The wide range of peoples mentioned, and their spread, emphasises the largeness of the land, and its availability due to its many divisions.
“The cry of the children of Israel has reached me.” That is, will now receive an effective response, because Yahweh was very much aware of the oppression they faced. As He has said earlier He ‘knows' it within Himself. This repetitiveness is typical of ancient literature of the time, a device used among other things in order to bring home the facts to the listener. But now comes the telling blow.
“Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”
By now Moses' fear had been lessening as He had learned that this visitation was to inform him of a covenant deliverance of his people, but these words that he was to be the one who was to bring it about must have come as a jolt to Moses. He had been listening and content that Yahweh had come down to do the delivering. But he had not thought that he was to be involved in it. Now he discovered that he was to be right in the forefront of the deliverance and would have to face up to Pharaoh himself.
“I will send you to Pharaoh.” Moses knew all about Pharaoh and his power and his despotism. He did not like the thought of the task at all. Once it might have been vaguely possible when he had been a prince in Egypt and had seemed invulnerable. But now he was simply the son-in-law of a Midianite priest, a desert tribesman, one who would be despised by the Egyptians. And no one was more aware of the high opinion that the Pharaohs had of themselves than Moses.
‘And Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
We find here no more the brash young man. He felt rather his inadequacy for the task in hand. After all what was he? A desert nobody in comparison with Pharaoh. And had God forgotten that he was a fugitive? He knew only too well the power of Pharaoh, and his arrogance, and how a Midianite priest's son dressed for the desert would appear to him. He spoke of what he knew. And would the children of Israel think any better of him? A man from the desert? It was hardly likely.
He was yet to recognise that while God could not use a proud son of Pharaoh at the height of his powers who could not control himself, he could use someone who was obedient to him, and had been prepared by Him in His own way, even though in his appearance and standing he was not promising material.
‘And he said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you. When you have brought forth the people out of Egypt you will serve God on this mountain.” '
So God thrust aside his excuses. He would Himself go with him. ‘Certainly I will be with you,' He declared. That was why He had ‘come down'. There was One Who would go with Moses, Yahweh their covenant God, Who was more powerful than Pharaoh and all his armies. He was to see that as a guaranteed certainty. He need not therefore be afraid. And this mountain itself was a guarantee, for it was at this very place that there would be blessing.
“This shall be the sign.” The ‘sign' was the pledge of God of what was to be. It was a pledge and promise, a sign to be fulfilled after the event. It called for faith. But, if he would, Moses could look around him even now and visualise the hordes of the children of Israel with him while he worshipped God here. Then would he know that he was being sent by God. So what he had to do was to take a step of faith and accept God's word, believing that the promise of God was as good as a certainty, and see it as though it were already happening. He had to trust God ‘in the dark'. The mountain was even now there as evidence before him. It was a tangible place to which he would bring the children of Israel. God had made a promise, God could not break His word, therefore the event was sure. And here they would all worship Him. So the sign consisted of God's pledge of what was to happen, and the mountain on which it was to happen. It was an indication that He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). This was Moses' first major test.
“You will serve God on this mountain.” To ‘serve God' was a phrase which meant among other things to lead men in worship and sacrifice. And the need to serve Him would be the basis for the request to leave Egypt (Exodus 10:8; Exodus 10:11; Exodus 10:24; Exodus 10:26; Exodus 12:31). Whenever he later began to doubt whether Pharaoh would ever release the people he could remember this promise. ‘You SHALL serve God on this mountain.'
But the next question that occurred to Moses was, would the children of Israel be willing to follow a stranger from Midian? He should of course have gone forward unquestioningly, but God was graciously willing to lead His servant step by step, as He always is.
‘And Moses said to God, “Look, when I come to the children of Israel and will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you' and they say to me, “What is his name?' What shall I say to them?'
The question seems naive. Surely the statement ‘the God of your fathers' will be quite clear. Will they not immediately think of Whoever their fathers had worshipped, the God Whom their fathers had served. So we can be sure of one thing and that is that when Moses says “they will ask ‘What is his name?' ” he is not thinking that they will mean that as a question spoken by them as indicating that they do not know His name. Rather the question is designed to bring His name to the fore. Does this stranger from Midian even know His name, but even more, does he know Who He is? Does he know Whose people they are? So Moses is saying, ‘make Yourself known to me in greater depth so that I will know what to say to them'.
For to the ancient mind the name indicated the person and personality, it indicated the attributes and abilities, it spoke of what someone was. Thus their real question included the thought, ‘Do you know what power and attributes the God of our fathers has that we should believe that He will be able to act through you on our behalf? How can we know that He will, and that He can do what He promises through you? He has not acted for us in the past. He has allowed us to be oppressed and caused to suffer. What new revelation has He given that we should believe Him through you?' And Moses will then have an answer for them.
This is confirmed by the way the question is put. Had it meant, ‘what is his name?' literally the question would begin with ‘mi'. But it does in fact begin with ‘mah' asking about the meaning of the name.
So God took the name that they knew so well, but had probably half forgotten the meaning of, (consider how easily men today can speak of ‘the Almighty' without even thinking what it means) so that some had even turned to the gods of Egypt (Joshua 24:14), and He expounded to Moses its significance, so that he could take it to them, and so that they would recognise Him again for what He was. It was the Yahweh Who had brought Joseph to Egypt (Genesis 39:2) Who would lead them out again. So they were to fix their thoughts again on the true God.
‘And God said to Moses, “I am what I am.” And he said to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.' ”
To suggest that the children of Israel would have accepted a new name in the place of the old name is frankly incredible. It was rather the old name expanded and fully revealed through this stranger that would speak to their hearts and give them the confidence He was seeking to impart to them. That was why God put His name Yahweh into the first person ‘Ehyeh'. It was to Yahweh the God of their fathers He wanted them to look, but as a Yahweh Who had become personal and present. He wanted them to know the full significance of His name. (In Hebrew Yahweh is ‘He is' in the third person, Ehyeh is ‘I am' in the first person. Both come from the same verbal stem, although the ‘w' in Yahweh is an ancient form). He was saying, ‘tell them to recall My name. Then they will recognise what I can do!'
“I am what I am.” There are a number of ways of translating this, each of which is significant. ‘I am what I am.' ‘I am who I am.' ‘I will be what I will be.' ‘I cause to be what I cause to be.' ‘I am the one who is.' It partly depends on what vowels are used (that is, how it was pronounced, for there were minimal vowel signs in ancient Hebrew) and what interpretation is put on it. But as the Hebrews were a people of action rather than abstract thought, we must surely interpret it as meaning ‘God does what He wants to do and no one can stop Him', and this is true whichever we favour. It also indicated that there is no other like Him. He is the supreme and only God, the Creator. Before Him the gods of the nations are nothings. That is why they are mentioned so briefly in the whole Exodus narrative (only in Exodus 12:12)
In his letters to his subjects Pharaoh would often begin by saying, ‘I am there' signifying that in his status as a god nothing could be hidden from him, for he was there with them and could see what they were about. So when Yahweh spoke of Himself as ‘I am' He was setting Himself up in contrast to Pharaoh and telling His people that He was the One Who really was there. This fits neatly in with what He has earlier said, ‘I have come down.' Thus He was supremely the One Who was there in a new way, and the people could thus be sure that Yahweh was there to act in that new way. They have cried to Him and He was now there to answer their cry. Thus the old name, given new life and meaning, will inspire them to new visions and new expectancy. They will know it in experience and in action. Yahweh will come to the fore.
For us that name comes with even greater significance. He is the God of the present (I am), the God of the past, the Creator (I cause to be), and the God of the future (I will be), the One Who is, the One Who was and the One Who is to come (Revelation 1:4), the Almighty (Revelation 1:8), the One Who has been revealed in Jesus Christ. The all present and all powerful.
‘And God said moreover to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, ‘Yahweh the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name for ever, and my memorial to all generations.' ”
So the name of the One on Whom they must set all their trust was to be declared to them. Here the name Yahweh is specifically linked to the ‘I am.' It is represented as the covenant name. He is the One Who guarantees and brings about the covenant promises. YHWH is from a very early form of the verb. Its meaning may be (depending on pronunciation) ‘the One Who is' referring to His presence and continual activity, ‘the One who will be' which really says the same but with more emphasis on continuing to be into the future, or ‘the One Who causes to be' referring to His creative activity and power in the world. He thus wanted them to know that as Yahweh He was now there ready to act for them.
“The God of your fathers” (see verse Exodus 3:13). The link with the past is emphasised. Here is the One Who acted for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the One Who made His covenants with them, the One they now worshipped as a nation, even though He might be being sidelined, and to Whom in their despair they had cried, the One Who had previously brought Joseph to Egypt for the succour of His people (Genesis 39:2), and could equally well take them out again.
“Has sent me.” Moses must reveal himself as one sent by Yahweh to bring about Yahweh's will as He acts through him. He was to come to them as a messenger from God. We note that while Moses has been in Midian the name Yahweh has not been in use in the record. Now with him being connected with God's people in the new deliverance the name is introduced. For Yahweh was the God of Israel, not the God of Midian.
“This is my name for ever.” In the light of this Yahweh declares Himself to be the unchanging One. He is the same yesterday, today and for ever. Let them therefore remember what He has done in the past in speaking to their fathers, and recognise that He can speak again today, and bring all that was then promised into fulfilment. Yahweh's activity might have seemed to be in abeyance, but He has remained the same. He is the same Yahweh Who had spoken to their forefathers giving them promises of what would be. They had not then known His delivering power, for they had waited in hope of it in the future. They had had the promise in His name, but they had not seen that promise fulfilled. While experiencing Yahweh, they had not experienced all that that name meant. They had not ‘known His name'. His ‘name' as representing all that He was and could do, was not yet fully known to them, for His doing was yet in the future. Indeed the revelation of all that that name meant would take for ever, and affect all generations.
“And my memorial to all generations.” His name was to remind men of what He has been, and of what He is and of what He can do through the ages, and of what He will be in the future so that He is remembered by it continually. And the great thing that He would now do through Moses would never be forgotten until the end of time.