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When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” Exodus 3:4

The Bible is a fascinating book to read and it is rich in content. It is a collection of history, poetry, prophecy, law, the gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, Paul’s letters, revelations and more. Personally, I find the story of Moses interesting because there are so many lessons to learn.

Moses lived approximately 1,300 years before Jesus was born. The name “Moses” (meaning "to pull out or draw out of water”) is very interesting and even prophetic. Moses was drawn out of the water by Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:5-10), and he was later used by God to draw God’s people out of Egypt.

Moses spent 40 years in the Pharaoh’s palace but God did not call him then. It makes me wonder why God did not use Moses when he was young and powerful with royal connections in the palace. One day, Moses killed an Egyptian and because he feared for his life, he fled to the wilderness and stayed there for 40 years. It was here on the far side of the wilderness that the angel of God appeared to Moses in a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-2). God only called Moses when he was old, weak and alone in the wilderness!

The conversation between Moses and God in the burning bush is exciting to read, as I could see myself asking God the same questions. To recap, God called Moses by name, “Moses! Moses!” and to me that is something really special or even intimate. Moses’ response was very positive, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:4)

After finding out what God wanted him to do, i.e. to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, Moses pushed back with this reply: “Who am I that I should go…” (Exodus 3:11). But, as we read in the following chapters in Exodus, we know God performed many miracles through Moses’ hands and drew the Israelites out of Egypt.

As Moses yielded, he became someone God could use for greater things. Moses became a great man of God. Exodus 33:11 says “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend." To me, it’s extraordinary and an extreme honour to be called “friend of God.”

Let us respond to God by:

• Daily thanking God for inviting us into a living and real relationship; and,
• Asking Him to help us choose to say “Here I am!”