Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Biblical Timeline

Israelites were going to and in Egypt.

They were brought into Egypt through Joseph to be saved from the famine.

They were later put into slavery by the Egyptians.

God would deliver them from slavery and bring them into the promise land through Moses.

Within this time, God establishes his covenant relationship with the nation of Israel, establish the Law and Sacrifices, the tabernacle, and guides them to the promise land.

Moses

God’s covenant relationship with Abraham.

(Gen 15)

Genesis 15:12–16 (ESV)

12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram.

And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.

13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

When God entered into a covenant relationship with Abraham, He expressed the situation that the Israelites will be in and how God will deliver them.

Call of Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt

Exodus 2:23–24 (ESV)

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help.

Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

God hears and sees the oppression of and crying out of the Israelites in Egypt.

God is going to deliver His people and will use Moses.

Circumstances around the Call of Moses (3:1-6)

Moses the Shepherd (1)

Exodus 3:1 (ESV)

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.

Moses is 80 years old.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (3:1–3)

After 40 years of training in the courts of Pharaoh, Moses now neared the end of another 40 years of his life as a shepherd.

Leading his father-in-law’s flock in search of grassland, Moses approached Mount Horeb (another name for Mount Sinai; cf.

19:10–11 with Deut.

4:10).

Mount Horeb, the mountain of God.

Sinai “A large peninsula lying between Egypt and Palestine.

Triangular in shape, bordered by the two arms of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Elath on the east and the Gulf of Suez on the west, it was the scene of some of the most important events in the history of the Israelites.”

(Negev, Avraham.

The Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land 1990: n. pag.

Print.)

“In the Bible the name Sinai refers to a specific mountain (Ps.

68:8); to a range of mountains (Deut.

33:2; Judg.

5:5) and to a desert or wilderness (Exod.

19:2).

The same mountain is sometimes called Horeb (1 Ki 19:8), and Mount Horeb is also referred to as the ‘mountain of God’ (Exod.

3:1) and sometimes just ‘the mountain’ (Exod.

19:2–3).”

(Negev, Avraham.

The Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land 1990: n. pag.

Print.)

Mt.

Sinai (Mt.

Horeb) is a very important location in the the history of the Israelite people.

Here in Moses call to deliver the people.

After the exodus, they will return to this area and receive the Law and Tabernacle.

Moses notices the Burning Bush (2-3)

Exodus 3:2–3 (ESV)

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.”

Angel of the Lord (67x) (2a)

“In this context, “the angel of the LORD” is probably a manifestation of God himself, rather than a messenger sent by God, although the evidence is open to debate.

The fact that the ground around the bush becomes holy favors the idea that God himself is present; an angel-messenger is unlikely to have made the ground holy.”

(Alexander, T. Desmond.

Exodus.

Ed.

John H. Walton.

Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2016.

Print.

Teach the Text Commentary Series.)

Burning, but not consumed (2b-3)

This was the event that got Moses’ attention.

Exodus 3:3 (NET 2nd ed.)

3 So Moses thought, “I will turn aside to see this amazing sight.

Why does the bush not burn up?”

Moses in God’s Presence (4-6)

Exodus 3:4–6 (ESV)

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.

Presence of God.

“God’s presence makes the bush and the immediately surrounding area holy.

Later, the entire mountain will be designated holy, when God appears before the Israelites (Exod.

19–24).

By removing his footwear Moses possibly expresses an attitude of humility or respect in God’s presence.

Alternatively, being barefoot may be required due to the holiness of the ground.

It seems likely that the Aaronic priests served barefoot within the tabernacle.

The importance of being holy in order to be in God’s presence is highlighted especially in the book of Leviticus.”

(Alexander, T. Desmond.

Exodus.

Ed.

John H. Walton.

Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2016.

Print.

Teach the Text Commentary Series.)

Purpose of the Call of Moses (3:7-10)

God’s concern for Israel (7-9)

Exodus 3:7–9 (ESV)

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.

God knows (7)