Moses & the Burning Bush: Book of Exodus (Part 3)

Once upon a time, Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Reuel, who is also known as Jethro, the priest of Midian. Moses led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, which is also known as Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement, for though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn't burn up. So Moses thought, I must go over and see this marvellous sight. Why is the bush not burning up? When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, the Lord called out to him from within the bush, Moses. And Moses answered, Here I am. And the Lord said, Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is a holy ground. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. When Moses heard this, he hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. And the Lord said to him, I have indeed seen the affliction of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings. I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Therefore I charge you, go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? And the Lord answered, I will be with you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Then Moses asked God, Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they asked me, What is his name? What should I tell them? And God answered, I am who I am. Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you. Say to them, Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations. Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them the Lord has been watching closely, and he sees how the Egyptians are treating his children, and he has promised to bring his children out of their misery in Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey. 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. But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 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, and I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go, so you will not leave empty-handed. Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth. But Moses protested again saying, What if they won't believe me or listen to me? What if they say the Lord never appeared to you? Then the Lord asked him, What is that in your hand? A staff, Moses replied. Throw it down on the ground, the Lord said to him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake, and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to him, Reach out your hand and take it by the tail. So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. And the Lord said to him, Perform this sign, then they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, has truly appeared to you. Then the Lord spoke again saying, Put your hand inside your cloak. So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his skin was leprous, it had become as white as snow. Now put it back into your cloak, said the Lord. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. And the Lord said to Moses, If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground. But Moses said to the Lord, Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue. And the Lord said to him, Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. But again Moses said to the Lord, Pardon your servant, Lord. I pray you send someone else. And the Lord became furious at Moses and said, Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth. I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it. Now return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead. Thus Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive. And Jethro said, Go ahead, I wish you well. So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt, and in his hand he carried the staff of God. Meanwhile, the Lord God Yahweh had already instructed Aaron to go out into the wilderness to meet Moses. Thus Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God, and the two brothers embraced each other. Moses then told Aaron everything the Lord had commanded him to say, and the miraculous signs the Lord had commanded him to perform.