Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. When Moses witnesses the oppression of his people, the Israelites, what action does he take? See Exodus 2:11-13 (printed below) Why does he take such action? Note Acts 7:25 (printed below)
Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to see his brothers and he observed their hard labors. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of Moses’ brothers. (12) He looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no one else present, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. (13) And he went out the next day, and he saw two Hebrews fighting with each other. He said to the offender, Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew? (Exodus 2:11-13)
Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. (Acts 7:25)
When Moses witnesses an Egyptian beating a Hebrew he delivers his fellow Hebrew by killing the Egyptian. The next day when he observes two fellow Hebrews fighting, he stops them and seeks to reconcile them. Moses took these actions because he had a sense of his divine calling and he assumed that his brothers would realize that God was using him to rescue them.
2. Besides having an awareness of his divine calling, what else would you say Moses’ actions reveal about him at this stage in his life?
When we first meet Moses, he shows himself to be a spiritually sensitive man. He recognizes his relationship to the people of God, that the people of Israel are his brothers. He is sympathetic to their plight. But Moses also proves to be a very impulsive, self-willed, self-reliant man. When he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, Moses murders the Egyptian. When he sees two fellow Hebrews striving against one another, Moses assumes the role of arbitrator and judge. When his efforts are not appreciated by the Hebrews, and not concealed from the Egyptians, Moses leaves Egypt for the land of Midian.
3. Compare and contrast Moses’ position and attitude when we are first introduced to him in Exodus 2:11-13 (printed above under question #1) with our next encounter with him (Exodus 3:1-2,7,10-11 printed below).
Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (2) There the angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. Moses looked and saw that, although the bush was burning with fire, the bush was not consumed…(7) Then Jehovah said, I have certainly seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt… (10) Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. (11) But Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:1-2,7,10-11)
When Moses had been reduced from being a prince in Pharaoh’s court to being a shepherd in the wilderness of Midian, it was then that the Lord God appeared to him and gave him a call to divine service. When Moses had been reduced from being a man of self-confidence and human strength to being a man who was broken and very conscious of his own inability, it was then that in the sight of God he was ready for divine service.
4. How does Moses respond to God’s divine calling and what does God say in reply? See Exodus 3:7,10-12 (printed below)
Then Jehovah said, I have certainly seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt… (10) Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. (11) But Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? (12) Then he said, I will certainly be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain. (Exodus 3:7,10-12)
In response to God’s divine calling to deliver the children of Israel from their Egyptian bondage, Moses now raises the question, “Who am I?” Moses is protesting that he is too insignificant and powerless to stand before the great king of Egypt and lead the whole nation of Israel out of Egypt. He testifies that he is no match for the power, the wisdom, the evil of the world. God responds to Moses’ objection by assuring him, “I will certainly be with you” (verse 12a). Then the Lord declares, “This shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain” (verse 12b). What God is telling Moses is that the confirmation of the Lord’s calling and faithfulness comes as the result of faith and obedience. By trusting God and doing what He says, Moses will discover that God will use him to accomplish His plan for His people Israel (cp. John 11:40 where Jesus says to Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”)
5. When Moses objects that the people of Israel will not listen to him (Exodus 4:1), what sign does the Lord provide for him (see Exodus 4:2-5 printed below?) What do you think is the significance of this particular sign?
Jehovah said to him, What is that in your hand? Moses answered, A staff. (3) Then he said, Throw it on the ground. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses ran away from it. (4) But Jehovah said to Moses, Reach out your hand and take it by the tail. So he reached out his hand and took hold of it, and once again it became a staff in his hand. (5) This,” declared Jehovah, is so that they may believe that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you. (Exodus 4:2-5)
The Lord causes the shepherd’s staff in Moses’ hand to become an instrument of His divine power and grace. The shepherd’s staff represented Moses’ life (it was his livelihood, his identity, his security). At the command of God it is laid down before God and when it is retrieved it becomes the instrument of God’s power and grace—to be employed by Moses in performing the mighty works of God (cp. Exodus 4:17). Note: when the staff was turned into a serpent on the ground what was being indicated was both the exposure to demonic danger as well as the ultimate victory over the devil that God’s servant would experience and witness. We must recognize here the power of a life surrendered to Christ, offered in service to Him.
