“I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.” Exodus 3:6
The bold encounter that Moses had in meeting God at the occasion of the burning bush in the wilderness was prefaced by a certain knowledge that he had received of God from his mother and father. It was the mother who first was convinced that this baby, born in the context of oppression and opposition to all that was of God by the Egyptians, was a gift from God, a beautiful child. We find that he was a miracle child in that God spared his life when Pharaoh wanted to destroy all of the male children, in order to limit the increasing number of the children of Israel. Raised by the daughter of Pharoah, and nursed by his own mother, somewhere and at some time, there came into the heart of Moses the conviction that his true family was not that of Pharoah, but of a Hebrew man and woman. Though Moses became a man powerful in word and deed in the eyes of the Egyptians, there came an increasing knowledge through his mother and father, and those “brethren” with whom he had contact, that he was not born for the purpose of reveling in the wealth of Egypt, “enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season,” but for Christ, to know the reproach of the unbelieving Egyptians, yet being brought increasingly to the point of being willing to flee, know the bitterness of separation from all family and friends, to be launched on a quest to know this God of the Hebrews of whom he had heard so much. Up to this point, though God had been quietly revealing Himself to his heart and mind, there was apparently no singular moment when God specifically confronted him personally, individually. It would take forty years after his flight from Egypt before the confrontation would occur. On that eventful day God would use the miracle of a burning bush, which was not consumed in the fire, to draw Moses aside to utter solitude, there to call his name, speak to him of His holiness, and the imperative of always acknowledging it, but then giving to Moses the clear revelation of who this God was: He specifically said, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” There would be in those few words the revelation of the God of generations, but one who was sovereign in His dealings with men, and specifically one “family,” the descendants of Abraham. It would be here, in this place of grandest solitude that God includes the name of Moses in the list of those who had known Him. It is to this shepherd of sheep, eighty years old, that God would in essence call Moses to behold Him as the true and living God, the God who sees, knows, the God who hears the cries of His people in Egypt, but also, the one who has chosen this moment, this place, and this man, to reveal HIs purposes and power. There is no mention of man’s “resources” or “capacities” here as Moses is called upon to understand that he is face to face with his Creator, Redeemer, and God of the Hebrews. There is only the revelation of a holy God, who comes to reveal His will, and His provision in every way for the accomplishment of His purposes. Can and will He find in Moses the response of faith to the overtures of God, the call of God, and the provision of God according to the riches of Christ?
The KEY to Moses’ life of faith, borne out in this encounter with God, which will continue throughout the life and ministry of Moses, will be that of worship, first and foremost that aspect of worship where Moses is called upon to consistently BEHOLD God, gazing upon Him in His glory.
Dear Father, Make us consistent worshippers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.