Yesterday when we were continuing our reflections on the name God revealed to Moses at the

burning bush, I was saying that knowing that he is I am is in one sense just the beginning.

It certainly was for Moses.

If you were able to take a mental helicopter ride over the Pentateuch, the first five books

of the Bible, I think you'd share my amazement at just how much Moses learned in the next

40 years about the character of God.

But Moses must have reflected often on the meaning of the dramatic experience he had at Mount

Horeb.

What initiated it in the first place was the sight of a bush that was on fire but was not

consumed.

They must have taken at least a few minutes before it dawned on him.

Here was a bush burning but apparently the fire was self-propagating.

It was in the bush and yet the bush wasn't the fuel that kept the flame a light.

In fact the bush was burning but it wasn't burning up.

A fire was present in the middle of the bush and yet the fire was completely independent

of the bush for its existence.

This was a fire like no fire Moses had ever seen.

I suspect that the more Moses thought about this, the more he played and replayed the scene

over and over in his mind in later months and years, the more he understood what was happening.

It was as though I am Yahweh, the Lord was saying, Moses, there is none like me in heaven

or on earth.

I am who I am.

...