Moses at the Burning Bush
In these verses, the stage is set for...
In these verses, the stage is set for the reorientation of Moses’ life.
This section presents Moses’ call to rescue the...
This section presents Moses’ call to rescue the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. It is divided into two subsections, 3:1–4:17 and 4:18–28. The first deals with the call itself, while the second addresses the full implications of accepting that call. Moses was not presented with a mere vocational change; he faced an entire reorientation of his life.
1Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,† the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,† the mountain of God. 2There the angel† of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed. 3So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?”
4When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered.
5“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”† 6Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”† At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings. 8I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
9And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10Therefore, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt.Ӡ
Moses first protested that he was unworthy of...
Moses first protested that he was unworthy of such a great task, but God responded that this was not the issue. Human worthiness is of no significance if God’s presence is with that person.
Moses, in his response to God, presented four...
Moses, in his response to God, presented four reasons why he was not the one to fulfill God’s call. Although each reason supposedly relates to Moses and his ability, God’s answers show that they were really questions about God.
11But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12“I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”†
Moses’ second protest was that he had inadequate...
Moses’ second protest was that he had inadequate knowledge. He did not know God’s name. This might mean that God’s personal name had not yet been revealed (see study notes on 6:2–3). It is also possible that Moses meant he did not know the secret, magic formula that a man of power might have been expected to make use of. Interest in such things was common in the ancient Near East. God’s direct response is almost a riddle, but the majority of his answer is a statement of his faithfulness in the past and a demonstration of his knowledge of the future. There is nothing magical about the name Yahweh. Knowledge of secret formulas and magic powers is not the issue; the issue is the character of God and his lordship of history. The reason there is “something about that name” is because of the incomparable character and nature of the one who bears it.
13Then Moses asked 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?’ What should I tell them?”
14God 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.’”
15God also told 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, and this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.
Moses was to tell the people of Israel...
- Moses was to tell the people of Israel that the God who now spoke to them was the same God their ancestors knew and worshiped, and that he would lead them into a fruitful land wrested from the hands of many others. Moses’ message was not a magical formula, but the word of a God who, standing outside of history, can yet enter and direct it.
- flowing with milk and honey: See study note on 3:8.
16Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
18The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’
19But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.†
God’s power would be obvious, and the Egyptians...
God’s power would be obvious, and the Egyptians would not only allow the Hebrews to leave, they would pay them to do so.
20So I will stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders I will perform among them. And after that, he will release you.
21And I will grant this people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you leave, you will not go away empty-handed. 22Every woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”