A long time passed, during which the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their bondage and cried out, and from their bondage their cry for help went up to God.

God heard their moaning and God was mindful of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

God saw the Israelites, and God knew….

Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb.

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as fire flaming out of a bush. When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being consumed.

So Moses decided, “I must turn aside to look at this remarkable sight. Why does the bush not burn up?”

When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called out to him from the bush: Moses! Moses! He answered, “Here I am.”

God said: Do not come near! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.

I am the God of your father, he continued, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.