Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Moses and the Burning Bush

3 Moses was taking care of the flock of his father-in-law Jethro. Jethro was the priest of Midian. Moses led the flock to the western side of the desert. He came to Horeb. It was the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him from inside a burning bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire. But it didn’t burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I’ll go over and see this strange sight. Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”

⁴ The Lord saw that Moses had gone over to look. So God spoke to him from inside the bush. He called out, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am,” Moses said.

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground.” ⁶ He continued, “I am the God of your father. I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard that, he turned his face away. He was afraid to look at God.

⁷ The Lord said, “I have seen how my people are suffering in Egypt. I have heard them cry out because of their slave drivers. I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to save them from the Egyptians. I will bring them up out of that land. I will bring them into a good land. It has a lot of room. It is a land that has plenty of milk and honey. The Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites live there. ⁹ And now Israel’s cry for help has reached me. I have seen how badly the Egyptians are treating them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh. I want you to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. They are my people.”

¹¹ But Moses spoke to God. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” he said. “Who am I that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² God said, “I will be with you. I will give you a sign. It will prove that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship me on this mountain.”

Stephen Speaks to the Sanhedrin

7 Then the high priest questioned Stephen. “Is what these people are saying true?” he asked.

² “Brothers and fathers, listen to me!” Stephen replied. “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham. At that time Abraham was still in Mesopotamia. He had not yet begun living in Harran. ³ ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said. ‘Go to the land I will show you.’ (Genesis 12:1)

⁴ “So Abraham left the land of Babylonia. He settled in Harran. After his father died, God sent Abraham to this land where you are now living. ⁵ God didn’t give him any property here. He didn’t even give him enough land to set his foot on. But God made a promise to him and to all his family after him. He said they would possess the land. The promise was made even though at that time Abraham had no child. ⁶ Here is what God said to him. ‘For 400 years your family after you will be strangers in a country not their own. They will be slaves and will be treated badly. ⁷ But I will punish the nation that makes them slaves,’ God said. ‘After that, they will leave that country and worship me here.’ (Genesis 15:13,14) ⁸ Then God made a covenant with Abraham. God told him that circumcision would show who the members of the covenant were. Abraham became Isaac’s father. He circumcised Isaac eight days after he was born. Later, Isaac became Jacob’s father. Jacob had 12 sons. They became the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel.

⁹ “Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother Joseph. So they sold him as a slave. He was taken to Egypt. But God was with him. ¹⁰ He saved Joseph from all his troubles. God made Joseph wise. He helped him to become the friend of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made Joseph ruler over Egypt and his whole palace.

¹¹ “There was not enough food for all Egypt and Canaan. This brought great suffering. Jacob and his sons couldn’t find food. ¹² But Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt. So he sent his sons on their first visit. ¹³ On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was. Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. ¹⁴ After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family. The total number of people was 75. ¹⁵ Then Jacob went down to Egypt. There he and his family died. ¹⁶ Some of their bodies were brought back to Shechem. They were placed in a tomb Abraham had bought. He had purchased it from Hamor’s sons at Shechem. He had purchased it for a certain amount of money.