[Moses] led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:1-6, NRSVue)
For Moses, the wilderness was a place of safety. A Hebrew born in Egypt and raised in Pharaoh's palace, he fled to the desert after killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. Moses thought he was out of Pharaoh's reach but not that of the Lord God Almighty. The Great I AM spoke to him out of a burning bush, calling on him to return to Egypt to liberate his people from oppression. An intriguing note is how God waits for Moses to turn aside to see this marvel of nature, leaving open the question of what might have happened had he walked on by, intent on his flock of sheep and his own thoughts. New Mexican Folk Artist Vicente Telles renders the scene in the style of the saint-making artists of the American Southwest. Christ, as Second Person of the Trinity, represents the Godhead. (John Kohan)