Exodus 3:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

NIV: But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?'

NASB: But Moses said to God, 'Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?'

CSB: But Moses asked God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt? "

NLT: But Moses protested to God, 'Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?'

KJV: And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

NKJV: But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Speaking from a miraculously burning bush, God says He will send Moses to spearhead the liberation of Israel from Egyptian slavery. Moses clearly understands the mission. He repeats the exact calling of going to Pharaoh and bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. This mission was overwhelming to Moses. He responds to God's call with doubt. He does not see himself as the best person to free the Jews, or as an appropriate leader for the task.

However, God often calls the most unlikely people to accomplish His greatest tasks. God previously used Abraham to serve as founder of the Jewish people. He used Joseph as the man raised up from slavery and imprisonment to save many people from famine. God had already used the mother and sister of Moses to save his own life (Exodus 2). Now God is calling an eighty-year-old exiled shepherd to rescue slaves from the hands of the world's most powerful ruler. Moses realizes the difficulty of the mission. Only God's power would be sufficient to accomplish it.

Exodus 3:9–15 reveals God's commission of Moses as His spokesman, in order to lead Israel out of their slavery in Egypt. God provides reassurance in response to Moses' doubts. God also identifies Himself using terminology which will be crucial in both Jewish and Christian understanding of His nature. As a name, God uses the phrase ''I AM,'' indicating His eternal, uncreated, necessary, absolute existence. This connects to the Hebrew term YHWH, most often seen as LORD, Yahweh, or Jehovah. This same phrasing will be used by Jesus in the New Testament.

Moses is tending sheep for his father-in-law when he sees a miraculous sight: a bush which is on fire, but not burnt up. From this fire, God speaks to Moses, appointing him as the leader of the nation of Israel, whom God intends to free from Egyptian slavery. God identifies Himself in this passage using the famous terminology ''I AM.'' Despite Moses' fears and doubts, God gives him a message to take to the elders of Israel, and eventually to Pharaoh himself.

Prior chapters in Exodus explained how the descendants of Abraham became a nation which was populous, but enslaved, in the land of Egypt. Exodus 3 describes the moment when God calls Moses to lead Israel out of slavery. This is accomplished through the miracle of the burning bush. The beginning of this dialogue between God and Moses includes messages for both Israel and Pharaoh, and will continue into chapter 4.

The book of Exodus establishes God's covenant relationship with the full-fledged nation of Israel. The descendants of Abraham prosper after settling in Egypt, only to be enslaved by a fearful, hateful Egyptian Pharaoh. God appoints Moses to lead the people out of this bondage. Moses serves as God's spokesman, as the Lord brings plagues and judgments on Egypt, leading to the release of Israel.

Accessed 5/8/2024 4:49:06 PM