DAY SEVENTEEN:

Moses and the Burning Bush 

Exodus 3:1-22

Yesterday we left Moses in the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. His old life in Pharaoh's court was a distant memory. Now he spent his days tending his father-in-law's sheep, constantly on the move to find fresh grass in that unforgiving environment. One day was pretty much like any other.

That is, until he saw a bush that was on fire. That in itself was not unusual. There's a small bush, native to the Middle East, which produces volatile oils. Under the right conditions, namely hot and dry, these bushes can burst into flame. They flare up quickly and die out almost as quickly. No doubt Moses had witnessed this during his years in the desert. This time, however, was different. The flame didn't die out but kept on burning brightly. He just had to take a closer look!

As he approached the bush a voice cried out his name! That's close enough. Stop right there and take off your shoes, Moses, because the ground on which you're standing is holy. The voice then 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. He was afraid, because he was in the very presence of God Almighty!

"I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and 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 broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites." Wow! At least three generations of the Children of Israel had endured the lash and spent their strength serving Pharaoh. Think of how many prayers went up over those years. Now all of a sudden God said that He heard them and will act!

That's certainly good news! But Moses reconsidered when God said that HE was the one who would lead the people out of Egypt and back to the Promised Land. ME!!?!?!?!?!?  Why me?  I'm such a nobody. Besides, it's been so many years and they worship all kinds of gods in Egypt and the nations around them. Who shall I say sent me? Jacob has been dead for 400 years. God told Moses to tell them "I am who I am." That sounds like God is evading the question. I Am? What kind of a name is that? But what other name can really describe God's nature and essence? He IS! He is being itself. He exists beyond time and space. Revelation 1:8 says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Now, Moses, go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh that I've appeared to you and that My people must be allowed to go three days into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to Me. I know that Pharaoh won't listen to you, and that's part of My plan. Not only will the Hebrews know that I am God, but so will the Egyptians when I get through with them. They'll give you what's left of their wealth as a parting gift!

We'll spend some time tomorrow with Moses' reaction to God's call. Right now I'd like to look at the name by which God identifies Himself. "I am who I am" is His full name, and He goes by just "I am." Here is what His name looks like in Hebrew:

Four letters, transliterating into our alphabet as YHWH. Originally there were no vowels in Hebrew. About a thousand years after Christ some Jewish scholars called the Masoretes, whose extreme care in copying the Old Testament preserved its text for us, developed a system of dots and dashes to add the vowel sounds. They didn't add vowel points to God's name. The Name was so sacred that it cannot be pronounced by sinful human beings without somehow taking it in vain. When they came to God's name they left it as is and said another word, adonai, in its place. Adonai means lord, and is also used of people in authority (Joseph was adonai over Egypt). Christians have followed this Jewish precedent. You'll notice the word LORD in all capitals. That's a substitute for YHWH. If you add the vowel sounds from adonai to YHWH you get Jehovah. Our best guess as to how to pronounce God's name is Yahweh.  God's name also appears in other words and names. The ending "ah," in words like hallelia (praise Yahweh) and "ja" at the beginning (Joshua means Yahweh saves) are examples. 

In recent years some have considered LORD as a euphemism, a polite substitute for a word we shouldn't say, like darn or shucks, and that this doesn't show God proper respect. The Jehovah's Witnesses use the name Jehovah in their translation of the Bible, even in the New Testament. It's as if they discovered a great secret, a key that unlocks everything in the Bible. One of the translations on Bible Gateway is the Names of God Bible. Take a look at how it translates this passage. 

It doesn't bother me that our translations use LORD instead of Jehovah or Yahweh for the 6,519 times this name appears. Lord is a term of respect toward a superior. Jesus taught us that God is our Father, and more than that, Abba, which means Daddy.  I didn't call my parents by their names- I called them Mom and Dad. I knew their names, but out of respect and love I seldom used them when I addressed them. It was far more important for me to know my father and mother themselves, not just their names.

God's name is a verb, not a noun. God is being itself, sheer existence. This is all beyond what we can understand. Yet while no explanation is possible, no explanation is necessary. That's the beauty of knowing God through faith! This God who's name is I am broke into our lives through Jesus. Even though He was born a baby in Bethlehem, He is far older. He said in John 8:58, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." There are some who argue that Jesus was not claiming to be God, despite what the text clearly says. But look at the audience's reaction. They picked up stones and were ready to execute Jesus on the spot for blasphemy! They knew what He said.

I leave you with a video that I posted on the church's Facebook page in the days before Thanksgiving. All the British soccer clubs have a theme song which the team and fans join in singing before each match. The Welsh national team has for its theme the hymn "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah." Granted, for many in that stadium it was a cultural and national expression. Many of the soccer fans are waving their cups of beer in time with the music. Still, here's a stadium with tens of thousands of people singing their hearts out in a hymn that praises God and acknowledges our dependence on Him. Take a close look as you watch and you'll see a famous singer who's celebrating his Welsh heritage.