The Burning Bush

	The Burning Bush
	Moses
	Exodus 3:2 - 4:16 ² And the Angel of Yahweh appeared to Moses in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. ³ Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." ⁴ So when Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, Elohim called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." ⁵ Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." ⁶ Moreover He said, "I am the Elohim of your father -- the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon Elohim. ⁷ And Yahweh said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. ⁸ "So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to 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 has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." ¹¹ But Moses said to Elohim, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" ¹² So He said, "I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve Elohim on this mountain." ¹³ Then Moses said to Elohim, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The Elohim of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" ¹⁴ And Elohim said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " ¹⁵ Moreover Elohim said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'Yahweh Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.' ¹⁶ "Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'Yahweh Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, "I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; ¹⁷ "and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey." ' ¹⁸ "Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, 'Yahweh Elohim of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our Elohim.' ¹⁹ "But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. ²⁰ "So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. ²¹ "And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. ²² "But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians." ^NKRExodus 4:1 Then Moses answered and said, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, 'Yahweh has not appeared to you.' " ² So Yahweh said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod." ³ And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. ⁴ Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail" (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), ⁵ "that they may believe that Yahweh Elohim of their fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, has appeared to you." ⁶ Furthermore Yahweh said to him, "Now put your hand in your bosom." And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. ⁷ And He said, "Put your hand in your bosom again." So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. ⁸ "Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. ⁹ "And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. And the water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land." ¹⁰ Then Moses said to Yahweh, "O my Master, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." ¹¹ So Yahweh said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, Yahweh? ¹² "Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say." ¹³ But he said, "O my Master, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send." ¹⁴ So the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Moses, and He said: "Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ¹⁵ "Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. ¹⁶ "So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as Elohim.