Exodus 3: 1-15
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 the 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 the God of 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 hands of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the 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 opressing 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 should 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 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.”
A Thought
The Israelites had been made slaves to the king of Egypt and are now crying out to God in their misery under the new Pharaoh’s slave drivers. Here we find God, manifested as the angel of Lord, speaking to Moses from a burning bush on Mount Horeb telling Moses to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites from out of Egypt. This appears to be an impossible task for Moses to accomplish, but God, the I AM WHO I AM, tells Moses that he, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob will be with him. If we are listening to God throughout his word, he will use us to accomplish great things for his kingdom, but remember he will always be with us. It is our mission to be sure the name of God is remembered from generation to generation.
Our Prayer
Father we are your people who have fallen in bondage to Covid-19 and to unrest, division in our land. We are crying out to you for your perfect work in our lives and for you to release us from all sin and bondage. Help us to overcome our weakness and to gain strength by faith in you knowing that you will protect your people. We thank you in Jesus’ name, amen.
