24
When he saw an Israelite man being treated unfairly by an Egyptian, he defended the Israelite. He took revenge by killing the Egyptian.
25
Moses thought his own people would understand that God was going to use him to give them freedom. But they didn't understand.
26
The next day Moses saw two Israelites fighting, and he tried to make peace between them. He said to them, 'Men, you are brothers. Why are you treating each other unfairly?'
27
"But one of the men pushed Moses aside. He asked Moses, 'Who made you our ruler and judge?
28
Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?'
29
After he said that, Moses quickly left Egypt and lived in Midian as a foreigner. In Midian he fathered two sons.
30
"Forty years later, a messenger appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush in the desert of Mount Sinai.
31
Moses was surprised when he saw this. As he went closer to look at the bush, the voice of the Lord said to him,
32
'I am the God of your ancestors--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses began to tremble and didn't dare to look at the bush.
33
The Lord told him, 'Take off your sandals. The place where you're standing is holy ground.
34
I've seen how my people are mistreated in Egypt. I've heard their groaning and have come to rescue them. So now I'm sending you to Egypt.'