A cell phone commercial asks, "Can you hear me now?" The assumption is that one can hear any place, any time, in any situation through this miraculous technology -- the latest cell phone device and service.

When the voice of God comes from a burning bush that is not consumed -- "Can you hear me now?" -- Moses finds excuse after excuse for not hearing or listening to God's call.1 Moses has good reason and credible excuses, at least in his mind, to resist, but God, nonetheless, persists in calling. God's call is key to the liberation and ultimate purposes and destiny of the Hebrew people.

Moses has come a long way since his time in Pharaoh's court as a "prince" in Egypt. A quick recap sees Moses, in defending an Israelite, killing an Egyptian. Pharaoh hears of it and seeks to kill Moses. M…