Sep 3 – 13 Pentecost
Exodus 3:1-15
Moses at the Burning Bush
The Divine Name Revealed

Background: The book of Exodus chronicles the search for Israel’s identity. One could say that Exodus is Israel’s response to and explication for the questions “Who are you?” and “To whom do you belong?” In the first portion of Exodus the stage is set describing the subjugation of Israel in Egypt, the identification of Moses, and the connection between Moses and God.

Theme: Moses has fled from Egypt and has taken on the role of herdsman. While he is tending his father-in-law’s flock he meets God in a burning bush atop the mountain. In the process of finding God and receiving God’s task to deliver Israel from subjugation in Egypt we are given insights into the person that Moses really is.

Questions to Ponder:
* Please read Exodus 3:1-15.
* Locate the following places and people: Horeb, Midian, Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
* Do you think the writer is inconsistent when describing who is in the burning bush? In verse 2 the entity is identified as “an angel of God” and in verse 4 the source of the vision is God himself.
* What are some of the traditions about shoe wearing that you are aware of? How might a different social context for shoe wearing impact the theology in this passage?
* It appears that God has a plan in this passage. Does it seem consistent that Moses would trust that the burning bush was, in fact, God yet not believe that God, who could burn a bush without consuming it, would be able to succeed in everything he had planned?
* God had a plan to deliver Israel from bondage. Why would God need Moses to have that plan work?
* Why do you think Moses was reluctant to do God’s bidding?
* How might the sign of Moses worshiping on the mountain be a sign for Moses? Especially consider that the sign would happen in the future and after Moses had done what God had asked. What do you think would happen if Moses didn’t specifically follow God’s exact plan?
* How would God’s divine name, יהוה, be known to Israel? Especially considering that God had never disclosed the divine name to anyone before Moses.
* What do you find significant in God’s self-identification to Moses? E.g., the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…
* How does Moses’ reaction to God mimic the reaction we have to God in our time?
* What is the promise of redemption found in this passage? For the people of Moses’ time? For the people of our time?
* What is the good news associated with God, Moses, and the burning bush?