Monday 31 May 2010
- Bible Book:
- Exodus
"There the angel of the LORD appeared to (Moses) in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed." (v.2)
Background
This is one of the great 'theophanies' of the Bible - a momentwhen the invisible God is revealed through the physical things ofnature. Abraham and Sarah encountered three angelic visitors (
In today's passage, Moses is attracted by the bright angel of God'spresence - and for a reason. God has chosen Moses to go to Pharaohand demand that the Egyptian ruler releases the Hebrew slaves. Thefamous Moses slogan "Let my people go" (eg
Moses demands to know who exactly is sending him from the glory ofthe burning bush to the fury of Pharaoh and his advisers. This isthe second half of the 'theophany', as God's character and God'sname are revealed as being identical. I AM WHO I AM (or I WILL BEWHAT I WILL BE) tells us that God is the one whose being is eternal- without beginning and without end.
To Ponder
Is there any reason why the greatest moments ofencounter between God and an individual should be mostly in thepast?
Who, for you, are the men and women God issingling out to be champions of freedom in our own time?
What security, if any, do you find in the ideathat God is without beginning and without end?