The Burning Bush

Moses, having fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian, was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro in Midian. At Mount Horeb, the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. The bush burned but was not consumed.

When Moses approached to see this strange sight, God called out: “Moses! Moses! Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

God revealed his name: “I AM WHO I AM” (YHWH). He commissioned Moses to return to Egypt and deliver Israel from slavery.

Despite his objections—his lack of eloquence, his fear of Pharaoh, his sense of inadequacy—God equipped Moses with signs and appointed his brother Aaron as his spokesman.