It is said that Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators, would wake up each day and ask, “Why am I doing what I am doing the way I am doing it?” He had a passion for the lost and linked that with evangelism and discipleship. He helped create the first follow-up materials for Billy Graham’s meetings.

Have you asked yourself why you are involved in missions? What motivates you? As you reflect on that, I encourage you to do a fresh look at Exodus to evaluate your motivations and your prayer life. The story and principles there are foundational to the entire story of the Scriptures. Numerous references to Moses, the Exodus, and the Passover are found throughout the Bible.

God’s relationship with Moses, his pursuit of God, and how he leads the people are foundational to how we understand God, how he interacts with his creation, and what God could do through us as we seek more of him.1 While it appears that the main story is about Israel’s release from Egyptian slavery, it is much bigger—as are God’s purposes for Israel in relationship to all peoples (Gen 12:1–3). This is echoed in Exodus 19:1–6, where the nation is seen as a kingdom of priests to the peoples of the world.

God transforms Moses from a man in the wilderness into one of whom it is said, “the Lord used to speak with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to a friend” (Exod 33:11). He becomes the intercessor and leader for the nation and a “prophet of prophets,” as the three verses of the last book of the Torah notes,

Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face-to-face, for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land – and for all the mighty power and great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. (Deut 34:10–12)

We don’t know what Moses knew about God before his first encounter on the mountain. But it is here that God first reveals his name and later what that name means.

His family knew of the “God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.” That is a phrase he references many times. His mother probably spoke it to him until he was weaned. Parts of the Genesis account may have been shared orally.2 They likely also knew that God is not like the gods of the Egyptians (gods reflected in the plagues narrative) or the local deities of various people groups they will meet in the land. Yet it is probable that Moses’ education was far more influenced by Egyptian schooling and a life of privilege in the palace.

While God interacts with Moses many times in Exodus, there are two significant encounters on which the book focuses. One, where God first meets Moses and reveals his name (Ex 3–4), and two, where God reveals what his name means or what kind of God he is. Each of the sections includes five points of interaction between God and Moses and describe a profound maturing in Moses as God works closely with him.3 Space here only allows a short list of the questions/objections Moses raises. I will focus on the later passage below.

God Has a Name (Exod 3:1–4:16)

After the shock of seeing the burning bush and hearing God speak, Moses wants clarification.

1.  Why me? (Exod 3:11)

2.  Who are you? (Exod 3:13)

3.  But what if they don’t believe me? (Exod 4:1)

4.  I can’t speak or think well. (Exod 4:10)

5.  Send someone else. (Exod 4:13)

God has revealed his name and his plans. After the Exodus from Egypt, God gives the law, and we begin to see Moses changing. When the narrative picks up in chapter 32, God reveals what the name Jehovah means, but the section does not start out well. We see Moses as a prophetic intercessor for the nation.

God Reveals What His Name Means (Exod 32–34)

While Moses goes up to the LORD for 40 days, the people get impatient and take things into their own hands. They break the first two of the Ten Commandments before they are ratified! Exodus 32 is a painful read, but God hasn’t given up, though it seems he might.

Intercession 1

Don’t do that LORD. (Exod 32:11–14)

God says he will destroy the people because of their idolatry and start over to create a new nation through Moses. Whatever God intended, Moses responds back with God’s words and what he has promised about the nation’s future. “How would this look to Egypt or other nations?” God “relents.”

Intercession 2

Forgive them or sacrifice me. (Exod 32:30–34)

Pre-figuring Jesus’ sacrificial death, Moses offers himself to atone for the “great sin” of the people. If God will not forgive them, then—as Moses prays—“Blot me out!” God says he will blot out those who have sinned against him and not turned back or repented. The plague that follows was not indiscriminate but was judgment and warning to all.

Now, God tells Moses to depart and go up, but Moses knows they must have God’s presence. So, Moses presses into God again:

Intercession 3

Show me your ways that I may know you. (Exod 33:12–17)

Moses reminds God that he knows Moses by name, and he has God’s favor. Moses pleads with God to, “show me now your ways that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight” (Exod 33:13b). The LORD replies, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Wow!

The next prayer continues to demonstrate Moses' deepening relationship with the LORD.

Intercession 4

Show me your glory. (Exod 33:18)

Meditate here and slowly read or listen to Exodus 33:19–23. After God’s glory passes by him, Moses is told to meet the LORD on the mountain the next morning with two blank replacement tablets.

God reveals to Moses the meaning of the name he revealed in Exodus 3 in very memorable and powerful language in Exodus 34:6–7:

The LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed,
        'Yahweh, Yahweh, a God,
        compassionate and gracious,
        slow to anger, and
        abounding in loyal-love and faithfulness,
        keeper of loyal-love for thousands,
        forgiver of iniquity and transgression and sin,
        yet, he will surely not clear the guilty,
        visitor of the iniquity of the fathers upon the 
        sons and upon the sons of sons, upon the third 
        and the fourth.'4

At the point of the story where God has every right to judge the people for breaking the first two commandments, he upends the perception of a vengeful God and completely reorients our understanding of who he is and how he will act.5

Yahweh, Yahweh, a God…

• compassionate

Deeply moved… the Hebrew word almost always used only of God. But the same root word is used to describe a nursing mother’s feelings toward her baby. In 1 Kings 3:26, two prostitutes, who have recently become mothers, come to Solomon after one of their two infants died. The real mother felt “deeply stirred” when she heard the baby may be cut in two.

• gracious

Favor, grace, giving... This is used when Esther approaches the king. She is hopeful that her request will result in a favorable response.

• slow to anger 

Long, patient, a sense of deliberateness… This includes the idea of long restraint, which God has already demonstrated. God grows angry when humans decide to do things their way, opposed to the path God has set.

• abounding in loyal-love 

Love, generosity, enduring commitment… It is not just love and generosity, but the addition of “abounding in” describes an enduring faithful love. A clear example is in Ruth where “Chesed” is used to describe how Ruth lived out her family relationships.

• faithfulness

True, stable, reliable… God is trustworthy, a rock. He is upright and just. The Hebrew word for trust is the same root.

At this point, we might be asking, how will this work out in what God does? The next section begins to answer this:

• keeper of loyal-love for thousands [of generations]

His love extends to those who love and obey him to thousands of generations. The love described above is available and free to those who love and obey him.

• forgiver of iniquity, transgression, and sin

He is a God who forgives—a core expression of love. The text includes three different words to describe the depth of his forgiveness. 

• he will surely not clear the guilty

There are conditions: faith, belief, trust. Those who follow their own path, ignore his instructions, and disobey will be handed over to the consequences of their actions. This is what happened to Pharaoh earlier, when he hardened his own heart several times and brought God’s judgment upon his people. That is what is embedded in the next phrase…

• visitor of the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons and upon the sons of sons, upon the third and the fourth [of generations]

The contrast of thousands of generations of forgiveness with four generations of iniquity, is clear to the ancient readers. First, it demonstrates the depth of God’s great love and forgiveness. Other passages teach God gives “to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds…” (Jer 32:19b), though the sins of the fathers or grandfathers have lasting, earthly consequences (Jer 32:18).

Note that the way this echoes the second commandment (Exod 20:5–6—no idols) would have been clear to them. God visits iniquity on those who hate him and shows favor “to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments.”

After God’s declaration, “Moses hurried to bow low toward the ground and worship” (Exod 34:8). He is silent before God.

Then, he intercedes one more time:

Intercession 5

Please go in the midst of us! (Exod 34:9)

Moses returns to a key request on his mind, which will impact the next phase in his leadership: God’s going in their midst as they set out, renewing the covenant.

Reflection

Meditate on how Moses pursues God. God responds to the intercession of his people to reveal himself. Daniel’s experience is a perfect example.6 Moses’ intercession for the nation results in salvation from God’s judgment and secures his presence with them into the Promised Land.

We have the ability, by his Spirit, to reflect God’s love. Can we say with Paul that the love of Christ constrains us (2 Cor 5:14), and that the love of Christ surpasses knowledge (Eph 3:19)? How much and how often do people see “Christ in us, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27)?

On the foundation of the love and forgiveness of God, and our pursuit of him, we intercede for the nations—like Moses. As we engage in missions or share our faith, we must lead in our heart and by our actions with the love of God as our core motivation.