Exodus 3:1-22
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, 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 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. 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, 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 Lord our 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 plunder the Egyptians.”
When Moses meets God, God tells us His Name..."I AM" (Hebrew: "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh")...This is a profound statement about God's Nature...It emphasizes that God is self-existent, eternal, and unchanging. He is the "I AM," the source of all being, the One Who Always Is...The use of the present tense in "I AM" is crucial...It signifies that God is not merely a past deity or a distant force...He is the ever-present, ever-existing God, eternally active and involved in the world...This revelation of God's Name to Moses is a pivotal moment in the biblical narrative...It underscores God's Eternal Nature and His enduring covenant relationship with His people...
The name "I AM" carries profound theological implications:
God as the Source of All Being: It emphasizes that God is the ultimate source of all existence, the ground of all being...
God's Unchanging Nature: It highlights God's eternal and unchanging character. He is the same "I AM" who was with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and He remains the same today...
God's Presence and Activity: It signifies God's active involvement in the world, His ongoing presence and interaction with His creation...
C. S. Lewis wrote this from his book, God in the Dock: "What are we to make of Christ?”...There is no question of what we can make of Him, it is entirely a question of what He intends to make of us...You must accept or reject the story...The things He says are very different from what any other teacher has said...Others say, “This is the truth about the Universe...This is the way you ought to go,” but He says, “I AM the Truth, and the Way, and the Life.”...He says, “No man can reach absolute reality, except through Me...Try to retain your own life and you will be inevitably ruined...Give yourself away and you will be saved.”...He says, “If you are ashamed of Me, if, when you hear this call, you turn the other way, I also will look the other way when I come again as God without disguise...If anything whatever is keeping you from God and from Me, whatever it is, throw it away...If it is your eye, pull it out...If it is your hand, cut it off...If you put yourself first you will be last...Come to Me everyone who is carrying a heavy load, I will set that right...Your sins, all of them, are wiped out, I can do that. I AM Rebirth, I AM Life...Eat Me, drink Me, I AM your Food...And finally, do not be afraid, I have overcome the whole Universe.” That is the issue."...
And Lewis adds this from another one of his books, Mere Christianity: “Yet this is what Jesus did...He told people that their sins were forgiven, and never waited to consult all the other people whom their sins had undoubtedly injured...He unhesitatingly behaved as if He was the party chiefly concerned, the person chiefly offended in all offences...This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin.”...
As one reads these quotes from C. S. Lewis, one can believe that Jesus is our LORD and Savior, and is a Divine Being...Lewis words strongly point to the Divinity of Jesus...These passages support the idea that Jesus is God...When Jesus teaches us and says: "I AM the Truth, and the Way, and the Life"...This statement echoes the "I AM" statements of God in the Old Testament (Exodus 3:14)...These statements, where Jesus uses the Divine Name "I AM," strongly suggest his deity..."No man can reach absolute reality, except through Me": This claim, that salvation and true reality are only found through Him, is a profound statement about Jesus's unique role in God's plan for humanity...Jesus is the One is Forgiving Our Sins: As Lewis points out, Only God has the Ultimate Authority to forgive sins...Jesus's consistent forgiveness of sins throughout His ministry, including the forgiveness of those who crucified Him, demonstrates His Divine Authority and Power..."Love is wounded in every sin"...This astute observation highlights the personal nature of sin...Sin not only violates human laws but also wounds the heart of God, emphasizing the profound relationship between God and humanity. ..
These quotes, taken together, paint a compelling picture of Jesus as more than just a Prophet or a Great Teacher...They point towards His Divinity, His Unique role in God's plan for salvation, and the profound implications of His life, death, and resurrection for humanity...Lewis masterfully articulates the profound mystery of the Incarnation – the belief that God became human...He challenges readers to confront and study these radical claims of Jesus and to consider the life-altering implications of accepting Him as LORD and Savior...We must ask ourselves as Jesus asks His Disciples, Who do you think He Is, or put another way, Who do you think I AM?...