Exodus 3:10-15
10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”
The Divine Name Revealed
13 But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[b] the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name forever,
and this my title for all generations.
What does the Passage say?
The passage we read is an excerpt of Moses’ encounter with God. In the burning bush, God called Moses to go to his people and rescue them from the oppression of Egypt.
V. 10-12 God commands Moses to return to Egypt and confront Pharaoh. God promises that God will be with Moses, and bring God’s people back to worship Him at the mountain God appeared to Moses.
V. 13-15 Now Moses asks what he has to do to gain the trust of the Isreal people. God says to tell them who God is; the God of their ancestors and the God who exists by himself.
What does the Passage say to me/us?
Moses asks God this question, ‘who am I that I should go to Pharaoh’ (v. 11 NRSV).
For me, this is an odd question. It might be a perfect opportunity for Moses to return to Egypt. The Pharaoh he was afraid of had passed, and a new Pharaoh is in a term.
However, this shows how Moses self-esteem had fallen. From the prince of Egypt, he became a shepherd of a herd, which was a despised job for the Egyptians.
That is the reason why God shares to promise to be with Moses. “I will be with you: and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you:” (v. 12 NRSV).
God being with us is the best promise. God, promised to be with us, and that promise was revealed by his Son, Jesus Christ. It has the power to restore our self-esteem. It has to power to transform the world.
So the question for today is…
Do I believe that God is with me?
Prayer
Lord, we pray for your presence to be strong with us today. May your promise assure us again. Help us to be confident in you. Help us to carry out our mission, through you. In your name we pray. Amen
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