Exodus 3:13-22
God sends His servant in the authority of His own name, assuring Him that covenant remembrance, divine sovereignty, and mighty judgment will accomplish Israel's liberation despite Pharaoh's hardness.
13 Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
15 God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.
17 I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
18 They will listen to your voice. You shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall tell him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh, our God.’
19 I know that the king of Egypt won’t give you permission to go, no, not by a mighty hand.
20 I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do among them, and after that he will let you go.
21 I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it will happen that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed.
22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her who visits her house, jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and clothing. You shall put them on your sons, and on your daughters. You shall plunder the Egyptians.”
God sends his servant in the authority of his own name, assuring him that covenant remembrance, divine sovereignty, and mighty judgment will accomplish Israel's liberation despite Pharaoh's hardness.
To reveal that Israel's deliverance rests on the self-existent, covenant-faithful LORD who sends Moses with his name, his promise, his foreknowledge of opposition, and his assurance of mighty intervention.
Exodus 2:23-25 showed that God heard Israel's groaning, remembered His covenant, saw the Israelites, and knew. Exodus 3:1-12 then brought Moses to Horeb, where the LORD appeared in the burning bush and commissioned him to go to Pharaoh. Exodus 3:13-22 answers Moses' concern about credibility: What name should he give Israel? The passage supplies the theological center of the call narrative, joining divine self-revelation, covenant memory, Israel's leadership, Pharaoh's resistance, the coming wonders, and the promised plundering of Egypt.
Moses anticipates returning to enslaved Israelites and hostile Egyptian power with a message that requires divine authorization. In the ancient world, a commissioned envoy needed the authority of the sender. Here the LORD supplies Moses with more than a title; he gives the covenant identity by which Israel will know that the God of the fathers has truly visited them.
The LORD Calls Moses from the Burning Bush
The holy, covenant-keeping LORD reveals Himself to Moses, promises His presence, and declares that He will redeem His suffering people by His mighty hand.