What did God reveal to Moses at the Burning Bush?

Answer 1

Approaching the Burning Bush

Moses intially saw a bush on fire, but which was not reduced to ashes, so he decided to go closer for inspection. (cf. Ex 3:1-3)

As he approached, God asked him to remove his sandals since he was standing on holy ground (cf. Ex 3:5 and Joshua 5:15).

At the burning bush, God revealed both his plan for rescuing the Israelites from Egypt, and his own personal name. (cf. Boadt 1984, p. 166)

Dialogue Between God and Moses

After God calls Moses to work with Him, their dialogue follows the pattern of four excuse/response pairs:

God's call: Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. Ex 3:10 NAB

Excuse 1: Moses worries he's not the right person for God's task. cf. Ex 3:11 NAB

Reply 1: God tells Moses I will be with you; cf. Ex 3:12a NAB

Excuse 2: Moses worries people will ask God's name. cf. Ex 3:13 NAB

Reply 2: God tells Moses his name: I AM WHO AM. Ex 3:14 NAB

Excuse 3: Moses worries people will not believe him. cf. Ex 4:1 NAB

Reply 3: God provides miracles as proof for Moses to work through his staff (e.g. becoming a serpent and then a staff again), and through his hand (becoming leprous and becoming healthy again). cf. Ex 4:2-9 NAB

Excuse 4: Moses worries because he is not a good speaker. cf. Ex 4:10

Reply 4: God tells Moses He will send Aaron to help him. cf. Ex 4:11-17

Throughout the dialogue, theologians have noted a pattern of timidness on the part of Moses, and reassurance on the part of God. One conclusion that has been frequently drawn is that rather than calling the strong and mighty to bring about His plan of salvation, God calls the lowly and the meek. (cf. Lk 1:48) An initial display of timidity is also a common theme later among the prophets when they receive their calls from God respectively. The pattern is reflected in the New Testament as well, for just as God called Moses despite his weakness and doubt, so too did Jesus call the disciples despite their weaknesses and doubts. (cf. Smith-Christopher 2005, p. 92)

I AM WHO AM

Theologians and philosophers have frequently pointed out that the name of God, I AM WHO AM, derives from the Hebrew verb hawah for "is." Scholars have thus often translated the name as "He who causes what is." (cf. Boadt 1984, p. 166) In this sense, God's very name indicates what he does and what he is:

a) what he does: He gives existence to all things (i.e. ex nihilo Deus creat), and

b) what he is: He himself is Subsistent Being, as scholars such as St. Thomas Aquinas point out; i.e. having existence is not properly predicated of God. Rather, God is the fulness of Existence, of Being Itself.

It is also worth noting that Jesus took this very name that was spoken by God to Moses at the burning bush and applies it to himself, thus unambiguously identifying himelf as God: So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM." So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area. John 8:57-59 NAB

REFERENCES

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. The New American Bible, (Iowa Falls, IA: World Bible Publishers, Inc. 1991).

Boadt, L. Reading the Old Testament - An Introduction, (New York, NY/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1984).

Smith-Christopher, D. The Old Testament - Our Call to Faith & Justice, (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2005).

Answer 2

God told Moses that He was God. He also told Moses to take off his shoes because he was standing on Holy Ground, which also signals that it was God in the burning bush.

Answer

Actually, God said to Moses that he was the God of Abraham - and when asked by Moses whom he should tell the Israelites had sent him, God replied "I AM. Tell them 'I AM' has sent you".

This 'tetragrammaton' (as it is called) - four Hebrew letters signifying 'I am' (YHWH) became to the Jews the holy and unmentionable name of God. The rather Anglicised and corrupted version is 'Jehovah' but this term, out of respect, is not used very much except by the Jehovah's Witnesses, a cult that has skewed beliefs surrounding Jesus and God.

Answer 3

The type of bush that is used is not known or mentioned in The Bible, however there is a great symbolism in this event.

"The bush burning but not being consumed was a magnetic sight to Moses - it drew him in for a closer examination. Some say the burning bush here is a picture of God's grace that draws us to Him. In this picture, you have a thorn-bush (the original Hebrew word comes from the word "to stick or to prick," this meaning a thorn-bush or bramble) which is a figure of the curse (Adam was cursed to bring forth thorns and thistles from the earth, Genesis 3:18). The "curse" is burned (a picture of judgment) without being consumed - therefore, a picture of God's mercy and grace." excerpt from enduringword website - see related links.

Answer 4

1) It was the first instance of prophecy for Moses.

2) It tells us that God is always aware of the Israelites and their situation.

3) It hints that the Israelites will never cease to exist, just as the bush was not burned up.

Moses was an Israelite, a great-great grandson of Jacob. He was born 245 years after the death of Abraham. The time when Moses was born was when the Pharaoh had ordered his people to kill all Israelite male infants because he (Pharaoh) was afraid that the Israelites would become too strong for him (Exodus ch.1-2). Moses' mother didn't want him to die. So she made a basket for him and put him in it to float in the Nile reeds. He was found by Pharaoh's daughter, who took pity on him (Exodus ch.2) and raised him as her own son.

Moses was forced to flee after killing a cruel Egyptian taskmaster, and went to Midian, where he wedded the daughter of Jethro.

He eventually achieved the highest level of prophecy (Deuteronomy ch.34) and was called upon by God (Exodus ch.3). He brought the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery (Exodus ch.12). He received the Torah from God (Exodus 24:12) and later recorded it in writing (Deuteronomy 31:24). He went up on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights (Deuteronomy ch.9-10) and brought down the Two Stone Tablets with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18). He brought the Israelites into the covenant with God (Exodus ch.19 and ch.24), and he oversaw the building of the Tabernacle (Exodus ch.35-40). He was the humblest of men and the greatest of prophets (Numbers ch.12).

Answer 5

At the Burning Bush, God revealed His presence to Moses and told him that the time had come to take the Israelites out of the Egyptian slavery (Exodus ch.3-4).According to tradition, the fact that the bush burned but was not consumed (Exodus ch.3) symbolized that the future sufferings of the Israelites (and their descendants, the Jews) would never completely wipe them out.

Answer 6

Remove your shoes as this is Holy ground, God said, "It is I" and told Moses that he would deliver the Israelite's from Egypt Exodus 3

Answer 7

God told Moses to remove his shoes because he was on holy ground.

It is important to make the note that the bush did not engage Moses in conversation, God did from within the bush.