Sermon by Reverend Karen Gould
Exodus 3:1-15 – The Unexpected Call
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The character is Moses, also known as Moshe, speaking to a young companion. The place is Mt. Nebo, east of the Jordan River. The time is the end of Moses' life, as the Israelites prepare to cross the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land.
Yes, my friend, I could use a rest. That broom tree over there would be a good place to sit down and be sheltered from the hot sun.
Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. I appreciate your company. But we're near the top of the mountain now. I'm going to have to go on alone. Those were my instructions from God. Yes, he told me I would die there and be gathered to my people.
Do I wish I were going on into the Promised Land? Well...yes, I am sorry I won't enter Canaan. I would have liked to set foot on the destination of our long journey. But God has told me that I have completed the work he had for me to do. I've learned over the years that the best thing for me to do is to obey God.
II
How did all this get started? How did I end up going before Pharoah to demand the release of our people?
I was a shepherd out in the wilderness of Midian when it happened. That in itself was a strange place for me to be. You know I was raised in the palace of Pharoah, and had been educated and groomed to be a ruler in Egypt. But I never could forget my people and how they were being treated so cruelly as slaves of Pharoah.
One day I saw an overseer beating one of the Hebrew people. My anger got the best of me and I killed that Egyptian! I thought my act would remain a secret, but those things get around quickly. The Hebrews rejected me and Pharoah wanted to kill me. I had no alternative but to flee from Egypt. My journey took me into the wilderness of Midian. I was taken in by Jethro, a Midian shepherd.
What a change in my life! From the palace to the fields of Midian; from comfort and riches to a life of simplicity; from a life of intellectual challenge and great activity to the quiet life of a shepherd. My wife and sons were the most important thing to me. But during those years with the flocks, I could never forget how my people were being oppressed in Egypt.
Sometimes at night I would gaze up at the stars and remember stories my Hebrew mother told me when she was my nurse when I was a child. Stories about the God of our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. About the covenant and about descendants as numerous as those stars in the sky. If God had been active in their lives, why couldn't this God do something about the slavery of the Hebrews? My wife's people worshiped a god, but I never was very interested in what their worship meant. All I knew was that one of the mountains out there in the wilderness was called the Mountain of God.
Well, one day I had taken the sheep and goats into a new area in the wilderness, searching for better grazing land. I had the most startling experience! There was a fire a short distance from me, a bush was burning at the foot of a mountain. I wondered how this fire got started, so I looked more closely. That's when I began to sense something unusual was happening: the bush was not burning up, even though it was enveloped in flames! Nothing could contain my curiosity. I had to go over and see what was happening.
I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard my name called. I actually heard It! "Moshe, Moshe." My response was automatic, even though I saw no one. I said, "Here am I." The voice went on, "Take off your sandals, Moshe; the place where you are standing is holy." Well, I obeyed promptly. One never keeps shoes on in a holy place. Still, I had no idea of what was coming.
The next thing the voice said was, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." When I heard that, I covered my face--for surely if I actually saw God, I would die. My heart was pounding so loudly, I could hardly hear the voice as it continued to speak. Who was this God, speaking to me, of all people? I remembered the stories of how God spoke to Abraham, but no one heard God speak anymore. Why me? Why now? Why this place? As the thoughts tumbled through my mind, I was aware of two things: this was God speaking to me, and I had been called by name.
God must have understood the thoughts going through my mind, because in the next few moments a message was given to me which was to change my life. God said, "I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries because of their slave drivers, and I have compassion on them in their suffering. I have come down to rescue them and to bring them out of Egypt." When I heard those words, I heard a heart breaking. Could anyone ever imagine a God with such compassion? God was suffering right along with the Hebrew people. I knew in that moment that this God was drawing me into the same compassion for these, my people in Egypt.
There were some words about bringing them to a land "flowing with milk and honey," but I missed the details in my confusion. That is, until I heard the words, "So now, go. I am sending you to Pharoah to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
I heard those words, all right, but I couldn't believe my ears. Not me. Not this old shepherd. I'd been rejected by the Hebrews. And who was I, to go before the powerful Pharoah? "No, Lord, you've got the wrong person," I wanted to say. "Who am I, to do this?" was what I did say. All I heard in response was, "I will be with you. In fact, when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will bring them back to this mountain to worship. Then you'll know I have kept my word."
"I will be with you; I will become with you," God was saying. I never could have imagined at that moment what great adventures and difficulties I would go through with God's help. I tell you, my child, that bush was still burning with God's presence, but it was as green as when it started burning.
That's the way it's been in my life these past forty years. Many times I felt as if I were walking through flames, but I never was consumed. As I led our people, there were times when I wondered how God could love these people who turned against him so often, but then God would fill me with that same compassion, as of a mother for her child. I would do anything for these people, to bring them to God, to bring them to the Land of Promise.
III
How did I learn the name of this God? I asked. If I were to go to the Israelites in Egypt and try to tell them God had sent me, they would have said, "Which God? What is the name of this God?" You know how important a name is in expressing the character of a person. It was even more important to be able to tell them the name of this God.
And God responded to my question, "Ehyeh asher ehyeh; I will become what I will become. Tell the Israelites, `I will become has sent me to you.' Tell them, `Yahweh, the God of your ancestors--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered for all generations."
It was very important for Yahweh to reveal this name to me and to the Israelites. In giving us this name by which we could call him, Yahweh was giving us himself. Yahweh was with us, and we would see Yahweh's activity in our own lives, and in our community.
The activity of Yahweh included the signs and wonders you've heard about: this rod becoming a serpent; the plagues in Egypt; the parting of the Red Sea as we crossed over to escape from Pharoah; the provision of food and water during our sojourn in the wilderness. Yahweh was revealed to us in the giving of the Law, which ordered our life; and in our worship and the sacrifice for the atoning for our sin. Yahweh was present in the dance and song of Miriam when we celebrated the defeat of the Egyptians. We also experienced Yahweh's anger and impatience when the people murmured, and when they made themselves an idol of gold to worship.
And now Yahweh is present with the people down there at the Jordan River, and with Joshua, as he prepares to lead them into the Promised Land. Yahweh is also present in your life, my child. Yahweh called my name: "Moshe, Moshe!" and I replied, "Here am I." But that call wasn't reserved for me. If you will only listen, you too will hear Yahweh calling you by name. Remember what Yahweh said. "You are my treasured possession, my people." Love Yahweh with all your heart and with all your soul. When you hear him call your name, respond, "Here am I!" Choose life, choose Yahweh and hold fast to him.
IV
Well, my child, help me up. It's time for me to complete my journey. Yahweh go with you as you return to camp.
Look over there. Have you ever seen such a sight? Those rugged, golden hills, the gleaming seas connected by the ribbon of river below us. It seems as if we can see the whole world from here. That's the Promised Land. You will have the opportunity to go with Yahweh into it. Remember, when you step foot on it, you are receiving Yahweh's promise to me that day so many years ago: "I will bring them up to a land flowing with milk and honey."
My child, your life in that promised land will include both joy and sorrow, success and defeat. Remember two things from old Moshe's story: that burning bush, and that voice calling a name. Keep your eyes and your ears open. Shalom.
