Week 5 (Days 29-35): When Moses responds to a burning bush

hey bible readers welcome to tbr deep dive we are super excited that you are here this week and we are very excited to have lb it's fun to be back she's back laura or lb well my name is laura buchelt but people like us call me lb and i love that and we love that yeah i feel like you were in trouble if I called you Laura. Yeah. I'd be like, what did I do wrong? Exactly. But we've got some good stuff. We've got good stuff. And before we jump in, why don't you just give us a little quick, tell us about what you do. Who am I? If you've missed my previous episodes, appearances. Yes, your appearances. I really get to help with all things theology within Deep Dive, within our Bible studies that we write, and then I get to lead our Israel trips. Amazing. Which, you know, is a fun gig. Yeah. It's a fun gig. That is awesome. Well, we are super excited you're here, and we will get into it. Let's go. Let's do it. All right. Okay, so first question. This comes from Day 30, specifically Exodus 3, 13 to 22. So let me just summarize what's going on there, and then we'll talk about the question. So in Exodus 3, 13 to 22, Moses asked God what name he should give when the Israelites ask who sent him. And so God reveals himself as I am who I am, the eternal self-existent one. And he instructs Moses to tell the people that he's the Lord, the God of their fathers, and he's the one sending them. And remember, God is bringing them out of Egypt with mighty acts, and he's going to lead them into the land that he swore to their ancestors. So with that being said, the question is, how much would Moses have known about God before he met him personally in the burning bush? So even some of the things that I just said, summarizing God, would Moses have known that? That's a great question. So Moses grew up in Egypt. He was raised in Pharaoh's household, but in his early years taken care of by his Hebrew mother, which I think is an interesting distinction. So he certainly would have known stories of ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, but it's uncertain how much he would have known. So he likely had heard about God's covenant promises. He probably had at least a cultural awareness of the God of the Hebrew people, But because he was living in Egypt throughout the rest of his life, surrounded by idols and pagan worship, it's possible that everything he'd learned about God as a kid may have felt pretty distant. He may not have really connected with it or maybe it had been overshadowed. So in Exodus 3.13, when Moses asks what he should tell the Israelites God's name was, it suggests he didn't know God in a personal way. Right. So he's asking his name. I mean, it's like, hey, I'm Emma. Nice to meet you. What's your name? That's what we say when we don't know someone. Yeah, true. We don't typically ask what your name is. We maybe knew each other but didn't know each other. Yes, we've forgotten. I've forgotten your name. Guilty. Yeah. Yeah. So I think the short answer is not a lot. Moses probably didn't know a lot. He, again, he does have some idea of his heritage as a Hebrew. So in Exodus 2.11, it says that when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens. So he has this sense. He knew they were his people. Right. He's like, okay, so I'm not Egyptian. I'm Hebrew. So he identifies himself with them, and he certainly would have been aware that they worshipped Yahweh, not necessarily the gods of the Egyptians. But we don't actually know whether Moses aligned himself more with, like, the Egyptian gods or Yahweh before them. We don't know. And I think you're both spot on with that. But I also think it's important to say, like, he would have been used to worshiping something. So the idea of a god wouldn't have been a foreign concept. So, you know, whether it was the Egyptian gods or some other influence, he would have been used to worshiping in some capacity. And he would have known his heritage. Clearly we knew that he knew his heritage. And so I think we see in this interaction, this seems to be his first direct interaction with God. But God doesn't just say, oh, hey, I'm God. You know, he like he does something that Moses has never seen before and something that Moses can't explain. So his introduction to God seems to have with it a like, oh, you're God, God. Like there may be gods, but like you're God, God. Yeah, like there's something – it seems like God proved himself to Moses even before introducing himself. Like the bush was burning before he said, who art? Yep. Yeah, that's so good. I also think it's a good example that it's possible to grow up around the stories of God without personally knowing God. So God – it's Moses, this whole story and even this question really is a reminder that God doesn't just want to be a tradition that we've inherited from our upbringing. he wants to be the God we encounter, the God of our lives. So the burning bush is showing us that God's going to move toward his people and call us to know him by name, not just as some distant religious figure that our family valued. Yeah. That's so poignant. Like that's so good. I think that word encounter has been on my heart a lot recently. Like when leading our last Israel trip, that was just my prayer the whole time. Lord, would you encounter us in a way that shows us who you are. And so there is that element of being raised and knowing about versus a personal encounter. I think that is pretty, pretty important. Yeah. And I think one, one thing that I was thinking about as we continue reading through Exodus and all the rest of the Old Testament, that it can be a fun exercise to kind of try to put yourself in Moses's shoes of, okay, so if, if I don't really know a lot about Yahweh, what am I learning about Yahweh along with Moses? You know, because he is going to experience all sorts of things. Obviously, as they're leaving Egypt, he's going to see that Yahweh is holy. He's the only God. He's supreme. He has incredible power. He's the one true God. And so I think kind of putting ourselves in his shoes and with the rest of the Israelites too, but just saying, okay, like, what am I going to learn about God through this. Pretend I know nothing. And maybe for some of you, you're like, I do know nothing. And so great. That's awesome. Like you're going to learn so much. Yeah. But I don't know. I was just thinking about how cool that would be to actually be able to kind of go back to what, what did Moses know and not know about God? And then what does he learn about him? Which also helps us cut them a little bit of slack sometimes, I think. Yes. 100%. 100%. Like they didn't have the full picture. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. That's such a good point. Our next question comes from day 31, Exodus 5.22 and Exodus 6.9, which I'll read for us. Exodus 5.22 says, Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you send me? And then Exodus 6.9, Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. This recap then says, I resonate with Moses' cry to the Lord in Exodus 5.22. Why is it that when God asks us to do something, life often gets harder? It's so discouraging. What should we think about this mysterious way God works? As someone who really experienced this exact question I so grateful that our recap and whoever it was thank you for asking this one because it does sort of sometimes feel like wait a minute you just called me to this thing Why is, how is this harder than it was before? And I've heard it said that we know God is good and we know he promises good for us. So if our situation is not good, God's not done. which I think is really tough for us to wrap our brains around that. Like we are time bound finite beings. And so we don't understand what it's like to see the complete picture the way that God does. And this actually also reminded me of, of the passage in the new Testament where the disciples get called by Jesus, go out in the boat, go to the other side of the lake and then they're being obedient to go out in the boat. Yeah. And then they end up in a storm. Right. And it's like, wait a minute, I'm in a storm because I'm obeying. And I, you know, I've experienced that. And I think we're sometimes tempted to think of God as transactional. Yeah. So I do what you say and you make it easy for me. Yeah. But that's just not, that's like, it's just the opposite of what scripture says. But it seems right. Like, it seems to make sense to us. Like, if I'm doing what God's telling me to, why is this hard? Well, because the road that God promises is sometimes hard. And I do think alongside of that, there is the reality that God does say there are blessings for obedience. So that is also true. You know, so I think we have to hold both of these. That it's like God has a way of life that he wants us to live. And that way is fruitful. And it brings blessing. And it is a blessing to the world. and at the same time suffering is real suffering as a christian is real and we have probably all experienced and if you have not yet this is a remember this episode when this is happening to you we've all experienced where we've done the thing we're like okay god asked me to do this hard thing and so the wind is gonna be on my sails and i'm just gonna be amazing you know and then You're like, God, why have you abandoned me? So I resonate with this. I have also experienced this. And I think there's a piece of that with what you're saying, though, that it's his presence is what sustains us. And so even when we feel like it's so hard and the wind is, you know, in our faces, we're trying to run uphill. We still have the presence of Jesus. Yeah. What does that look like for you, Kirsten? Oh, my goodness. You mentioned you've been there. Can you tell I was playing tape in my head? I watched it. The most recent experience of this was when I moved down to Dallas from Minnesota to go to seminary. And I cannot tell you the doors that God opened for me to make all this happen. It was a last minute thing. Like it was just crazy. And it was like in a hallway where just one door opens after the other. You know, that was the experience getting down here. Then I start school and then I'm in the middle of school and some personal stuff came up. It's, you know, just the feeling of like, wait, am I an imposter? Why am I doing this? Am I really called to this? All the insecurities, everything. And it felt like the wind that had been just pushing me through was gone. So I really had to do some evaluation and some prayer and some talking to friends and mentors. And my parents are very helpful for me in situations like that, calling them and being like, was I supposed to come here? You know, and everyone's like, yes, you were supposed to come here. So that was my recent example. No, it's good because when we obey God and life gets harder, it doesn't necessarily mean that we heard him wrong. Right. And we need to know that. You have to cling to that. Yes, we have to cling to that truth because it just means we're in the middle of the story, not the end. And every good story has some form of conflict. And honestly, it's okay to cry during the conflict. It's okay to wonder and cry and ask for help. And be honest about your feelings. So we look at the cross. We see Jesus is suffering before the glory of the resurrection. And that's the mysterious way that God works. He brings life out of death, freedom out of slavery, hope out of despair. And so when it feels discouraging, friends listening, we can hold on to hope that hard doesn't mean it has to be hopeless. God is still writing the story. Yep. Lean into him. Hard doesn't have to be hopeless. Yeah. I need to write that somewhere. That is – that's good. Make it your background. Yeah. I love that. All right. Let's move on to our next question. So this is coming from day 32 and a little bit more general from Exodus 7 to 12. So covering a couple different chapters here. And this is basically the 10 plagues. OK, so God is confronting Pharaoh through the 10 plagues that display his power over these Egyptian gods. And so the question is, TLC mentioned the plagues were specifically attacking the false gods of the Egyptians. Can you explain that more? Sure. Sure we can. But wait, before you explain it, because I'm actually curious as to how you're going to answer this. And this one is so fun. It's so fun. But as you were asking the questions and you were explaining it, my brain went to like the first time I heard about the plagues was on like as a child. Yeah. And so it's like cartoon versions. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And as an adult. They're like so gruesome. As an adult thinking through these plagues, I'm like, this is, this is horrifying. Right. I wonder how Miss Emily is tackling this on TBR Kids. Probably really well. Yeah, probably super well. Sorry, you can answer the question. Okay, okay. So what's happening? God sent some plagues, and Pharaoh's just, you know, being really stubborn. So there's a lot of them. Yep. And at first they might seem like random, to your point, disasters, blood, frogs, gnats, hail. But Terrilee is right in saying that each plague was a direct attack on an Egyptian false god. So let me jump in. Yeah, jump in. And let me go through kind of just what the plague was and what the god was. And then we'll talk a little bit more about it. So the first plague was turning the Nile to blood. And this was a judgment against Apis, the god of the Nile, Isis, the goddess of the Nile, and Knum, the guardian of the Nile. Yeah, K-H-N-U-M. Right. I have no idea. Well done. I feel like I said that right. The second plague was the frogs, which was a judgment against Heket, which was a frog-headed goddess of birth. The third plague, gnats, was a judgment on the god of the desert. The fourth plague was flies, which was a judgment on the fly god. Didn't know we needed a god for that. They needed one. Why would I? I don't want to worship that god. Right. We don't want that. That's not a god I want to worship. Good thing we worship Yahweh. So God, and in this one, remember, God distinguished between the Israelites and the Egyptians. So no flies affected the Israelites, and that'll be the same for all the rest of these ones. Then the fifth plague was the death of the livestock, and that was a judgment on the goddess Hathor and the god Apis, who were both depicted as cattle. Interesting. The sixth plague was boils, and this was a judgment on a bunch of different gods that were over health and disease. The seventh plague was hail, which was attacking the sky goddess and the fertility, the crop fertility god, and the storm god. So this one was really hitting a lot of them A triple threat A triple threat there The eighth plague was locusts and this was focused on Also a triple threat Yes the same It's multitasking at its finest. Good job. Yeah, same triple threat for the locusts, and it destroyed basically whatever crops hadn't already been destroyed. Then the ninth plague was darkness, which was aimed at the sun god, who was symbolized by Pharaoh himself. And then lastly, the 10th plague, the death of the firstborn males, was a judgment on ISIS, the protector of children. And also, I think this one can be seen as a judgment against Pharaoh as well because he was viewed as a god. Exactly. Right. And the whole firstborn thing, there's so many places that could tie to that in a lot of different places in the Old Testament. Yeah. So I think it's important that it's not just that the plagues were punishments. They were also revelations of God showing himself supreme over all of their false beliefs. He was in a way making himself known to the Egyptian people. And he explicitly says this in Exodus 12, 12, when he says, on all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgments. I am the Lord. That is such a, that's easy to read over, but that is such a statement. And as I've listened through these different gods, the thing that has jumped out at me, even with this, I am the Lord. My voice a little deeper, I am the Lord. But I think the reality for us is that God understands our cultural context even better than we do. So God is here in this story, meeting the people right where they're at, coming against the enemies in this very culturally relevant way. Yeah. That our God, he can do anything. He's outside of time and he can meet us in these culturally relevant ways and not just us, but like other people. And yeah, and he will use things to his glory that will draw us to him. And I love that that God understands way better than we could even. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Well, and he just wanted he wanted the Israelites and the Egyptians and the nations because we read later that the nations heard about this. You know, they knew about what happened. He wanted them to know who he was. Yeah. And he wanted them to not be worshiping these false gods. Yeah. Yep. That's right. And so then you think, okay, what does this mean for us today? Yeah. Because today we're not really bowing down to frogs or rivers. Hope not. Yeah, hopefully not. But our culture does have its own false gods, be it success, beauty, comfort, even control. And just as God did with the false gods in Egypt, he lovingly expresses those idols as powerless and urges us to trust in him. So the plagues, they really are, they're reminders that nothing rivals the one true God. And our lives and the conditions of our hearts should match that reality, that nothing rivals him. Yep. So good. You ready for the next question? Yeah. Bring it on. Okay. This one comes from day 32. Exodus 7, 11, and Exodus 8, 7. So the question is, how were the Egyptian sorcerers able to mimic some of the miracles performed by Moses and Aaron? So here are the verses. Exodus 7, 11. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts. Each one threw down his staff, and it became a snake. And then Exodus 8, 7. So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt and the frogs came up and covered the land. But the magicians did the same thing by their secret arts. They also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt. Yeah. What do we do with that? Exactly. Well, and so we're still in the plagues. We're still in the plagues. And I think that there's probably three different options, maybe more, but we'll start with three. So in the same way that magicians today can do tricks and illusions and magic tricks, it's possible that these magicians were able to do these same things through the way that magicians can also today still do illusions. Yeah, I've seen things I can't explain. I've seen it. I'm like, how'd you do that? Yeah. So I feel like that's one option. it's also possible second option that there was demonic influence working behind the scenes giving these magicians power yes but the demonic influences or the demonic forces they can imitate god's work but they're always limited yes yes so it's always going to be just it's going to mimic but there's going to constantly be a wall that they hit yep yep exactly and then And third, it's possible God allowed these magicians to mimic his power, but only up to a certain point. So remember, and this is really cool, the magicians can only mimic the first two plagues. So they're two for 10. That's not really that much. So it's kind of amazing that the magicians actually say on the third plague, they say in Exodus 8, 19, this is the finger of God. Yeah. When they can't replicate the third plague, which was the gnats. Yeah, they couldn't replicate the gnats. And they say to Pharaoh, this is the finger of God. So they have this recognition that like, whoa, this is way beyond whoever the God of these guys is, whatever this God is doing to their staff, you know, like or whatever they're using, this is beyond us. I'm going to go. Yeah, come in. I love the three options. And as you're explaining them, I think, man, those don't have to be mutually exclusive. True. That's very true. Because if they recognized that it's God, they could have had some trick up their sleeve. Potentially. They also could have been allowed to do things by God that the enemy was also at work in that space that the Lord allowed. allowed, like, let it sift through his fingers knowing what was coming. Yep. And so I think those are three great options. And I think that they're also not mutually exclusive. I think that's a really good point. Yeah. But ultimately, the magician's limits expose the truth. Yes. Because the reality is the magicians couldn't undo the plex. Yeah. Yes. Right. So if they really wanted to show any power. Right. Surely they would reverse it and make life easier for their people. Right. But they couldn't. They couldn't stand against God. And I think that's why today discernment really matters because we don't want to get distracted by the imitations because they fall dramatically sore. So there's plenty of imitations of God's power today, be it self-help messages dressed up as Bible teaching or prosperity preachers who promise blessings without the cross or spiritual movements that talk about energy and healing like crystals. They never point to Jesus. And so those things, they might look impressive to some for a moment, but they can't deal with the real problem of sin and they can't save. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's such a good point that they cannot. They were able to mimic, but they could do nothing to deal with the problem because God was proving himself to be the all-powerful God. Yeah. To the Egyptians, to the Israelites, to us. He does this all the time. And we, yeah, it's just amazing to think that there's no match for him. He has all the power in the world. And I think that can be just a really cool takeaway from this story. Well said. Amen. The next question comes from day 31, Exodus 4, 10 through 13, which I'll read first, starting in verse 10. But Moses said to the Lord, oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent either in the past or since He said So the question from one of our recaptains That's fair. I mean, that's a vulnerable question. I read recently that God's sovereignty already takes our stupidity into consideration. And I will tell you, for me, it is wildly comforting. It is wildly comforting because if God's asking me or if God's asking you or whoever asked this person to do something, he's already taken into consideration your weakness and your shortcomings and anything that you feel less than with he's already taken that into consideration when he called you yeah otherwise he knows that because he knows humans yeah what we're like otherwise he wouldn't have called you right and and i think jumping forward because this is a very like tangible question of like, in my life, what do I do with this? So I want to jump at 2 Corinthians 12.10, Paul writes this, for the sake of Christ, then I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Paul was a guy who recognized dependence on God. Because even in his weakest spaces, he knew that God could do through him. So when we're saying, oh God, that's a big, that's a big task. I don't think it's for me. What we're essentially saying, and I promise you none of us mean to, is that God, I have a better grasp of this situation than you do. None of us mean to say that, but that's what we're doing. I know better than the God of the universe who has set this whole thing up. And I think, and I hate it. I hate to admit that I do that because I do. But it's one of Satan's biggest lies for all believers. And it's from the start, from the garden, that God is not sufficient to meet our needs. And so I think if you're feeling like, oh, God is calling me to this thing, but I don't think I'm the right person, And I think you're believing a lie that God's not sufficient. Yeah. Yeah. And also, if God called you, you are the right person. Right. You know, so I think that's just it's kind of just the reality of like, if God has called you to do something, you clearly are the right person. And he doesn't call people by mistake. It's not like he accidentally texted the wrong number, you know, and he's like, oh, so sorry. You know, I put an extra one in there or whatever. Like that's that's not what's happening. He calls people because he has a plan for them. And so we can trust that. Yeah. And he also doesn't deny Moses's limitations. No. Yeah. So Moses says like, hey, I've got a problem. I'm not the most well-spoken. And God's like, well, didn't I make your mouth? Like, I made you that way. I know that's how you are. But he promises his presence. He's like, hey, I will be your mouth, which is God's way of saying, I know your weaknesses and I'm bigger than them. And so I think to the person who asked this question or anyone out there, when you feel like Moses, the question isn't, am I enough? It's, do I believe God is enough? Yeah. Because God doesn't call us because we're the best candidates. He calls us to show his power through our weaknesses. And that means our sense of inadequacy, it isn't disqualification. Right. It's actually setting the stage for his strength. Yes. Yeah. We're like, amen. Preach it, Emma. Well, and I think, too, this can be an opportunity to pray and ask God to strengthen you. Give me more faith. Give me the courage to obey you. I think, yeah, that we can, I think sometimes we feel like, okay, this person, you know, I feel I'm resonating with Moses here. And I think God's called me to something, but I just don't feel good enough, strong enough, big enough, like whatever the thing is. And then that's like the end of the conversation is we just kind of get stuck in, oh, I don't think I can do this. Versus being honest with God and being like, hey, God, I don't think I can do this. But I also know your character. I know how you've worked in my life in the past. I've seen you work in my friends' lives or in the life of my church or wherever. We have all of these times that we can look back on for evidence for the way that God works with people who are not maybe what we as humans would say that's the best person. Yeah, the kingdom economy is very different than our economy. And I do think it's so kind of the Lord to give Moses a companion to travel with him. And he's like, I don't think I can do this. And he's like, no, no, you certainly can. But I'm going to send someone with you just like that was because he cared, not because he needed it. And I think there are times, like you said, like, man, I want to pursue other people. Let me get other people's input on this. It's like, help me see what God's doing here because I don't see it. I don't see it. And so I think other people are a great resource for that. Yeah. Well, and sometimes we have an inadequate view of ourselves in the sense that maybe this is actually an area of gifting for you that you haven't, for whatever reason, had an opportunity to develop. To exercise, yeah, or develop. So maybe a church leader or a mentor or a close friend, someone who's really alongside you for the journey can actually look at you and be like, no, you'd be great at that. You just need a little help. You just need someone to hold your hand. And remember, God will be with you. Whatever he calls you to, God will be with you every step of the way. That's right. So in closing, what should you do if you feel like Moses? Yes. What would you say? What's your one practical step? If you feel like Moses in this particular situation, I would say reorient your perspective because you're looking at the wrong thing. That's good. I think I would go back to the faith thing. I think I would say pray and ask God for more faith and ask him for courage to do the thing, do the next step in the thing that he's asking you to do. You don't have to go to the end of the road right now. You just have to do the next step forward, and God can give you that faith and that courage to obey him to do that. That's good. I would say take a step back. Take your eyes off yourself. Remind yourself of who God is, and he will equip you. He doesn't need us to be perfect, but he delights to use us despite our imperfections. We have something Moses didn't have. That's right. As followers of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit. and the power to look back at the gospel. Moses is looking forward to the gospel. We're looking back at the gospel. And so what does it look like to say, I need to remind myself of the gospel? The gospel wasn't just for our salvation. It's for our daily lives. And so go back to the gospel. Go back to the truth of who Christ is, what Christ did, and what it means for us. So good. We're out of time. We're out of time. Thanks for taking a deep dive with us. We'll see you next week as we continue to read, understand, and love the Bible and the God who wrote it.