Exodus 3 Study/Psalm 62 (63) Study/Message Be Obedient to The Commandments of Christ (James 1:25)...
ALL ROADS LEAD TO CHRIST
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST …
Exodus 3 Study & Breakdown …
The Burning Bush – (Exodus 3:1-22)
3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So, he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 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 upon God.
7 And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their [a]sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh 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 So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and 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?”
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; 17 and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ 18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. 22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So, you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
NOTES – Exodus 3 – (vv. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 14) …
3:2: GOD THE WORD revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush to forecast His coming Incarnation – (JohnDm, AthanG, JohnChr, GrgTheo, & AmbM) … He is called THE ANGEL OF THE LORD because He is the Angel or Messenger of the Father who reveals the Father’s Will … For He is the Will of the Father – (AthanG) … He is the Only-begotten God because He is begotten from the Unbegotten Father before all time and ages – (GrgNy) … Isaiah the prophet called the Son “THE ANGEL OF GREAT COUNSEL” – (Isaiah 9:5) …
“The bush was on fire but was not consumed, for the Son of God became Man to save man and not to consume him … He became Man in the womb of the Mother of God, for the bush itself typifies her …”
Isaiah 9:5: For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder… His name will be called the Angel of the Great Counsel, for I shall bring peace upon the rulers, peace, and health by Him … (A child being born is speaking of Christ’s human nature; and a SON GIVEN unites His Two Natures in One Person … The Son of God is also the Son of the Virgin) …
-other sources for (v. 2, 3, 5, & 14)- (JohnDm): Saint John of Damascus: (AthanG): Athanasius the Great: (JohnChr): St. John Chrysostom: (GrgTheo): Gregory the Great (Pope): (AmbM): Ambrose of Milan: (GrgNy): Gregory of Nyssa …
3:3: MOSES WAS SHOWN this great sight of the Lord’s coming Incarnation because he was detached from the fleeting pleasures of the world – (JohnDm & AmbM) … For he was looking for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come – (Nicene Creed) …
3:4: THE ANGEL is called LORD AND GOD, for He is the Speaker … Since He is begotten from the Father before all time and ages, he is therefore the Only Begotten God …
3:5: MOSES WAS TO REMOVE HIS SANDALS … This indicates that nothing dead is to stand between God and man, for He is the God of the living – (AmbM) …
3:6: THE ANGEL also called Himself THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISSAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB … For the Son is true God of True God, and He reveals the Father in Himself … He who sees the Son also sees the Father … He who sees the Only Begotten God also sees the Unbegotten Father …
3:7: The Lord loves His people and knows their pain and suffering, and His Incarnation is the remedy for all their sorrows …
3:14: THE NAME “I AM THE EXISTING ONE” is the name for the Essence of God, which is one and undivided – (AthanG, JohnDm) … The Essence is like a boundless sea, containing all things yet not contained by anything … The Son is eternally begotten from the Essence of the Father … When Jesus said He was the Existing One, the Jews who were listening took up stones to stone Him, for they knew this passage in Exodus – (John 8:57-59) … He is acknowledged as the Existing One in every Vespers service of the Orthodox Church …
John 8:57-59: Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going[a] through the midst of them, and so passed by.
PSALM 62 (63) STUDY GUIDE & BREAKDOWN
MY STUDY BIBLE HAS 12 VERSES …
PSALM 62 (63)- Is a prayer of Christ the King – (v. 12), and He is instructing His Church in morning prayers … For this world is like THE DESERT OF JUDEA – (v. 1), which is DESOLATE, IMPASSABLE, AND WATERLESS – (v. 2) … And the soul that REMEMBERS GOD during the night ON HIS BED will also learn TO MEDITATE ON HIM in the morning – (v. 7) … Such a soul will BE FILLED – (v. 6) and cannot be injured by the devil and his angels – (THEY, v. 10) …
JAMES 1:25:
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does …
James is taking the Jewish notion of freedom in this passage-that is Obedience to the Law, but James is applying this same standard to the Law of Christ, His commandment to love others as He loved us … Moses listened to the Lord and was chosen to lead the people out of Egypt… Moses and Christ have lots in common and we will discuss more of that as we journey our ways into the Book of Exodus …
JAMES 2:8:
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself “, you do well.