Exodus chapter 3 begins simply, “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian“. What isn’t so obvious at first is, forty years have passed since Moses, Prince of Egypt, utterly failed in his own attempt to gain justice for the Hebrew people in captivity. He has been brought low indeed; the flocks he is tending do not even belong to him. Moses is finally ready to be used by God. Next we read, “he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 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“. What a fantastic picture! We have the Angel of the Lord, we have the fire of God’s judgment and we have the bush not being consumed. This is the perfect picture of Jesus Christ, fully God, possessing the power to judge of the world, yet by His grace we are shown mercy and not destroyed. And notice the personal way He calls out, “Moses! Moses!“. Wrongly, many miss the intimate, personal relationship God desires with each of His children. “Do not come any closer“, God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing is Holy ground.” In two verses we see we are to have both reverence for God and a special relationship with Him. In my house growing up EVERYONE took their shoes off before coming in. If you were wearing shoes in my house, it was clear you were an outsider. It was a way of saying, “welcome to our home, but we do have certain rules”.
Then God continues, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob“. At hearing this, “Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God“. God continues, “I have seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying… I am concerned about their suffering… I have come down to rescue them“. These are not words of some distant, unfeeling “being”, these are personal, passionate words showing a Father’s love. He continues, “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people out of Egypt“. Forty years earlier Moses would have already been charging down the mountain, but now in humility he replies, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?“. But God reminds Moses, “I will be with you“. Moses then asks, “What if they ask, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I tell them?“. And God answers, “I AM WHO I AM.” Tell them I AM sent you“. Notice He does not say I WAS or WILL BE, but I AM, the eternally existing One, the Creator of all things, including time itself. God then tells Moses what will happen; “the elders of Israel will listen to you…the King of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him…I will stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians…After that he will let you go… not empty handed… you will plunder the Egyptians“.
Jesus, in His earthly ministry used the title I AM many times: He was crucified because He claimed to be God. John 8:58 says, “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM“. And John 13:19 says, “From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I AM He“. In John 6:40, Jesus declares, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him on the last day“. Jesus also said in John 6:29, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent“. The perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has given us access to God’s forgiveness. The only work left for us, is to simply believe. Each of us stands on holy ground today. Will you take your shoes off and stay a while, or wait outside?