Thursday 15 November 2007

Background

This is an important Old Testament passage where God revealshimself to Moses. It is the famous story of the burning bush.

Leaving aside the strange idea of God as a talking shrub (althoughthis would not have seemed so odd in the ancient world, where godsoften behaved like this,) we find the first revelation of the nameof God, as he calls Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. (He alsocommands his people to occupy the fertile lands of someunsuspecting pastoral tribes to the north, which still causes majorproblems today.)

In the ancient world, to name a god was to have significant powerto bless or to curse. The name of this God is "I am who I am" (or'I am what I am', or 'I will be what I will be' - or just 'I am')which is related to the Hebrew name Yahweh - not Jehovah, which isa later Christian mis-reading from the Latin translation.

This God simply 'is', and was (for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), andwill be, both here and now, and everywhere and always - anastonishing claim at a time when gods were tribal and local. Andnow this God has adopted the Hebrews as his chosen people. He willset them free and punish their oppressors - blessing for Israel andcursing for Egypt (and for the tribes who were to be displaced fromtheir ancestral lands, of course).

The idea of a God who reveals himself on earth to comfort theoppressed and to declare them to be his people is a very attractiveone in many ways. But it carries with it the darker side of cursingand judgment. It's good news for those who are redeemed, butperhaps we should spare a thought for the rest!

To Ponder

Do you think that Yahweh reveals himself as aparticularly 'nice' God?

How helpful is this story to our understanding ofGod today?

Should blessing for God's people mean cursing foreveryone else?