Introduction

Moses is actually a pretty interesting character study. In the New Testament, the character that I think is the most like you and me is Peter. In the Old Testament, Moses holds that distinction. He definitely had his “ups” and his “downs”, and I think that there’s a lot to be learned from those.

For the next few weeks, we’re going to be examining some parts of Moses’ life to see what wisdom we can gain from it. We’ll start off with what is probably one of the most common stories about his life: his encounter with the burning bush.

I. Nugget Of Wisdom #1: Listen when God speaks. (Exodus 3:1-10)

a. Moses was in the wilderness tending the sheep of his father-in-law, Jethro.

b. He saw a bush burning and decided to check it out. Fires in the desert could be very dangerous.

c. When he got to the bush, he saw that it was on fire but it was not being consumed. He decided to investigate further, and this was when God spoke to him.

d. Moses didn’t run away when he discovered that it was God speaking to Him. He instead showed reverence and obedience to the Lord and listened to what He had to say.

e. We are often afraid or unwilling to listen to what God has to say because we think we won’t like it. This should not be!

II. Nugget Of Wisdom #2: Faith can conquer any excuse. (Exodus 3:11-4:17)

a. Let’s take a look at all of Moses’ excuses:

i. “Lord, I’m a nobody!” (3:11-12)

1. God told Moses that He would be with him. If God is with you, then you’re not a “nobody”.

ii. “Lord, I don’t know what to say!” (3:13-22)

1. God told Moses exactly what to say, how to say it, and when to say it.

iii. “Lord, they won’t listen to me!” (4:1-9)

1. God gave Moses some signs to prove the truth of what he was saying to Pharaoh and the children of Israel.

iv. “Lord, I’m not good at speaking!” (4:10-12)

1. Some people believe that Moses had some sort of speech impediment.

2. God told Moses that He had created man and had the power to take care of any speech problems. He promised to take care of any problems Moses had in this area.

v. “Lord, wouldn’t it be better for you to send someone else?” (4:13-17)

1. Up until this time, God had been very patient with Moses. However, this last excuse from Moses makes God angry.

2. Even though He has now been angered, God is still gracious and merciful enough to agree to send Moses’ brother Aaron along with him. God said that He would speak to Moses, and Moses could tell Aaron what God had said. Aaron could then do the speaking to Pharaoh and the children of Israel.

a. When Moses and Aaron went before the children of Israel, Aaron did indeed do the talking. I find it very interesting, however, that Moses did all the talking in front of Pharaoh! Aaron never said much of anything after speaking to the Israelites. (Exodus 4:30)

b. Scripture tells us that faith is a necessary thing for a Christian. We can’t be saved without it. We can’t please God without it.

c. God was angered because Moses didn’t want to exercise his faith even after God had made numerous promises to help him and take care of him. We have much more access to the promises of God in His Word than Moses did. If we can’t put our faith in that, then God will be angered with us as well.

d. There is no excuse that you can make that God can’t take care of.

Conclusion

Listen to what God has to say, and then have the faith to believe every word of it. God won’t put up with excuses for very long.