What is the context?
While shepherding Jethro’s flock, Moses comes to Horeb and sees a bush burning without being consumed. The angel of the LORD appears in the flame, and God calls to Moses from the bush. Moses is told to remove his sandals because the ground is holy.
The speaker identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses hides his face. The encounter joins God’s holiness with His continuing relationship to the family whose descendants are suffering in Egypt.
God says that He has seen their affliction, heard their cry and come to rescue them. He promises to bring them to a good and spacious land, described through the abundance of milk and honey. Then He sends Moses to Pharaoh to bring His people out.
Moses asks who he is to undertake this task. God answers with the promise that He will be with him, and that the people will worship on this mountain after their deliverance. The assurance rests on God’s presence with Moses.
When Moses asks what name he should give the Israelites, God identifies Himself as I AM WHO I AM and then as the LORD, the God of their fathers. Brown–Driver–Briggs discusses the connection with the Hebrew verb for being and with the promise to be with Moses. In verse 15, LORD represents God’s personal name, written with the Hebrew letters YHWH. The expression ehyeh appears in both the assurance of verse 12 and the answer of verse 14. The name is revealed within a promise of faithful presence.
Moses is to gather the elders and ask Pharaoh to allow a three-day journey into the wilderness for worship. God already knows that Pharaoh will resist and promises to act through wonders that bring about their release. The people will leave with silver, gold and clothing received from their neighbors. Their departure will not be empty-handed.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Christians differ over the identity and role of the angel in the bush. Calvin identifies Him as the eternal Son making God known before His human birth. Wesley describes an angel making the visible appearance while God speaks. Augustine, On the Trinity 2.13, thinks it could be the Son, but also considers God speaking through an angel without settling which person of the Trinity the messenger represents.
The name also receives several connected emphases. The Catholic Catechism 203–213 and Wesley emphasize that God depends on no one else for His life and remains faithful to His people. Brown–Driver–Briggs also gives attention to the assurance that He will be with Moses. These explanations relate the name both to who God is and to His promised presence.
The request for possessions is read as part of God putting right the people’s oppression. Wesley emphasizes that the women ask for gifts, rather than borrow with an intention not to repay. The BSB likewise says ask. The promised departure with possessions belongs with God’s earlier promise to Abraham.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
Acts 7:30–37 explicitly recalls the burning bush and God’s commission. Stephen points out that the Moses previously rejected as ruler and judge is the one God sends as ruler and redeemer. God’s choice and presence are decisive even after the earlier rejection.
Jesus quotes God’s identification as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when teaching about resurrection in Matthew 22:31–32. He identifies God as the God of the living. The relationship announced at the bush therefore also enters the New Testament’s explanation of hope beyond death.
The promised release with possessions also recalls Genesis 15:13–16. God’s response addresses the oppression, remembers the promised land and prepares His people to worship Him. The scene belongs within a purpose larger than Moses’ ability or Pharaoh’s willingness.
What is our position?
Our study Who is The Angel of the Lord? reads this encounter as an appearance of the eternal Son before His birth as Jesus. The study points to the angel appearing in verse 2, God speaking in verse 4 and Moses’ fear of looking at God in verse 6. We understand these as one encounter with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, rather than separate encounters with an ordinary angel and then with God.