Exodus 3:1-8

Cross-references For Better Understanding a Related Topics b Additional Materials c

Summary

• God appears (in a burning bush that is not consumed) to Moses, summoning him to lead Israel out of Egypt.

Details and Comments

• Moses sees the burning bush that is not consumed and goes over to investigate it.

• God speaks to him out of the bush; Moses demonstrates the right attitude of a human in the presence of God (not looking directly at God).

• God says he's come to deliver Israel from Egypt. (Verse 10 - He's going to have Moses do it.)

Scripture

Exodus 3:1-8 – The burning bush that is not consumed; God tells Moses he's going to take Israel to the land of Canaan.

Scripture Passage	Comments and Links
Exo 3:1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God's mountain, to Horeb.	The Midianites were descendants of Abraham through Keturah, his wife after Sarah died. (Genesis 25:1-2) They were one of the "many nations" (in the literal sense) to come from Abraham.
Exo 3:2 The angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Exo 3:3 Moses said, "I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt."	A burning bush that was not consumed by the fire. Miraculous Events
Exo 3:4 When Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, "Moses! Moses!" He said, "Here I am." Exo 3:5 He said, "Don't come close. Take your sandals off of your feet, for the place you are standing on is holy ground." Exo 3:6 Moreover he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God.	God speaks to Moses out of the burning bush. God was present, though only the fire was visible. Yet knowing that God was present - and knowing the utter contrast between God's holiness and greatness, and our sinfulness and smallness - was sufficient reason to not even look in the direction of the fire. Why would Moses take off his sandals? He wouldn't dare do otherwise! The shoes have a symbolic significance, because they would be covered ("defiled") with dust or dirt from the ground. By removing his dirt-covered shoes, Moses would be demonstrating (at least symbolically) the need to be holy and undefiled when approaching God. It would also be an expression of humility and reverence. The place was holy because God was there, not because there was anything special about the ground in that area. God's Presence The Holiness of God
Exo 3:7 Yahweh said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. Exo 3:8 I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.	The issue has to do with the oppression and affliction that the Israelites experienced, at the hands of the brutal Egyptian taskmasters. It wasn't merely the fact that they were working for the Egyptians; rather, they were being abused by them. God opposes and condemns the mistreatment and abuse of humans, whether or not they are slaves. Servant, Slave Oppression God will take his people to the land of Canaan. Abraham had been told that it would be 400 years before some of the inhabitants of the land were wicked enough to be destroyed (Genesis 15:13-21). Now those 400 years were over. Canaanites and Related Groups Note that God is calling Moses to serve him for this special mission (see the verses that follow). It's not that Moses asked God. In fact, Moses considered himself not qualified for the job! (Exodus 4:10, 13)

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—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——

The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.

Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.