THE CALLING OF MOSES...from Torah portion Shemot (Ex 1:1 - 6:1)

"When the LORD saw that [Moses] had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!'
And Moses said, 'Here I am.'"
Exodus 3:4

Have you ever noticed that many of the men God called were shepherds? Think about this with me for just a moment. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all shepherds. Before David became king he too was a shepherd. And in reading Exodus 3:1 we see that Moses was tending the sheep of his father-in-law. It was during one of these times that Moses was leading the flock to the far side of the desert that he came to the mountain of God, Mount Horeb. He saw there a bush that was on fire but not consumed. With curiosity, he approached this strange sight.
Moses was being called out, not because he was any better than anyone else, not because he was holier, stronger, smarter, or more eloquent with words. Moses was being called out because he was ordinary, and God uses the ordinary. God uses the ordinary, and transforms them into the extra-ordinary. Moses didn’t see himself as anything special, and who knows that perhaps he was still dealing with the guilt of his sins while in Egypt. But his view of himself made him the perfect candidate for God to use and do something beyond his own thinking. Moses may have been just a shepherd, but God was purposing in him the ability to care for the sheep. God was using one who maybe even in some aspects had given up on himself, and He was about to use him to bring His people out of Egypt.
What beckoned Moses to the bush? Was it uncommon to think with the heat and dried up vegetation that a bush could not be on fire? Probably not in a desert. But what grabbed his attention was that the bush was on fire yet not consumed. So Moses approached the sight, as to investigate this rare occurrence.
From out of this fiery bush a voice called, “Moses, Moses.” Moses responded, perhaps with fear or timidity, “Here I am.” This response in the Hebrew is HINENI, translated literally as “Here I am, ready to listen, ready to respond, and ready to obey.” This same word is used in Genesis 22:1 when Abraham is paused from sacrificing Isaac. It is also used in Isaiah 6:8, when Isaiah responds to the question of who will be sent. Moses heard the voice from the unconsumed bush and replied “Hineni!” With this response, the voice continued, “Don’t come any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground.” I can almost picture Moses recklessly and speedily working to get his sandals off. Continuing on, the voice spoke. ”I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Notice that while God claims himself as the God of Moses’ forefathers, he also notes Himself as the God of Moses’ father, Amram, in saying He is the God of your [Moses’] father. Moses now covered his eyes as best he could, for he was standing in the presence of the one true God, and reverence for Him overtook him. God spoke, “I have seen how my people are being oppressed in Egypt and heard their cry for release from their slavemasters, because I know their pain.”
As God continued in His introduction and purpose, He called Moses out as the one who would go before Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Now I know for myself, if I was to hear these words, I would have a few questions. The first would be are you sure, and the second would be are you really sure? Maybe Moses handled it a little better than I would have in asking, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the people of Isra’el out of Egypt?” But to this, God announced that He would be with Moses on this mission. Although that was welcomed, it didn’t answer all the questions. The Egyptians had many gods, all with their own supposed strengths. If Moses walked into this battlefield of redeeming God’s people, he needed to know more about God. To this Moses questioned, “Who should I tell them has sent me?” The answer was clear, “God said to Moses, ‘Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.’ God said further to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ADONAI], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’”
So here is the question, the pondering moment of this devotional. When God calls us, how do we answer? Do we answer with a flippant "here," as if God is taking roll call? Or do we answer with "Hineni God! I am ready to listen, ready to respond, and ready to obey!" The rest may or may not come based on our response to His calling, but what exactly is your response?