So in proclaiming the Yahweh name to Moses, who clearly was knowledgeable about what had been said to the fathers, God is showing Moses that deliverance from Egypt was but a manifestation of the work of God. The full manifestation, as we know, was in Jesus who bore the Father's name.

4:24-26 seems to be completely irrelevant to the theme of deliverance being developed in Exodus. However the issue of circumcision and Genesis 17 is intimately connected with the theme. We will now see additional links to Genesis 17 and the covenant of circumcision.

:26 circumcision Genesis 17:11
:31 Affliction Genesis 15:13

There are a number of verbal links between Moses at the burning bush and Gideon.

4:22 This is the first time that Israel are presented as God's 'firstborn' as such this language and the idea that Israel is God's son passes into Biblical use. So whenever we read of Israel as God's son we should think of the deliverance from Egypt. A typical use which makes this point very clearly is Hosea 11:1

Exodus 3:2 - "out of the midst of a bush" - The wild acacia or thorn, with which that desert abounds, and which is generally dry and brittle, so much so, that at certain seasons, a spark might kindle a district far and wide into a blaze. A fire, therefore, being in the midst of such a desert bush was a "great sight." It is generally supposed to be a symbol of the Israelites' condition in Egypt - oppressed by a grinding servitude and a bloody persecution, and yet, in spite of the cruel policy that was bent on annihilating them, they continued as numerous and thriving as ever. The reason was "God was in the midst of them." The symbol seems also to represent the present state of the Jews, as well as of the Ecclesia generally in the world. Or perhaps the thorny, prickly bush represents Moses himself, despised and rejected of men, but one through whom God was going to speak, yet Moses would not be consumed.

Exodus 3:13 - "What is his name" - "What is his reputation". Every deity in Egypt had a reputation, and a certain aspect of life that they were supposed to look after. The scene is being set for a battle of Deities - Egypt’s many gods vs Yahweh God of Israel

which can obviously be paraphrased as:
'This is my memorial name for ever and ever'

I just thought it was interesting since this added emphasis on 'for ever' implies what I believe, that God's name will always be the same and will never change.

3:8 That God had ‘come down to deliver’ marks a powerful contrast with Him going down to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. (Gen 18:21)

4:1 Moses could be forgiven for thinking that Israel would not believe him because they did not believe that he was the deliverer when he slew the Egyptian 40 years earlier – see Acts 7:25 when he had called upon them to turn from their idol worship (Eze 20:7)

Exo 3:12 God promised Moses that he would worship God in Israel’s company on this Mountain
 (Horeb = Sinai). This of-course came true in ch 19

Exo 4:1-9 God’s 3 signs for Moses to help prove that God had sent him:- 

a) Rod turning into a snake, and back again. Could this symbolise the Tree of Life and the biting power (serpent) of sin?
b) Hand turning leprous after being placed over heart, and then recovering. Is this a
sign that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked Jer 17:9 
c) Water turning into blood is obviously the Gospel.

These 3 magnificent signs are therefore the whole hope of God’s New Testament which God revealed to Moses for the benefit of Israel as in v1

Moses showed a lack of confidence when Yahweh called him to go back to Egypt.  He had run away from there with a price for murder on his head and was scared of retribution.  Yahweh assured him that those seeking his head were all dead. Then he doubted whether he could deliver Yahweh's message effectively in Egypt.  Yahweh allowed Aaron to accompany him as spokesman.  Little by little, Moses confidence grew as he asserted his leadership role.  Hopefully, as we grow in Christ, our confidence will also grow.

3:1-6; 23:20-21; 33:11,20; 34:1,2,5,6; Acts 7:30,31,32,33,35,38,53; Gal 3:19; 1Tim 6:16 - Here we have examples of God manifestation where an angel is acting as a representative of God and bearing the name of God.

4:2-9 - Here we have three signs that are perhaps echos of Christ and his 3 day victory over sin.We have a staff (ie, wood, crucifixion?) that overcomes a snake (the initiator of sin). We have the restoration of sinful flesh to clean. And finally we have water (burial of sin via baptism?) turning into blood (sacrifice of Christ's blood atoning for sin?) which perhaps echos the beginning and end of Christ's three year ministry.

3:10    ‘bring forth my people’ is another element of the way in which God is showing Moses that he is to be involved in the fulfilment of the promise to Abraham – Gen 14:10.

3:12 it is interesting that the sign he is given will actually only take place afterwards - after he has brought the people out.

4:2,6  God often uses something that one has/possesses.

4:22-26 the firstborn son of God, of Pharaoh, & of Moses tied together in this incident.

4:14 despite Moses' unwillingness, God already knew what he would need, and had already sent Aaron, who arrived before Moses had left for Egypt 4:27

3:9 The cry of people can come up to God in one of two different ways. On this occasion God heard their cry ad sought t deliver them. In Gen 10:20-21the cry of the people brought God’s judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

Exo 3:13-15   God's name is an affirmation of His existence & presence, not a meaningless title. As He is outside time, the relevance of possible present, past & future tenses is only for us. So we are reassured that whenever we are present in time, He is present & active. He affirms that He was working with the Patriarchs, is working with the current generation, & will continue to work to bring about the fulfilment of what He had promised to them.

4:30-31           Whilst the people initially believed God’s word through Moses and Aaron when things did not go smoothly they stopped believing that God was going to work to deliver them. How often are we willing to believe His word when things are going well only to start to doubt when things are not going smoothly?

Exo 3:18;Exo 5:3 - 3 days connected with sacrifice perhaps foreshadows/echos Christ's sacrificial offering and deliverance from sin and death.

Exo 4:10-15;Exo 6:12 - Moses grew powerful in speech Acts 7:22.

Psalm 57 - This Psalm relates to the time recorded in 1 Samuel 22. So as well as instructing his 400 men as we saw from Psalm 34 he still sees that he has need which only God can meet :1 'be merciful …':1, 10

56:6 Those who 'mark' David's steps are not the Philistines - rather David is speaking about Saul and those who are seeking his life. The reason why he fled to Achish in Gath.

57:3 The one who would 'swallow me up' is Saul.

Psalm 57 - The superscription to this Psalm begins "Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave" - Al-taschith means "do not destroy."

Psalm 57:1 - "shadow of thy wings" - It is obvious that Almighty God does not have wings or feathers, though both these aspects are used from time to time throughout scripture to describe God’s providential care for His children, as a mother hen or even as an eagle. The wings here refer to the wings of the Mercy seat, where, though the ordinary Israelite could not see it, his heart dwelt in faith, knowing that the Mercy Seat, and all that it signified to the mind of faith, was his only hope of life eternal

56:4 So we learn where David’s confidence was. He learnt, as Psalm 34 shows, that he could not work out his problem and had to reply on his God. It took David time to get to the position where he trusted God rather than seeking his own solution – the going down to Gath was his solution. We do well to realise that we have to rely on God and cannot rely on our own wisdom and planning.

57:4 David’s description of Saul and his men, who sought his life, in terms of wild beasts matches the way that God views the Godless nations – see Daniel 7 for example.

The two Psalms that we read today once again go together as is so often the case.

Psalm 56  This Psalm was written when David first went to Gash. 1Sam 21:10

Psalm 57  Written when David is in fear of his life in the presence of the servents of Achish. 1Sam 21:11 

56:13    David’s continuing confidence that God will deliver him is based on his experience of his God – ‘thou hast delivered me’

57        Title. ‘Altaschith’ means ‘destroy not’. David, on more than one occasion, had the opportunity to kill Saul but would not destroy him.

These psalms are messianic, and give us an idea of the thinking of Jesus & of his communication with his Father when he was beset by his enemies. He never gives in to despair, but rejoices in the care of God. This is a wonderful example for us.

Psa 57:1  David says he will take refuge under the wings of God until the disaster has passed. In the context of the cave, we have the refs 1Sam 22:1, 24:3   Although David had taken refuge in a cave, Saul inadvertantly came very close to him, but did not discover him. When we, in our lives, take shelter in God, the "disaster" may still come uncomfortably close, but we have to maintain our trust in God that he will be with us & keep us safe.

57:4Isn’t it interesting that whilst David had saved sheep from a lion – 1Sam 17:36 - he did not react with violence towards his persecutors.

Referring to the title of the Psalm, it seems unbelievable that David would flee from Saul into the hands of the Philistines. But such was his fear of the 7ft giant (Saul) that he failed to take into account the giants dwelling in Gath. We read in 2Sam 21:22 that at least four giants had been born to Goliath. We should not underestimate the threat that these men posed to David, who had, after all, killed their father. This threat rose above the threat of Saul when David heard them quote the song which had been sung after his victory over Goliath (1Sam 18:6-7, 21:11). He realised that, whilst the king had no animosity toward him, those sons certainly did. We read at the end of David's life that these giants had dogged him until the end, so much so that at the death of the last one, he penned the song recorded in 2Sam 22 "on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies" (2Sam 21:22 - 22:1). In 22:49 he writes "You also lift me up above those who rise against me". And so the end of his struggle with men who towered over him.

When we take Ps56 in the context of that song we can derive an account of what may have happened in Gath. See 2Sam 22:17-19 and Psa 56:5-6 to see how they conspired to turn Achish against him, and finally confronted him openly as we have seen in 1Sam 21:11.

The word, wings in Hebrew is kanaph which means extremity or edge, particularly of a garment, and thus a hem. Israelites had to wear blue on the borders (kanaph) of their garments (Num 15:38). This color represents heaven, the throne of Yahweh, from whence emanates all commandment and power. Thus, the heavenly power to heal is embodied in the blue border of the garment.

Malachi also makes reference to this when he talks of Christ: But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings (kanaph); and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (Mal 4:2).

Touching the hem of Christ's garment was sufficient for healing (v.36). The example of the woman diseased with an issue of blood also comes readily to mind (Matt 9:20-22).

The title for Psalm 57 says "when David fled from Saul into the cave" and the margin refers to the occasion of 1Sam 22:1 but this doesn't fit the Psalm. At this time David wasn't in danger from his own men. It does however fit with 1Sam 24 where his men urged him to kill Saul. v7 tells us he had to restrain them, and v4 and 10 that they applied pressure to him to do it. This appears from the Psalm to have been a make or break moment for David, whose men were "set on fire" and "their tongues a sharp sword" (v4). They saw the answer to all their problems in murdering Saul, God's anointed. These men and their violent nature would have brought David down had God not delivered him by providing a peaceful way out, because Saul realised he had fallen into his own trap (v2-3, 6). 1Sam26 also fits, especially as David's restraining words to Abishai are "do not destroy" which is in the Psalm's title (1Sam 26:7-11). So is this Psalm an amalgamation of these incidents?

57:1  There is an added dimension to David's use of the figure of sheltering in the shadow of God's wings.  In 1Sam 24:4 we read how David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe to use later as a sign to Saul that it had been in David's power to kill him.  In 1Sam 24:5 it seems that David regretted doing so - perhaps because he realised how close he had come to taking matters into his own hands and not relying on God by sheltering under His wings.  The word translated here as skirt is the same hebrew word that is translated wings in the Psalm.

Romans 9:18 - "hardeneth" - Three words are used in the Hebrew to describe the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. The one that occurs most frequently, properly means to be strong, and therefore represents the hardness as foolhardiness, infatuated insensibility to danger. The word is used in its positive sense, "hardens", not merely "permits to become hard."

Romans 9:21 - "Hath not the potter power over the clay; of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another to dishonour" - The objection is founded on ignorance or misapprehension of the relation between God and we, His sinful creatures here on earth. Men generally suppose that He is under obligation to extend His grace to all, whereas He is under obligation to none. All are sinners, and have forfeited every claim to His mercy; it is therefore perfectly just for God to spare one and not another, to make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor. So for a time Israel received the blessings of God, and now Paul says, the turn of the Gentiles has come. Make the most of it, be thankful for it, and do not boast in your own strength or achievements - but remember Israel and be mindful that as He cast them off for willful disobedience, so He can also cast us away. The Jews have not been cast off forever as we know, but their treatment from God must remain a salutary lesson for all of us.

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The Golden Thread - David reminded us in Psalm 57 that we find refuge under the overshadowing wings of the Mercy Seat in the Ark of the Tabernacle [as it were]. Israel as a nation, and Moses as an individual in Exodus, were safe under God's overshadowing wings, even though Pharaoh was bent on destroying them all. Though Israel has been "cast off" by God "until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled," the nation of Israel still benefits today from God's overshadowing care and providence, just as we as God's children also do, as Paul shows in Romans

Vs.15-21 run counter to the Pollyanna attitude that some have about God.  Those who quote God is love (1John 4:8) etc. as proof of an all-accepting God, misunderstand. 

The God of the Bible is not obliged to any man.  Therefore, in the unfolding drama of God's plan, we must count ourselves extremely fortunate that He has called us to salvation.

In God's drama, we are in leading roles while the rest of the world is supporting cast.  We should also count our brethren, who share the same hope, as precious (1Pet 2:3,4).  To all others we preach, not knowing to whom God will extend His grace.

9:3        Paul’s wish that he ‘were accursed …’ is rather like the way in which Moses asked that God might blot hi out of the book of life rather than destroy Israel – Exo 32:32

9:22-24 "...endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." God in His wisdom provided a way to overcome sin, by having his face shine (I think of this as smiling on) the "vessels of mercy." His wisdom decreed that this grace would be given only after suffering, part of which would be by "the vessels of wrath" who are a necessary, though abhorrent, part of the environment on the path to salvation.

These objects of God's destruction are one of the ways whereby we come to realise that we need to be saved! God be praised, not because He will save all, but for the wisdom of His plan to have mercy on a remnant, bringing them to glory though so undeserving. I'm sure we all feel this, and wonder at it. We see in this chapter that we cannot hope to earn salvation by anything we do (especially by Law), but, throwing ourselves into God's hands, serve Him out of love for all He has done and continues to do for us each day.

9:14 Here we have another rhetorical question – just in case some would argue that God was not fair in the way He had dealt with Israel. Paul then demonstrates, by quoting Exo 33:19, that God is fair. We must, therefore, develop an understanding of God which takes account of what we learn in Exodus 33.

Rom 9:2,3  "I have great sorrow & unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed & cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers.."   Is this the way we think about those of our brothers & sisters who have gone astray & followed the wrong path, one which has taken them away from God? Do we join Moses & Paul in fervent prayer, as well as actual effort to bring them back? Does it impact us unceasingly, as it did Paul?

9:4 There were benefits in being born a Jew. The Jew had the advantage of familiarity with Scripture. How valuable do we see our knowledge of Scripture? Do we take it for granted or treasure it?

This is a hard chapter. And however much we don't like it, the conclusion of the matter is:

"how can the clay say to the potter 'why have you made me like this? ' " (v20-21)

So if God is our creator, it is important that we all individually ask for His mercy (v15-16, 18, 23) because to whoever asks, it will be given (Matt 7:7, John 4:10, Rom 8:32).