Exodus 3:6

6 I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." So Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Exodus 3:6 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 3:6

Moreover he said, I am the God of thy fathers
Of every one of his fathers next mentioned: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
with whom the covenant respecting the land of Canaan, and the promise of the blessed seed the Messiah, was made: this again shows that the Angel of the Lord that now appeared was God himself, Jehovah the Son of God. Our Lord makes use of this text to prove the resurrection of the dead against the Sadducees, God being not the God of the dead, but of the living; ( Mark 12:26 Mark 12:27 ) and Moses hid his face;
wrapped it in his mantle or cloak, as Elijah did, ( 1 Kings 19:13 ) , because of the glory of the divine Majesty now present, and conscious of his own sinfulness and unworthiness: for he was afraid to look upon God;
even upon this outward appearance and representation of him in a flame of fire; otherwise the essence of God is not to be looked upon and seen at all, God is invisible; but even this external token and symbol of him was terrible to behold; the thought that God was there filled him with fear, considering the greatness and awfulness of his majesty, and what a poor, weak, and sinful creature he was.

Exodus 3:6 In-Context

4 When the Lord saw that Moses was coming closer, he called to him from the middle of the bush and said, "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Yes, here I am."
5 God said, "Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.
6 I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." So Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, "I have seen how cruelly my people are being treated in Egypt; I have heard them cry out to be rescued from their slave drivers. I know all about their sufferings,
8 and so I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of Egypt to a spacious land, one which is rich and fertile and in which the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites now live.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.