God's self-revelation — Faves of Dave - Bible Study

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. 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.” 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.

Our last episode concluded with God (Elohim) hearing the Israelites' groaning, remembering his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and seeing the people of Israel. Finally, Moses wrote, “and God knew.” God was never unaware of their troubles. In fact, God had foretold to Abraham that this would happen. When Moses wrote that God remembered his covenant, it does not mean that he had forgotten it and then suddenly recalled it. It means that, in God’s sovereign time, he brought his attention to it. Christians “remember” Jesus’ death on the cross through the bread and the cup in communion. It’s the same kind of thing. We haven’t forgotten about Jesus and his death. But we need to especially bring it to the forefront of our minds.

The story transitions to Moses keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. Wait a minute! Didn’t we read in chapter two that his father-in-law was named Reuel? As mentioned in the last episode, some scholars believe that Reuel was actually the grandfather, but was addressed as father. We read in the New Testament that people referred to Abraham as “our father.” In reality, he was many generations removed, but still referred to as father. The bottom line is that it’s not really important to the story. But there are logical explanations of differences.

In the first verse of chapter three, Moses is shepherding the flock near the “mountain of God (Elohim). The next verse informs the reader that “the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.” (Exo. 3:2) Yet, the bush was not burning up. The interesting thing to me here is the mention of the divine name, represented in English as “LORD,” with all capital letters. Understand that at the time of this event in Moses’ life, there was no apparent revelation to him of the divine name. Moses writes this later in his life and, apparently, chooses when to speak of God in general terms, such as Elohim, and when to specify his divine name. When we read Genesis, Elohim is used in chapter one to describe the Creator God. But when he provides more detail in chapter two, “the LORD God” is given the credit as the Creator. He is the one who speaks to Adam and puts him in the garden. He is the one who gives him instruction. Moses is careful to inform his readers that the God who spoke to him is the LORD.

The LORD got Moses’ attention by the spectacle of the burning bush that did not burn up. Moses’ intrigue led him to take a closer look. At that time, the LORD called Moses by name, and Moses responded. The angel of the LORD instructed him to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground. We are not told why the shoes made a difference. But I’ve heard it preached that Moses ' sandals were manmade items that came between him and what the LORD had made and consecrated. That sounds nice. But the real point is that obedience to the LORD’s command was much more essential. It’s an act of faith.

The LORD then explained that he was the God of Moses’ ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses’ response to that was to hide his face out of fear of God. This last detail will be significant later in Exodus.

One must be careful not to assume that God will appear to them in such dramatic ways. The events of this story and others in the Bible are not intended for the readers to draw conclusions that suggest God will do the same thing to or for them. But it may be reasonable to suggest that God appeared to Moses as he did, knowing it would reveal truths about God that would benefit many more people than Moses and the Israelites in bondage. Such principles that we could glean are: God can and will draw people to himself. God knows who we are. It’s essential to have a reverent or respectful kind of fear before God.

Gen. 20:1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

Gen. 20:8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

Gen. 20:14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

As I read this, I decided that this blog and podcast should be called, “No! He didn’t! What? Really? Wow!” You would think Abraham would have learned his lesson from his time in Egypt since he pulled the same thing on Pharaoh.

This story takes an entire chapter. So, we’re not going to do a deep dive into it. But that’s ok because I think it’s most important to see how this story fits in the greater narrative. Let’s recall what has just happened, according to Genesis. First, Abraham got a visit from the LORD. The LORD told Abraham and Sarah that Sarah would have a son sometime in the next year at the age of 90. Then, the LORD revealed that a cry had gone up against the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham, knowing that his nephew Lot and his family lived there, reminded the LORD that surely he wouldn’t destroy the righteous along with the wicked. Lot and his daughters were saved from that judgment by obeying the command of the angels to leave and not look back.

So, in Genesis 20:1, Abraham moved again. Why? We’re not told. But it might be a reasonable speculation that, as one with many livestock to feed, he’s moving his animals to a different area. Whatever the reason, its location is in the direction of Egypt, although not that far. It’s southwest of the Dead Sea. He’s stayed in Gerar, where a man named Abimelech was the king. He was a Philistine. These are the same people with whom Israel will have much conflict later in time. They did not worship the LORD. The giant Goliath, whom David would kill many years later, was a Philistine. For the Israelites who had come out of Egypt and were entering the land promised by God to Abraham and his descendants, this story would help them understand the long history their ancestors had with the Philistines.

The real problem in this story is revealed in verse 2. Abraham did the exact same thing that he did in Egypt: he told the Philistines that Sarah was his sister and had Sarah go along with it. He did this to protect himself. As was the case with Pharoah, Abimelech took Sarah into his harem. Now, I don’t know why a king wanted another wife and one that was 90 years old as well. He’s probably not thinking about having more children by her. But maybe he didn’t know she was 90. Maybe she’s aged exceptionally well. We’ll just take this at face value. We’ve already been made aware that Sarah will have a son. So, would that son be from Abimelech or Abraham? Abraham has put the certainty of his and Sarah's bringing about the promised “seed” at risk.

Here’s where the real irony sets in. The pagan Philistine king is visited by the LORD in a dream who tells him that he’s going to die because he has another man’s wife. The LORD had spoken directly to Abraham and told him that he and his wife Sarah would have a son together. However, Abraham’s actions don’t evidence a strong conviction that that he’s buying it. Conversely, the pagan Abimelech believed every word the LORD revealed to him in a dream.

Then, Abimelech appealed to the LORD, “LORD, will you kill innocent people?” (v. 4) Who does that sound like? That was Abraham’s argument to the LORD when he knew what the LORD would do to Sodom and Gomorrah. For a pagan, Abimelech has some pretty good theology happening at the moment. The great irony happening is humorous. But don’t miss the extent of God’s grace to Abimelech. God didn’t have to reveal anything to Abimelech. But he spoke a clear message to him and actually prevented him from sinning with Sarah. (v. 6) Then, he gave Abimelech a chance to do what was right. That’s what the LORD did with Cain, remember? But Cain chose to ignore the LORD’s warning and did what he wanted. Abimelech obeys the LORD’s instruction and blesses Abraham.

The story closes with Abraham praying to God to heal Abimelech, his wife, and female servants so that they would have children. (v. 17)

I think we often look to the Bible for instruction on what we should do. We open its pages to find tips for a happy marriage and so forth. But I really think the Scriptures are more about revealing who God is and what he is like. In this story, we are reminded again that Abraham, whom God chose, is human with weaknesses like everyone else. Yet, God will not abandon the plan that he has for Abraham and Sarah. God steps into the story to ensure that what he has promised will come about. It reveals that the LORD is able and willing to reveal himself to anyone or everyone. Furthermore, as he did with Abimelech, he protected him from ignorantly sinning and, with the new knowledge, gave him the choice to obey or disobey. God showed grace and mercy to a pagan king.

This is what our God is like. May this lead us to trust the LORD and know that his ways are good.

Episode 348 - "The LORD God calls Moses" - Exodus 3:1-6

Episode 277 - “No! He didn’t! What? Really? Wow!” - Genesis 20