I have heard their cry
(Vs7)
The cry of the Israelites has now come to me
(Vs9)
In a short space God says twice that he has heard the cry.
Previously God called out to Adam and Eve who were hiding among trees. Now God calls from a bush. And God sounds his name to Moses. He is not only the one who does. He is the one who is.
There is a sense that God in his is-ness that he is always hearing and always sounding. This makes for a difficult relationship. Living with children who sound insistently and constantly can be quite difficult. However, Jean-Luc Nancy, the French philosopher says that to be an ‘is’ is always being a ‘being with’.
This makes God not merely a fading sound but a presence that is intangible. Sound and fire are intangibles that can be heavily present.
I will be with you
(Vs12)
It is this presence that Moses must sound out to a cynical, oppressed people.
They will listen to your voice
(Vs18)
But in what sense will they listen?