The story of the Burning Bush begins well before Exodus 3. In fact, the story really begins with Joseph’s family lack of connection with the pharaohs throughout the years. It was through this lack of relationship, that the Egyptian begin to despise the Hebrews which led to Pharoah ordering that all Hebrew boys be thrown into the Nile River.
Our main character in this story is a boy named Moses. Moses’ mother saves him from the Pharoah’s orders by putting him in a wicker basket and floating him down the Nile River. Baby Moses is discovered by Pharaoh’s household and is raised as one of their own. That is until Moses kills an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave and Moses runs away to land of Midian. This all happens in the first ten verses of chapter two!
A reader goes through all of that to get to Exodus 3 where one day, when Moses is tending to the flock, he sees a bush that is burning. It’s critical here to be reminded that the bush is burning before Moses sees it and it remains burning after. God’s presence is always active. The bush begins to tell Moses that God has not forgotten the Hebrews and that God will deliver them. This is great news for Moses until he realizes who God has chosen to help him.
It’s here that Moses begins to do what we do in similar situations, we look for excuses and disqualifications. It is human nature to think that we are not ready or well-prepared but time and time again God reminds us that we are. This brings us to this powerful moment where Moses asks God to tell him, what he should tell people God’s name is. Here God responds, “I AM WHO I AM.” In the Hebrew, saying this uses a lot of air. To say this is like breathing in and out. It’s almost as if God is saying, if you have air in your lungs, I am with you Moses.
This story, like a lot of these Vacation Bible Stories, has special imagery with profound meaning behind it. Yes, this story is about God talking to Moses in the burning bush but it’s also a reminder to Moses (and us) that God is always with us and that God has prepared us to do amazing things.