It was just a normal day when something exciting happened! Moses, a man tending his sheep, went with them to a great meadow on Horeb, the mountain of God. Then suddenly he saw something strange: a bush that burned but did not burn! The strange fire did not go out. Moses was very curious and wanted to come closer to take a closer look.
As Moses approached, he heard God’s voice from the bush: “Moses, Moses!” God called him to Himself in a friendly way. Moses answered, “Here I am!” God told him not to come any closer and that he should take off his shoes, because he was standing on holy ground.
Then God told Moses a very important message. God said, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look directly at God.
God had chosen Moses to do something very important. He said that He wanted to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt, where they suffered a great deal as slaves. God had seen their need and heard them cry out for help. Now He wanted to take them to a beautiful new land that was full of milk and honey—a land full of gifts and blessings. And Moses was to help them!
God said, “I will be with you. Tell Pharaoh that you will lead my people.” But Moses felt a little anxious and asked what he should say when the people asked who had sent him.
God answered him: “I am the ‘I am’. So you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I who am has sent me to you.'” God promised Moses that He would help him and give him the strength to help the Israelites and lead them out of Egypt.
Moses listened carefully and knew that he could trust God, even if it was a difficult task. God would be with him, every step of the way.
Message of history
God sees us, hears our cries for help, and He promises to always be with us, no matter what. We can trust Him.
Bible passage
The story of the burning bush is in 2. Moses 3:1-6:
“And Moses was shepherding the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law the priest of Midian, and he drove the sheep out of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. 2 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush burned in the fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will come and see this great vision, why the bush does not burn.” 4 But when the Lord saw that he was coming to see, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” He answered, “Here I am!” 5 Then he said, “Do not come nearer.” Take off your shoes from your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy ground! 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses covered his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”
