God continues to speak to Moses from the burning bush. He tells him how to get the Israelite leaders onside with his plan to get his people out of slavery in Egypt. What's Moses supposed to say? "The bush told me..."?!! That probably wouldn't convince anyone. But God gives him the specific words to use that will ensure people realise who it is that Moses has really heard from...
Exodus 3:16-22
God has already told Moses to let people know that it's "I AM WHO I AM" who has sent him to them but he also tells Moses to make sure he adds that it's "the God of your fathers - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob." This would have anchored things for the Israelite leaders so that they might know it's not some made up bush-God hallucination that Moses has encountered but none other than the God who made promises to Abraham (that we read about back in Genesis 12). Abraham, Isaac and Jacob loomed large in any Israelite's thinking because of the God they had followed. Any word from that God had to be taken seriously because of the tremendous influence of previous generations.
There's something here for Christian parents. What will your kids think of the God you follow? Will the way you love and trust him help them recognise him when he speaks to them? Will they be inclined to listen and to trust him when they know it's the God of their parents speaking? God says here that he is to be remembered in this kind of way throughout all generations (v15), so how can we do that today with the children we have opportunity to love and to lead?
God's message to the leaders of Israel through Moses is that he has plans to rescue and bless them. He has not forgotten the promises he made to Abraham about a land to live in. He will rescue them from slavery in Egypt and he knows exactly how it's going to work - AND he tells them too! God tells them what to say to pharoah, what pharoah's reaction will be, what he will do about that, and how they'll eventually be freed and with miraculous provision of wealth as they go. He tells them all this in advance because he wants them to know he's the God who knows the future, has perfect plans to bless and can be absolutely trusted to deliver on every single one of his promises.
God lays it all out for Moses so that it should be easy for him to say YES to everything he's being asked to do. But as we'll pick up next time, we'll see that Moses is not convinced.
Do you know this God who makes and keeps his promises throughout all generations? Will you trust him today?
