Exodus 3; Luke 6
Daily Catechism
QUESTION 27: WHAT OFFICES DOES CHRIST PERFORM AS OUR REDEEMER?
Answer: Christ, as our Redeemer, performs the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in his condition of humiliation and exaltation.
Scripture: Acts 3:22; Hebrews 5:6; Psalm 2:6.
Exodus 3
Ready:
In the last chapter Moses came into the scene and ended up hiding out in Midian due to his sin and he is now married with a child. God has heard the cry of his people and he has remembered his promise to the patriarchs...
Seeing What’s There:
I see Moses working in Midian as a shepherd caring for a flock and minding his own business…seemingly forgetting the plight of his people as he spends 40 years here in Midian before this day where God speaks to him. But God has not forgotten. This chapter is a huge turn in the story of redemption because here God reveals himself by his personal name which he has given himself and he expresses his plan to Moses and he recruits Moses to be his prophet and the leader of his people. The exodus of Israel from Egypt becomes such a grounding historical moment for the Jews that it’s significance cannot be overstated. God breaks in by his might and does a miraculous delivery of his people that he intends to be remembered forever. It begins here at this bush with Moses hearing the voice of God. The whole chapter basically consists of this conversation between God and Moses regarding what God is going to accomplish. There is certainty in everything that God shares with Moses- nothing less than stating what will come to pass for his purposes.
Key Verses:
Exodus 3:2-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9, 12, 13-14, 15, 17-18, 19-20, 21
Theme:
God starts in motion his intention to deliver and establish his people by his own mighty hand as a people who will know his holiness and hallow his name.
Thinking About the Message:
v1. Here Moses has settled in with his wife and family and his new life as a shepherd and he has perhaps tried to forget about the poor Hebrews in Egypt and his concerns for them. Moses has now spent 40 years in Midian and he is about 80 years old (Ex 7:7)…not like its been a few months. But the Lord has a plan for this octogenarian that involves leading sheep away from trouble. Something happens when Moses comes near Mount Horeb this time (another name for Mount Sinai where God will soon deliver the law to Israel).
v2-4. Moses is stopped in his tracks by God’s appearance to him in burning bush that is not consumed. The Angel of the Lord here is the very presence of God mediated in this bush for Moses’ protection. Sometimes the Bible uses the term Angel of the Lord to refer to God’s very presence or even the presence of pre-incarnate Jesus (but other times it is not God at all, but an angel of God (2 Sam 24:16-17).
v5-6. This teaches of the holiness of God and how whatever he touches is in that moment made holy…which is fine for a bush or the ground, but deadly for a human with a sin nature (Uzzah’s error in 2 Sam 6:6-7). But what is holiness? God tells Moses to remove his shoes and we know that the sole of shoes are seen as unclean things then and now. God is calling for a hallowing of his name. He ties the term holiness to the removal of uncleanness and to his identity as the God of the patriarchs who he has revealed himself to and made covenant with. This begins to unpack the idea that his holiness is a separation from sin and a very core attribute that is inseparably tied to his identity and how he deals with mankind. R.C. Sproul argues that Holiness is the prime attribute of God that all other attributes come from (e.g., love, justice, omnipotence, omnipresence). Moses’ reaction to knowing something here of the holiness of God is fear. This is appropriate and this is good. He has a sin problem that must be solved (by translation into a glorified state in bodily redemption) before he can openly face the God of the universe (in physical presence). Right now we can come before God spiritually with boldness and confidence as we are told in Ephesians 3:11-12 thanks to Christ’s work. I am always struck by God’s choice to identify himself in reference to his people rather than just as the God who made everything you see and know. God is relational and he desires that his creation would know him in his fullness (no small thing and something that comes at cost- just like all relationships).
v7-12. A few things here. I see God give two (or three) bases upon which he is grounding his action. One is his care for his people and his faithfulness to his covenant. Secondly he has seen the wickedness of the Egyptians and so he intends to judge them. Implied is also the wickedness of the people living in Canaan as he told Abraham that their sin would be complete by the time he brought Israel into Canaan. Moses can’t imagine how he can accomplish what God is asking and I see God give Moses courage when he lacks it by promising to be with him and declaring that he will indeed bring the people to this very mountain to worship. Interesting that a sign to give him confidence would be in the future…certainly takes the obedience of faith to benefit from such a sign! Hebrews 11:24 makes it clear that Moses walked with faith in God from the time he left Pharaoh’s house but now his faith is again called into action.
v13-22. It seems here that Moses is on board and now he is looking for all the details on how to proceed. Moses wants to know a few things here. What authority do I come with that I can express to the Israelites…how do I describe you? What is the message to them? What is the message to Pharaoh? God gives him this information and he declares that he himself will accomplish what he is asking Moses to do and he will move the hearts of Pharaoh and the Egyptians so that Israel will indeed leave and they will take with them great provisions. God here makes declaration to Moses that he is a God of covenant. He begins with making clear that he is completely consistent and never changing. He simply is and there is nothing that can challenge that. But going further he expresses how this identity becomes personal and how it is a comfort to Moses. I take it like “This is who I am and this is what I do”. He gives him his personal name “YHWH” written as "The lord” (Lord in small caps) in the ESV Bible and relates this name to his covenant promises to the patriarchs. He says that this will be his name forever thus expressing the nature of his promises to them. He declares that he shall be remembered this way throughout all generations and already this is seen by the crying out of the Israelites under the Egyptian oppression. God tells Moses how to speak to the Israelite elders (first-born descendants of the tribal chiefs) and assures him that they will listen. God gives specific direction on how to speak to Pharaoh and explains that it will take the mighty hand of God to connive him, but that this too will happen. The message is not freedom for the sake of comfort but the message is "let us go so that we may worship our God as he has directed us to.” As God promised in Gen 15:14 to Abraham he now details to Moses that the Israelites will leave Egypt with great possessions.
Meaning, Implications, and Significance
There is no doubt that here God intends to do a work that only he can accomplish that will express is identity of a righteous God and a Savior (Is 45:21). God will judge and God will deliver and all by his mighty hand and all in perfect justice for the proud who deny him and mercy upon his chosen people. The implication is that the work God does here is to be a sign and a remembrance forever of who he is and what he does. The significance for me is that I too need to remember who God is (holy and omnipotent) and how he works (judges the proud and saves the contrite) and know that this life is not so small as to ultimately be about houses and cars and jobs, but it is about a great God who saves from a coming judgement that I might live to honor him and love others.
Valuing the Message:
This message is valuable because it grounds me and reminds me that God is not a genie or a coach but he is the holy God who has worked at great cost to himself in order to protect me from his own holiness (Rom 5:8-11) so that I may know him in his glory (Rom 9:23-24). My relationship to God should not be about what he is going to do for me here on earth (James 4:3-4) but should be about knowing him (John 17:3) and making him known (Matt 28:18-20; 1 John 5:11-12; Col 1:24-29) and about enjoying who he is (Psalm 37:4, Phil 1:21).
Reflecting to Feel the Impact of the Message:
I need to reflect upon my understanding of holiness and God’s character and the centrality of God being the prime actor in this story of my life.
Questions to ask:
- Do I say to God each day “Here I am” or do I look away from the bush and keep my shoes on?
- Do I say, “Yes Lord, what do you have to tell me?” or do I say “sometime later I will look and see”.
- Do I look for ground where my shoes don’t seem so dirty or do I come near and let him teach me what holiness is?
Responding to God & Reacting to His Lesson:
Tell God about your observations and your thoughts and your struggles with the chapter and determine how it will change or impact your thinking and your decisions. Be sure to react in some way to the truth rather than remain silent.
Proclaiming the Truth to Others:
Decide who you can share what you have learned with and ask for God’s help in reaching out to love others.
Luke 6
Ready:
The last chapter was about new wine and wine skins and fasting and Jesus calling disciples.
Seeing What’s There:
Luke 6 leads in with Jesus demonstrating in two events that mercy is preferred by God over ceremony or symbols. Souls are matter more to God than ceremony. Establishing this, Luke then documents an abbreviated account of the Sermon on the Mount that Matthew spends three chapters on. I see in Luke’s account one thread of fruit bearing. I see Jesus basically start from the nesting bird and work his way down into the water that feeds the roots. Psalm 1 helps here.
Theme:
What the foundation of the building, or the roots of the tree are set into (choose your analogy) determines the strength of the building or the quality of the fruit. The obedience of faith…taking God at his Word is the bedrock, is the stream of water.
Thinking About the Message:
v1-11. In this read I am focusing on the big point that I see from the two events here. In both the Lord of the Sabbath and the healing of the withered hand I see Jesus declare that mercy is better than ceremony. Jesus told the pharisees to learn that he prefers mercy to sacrifice in Matt 9:13 and Matt 12:7. In both those cases the Pharisees are condemning someone for something out of a preference for ceremony (sacrifice) instead of love (mercy). Jesus makes it plain here that we are to love and care for our fellow humans as a higher priority than keeping tradition and ceremony for what proves to be an empty religion if it does not make us lovers of people in the first place. This Jesus made clear in Matt 25:31-46 what his sheep look like... and they love mercy.
v12-16. Next Luke tells of Jesus getting alone and praying all night long just before picking his twelve apostles who will receive his teaching and guidance up close and who will represent him after he ascends to heaven. This choosing of the Apostles may be chronologically placed but I wrestle with how it may relate to the thread or mercy being the primary fruit we bear. Jesus prayed all night for them and the longest prayer of Jesus recorded is for these 12 as well and it is in John 17. He closes with a request that the love with which God has loved will be in them and Jesus in them. Perhaps this abiding love is the source of the mercy and the cause of the obedience of faith that grounds it.
v17-19. Jesus gets started with some pre-sermon healing and exorcisms. Jesus obliged them and he showed that he can make the sick well and give freedom to the oppressed. Now he begins his message…
v20-26. The Beatitudes are recorded here by Luke in an abbreviated fashion. He gives four things that do not scare the children of God. He gives for risks that his children take in the cause of love. He gives four things that his sheep risk in order to love mercy. He describes the four things that the world tries at all cost to avoid but his sheep walk right into because they reflect their teacher (Luke 6:40) and their father (Luke 6:36). These things are poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution. The world seeks to avoid these with selfish vengeance but the child of God knows that he has everything already (Rom 8:32) and he is not a blind leader (Luke 6:39), but he knows the love of God because it has been poured into his heart (Rom 5:5). The woes are merely the opposite of the beatitudes and the picture of the world. The beatitudes are not an instruction guide but a description of fruit. This is a picture of the children of God and not a lesson in morality. Jesus says blessed “are”, not blessed “will be”. I see Jesus describing the result of the mustard seed of the obedience of faith as it has sprouted by the grace of God into a full blown tree that now serves the good of others (Mark 4:30-32). Jesus declares that the ones who protect themselves at cost of others are not his own.
v27-36. Here he explains that the children of God love mercy and they risk for the cause of love. They do not fight for their rights (Rom 12:14-21) because their hope is not here in the seen (Rom 8:24-25) because they are not of this world (John 17:15-19, John 15:19) and are not in love with this world (1 John 2:15).
v37-40. Here Jesus similarly describes fruit. God has forgiven us and given us the gift of righteousness to justify us rather than judged us according to our sin, which would therefore have resulted in our condemnation (Rom 5:15-17). So because we are not blind to this and he has given us eternal life, we bear the fruit of this same love poured out to others in the form of mercy. Therefore we also do not judge and condemn but we offer grace and mercy. This fruit is there increasingly as we become like our teacher and our Father. Yet Jesus offers a point of clarification here…
v41-42. Here I see Jesus make known that we do bear a responsibility for helping our Christian brothers out after recognizing our own sin and repenting. There is a place for “judging” those inside the church (1 Cor 5:11-13) but it should be done with clear eyes.
v43-49. I see both of these parables as teaching that quality of our fruit and the strength of our structure will come from what the foundation or roots are sunk into. This needs be the truth of God in the person of Jesus and we do this by the obedience of faith. Luke 6:47 sets it up well…”everyone who comes to me [Jesus] and hears my words and does them. I will show you what he is like…”. Bingo! The obedience of faith. Trust what he says and act on it. Psalm 1 tells us that the one who meditates on God’s Word day and night will be like a tree planted by streams of water and will be fruitful and durable and prosperous…maybe he will bear up the loads of others like the tree in Mark 4:32.
Meaning, Implications, and Significance
The fruit of mercy and selfless risk in my life is not an earning of anything but it is an outflowing of the love of God that he has poured into me. My role is to walk in the obedience of faith and his Spirit will push the fruit out. The implication is that I cannot twist the beatitudes into a list of do’s but it is merely a picture of the believer who is grounded in the truth. The significance for my life is that I can seek after God like Psalm 1 and Proverbs 2 teach and then I am likely to see my life resemble this picture to the glory of God. Read those.
Valuing the Message:
I value understanding this message because I know that God is the one who will accomplish these attitudes in my life by my abiding in him and not by my striving to be a really good guy.
Reflecting to Feel the Impact of the Message:
I need to pray and ask for God to search out my motives and drives and desires and I need to reflect upon my heart and ensure that my roots and my foundation are in his truth and that I walk in out of a trusting of his word and not out of a proving of my goodness. The latter is using these beatitudes as a list of to do’s and this is using the law to try to impress God…he is really only impressed by his Son…better to focus on loving that Son and in time I will look more and more like him, but the sheer grace of God.
Questions to ask:
- Does my fruit look like the mushy stuff that the world produces or like the ripe and plump fruit that God produces in his children?
- Am I busy trying to make fruit when I should be pushing roots down into the soil?
Responding to God & Reacting to His Lesson:
Tell God about your observations and your thoughts and your struggles with the chapter and determine how it will change or impact your thinking and your decisions. Be sure to react in some way to the truth rather than remain silent.
Proclaiming the Truth to Others:
Decide who you can share what you have learned with and ask for God’s help in reaching out to love others.
Soli Deo Gloria!
