God’s answers to Moses’ initial two questions assure us, believers, that the Omniscient God is never absent from our lives. He is the great “I AM”, the ever-present One who will always be with us. However, people often forget this truth and conduct life as if He is not around at all. To live effectively, we should learn to live in the perpetual presence of God. The secret to King David’s confidence was his realization of God’s presence with him all the time. So, in Psalm 16:8 he said, “I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
In Exodus 3:16-22, God outlined His deliverance plan to Moses. There were four steps in this plan. Firstly, Moses was to go to the elders of Israel and make known to them that God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had appeared to him. And that this God was totally concerned for them and their plight. He would be bringing them out of Egypt to a land of great promise, the land He had promised to the Patriarchs. God assured Moses that the elders would believe his words.
Secondly, Moses and the elders would then go to Pharaoh and let the king know that God had appeared to them. They were to request for a three-day journey into the desert to make sacrifices to their God. But He warned him that Pharaoh would resist the proposal. Thirdly, He told Moses that He would then judge the Egyptians with great wonders. The deliverance they would experience would be through the mighty hand of God. And finally, God said that they should plunder Egypt. This was the wages owed to them for the years of work without pay.
Four things about God can be known from these four steps given to Moses. Firstly, our God makes known His purpose. His instruction to Moses was: go to the elders and make known God’s plan. Hence, we confidently conclude that He communicates His purpose and plan before it happens so that we will know nothing happens to us by coincidence. We can be assured that nothing happens to us by chance. In everything, God works together for good to them that love Him and are called to His purpose.
Secondly, our God desires our worship. Interestingly, Moses and the elders were supposed to tell Pharaoh that they would go on a “three-day” journey into the wilderness to worship God. Was the request ruse? If it was then wouldn’t it impinge on the character of God? The answer is no. The expression, “a three-day”, was a common expression for a long journey. It was not literally three days. Anyway, in that instruction, there was no indication that they would return. What’s more important was their intention and not the duration of travel. God’s intention was for them to go and honor, offer sacrifices, worship and glorify Him. Today, there are some people prevented by distance from going to church. Think of what the Israelites had to go through to honor and worship God. It is true that when our heart is rightly oriented, worshipping God is a life priority, and distance is not a problem. Between us and God distance should not dissuade us.
Thirdly, our God delivers through great wonders. He knew beforehand that Pharaoh would resist and not let the people of God go, not even if it meant just three days. He said to Moses in verse 19, “But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion.” He knew exactly what it would take before Pharaoh would let the people go. God was in effect setting us the condition for what would take place in the next eleven chapters of Exodus. He is indeed the God of wonders. Know it or not, we are all God’s miracles going somewhere to happen.
Fourthly, our God shows justice. In what the Israelites should receive from the Egyptians for the years of unpaid wages, God told them to claim it on their way out. He would deal with the hearts of the Egyptians and make sure that they release what was due to the Israelites. God will not let us suffer injustice. The way He had shown justice for the cruelty the Israelites endured, also gives the assurance that He will ensure we are justly rewarded. God will never allow us to be short-changed. He makes sure that whatever is due to us will be given in ways beyond our wildest dreams. So, take heart, trust the just God!
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