Sermon Guide: Exodus 3:7-12 "The Presence & The Sign"

Key Passage

Exodus 3:7–12 ESV

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, 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. 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. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

Sermon Overview

In Exodus 3:7–12, God meets Moses at the burning bush and responds to his objection, “Who am I?” not by boosting his self-confidence but by promising, “I will be with you.” The heart of the passage is that God’s presence, not our adequacy, is the true answer to every calling and fear. Just as Moses was given a backward sign—Israel worshiping at Sinai after deliverance—so too we look back at the resurrection of Christ as the great sign that God was truly with him, and now with us. Our insufficiency is met by God’s all-sufficient presence, and our doubts are answered by the finished work of Jesus, who leads us out of slavery to sin and into the hope of resurrection life

Sermon Structure

#1 The Objection

• “Who am I?” — Moses’ sense of inadequacy

• Our sense of inadequacy and the high calling of a Christian

#2 God’s First Response: the Presence

• Mere presence is not enough; it must be compassionate & active

• God’s promises to be with us

#3 God’s Second Response: the Sign

• This sign works backwards

#4 Jesus, the Better Moses

• God was with Jesus

• The resurrection of Jesus was the ultimate sign

Questions for Discussion & Reflection

1. Read Exodus 2:23–25 out loud, and then Exodus 3:7–10. What words do these passages share in common? Are there any words or ideas you expect to be in the Ex 3 passage that aren’t there?

   
   

2. Moses felt inadequate for God’s calling on your life. What do you think God is asking you to do that you feel inadequate for? How can God’s presence give you strength and comfort?

   
   

3. Why do you think God gave Moses a “backward sign” instead of a forward-pointing one?