SCRIPTURE: EXODUS 3
IMPORTANT VERSE:
“I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (Genesis 3:12)
“I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14)
MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH (vs. 1-22)
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though he bush was on fire it did not burn up. So, Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight – why the bush does not burn up. When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush. “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.” Do not come any closer,” God said: “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” then he said, “I am God or your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey – the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt you will worship God on this mountain.”
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ then what shall I tell them?’
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.'” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
“Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘the Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites – a land flowing with milk and honey.’
“The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him. The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
And I will make the Egyptians favorable disposed toward these people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
God spoke to Moses from a burning bush. At God’s command, Moses removed his sandals and covered his face. Taking off his shoes was an act of reverence, conveying his own unworthiness before God. When you come to worship God, do you approach him with respect and sincerity?
The “land flowing with milk and honey” is the land of Israel and Jordan today. This was a poetic word picture expressing the beauty and productivity of the Promised Land.
Moses made excuses because he felt inadequate for the job God asked him to do. But God was not asking Moses to work alone. He offered other resources to help (God himself and Aaron). God offers us his resources, so we should not hide behind our inadequacies but look beyond ourselves to the great resources available. Then allow God to use our unique contributions.
God called himself “I AM”, a name describing his eternal power and unchangeable character. In a world where values, morals and laws change constantly, we can find stability and security in our unchanging and trustworthy God.
The Egyptians were glad to see the Israelite go that they sent them out with gifts of jewelry and clothing. These items were used later in building the Tabernacle.