Moses turned aside, curious, at least, perhaps pulled by some deeper emotion, to see what was causing the bush to burn yet not be consumed. He was in a barren and dry land, perhaps; he and his father-in-law Reuel’s flock (Zipporah’s father) had strayed beyond the wilderness, far from home base, and found themselves on this mountain holy to the Midianites. (His father-in-law was a priest of Midian.)
More than thirst was going on. Thirst for justice. Thirst for freedom. Thirst to worship without fear. Hunger and thirst. drought and famine, from which the Israelites cried out to be released. From a more than physical bondage they fled. And Moses was the one to lead them. As always, the improbable one, the one called by God, is the one to lead the way.
Moses was no ordinary son of Abraham. He fled from Pharaoh after killing an Egyptian and hiding the body in the sand. He wandered far away into the desert between Egypt with its watered fields and Canaan the land where milk and honey flowed.
Because he had been there first, he could lead the people through the deserted unknown places. Because he knew his own unworthiness, indeed his sin, he could lead others through the passage between bondage and freedom.
Key to our understanding is this feeling of unworthiness, reasonable unworthiness, indeed of awe. Remember : when Jesus instructed the fishermen to let down their nets and they encountered a miraculous catch of fish, Peter said to Jesus, go away for me for I am an unworthy man. The presence of the holy overwhelmed him.
Here it is the presence of the divine, manifested first in the miraculous sight, the sign of the bush, the symbol of its burning, then in the message of the angel, take off your sandals, for where you stand is holy ground, that awes the modest human, causing him to be unclothed of all his weary sinfulness. This is the beginning of redemption.
Remember: Moses had fled Egypt, a sinner, a murderer indeed. He has found shelter, comfort, even a wife, in a new life far from Pharaoh’s power. And yet that is not enough, not for God, and not for Moses’ life. God now redeems him; redeems him like a debt unpaid. Moses begins to reconcile with the one more important than (but not in contravention of ) any human law. He must go back.
O God.
And free his people. First he must convince them. Whom shall I say sent me? The ground of being, in a nice phrase, for the one whom he met standing on holy ground is indeed the creative, organizing, and inspiring power of the universe. Beyond holy. Beyond any god of man and women he might think might merit devotion. This is the one who is. I am who I am, I will be who I will be, I am he who causes to be all that comes to be. And yet is not consumed, comprehended, encompassed by all that, but contains it within his will. His will and power and mercy. Justice and steadfast love. That is who Moses has fallen a-fair of.
How will I possibly convince them? I cannot even talk.
You have a brother, Aaron – and a sister, Miriam. He will speak for you, she shall lead the women in dance and exaltation, in praise at the deliverance of the people.
This shall all come to be. I am who I am. I am the one who causes to be what is, and what will be.
Take off your shoes. All right, put them back on. Go back and break the news to your father-in-law. And your wife, Zipporah.
O god. Indeed.
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