Exodus 3.1-12

Moses at the Burning Bush: Exodus 3.1-12 

Moses becomes a shepherd for his father-in-law Jethro. Clearly there is more than one Mosaic tradition, as just a few verses ago in Exodus 2:18 we were told that Moses' father-in-law is named Reuel. In fact, his name is Hobab in Numbers 10.29.

Moses' occupation is logical, as shepherding is a distinctly Hebrew vocation. It also foreshadows Moses' future career as "shepherd" over the Israelites, leading the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years. Sure enough, Moses leads his flock [of sheep] "beyond the wilderness" to "Horeb, the mountain of God" [in another traditional called Sinai] (Ex. 3.1). We don't know whether it was known as the mountain of God during Moses' time (or whether Moses was an actual person, for that matter). In any case, the label serves as a hint from the narrator at the divine revelation ahead.

The angel of the Lord appears to Moses in a "flame of fire out of a bush," a blaze that burns without consuming the plant. The sight draws the curious Moses closer, and the Lord calls out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" Moses responds with the classic response, "Here I am" (Ex. 3.4). 

God commands Moses to come no closer and to remove his sandals, for he stands on holy ground. Then God reveals himself:

I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

(Ex. 3.6)

Moses hides his face, afraid to look at God.

By this point in the story, the leader of the Hebrews apparently does not need to be a son of the previous patriarch, though Moses is at least an Israelite. 

The Lord says that he has seen his people suffering and has come to deliver them from Egypt and the Egyptians "to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey" which at the time is occupied by a number of other peoples.

God reveals his plan: God will send Moses to Pharaoh to bring God's people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. But Moses is doubtful: "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (Ex. 3.11). God responds that there will be a sign that it is God who sent him: when Moses leads the people out of Egypt, "you shall worship God on this mountain" (Ex. 3.12).