Moses and the Burning Bush
3 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro,[a] the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai,[b] the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. 3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”
4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied.
5 “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father[c]—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”
13 But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
14 God replied to Moses, “I am who i am.[d] Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh,[e] the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.
This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations. 16 “Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me. He told me, “I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you. 17 I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.”’
18 “The elders of Israel will accept your message. Then you and the elders must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord, our God.’
19 “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him.[f] 20 So I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them. Then at last he will let you go. 21 And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed. 22 Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.”
Footnotes:
3:1a Moses’ father-in-law went by two names, Jethro and Reuel.
3:1b Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
3:6 Greek version reads your fathers.
3:14 Or I will be what i will be.
3:15 Yahweh (also in 3:16) is a transliteration of the proper name YHWH that is sometimes rendered “Jehovah”; in this translation it is usually rendered “the Lord” (note the use of small capitals).
3:19 As in Greek and Latin versions; Hebrew reads will not let yo
u go, not by a mighty hand.
Great story. Great imagery. Great detail.
So much so, I had to include several depictions of this scene.
So much so, I had to include several depictions of this scene.
We begin with Moses accepting this new path in life. He is tending sheep for his father-in-law. As he moves them deeper and deeper into the wilderness, he comes upon a bush that is burning but does not burn up. Moses stares in amazement at an angel of the Lord, within the flame... and so he moves in closer to get a better glimpse. Then comes the calling, by name, "Moses, Moses!" There is such importance in our name being called. It is at that moment we know that this is personal. It is not that we happened upon something spectacular. It is not that anyone could have this experience. But instead, our name is called... and at that moment, we know this is between God and us.
And so Moses responds, "Here I am! I hear you calling me. I know it is you, Lord. Here I am! What is it you want from me?" Those three words say so much.
Then the instructions begin coming. "Don't come any closer. Take off your sandals. This is holy ground. I am the God of your father."
Moses responds again. This time by covering his face from the glory of God. Then God begins to share in detail that he has heard his people cry. But that is not enough for Moses. "Wait a minute... I can't go before Pharaoh..." Moses knows what that would be like. Moses lived in the palace. Moses knew how difficult it was to present oneself to the king of Egypt. So he gives protest.
This time God responds. "I will be with you. You are not going alone. I am not expecting you to walk into that palace on your own accord. I will go with you."
Still not enough, Moses protests again. "That's not going to work. They're going to want to know who you are! What the heck am I going to say then?? A burning bush sent me??!"
God responds again, with even more gusto than the time before. "I am who I am." Tell them that Moses. And then God plunges forward without a breath... "I have promised, Moses... I have promised..."
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