In the following article you will find a brief commentary on Exodus 3-5 that goes along with our Riverside Church Two Year Bible Reading Plan (Volume 1 & Volume 2). This plan will allow you to read the New Testament and Psalms once every year and the Old Testament once every two years.
Exodus 3-5
God’s Call
There is much to learn in these chapters if we take in the big picture.
First, God calls us. The burning bush experience for Moses is a famous passage, but it teaches us something essential about the way God works in all of our lives. He calls us! What does that mean? The call of God moves beyond general knowledge about God or even about salvation. It is personal. God calls you personally. Faith is personal, it is you trusting in God and answering his call.
Secondly, God’s call always leads to mission. God calls us and in doing so he blesses us. And the greatest part of that blessing is that he makes us to be a blessing to others. You may not know much about the specifics of how God will use you the moment you get saved, but the call to mission is still there even if it is only embryonic in form.
Thirdly, God empowers you. It may seem dramatic, almost magical, the way in which God equips Moses with power. But for you and me he gives us his Spirit. The power for mission always takes us far beyond natural abilities (though those may certainly be a part of God’s equipping). The power comes from God!
Fourthly, there is warfare and there is purpose in the warfare. God told Moses it wouldn’t be easy (3:19), but the shock of resistance is keenly felt in chapter five. It is always the case and often what we feel. If you listen carefully, you might just be able to hear yourself in Moses words of complaint in 5:23.
