Exodus 3 – The Call of Moses
In Exodus 3, God reveals Himself to Moses through the burning bush, declaring His name and commissioning Moses to deliver Israel. It is a moment of divine identity, holy ground, and unstoppable purpose.
The God Who Sees, Calls, and Sends
In a remote wilderness, God interrupts Moses’ quiet life with a blazing sign and a divine commission. The Lord reveals His eternal name and His heart for His suffering people. This chapter marks the beginning of redemption for Israel—and the unveiling of God’s covenant plan.
✔ God appears in a burning bush.
✔ Moses is called to deliver Israel.
✔ God reveals His name: I AM THAT I AM.
✔ A divine mission begins.
📖 Key Verse: “Certainly I will be with thee.” – Exodus 3:12
🔎 God’s call is never about our strength—it’s about His presence and promise.
Exodus Chapter 3 Overview
Exodus 3:1-6 – The Burning Bush
📖 Exodus 3:2 – “The bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”
🔎 The fire represents God’s purity, presence, and power—but also His mercy. The bush burned but was not consumed, a symbol of Israel’s endurance in affliction.
📖 Exodus 3:5 – “Put off thy shoes… for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
🔎 God’s presence sanctifies even a remote desert spot. Reverence is the first step toward calling.
Exodus 3:7-12 – God’s Compassion and Commission
📖 Exodus 3:7 – “I have surely seen the affliction… and have heard their cry.”
🔎 God is not distant—He sees, hears, knows, and responds. Suffering has not gone unnoticed.
📖 Exodus 3:10 – “Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh.”
🔎 God chooses the unlikely shepherd to confront kings. Moses’ exile was training for leadership.
📖 Exodus 3:12 – “Certainly I will be with thee.”
🔎 The presence of God is the guarantee of success—not Moses’ ability.
Exodus 3:13-22 – The Name and the Mission
📖 Exodus 3:14 – “I AM THAT I AM.”
🔎 God reveals His covenant name—YHWH—meaning self-existent, eternal, unchanging. He is the God of the present and forever.
📖 Exodus 3:15 – “This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”
🔎 God desires to be known—not just as a deliverer, but as eternally personal and faithful.
📖 Exodus 3:20 – “I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt…”
🔎 God Himself will act. The Exodus is not Moses’ story—it is God’s showdown with oppression.
📖 Exodus 3:22 – “Ye shall spoil the Egyptians.”
🔎 God promises justice and restitution—His people will not leave empty-handed.
Exodus Chapter 3 - Deeper Study
Overview: The God Who Sends
🔹 Timeframe: Midian, during Moses’ 40-year exile.
🔹 Setting: The wilderness at Mount Horeb.
🔹 Theme: God reveals His name, His compassion, and His plan to save.
Key Takeaways
🔑 God often calls us from obscurity.
🔑 Holiness precedes calling—take off your shoes.
🔑 God is I AM—ever-present and all-sufficient.
🔑 We are sent with His presence, not our power.
🔑 God sees suffering and moves in justice.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Fire That Does Not Consume – Symbol of God’s sustaining presence (Isaiah 43:2).
🔮 The Sent One – Moses foreshadows Christ, who was sent to deliver (John 3:17).
🔮 I AM – Jesus claims the same identity in John 8:58, uniting the old and new covenants.
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Shepherds in Midian – Considered lowly in Egypt, yet chosen by God.
📜 Mount Horeb (Sinai) – Later becomes the place of covenant and law.
📜 Egyptian Oppression – Pharaohs ruled as gods. God’s confrontation is a clash of true divinity vs. false power.
💡 Final Reflection: Are You Listening for the Call?
Moses wasn’t seeking God—but God sought Moses. Today, He still speaks in wilderness places.
📌 Are you standing on holy ground—or rushing past divine moments?
📌 Are you focused on your inadequacy—or His presence?
📌 Will you answer the call when it comes?
🚀 When God calls, He goes with you. Trust the Great I AM.
The Burning Bush
Exo 3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
Exo 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
Exo 3:3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
Exo 3:4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
Exo 3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Exo 3:6 Moreover he said, 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.
Exo 3:7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
Exo 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Exo 3:9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
Exo 3:10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Exo 3:11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
Exo 3:12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
Exo 3:13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exo 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Exo 3:16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
Exo 3:17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
Exo 3:18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
Exo 3:19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
Exo 3:20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
Exo 3:21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:
Exo 3:22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
Date Written
1446-1406 BC
Written By
Moses
Language
Hebrew
Verses
22