Lesson 1: Mountain of God - Part 1

Scripture to Read: Exodus 3:1-10

In the sweep of human history, there are relatively few events that can truly be called world-changing. We are going to read about two such events in this study and the next––and they both occurred in the same location! This was “Horeb, the mountain of God,” another name for Mount Sinai. The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush and God called to him, “Moses! Moses!” When Moses responded, “Here I am,” and hid his face in fear while waiting for God to respond, the course of Israel’s history and even world history was changed forever.

God’s instruction to Moses was to go back to Egypt and deliver His people from their slavery to the Pharaoh. The rest of Exodus 3 describes Moses’ very human attempt to avoid this overwhelming assignment. After all, he was a “wanted man” in Egypt, with a death sentence hanging over him. But Moses was standing on holy ground on Horeb. He was in the presence of the God of Israel, who would later ask the prophet Jeremiah, “Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). The answer, of course, is no—as Moses would discover.

Study Questions

• Moses was in the desert after having to flee Egypt following his failed attempt to deliver Israel on his own. What lesson was God teaching Moses in the desert?
• Why was the bush Moses saw burning with fire––but not destroyed?
• Why did Moses hide his face in fear when God identified Himself (v. 6)?
• What do verses 7-9 teach us about God’s concern for the trials and suffering of His people?
• Why is it easy for us to identify with Moses’ objections to the assignment God gave him?

Something to Think About

Someone has said that God will never ask us to do anything that He has not given us the ability to accomplish. Sometimes, like Moses, we may feel inadequate for the task. But if there is nothing too hard for God, then there is nothing He will ask us to do that we cannot complete with His help!