The Character of God

GETTING STARTED

The other day, in the midst of trying to make a difficult decision, I told a friend that if God would just put his specific will for my life on a billboard somewhere, I could follow him anywhere—without question or hesitation. I joked that sometimes figuring out God’s will is way more difficult than following it. But if today’s passage is any indication, my theory is dead wrong. Moses received the will of God in a much more spectacular vehicle than a billboard, and yet he stumbled.

What is it that keeps you from doing the will of God in your life, even in cases where God has made his will very clear in Scripture?

READ THE WORD: EXODUS 3:1-12 (ESV)

^3:1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. ³ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ And 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 at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, ⁸ and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ Come, 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 bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

DIGGING DEEPER

Moses did not seem to immediately recognize that the burning bush was God’s presence. What did God say to get Moses’ attention?
It’s amazing that we have a God who is so intimately acquainted with us that he calls us by name. But what do verses 5 and 6 also reveal about the character of God?
Verses 7-9 teach us even more about God’s character. List three things these verses teach you about God.
Moses balked at the assignment God gave him in verse 10. Which of the characteristics of God revealed in this passage do you think Moses struggled with based on his reaction? Which characteristics of God does your life indicate you struggle most to apply?
What do you need to remember about God’s character in order to serve him obediently today?

RESPOND TO GOD

The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses is also your God. He is so personal that he knows your name, yet so holy that his presence demands reverence and fear. He is so mighty that he hears the cries of an entire nation of people and orchestrates an epic plan for their deliverance. So why did Moses falter when asked to be a part of that miraculous plan? Why do we? Likely, it is because we focus too much on ourselves and not enough on God’s character. God responded to Moses’ doubt by saying, “But I will be with you.” Today’s assignment is not about you. It’s about God. And that is enough.

Pray that you will face whatever today brings by trusting in the character of your personal, holy, all-powerful God. He is enough.