16. MOSES AT THE BURNING BUSH

€ I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt."

 

Aim

To show how God made known to Moses His great Name and purpose with Israel.

We learnt from our last lesson that Moses fled from Egypt to Midian, where he married one of the daughters of Jethro and spent forty years as a shepherd looking after the sheep. As this was very rugged and rocky country, it would be very difficult finding enough food and water for his sheep. So he would have had to wander long distances searching for grass. He would have spent a lot of time on his own calling to mind God's purpose with His people and thinking deeply about God, whom he worshipped. Exodus 3; 4:1-15

 

THE BURNING BUSH: Exodus 3:1-6

Moses had brought his sheep to a mountain called 'Horeb', and while he sat watching the sheep, a most wonderful thing happened. He saw a bush which blazed with fire and yet was not burned up by the flames. It remained green and fresh and did not seem any different although it still burned. This certainly was a strange thing to see, and Moses went closer to see why the bush was not consumed.

 

But as he drew near, an angel appeared to him from the midst of the burning bush and called him by name, saying, "Moses, Moses, draw not hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (v. 5). Imagine the wonder that would be in Moses' heart! Why should an angel of the living God appear to him? He hid his face, because he was afraid to look upon the angel. God, however, had a very special work for Moses to do. You will remember how he had been trained in Egypt to be a leader of men. Now, God was going to use Moses to lead His own people, the nation of Israel, out of Egypt.

 

THE ANGEL APPEARS IN THE BUSH: Exodus 3:7-12

The angel continued, "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (v. 6). Now God would never leave His throne in the heavens to come to speak to man, for "no man hath seen God at any time" (John 1:18). When God does speak to man, He does so through His angels, and this is what happened here (see Acts 7:30).

 

The angel went on to tell Moses about the wonderful plan of God to free His people from slavery in Egypt. Moses, He said, must return to Egypt and demand of Pharaoh that he let Israel go.

 

Forty years earlier Moses had tried to deliver the Hebrews from Egypt in his own way. Now he felt the task was too great for him. The years between had been well spent. He was now eighty years old and a much wiser man, having had time to consider his own smallness compared with the greatness of God. "Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (v. 11). He had learned to be truly humble. But God, Who knows the heart, encouraged him by saying, "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee" (v. 12). The burning bush before his eyes, out of which the angel spoke to him, was a sure sign to Moses that God would be with him. He would lead the people out to this very mountain to serve their God.

 

THE NAME AND PURPOSE OF GOD MADE KNOWN: Exodus 3:13-15

Moses then asked what the name of God was. In our days a name is little more than a label or title. In ancient times, it was different. Names then had meanings and often showed the work or character of the person named. Remember how God changed the name Abram ('Lofty Father') to Abraham ('Father of a great multitude'), so that His purpose might be made known through his name. In the same way Jacob's name was changed to Israel ('Prince with God'), to show what God had planned for him and his descendants in the future.

 

It is the same with God's name YAHWEH. It is a Hebrew word with a great and wonderful meaning, in which we are told God's purpose with this earth and man upon it. (Wherever we read LORD in capital letters in our Bibles, it is really the Hebrew name of God, YAHWEH).

 

FURTHER INSTRUCTION FOR MOSES: Exodus 3:16-22

Yahweh, the God of Israel, having revealed to Moses His great Name, told him to return to Egypt. He must gather to gether the elders of Israel and tell them of the wonderful deliverance to come. Then he must go before Pharaoh and demand that he let Israel go, so that the people might worship in the wilderness (v. 18). At the same time, God told Moses: "the King of Egypt will not let you go ... and I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go" (vv. 19, 20).

 

GOD GIVES MOSES WONDERFUL SIGNS: Exodus 4:1-9

Even though God had promised to be with Moses, he still was not confident to face the king alone. We remember how Moses fled in fear from Egypt. When Moses said that they would not believe him and that he was a poor speaker, God said, "I will be thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say". Aaron, his brother, was also appointed to go with him and help him speak to Pharaoh and tell him what Yahweh their God had said.

 

To help Moses show the people of Israel that God had sent him, he was given three signs:

 

1. The rod that became a serpent.

2. The hand that turned leprous and was healed.

3. The water that was turned to blood.

 

When Moses returned to Egypt he called the elders of Israel to him and told them of the plan of Yahweh, their God. When they saw the signs that God had given him, they realised that God was indeed with him (vv. 27-31).

 

LESSON FOR US

When Moses went closer to the burning bush, he was told: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground". Moses had to learn that he could only come near to God with the greatest respect. God must be served as He has shown us, with humble hearts, realising how great He is.

 

It is a wonderful privilege to hear the voice of God. Moses heard it from the burning bush and there he spoke to God. We can hear God speaking to us every day when we open our Bible and Carefully read its message. In this way we can learn to know Him and find out what He wants us to do.

 

Only let us never forget that He is God and not man (Hosea 11:9). So our Bible reading, our Bible talks, our hymn singing and prayers must all be done with great respect and honour, for He is a holy God.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

In Numbers 14:21 God told Moses: "As truly as I live all the earth shall be filled with My glory". God had made everything "very good" in the beginning, but man, through sin, spoiled all that and during the last 6,000 years wicked men have continued to pollute this earth which God has made. Once, God destroyed it with a flood, but He has promised never to do that again. Instead He is going to fill it with His glory. This has always been God's purpose. So He must first have upon it immortal people in harmony with Him and then He will bless the earth for ever.

 

When God told Moses that His Name was Yahweh, He was, in one word, explaining this great purpose with the earth. The name Yahweh means "He Who will be". It means that He, God, will be manifest, or seen, in people who are faithful and obedient. God called Israel out of Egypt to be His special people for this purpose, but we will learn in later lessons how they failed to love and obey Him. The Lord Jesus Christ alone, of all God's children, has been perfectly obedient to his Father. He thought and acted like God, so that he was able to say, "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father'' (John 14:9). God has given him immortality and glory.

 

Although Israel failed, God's purpose has not failed. There were many faithful men and women of old who tried all their lives to please God. They will be among those who will have immortality and glory in the Kingdom of God. Even today, through the Lord Jesus Christ, God is calling out of the world "a people for His Name" (Acts 15:14). Those of us who read His Word daily and obey that call will be given the same reward when Christ returns. Then God will indeed be seen in a great multitude of immortal saints and the whole earth shall at last be filled with His glory.

 

What a wonderful promise is contained in the name of God! Let us try hard each day to learn His ways that we may be counted among that glorious multitude in the age soon to come.

 

QUESTIONS

Short Answers

 

1. What was Moses doing near Mt. Horeb?

2. What strange sight did Moses see on Mt. Horeb?

3. As Moses came near the bush, what did the voice say to Moses?

4. What did the angel tell Moses God wished him to do?

5. What did the angel say was the wonderful Name of God?

6. Who was to go with Moses to help him speak?

7. What is God's great promise to those who show in their lives that they belong to God?

 

Detailed Answers

After Moses fled from Egypt, he came to Midian.

 

1. Tell what happened one day while Moses kept sheep on the mountain of Horeb.

2. What was the message the angel of God delivered to Moses at the burning bush?

3. What signs did God give to Moses to show the children of Israel in Egypt that the One True God had sent him to free them from being slaves?

 

Additional Answers

 

4. What was God's Name which Moses was instructed to give to the children of Israel and what does it mean?

5. What has God declared to be His purpose with this earth?

6. If we are to become true sons of God and bear His glorious nature and Name, how must we live now?