Narrator: Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro in the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. A messenger of God appeared to him in a bush that was on fire, yet the bush was not burning up.
Moses: “I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?”
Narrator: When God saw that Moses had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush/
God: "Moses! Moses!”
Moses: “Here I am.”
God: “Do not come closer! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground! I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Narrator: Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
God: “I have seen the plight of My people in Egypt and have heard their cries; yes, I am mindful of their sufferings. I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey. I have seen how the Egyptians oppress them. Come, Moses, I will send you to Pharaoh, and you shall free My people, the Israelites, from Egypt.”
Narrator: Moses was hesitant.
Moses: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from Egypt?”
God: “I will be with you. And when you have freed the people from Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”
- God doesn't answer Moses' question, why me? How would you answer that?
- Why might God have avoided answering it?
Moses: “When I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is God’s name?’ what shall I say to them?”
God: “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, is what you shall say to the Israelites, ‘Ehyeh sent me to you.'
God: Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has appeared to me and said, ‘I see what is being done to you and I will take you out of the misery of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey.’ They will listen to you; then you shall go with the elders of Israel to the Pharaoh and say, "Let us go into the wilderness to sacrifice to our God ."
God: The king of Egypt will not let you go, though, unless he experiences power greater than his own. So I will stretch out My hand and smite Egypt with various wonders and plagues and after that the king of Egypt will let you go.
Moses: What if they do not believe me?
God : “What is that in your hand?”
Moses: “A rod.”
God: “Throw it on the ground.”
Narrator: Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake; and Moses jumped back from it.
God: “Put out your hand and grasp the rod by the tail."
Narrator: Moses put out his hand and grabbed it, and it became a rod in his hand again.
God: When they are amazed at seeing a rod become a snake and then become a rod again, they will believe you that you spoke to God.
God: “Put your hand into your armpit.”
Narrator: Moses put his hand into his armpit; and when he took it out, his hand was encrusted with snowy scales!
God: Put your hand back under your armpit.
Narrator: He put his hand back into his armpit and when he took it out, there it was again like the rest of his body.
God: And if they do not believe the first sign, they will believe the second. And if they are not convinced by both these signs and still do not heed you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and it the water that you take from the Nile will turn to blood on the dry ground.”
Moses: Please, O my lord, I have never been a man of words. I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.
God: Who gives humans speech? Who makes them dumb or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I? Now go, and I will be with you as you speak and will instruct you what to say.
Moses: Please make someone else Your agent.
Narrator: God became angry with Moses.
God: There is your brother Aaron. He speaks well. Even now he is setting out to meet you, and he will be happy to see you. He will do the talking. I will be with you and with him as you speak, and tell both of you what to do and Aaron shall speak for you to the people. Thus he shall serve as your spokesman, with you playing the role of God to him.
Narrator: Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro to tell him all he had seen and heard.
Moses: Let me go back to my kinsfolk in Egypt and see how they are faring.
Narrator: Jethro told Moses to go in peace. Moses took his wife and sons and Moses took the rod of God with him.
Narrator: Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God, and he kissed him. Moses told Aaron about all the things that God had committed to him.Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. Aaron repeated all the words that God had spoken to Moses, and he performed the signs in the sight of those assembled, and the assembly was convinced. When they heard that God had taken note of the Israelites' suffering, they bowed low in thanks.