Exodus 3: 1-15 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the back side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses.” And he said, “Here am I.”
5 And He said, “Draw not nigh hither. Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
7 And the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
8 And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites, and the Amorites and the Perizzites, and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
9 Now therefore behold, the cry of the children of Israel hath come unto Me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11 And Moses said unto God, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”
13 And Moses said unto God, “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, ‘The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you,’ and they shall say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say unto them?”
14 And God said unto Moses, “I Am That I Am.” And He said, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, ‘I Am hath sent me unto you.’”
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent me unto you.’ This is My name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations.
Moses is now a humble shepherd in the desert. The angel of the Lord is mentioned several times in the old Testament; it is in my mind, without doubt, a reference to Christ, the messenger. I was recently reading some questions on this, to which a very good response was given by a Dr. Reagan. This is the link: Angel of the Lord.
Why this bush is not burnt. This passage is filled with answers to so many questions about God and His work. Who is the refiner and the one who reveals God the Father, to those who cannot for sin, look upon Him? Who is the fourth person in the furnace? For this reason, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. 23But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. 24Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king."…Daniel 3:22-24
God is not blind to the suffering of His people and He has heard their cries. He has chosen to send Moses to Pharaoh, that he may bring forth the people of God. Moses response is to question God, he is no longer in a position of rank, no longer the son of Pharaoh's daughter. I always feel this doubt before I speak to others about God, or of moral convictions. Surely there is someone smarter, better spoken, more well read than myself. There has to be someone already more patient, kind and understanding than myself. It sounds like humility at first, but it is not, and I know of no faith that has not been opposed by doubt. Just like the confidence of the fool, so is the humility of the one who hides from ever being bothered, who tolerates instead of confronts. It is phony, it amounts to nothing. God is patient, and a good thing, because no one wants to live by faith. No one wants to stand in front of Pharaoh, so God, what is Your name that I may tell your people? "I am that I am,' He says, 'I am hath sent me unto you." It is a very revealing statement, in that He is self existent, and that He is unchanging. He is all present, the Alpha and Omega, because He is eternal and therefore able to create those things that could not have appeared from nothing of their own. The Author and the finisher.
The God of your fathers, that same God, that only God, the One Who will carry you through the fire.
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