Exodus 3

Encounter with the Lord God at the burning bush
Text
Comments
.1 ¶ Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
.2  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a [should be "the"] bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
.4  And when the LORD [Yahweh] saw that he turned aside to see, God [Elohim] called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
.5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
.6  Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
   1 - Horeb Another name for Sinai. Moses would meet the Angel of the Lord (the Lord, v4) there again ex1920.
   2 - Angel of the Lord Seen in the OT a number of times. For example, jos0515.
   2 - Appeared ... flame ... out of ... the bush Christ came to earth in human flesh as the bush he0214. The brightness of His glory (as the fire here) was revealed to thee disciples on the mountain mt1702. He will return in glory.
   4 - The Lord saw He identifies Himself in verse 14 as the I AM, the self-existing one v14. In love and concern the personal God, Yahwhe, notices Moses. Then as the Almighty One, Elohim, He calls from the bush. In the context, we see that the two are united as one. As He sees Moses, He speaks with authority. See on ge0204. And notice how Yahwhe speaks in verse 7.
   5 - Stop. Take your shoes off How carelessly we tend to come into the place of worship! We need to ask whether our music reflects the atmosphere of the divine presence or whether it is the nerve-jarring, addictive sounds popular in the world.
   6 - The God of thy father, the God of ... He was the God of the covenant promises that had been passed down.
.7 ¶ And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
.8  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
 9  Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
.10  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
   7 - I have seen ... I am come down A time of probation was about to close ex1241, ge1516. This happened at other times, too. And this commentary holds that we are in the warning or judgment time for the final probation.
  8 - To deliver ... place of The Canaanites were one of the major tribes. For the Hittites, see north edge of the map of Solomon's time.
.11 ¶ And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
.12  And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
 13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
.14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
 15  And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
   11 - Who am I? The Lord had already given ample evidence but in the next verse reassures Moses. In verse 13, we see that Moses was doubting God.
   14 - Say ... I AM has sent me A key passage in connecting the Lord of the OT with Jesus Christ in the NT.  Jesus indicated that He was this I AM before the Jews jn0858.
.16 ¶ Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
.17  And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
 18  And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 
  16 - Gather the elders He gave them an important history lesson. The heads of households and others needed to understand. They were leaders of the people ex0614, ex1221.
.19  And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
 20  And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
 21  And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:
.22  But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
  19 - I am sure Our Lord told Moses about the outcome of his mission with Pharaoh. We can praise Him and trust that there will finally be victory over wickedness on this planet and that He truly will come in glory and save us.
  19 - Not by mighty and In spite of divine power. For example see ex0815, ex0819, ex0832, ex0912, ex1020, ex1027, Pharaoh was determined to resist. Of course God knew this ahead.
  20 - I will stretch out ... then God knew the heart of the wicked king.
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