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At the Burning Bush
Scripture Reading — Exodus 3:1-15
"Now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
— Exodus 3:10
While tending sheep in the wilderness, Moses saw a burning bush that did not burn up. As he went closer to try to see what was happening, a voice called out from the bush, and Moses learned that God himself was talking to him.
God told Moses to remove his sandals, for he was standing on holy ground. Then God explained that he was going to rescue his people from slavery in Egypt and take them back to the land he had promised to their father Abraham. God also said that he had chosen Moses to go to confront Pharaoh and bring the people out of there. And for Moses to do that, God would need to empower Moses to serve him.
Moses was right to ask, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh . . . ?” And he wondered what to tell the Israelites about who was sending him. Then God identified himself as “I AM WHO I AM,” and he instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that “the LORD”—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—was sending him to them.
Moses and the people would learn that ultimately their identity was shaped by their relationship to I AM—that is, to the one true God. Moses and the people could not move forward without knowing I AM.
The same is true for us. Our understanding of who we are today is directly related to our being in relationship with the living, faithful God.
Dear God, without you, we have no bearing or guidance on who we are and what we are to do in this world. Help us to hear your voice so that we can know and follow you. In Jesus, Amen.
About the author — Jul Medenblik
Rev. Jul Medenblik is a former attorney who was called to pastoral ministry and became the church-planting pastor of a congregation in New Lenox, Illinois. Since 2011 he has served as the seventh president of Calvin Theological Seminary, which, together with Calvin University, is celebrating 150 years of God’s faithfulness in their history as the educational institutions of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (see calvinseminary.edu/150th). Jul and his wife, Jackie, have been married for over 40 years and are blessed with two adult children and a son-in-law.
Scripture Reading — Exodus 3:1-15
"Now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
— Exodus 3:10
While tending sheep in the wilderness, Moses saw a burning bush that did not burn up. As he went closer to try to see what was happening, a voice called out from the bush, and Moses learned that God himself was talking to him.
God told Moses to remove his sandals, for he was standing on holy ground. Then God explained that he was going to rescue his people from slavery in Egypt and take them back to the land he had promised to their father Abraham. God also said that he had chosen Moses to go to confront Pharaoh and bring the people out of there. And for Moses to do that, God would need to empower Moses to serve him.
Moses was right to ask, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh . . . ?” And he wondered what to tell the Israelites about who was sending him. Then God identified himself as “I AM WHO I AM,” and he instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that “the LORD”—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—was sending him to them.
Moses and the people would learn that ultimately their identity was shaped by their relationship to I AM—that is, to the one true God. Moses and the people could not move forward without knowing I AM.
The same is true for us. Our understanding of who we are today is directly related to our being in relationship with the living, faithful God.
Dear God, without you, we have no bearing or guidance on who we are and what we are to do in this world. Help us to hear your voice so that we can know and follow you. In Jesus, Amen.
About the author — Jul Medenblik
Rev. Jul Medenblik is a former attorney who was called to pastoral ministry and became the church-planting pastor of a congregation in New Lenox, Illinois. Since 2011 he has served as the seventh president of Calvin Theological Seminary, which, together with Calvin University, is celebrating 150 years of God’s faithfulness in their history as the educational institutions of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (see calvinseminary.edu/150th). Jul and his wife, Jackie, have been married for over 40 years and are blessed with two adult children and a son-in-law.
