Read Exodus 3:1-22

The life of Moses is divided into forty-year segments.

For the first forty years of his life, he lived as a Jewish/Egyptian.  Raised in the home of Pharaoh with the corresponding privileges, he was different from the enslaved people of God.  And yet, he understood his true identity and had a heart for his people.  But his concern for God’s chosen nation was not understood by them and placed him at odds with Pharaoh himself.  So, after forty years, he fled.

Once in Midian, he married, had a child, and settled into a quiet life as a shepherd.  But that forty-year portion of his life drew to a close with the events recorded in Exodus 3.

It was there, on a mountain called “Horeb,” that Moses had a divine encounter.  It all began as he witnessed something that defied his logic and prior experience.  He saw an angel in the midst of a burning bush.  Even though the flames burned, the bush remained unchanged…it did not slowly burn up.  This was a holy ground moment.  It was one worthy of removing sandals and remaining at a distance.  It was an encounter with God.

On that mountain, God expressed His calling to Moses.  This quiet shepherd in the Midian wilderness was to be one used of God to lead His people out of slavery and back to the land God had promised.  This mountain was the location where God answered questions and gave reassurances that He really could use this man who had fled for his life forty years earlier.  In spite of Moses’ objections and perceived weakness, God would manifest miracles that would result in the return of the nation.  It was on this mountain that God also revealed Himself as the great “I AM.”  He is not a “has been” or a “will be.”

Though you have not had a Mount Horeb, burning bush experience, if you are a Christ-follower, you are no less called!  You are called to be holy (1 Pet. 1:16).  You are called out of darkness and into light that you may proclaim His greatness (1 Pet. 2:9).  And with this calling, you are assured of the very presence of I AM in the person of the Holy Spirit who empowers you to exercise your calling.

Steve Kern