Exodus 3

Moses and the Burning Bush

 1 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 wilderness and came to Horeb,the mountain of God. 

2 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. 

3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

4 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.”

5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 

6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] 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.

7 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. 

8 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. 

9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 

10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 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[b] will worship God on this mountain.”

13 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?”

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[d] 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 you shall call me
    from generation to generation.

16 “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. 

17 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.’

18 “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 wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lordour God.’ 

19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 

20 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.

21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 

22 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 plunderthe Egyptians.”

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 3:6 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (see Acts 7:32) fathers
2. Exodus 3:12 The Hebrew is plural.
3. Exodus 3:14 Or I will be what I will be
4. Exodus 3:15 The Hebrew for Lord sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for I am in verse 14.

Observation Questions

Moses and the Burning Bush

What was Moses doing when he came to the mountain of God? (verse 1)

Where did the angel of the Lord appear to Moses? (verse 2)

Why did Moses go to look at the bush? (verse 2-3)

When did the Lord call Moses? (verse 4)

What was Moses' response to being called? (verse 4)

Why did God ask Moses' to take off his sandals? (verse 5)

When did Moses hide his face? (verse 6)

Was the Lord concerned about the suffering of the people in Egypt? (verse 7)

What did God come down to do? (verse 8)

Did the cry of the Israelites reach God? (verse 9)

What was God sending Moses to do? (verse 10)

What was the sign that God said would be for Moses? (verse 12)

Did God say that he would be with Moses? (verse 12)

What did God say to Moses when Moses asked for a name to give to the people? (verse 13-15)

Who did God tell Moses to assemble? (verse 16)

Who did God say would listen to Moses? (verse 16-18)

What did God say would compel the king of Egypt to let the Israelites go? (verse 19-20)

When did God say that the king of Egypt would let the Israelites go? (verse 20)

What did God say about how the Israelites would leave? (verse 21-22)

What was every woman to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for? (verse 22)

Thoughts

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 wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 

"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 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.” ... Going back to John chapter 4

 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 

Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 

You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 

 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” - John 4:19-26

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.’” - verse 13 & 14

"But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him."

“And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this 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.”