Kindness and mercy are what the enslaved people of Israel needed, and they came in the form of deliverance. They came through a leader, Moses, who was once plucked from the Nile River and was now herding his father-in-law’s sheep in the land of Goshen. The bush that burned but was not consumed shows us that God is inexhaustible mystery.

Moses’ awe and deference are mixed with a touching conversational tone as he seeks to learn God’s name. And God sweetly responds. The somewhat abstract “I AM” distinguishes the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob from the minor gods in the territory who “are not.” They are helpless, powerless, and useless. Moses is to step out into an amazing future, and God will be there with outstretched arm. Just go and see, God seems to say.