The Story Of Moses And The Burning Bush – An Encounter With God
Randy highlights one incident from the story of Moses – the encounter with God in the burning bush. We learn how this was a defining moment in his life.
An Encounter With God
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:4,5).
A Teachable Moment From the Story of Moses
In her early years of high school, our daughter was tasked with writing an essay on one of the most significant events in world history.
What made the assignment particularly challenging for kids of that age was to select an event and defend why it was historic – an incident of world-changing proportions.
The Birth of Israel
While her peers wrote about the earth-shattering arrival of the latest boy-band or the momentous invention of ear-buds, I suggested she write about the Exodus arguing that this event signaled the birth of the nation of Israel and the emergence of the Hebrew people as autonomous, distinct, and in covenant relationship with God.
It was a “teachable moment” – helping her to understand the unparalleled impact on the world that the Jewish people and nation have had ever since.
God intended the Exodus to be a watershed event, displaying His providential care, redeeming Israel from slavery and establishing a unique covenant relationship with them as He ushered them to the Promised Land. It is essentially the same real estate they occupy today – 34 centuries later – surrounded by enemies in the volatile Middle East.
The Most Important Character Of The Old Testament
Some students of Scripture have recognized Moses – the mediator of the Old Covenant, the receiver of the Law, and the leader of the descendants of Jacob from Egypt to the Promised Land – as the most important character of the Old Testament, even ranking above the patriarch Abraham and Israel’s greatest king, David.
We know very little about Moses’ personal relationship with the God of Abraham until he encountered God in the burning bush.
The bush – burning but not consumed in that hot, dry geography – was a theophany: a physically visible and audible appearance of God.
This spectacle deep in the Sinai desert-wilderness branded Moses as God’s man, and was the incident from which God revealed Himself, His Name, and the purpose for which He had been preparing Moses over the 80 years of his life to this point.
Moses Was Privileged
And while Moses expressed a combination of great fear and curiosity, God privileged Moses with an unparalleled experience of His divine self-disclosure. When Moses dared to inquire as to identity, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’” (v.14).
I think at that point, Moses understood something of the immensity and unique self-existence of God more than any other person on earth.
The Depravity Of The Human Condition
But even as Moses is classified as among the greatest of biblical spiritual characters, he also represents the depravity of the human condition.
In the narrative, Moses had been warned: “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (v.5).
Why? Moses was in danger of defiling holy ground.
That was because Moses – a Old Testament spiritual giant in human terms – represented the profane.
Holiness
We often think of holy as being just and right – like God is. But more often in Scripture, holy is that which is other, distinct, and set apart for God’s extraordinary usage. This ground was holy because it was where God was, where He revealed Himself, and where He would later act in covenant connection with His people.
Moses was righteous by our standards; corrupt by God’s.
Moses, the Deliverer of Israel, also needed to be delivered from the consequences of his moral failings before God. The Passover lamb slain on the night of the Exodus demonstrated substitution – and the blood on the door frame provided protection from the angel of death.
And that sacrifice pointed ahead to the Ultimate Lamb of God, the One who alone could avert the wrath of God targeted at sin.
Have you read the story of Moses? What did you learn? We would love to hear from you. Please make a comment below, or contact us.
Randy Bushey
After completing a 35 year corporate-management career in the general insurance industry, Randy is dedicated to full-time elder’s work at Bethel Gospel Chapel in North Bay (Ontario).
With a primary pastoral focus in Bible teaching (preaching and leading Bible studies). Randy is also engaged in visitation, church music, and helping develop other men in their roles as Christ-followers, preachers and leaders.
He is married to Pat who is investing her life in working with women and children in the local assembly. They are both energized by their 3 children (2 married) and 6 grandchildren!
You can listen to pod casts from Randy’s show, “The Faith Factor,” by clicking here.
More Podcasts Below:
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Where Did Jesus Go When He Died?
Things Are Not Always as They Seem
Images:
Moses And The Burning Bush-Public Domain
Mount Sinai- Berthold Werner
Fire- Vonsi46
Feet- Unsplash
Ray Marshall says
Hi there. That’s a great question. In Acts 7:23-30 we can learn a little more about the story of Moses. Here we see that he was 40 when he murdered an Egyptian and that he saw the burning bush 40 years later. That means that Moses was 80 at that point in time. Thanks for your question.