“Then he said, ‘I am the Lord of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God” (Exodus 3:6).

The Book of Genesis tells the detailed story of God’s appearance to Abraham and entering into a covenant with Abraham and his descendants, a covenant repeated to Abraham’s son, Isaac, and then to his son, Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. All the Israelites, including Moses, were heirs to that covenant. But it had been 40 years since Moses had heard about his father’s God. This introduction must have brought a rush of memories back to Moses; memories that he had suppressed living in the household of the Priest of Midian, his father-in-law.

So, like Adam and Eve after their sin, Moses hid himself from God. When God appears to us, His glory shames us. We know how undeserving we are, so we hide from God. But if God were interested in condemning Moses, why would He appear at all? God shows up in our lives because He wants to recruit us into His harvest. There is a mission for Moses to perform. And if God should appear to you, its not to condemn you, but rather to rally you to some cause in His plan. Let’s be willing to submit to that cause and say, with Moses, “Here I am”.