If I Could Ask One Question of Moses, I would ask “What Was it Like to Talk to G-d in the Burning Bush, and On the Mountain, and In the Tent, and……?”

“During that long period of time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went up to God. God heard their groaning, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, God saw the Israelites, and God understood.

Now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. The angel of theLord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked – and the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed! So Moses thought, “I will turn aside to see this amazing sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” God said, “Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” He added, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. So now go, and I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” Genesis 2:23-25 – 3:1-10

There are a lot of reasons to envy Moses — he parted the Red (Reed) Sea — he bested one of the most powerful rulers of his time — he was in charge of a nation that had no home but a lot of people to tell him how to keep them in line — well that last one may not have been so good. But, Moses is considered to be “The Prophet” of the Prophets in Jewish history. And throughout his lifetime, he talked with G-d on a number of occasions (in fact he had the opportunity to argue with G-d — and win).

Moses is a complicated individual. From being saved from certain death by his crafty mother and the mothering instincts of one of Pharaoh’s daughters, to murdering an Egyptian for abusing one of his kinsmen, he came out of obscurity to become one of Israel’s greatest leaders. The story of G-d calling him from the burning bush gives us some insight into his character — for he was not afraid to argue with G-d. In fact G-d became so angry with Moses that G-d finally had to say “Get your brother Aaron, your staff with which you have done these miracles and get going.” 

I just want to ask Moses what it was like to speak to G-d. The Bible describes the voice of G-d as thunder, or the earth trembling. What was it like to speak to the creator of all things? What did G-d’s voice sound like and did the earth shake when G-d spoke? Yes, there are many questions we may want to ask Moses — What did it feel like to part the Red (Reed) Sea?; What did it feel like to carry the Ten Commandments?; What did the Promised Land Look like?  You may have other questions for Moses, but my question would be wanting to know what it was like to speak to G-d. What would you ask Moses if you had the chance?

Pastor Dave