出エジプト記3:1-12 Exodus 3:1-12,
Moses was an Israelite child, but through God’s mysterious guidance, he was brought up as a child of princess in the palace of the king of Egypt and grew to adulthood. But who told him? Moses knew he was an Israelite. The Israelites lived a hard life in slavery in Egypt. One day, Moses saw an Egyptian overseer beating an Israelite slave. Moses tried to save the beaten man and killed the overseer. He then hid the body in the sand.
The next day, Moses saw two Israelites fighting with each other. So he warned them, saying, “Why do you strike your companion?” Instead of listening, the person who was warned said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses realised that people knew that he had killed the Egyptian overseer and did not think well of him. The king of Egypt also found out about the incident and ordered that Moses be arrested and killed.
So Moses fled from Egypt and arrived in the land of Midian. The land of Midian is located at the base of the Arabian Peninsula, south of Egypt through the Sinai Peninsula. How did Moses live in a strange land? Wasn’t he in trouble because he didn’t know anyone? No, God had prepared a way for Moses to live. He married a woman called Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, the priest in Midian, and they had a child. He became a shepherd and lived a peaceful life there.
The Israelites in Egypt, however, were living a very hard life as slaves. They prayed to God for help. God heard their prayers. He called Moses and sent him to help the Israelites in Egypt.
One day, Moses followed a flock of sheep to the foot of Mount Sinai. There he noticed a bush burning. The bush was burning, but it did not burn up, and in a flame he saw an angel of the Lord. Moses went closer to take a closer look at this great sight. Then God called out to him from the flames, “Moses, Moses!” And God said to Moses, “Behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
God had given Moses the mission to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, who were suffering in slavery, and lead them to a new land. Moses, astonished, asked, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” But God did not answer his question. God simply promised, “I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you.” Thus, Moses left the land of Midian and went to Egypt. He was to face Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and begin the great work of leading the Israelites out of Egypt.