This is a familiar event and one of the most incredible in the Bible. People and earthly things had a part in the miracles of the Bible, but it is the hand of God that makes them events.
Exodus 3: 1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
Moses was on Mount Horeb. The geographical name is Mount Sinai, the area between Egypt and Israel. It was a wilderness and the same one Israel would wander in for 40 years. It was known to those who feared God as Mount Horeb. Regardless of what others may call us; we may be just another religion to some. We know the truth.
Moses had fled to the desert of Midian from Egypt. He became a shepherd. He worked for Jethro, the priest of Midian. He was also his father in law. He led a life of laying low in the desert. He had too much trouble in Egypt and wanted to get away from it all. However, God had a plan. He has a plan for us too. He saved us to be used. We can try to hide out like Moses did. God was with his people in bondage in Egypt, but he knew where Moses was. God was working. We may want to avoid the conflicts, but that is not possible in this world. We can’t escape the effects of the devil, and we certainly can’t avoid God.
This mountain was covered with bushes. As Moses took the sheep through the area a miracle happened. It goes to prove that in God’s miracles he uses earthly means for supernatural working. Jesus could have made food out of thin air and fed the 5,000, yet he used a boy’s meager lunch and provided a tremendous miracle. Once he spat on dirt and made clay that healed a blind man. How does this relate to us? This bush was one of many which grew like any other bush on the mountain. This one changed Moses’ life and changed the course of history.
Here is what we have: a bush, God’s voice and Moses’ voice. It’s important to see what God had to say, but there is also the voice of the bush. Did it talk? Sure it did. A fire is not quiet. The bush snapped, crackled and popped- like Rice Crispies! God’s working began through a medium, like this bush, through which he could come to us. Man cannot look upon God and live, so there must be a medium. He reached us through Jesus who came with the gospel. God speaks through the Holy Spirit, but we have to hear the gospel. How do we hear it? There must be a human being. The Bible says how shall they hear without a preacher? That doesn’t mean a person can’t get saved without a preacher. It means there must be a human—a bush through which the Lord can work. God could have appeared without a bush, but Moses would have died. He used an ordinary bush growing on the mountain.
Are there any Christians who are not human? Of course not. We’re bushes on Mount Horeb. If we’re saved, Jesus is in our heart. The bush received the presence of the Lord. Something happened to it that made it stand out. It became aflame; it burned but was not consumed. It remained a bush. Why didn’t it burn up? God was in it. You and I are still human. God chose the most foolish part of his creation. He didn’t make us foolish; we became that way. Think how fallible we are, how combustible we are. We’re prone to drying up and becoming barren. When God comes in, a change takes place. Do you see what’s happening? A medium is made for God and for us. That is what happened with Moses. The medium caught his attention. Before God spoke to Moses, his presence set that bush on fire. It was submitted to God and used of him. If God can dwell within a bush and it not be consumed, isn’t he able to dwell in us and our personality and individuality not be destroyed? Paul prayed that the church would be filled with the fullness of God. We must first let the Word dwell in us. We become different and begin to burn without being consumed. Those around us see something different.
Moses turned aside to see the bush. God chose that bush just like he chose us. The bush and Moses were both alive. The only difference was that the bush was a vegetative life form, and Moses was a human life form. The Lord could use them both. The sky is the limit with what God can do with us while we’re alive—if we’ll let him. The dead can’t work for God. Our voice is God’s voice. Our limbs are his. The bush didn’t protest. Everything God made obeys but man. That was the difference in the bush and Moses. He protested. The bush yielded because all other parts of creation simply go on, obey and submit to their creator. Why didn’t Moses? That has been the story with mankind since the beginning.
God could choose any form of communication to reach the lost, but he chose us. The bush was not hurt by God. Often we’re afraid we’ll get too much or give up too much. Did Moses have a good enough excuse that convinced God that he had chosen the wrong person? No! Let your light so shine with the flame of salvation.
Look what happened with God and Moses through the bush. The bush was holy ground. If we let God use us, we’ll stand on holy ground no matter how barren the world is around us. The presence of God in the bush made it holy ground. The God of Moses’ ancestors was making himself known to him as his God too. He’s still the same God today, the great I AM.
God wants to use us bushes. Be willing. What is the bush saying to us? “Look at what happened to me because I let the Lord use me.” We too can shine!
We’ll pick up next week and see what else the bush can teach us.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 