Jesus was the burning bush

JESUS WAS THE BURNINGBUSH
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Exodus 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to
him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush: and
he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and
the bush was not consumed.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Bush In History
Exodus 3:2
J. Orr
The bush had primary reference to Israel, and the fire in the bush represented
Jehovah's fiery presence in the midst of his people -
1. Fortheir protection. A fire flaming forth to consume the adversaries.
2. Fortheir purification. God was in the fires that tried them, as wellas in the
powerthat upheld them. The fire was thus a figurative representationat once
of destroying punishment and of refining affliction. But the bush, while
burning, was not consumed. This involves the principle that nothing, however
weak and perishable in itself, with which God connects his presence, orwhich

he wills to continue in existence, canby any possibility be destroyed. From this
point of view - a thoroughly legitimate one - the emblem admits of various
applications, and directs our attention to a series of supernatural facts yet
greaterthan itself, and well deserving our turning aside to see.
1. There is the obvious application to the Church, which to a thoughtful'
mind, pondering as it should the facts of history, is a veritable repetition of the
wonder of the bush "burning but not consumed." The bush is an emblem of
the Church in the other respectof outward plainness and unattractiveness.
And it is noteworthy that the times when the Church has forgottenher calling
to be meek and lowly in heart, and has aspired to greatoutward splendour,
and been ambitious of worldly supremacy, have invariably been times of
marked decline in purity and spirituality. She fares best when content with
modest outward pretensions.
2. A secondapplicationis to the nation of the Jews - also a "sign and wonder"
in history (see Keble's hymn, "The Burning Bush').
3. A third is to the Bible. What enmity has this book encountered, and what
fierce attempts have been made to disprove its claims, destroyits influence,
sometimes even to banish it from existene!Yet the miraculous bush survives,
and retains to this hour its greenness andfreshness, as if no fire had ever
passedupon it.
4. Yet another application is to individual believers, againstwhom, while tried
by fiery trials (1 Peter4:12), neither the enmity of man, the assaults ofSatan,
nor providential afflictions and calamities (Job 1.) are permitted to prevail,
but who, under all, enjoy a support, a peace, a comfort, plainly supernatural -
"dying, and behold we live" (2 Corinthians 6:9). Flippant observers may see
in these things nothing worthy of peculiar attention - nothing which cannot be

explained by ordinary historicalcauses;but soberminds will not readily agree
with them. They will regardthe facts now referred to as truly "greatsights,"
and will, like Moses,reverently turn aside to inquire into them further. Note -
1. The true glory of the Church is God in her midst.
2. The outward weaknessofthe Church enhances the wonderof her
preservation.
3. The Church has most reasonto glory in those periods of her history when
she has been most despisedand persecuted(Matthew 5:11; 2 Corinthians
12:9; 1 Peter4:14). - J.O.
The Bush In History
Exodus 3:2
J. Orr
The bush had primary reference to Israel, and the fire in the bush represented
Jehovah's fiery presence in the midst of his people -
1. Fortheir protection. A fire flaming forth to consume the adversaries.
2. Fortheir purification. God was in the fires that tried them, as wellas in the
powerthat upheld them. The fire was thus a figurative representationat once
of destroying punishment and of refining affliction. But the bush, while
burning, was not consumed. This involves the principle that nothing, however
weak and perishable in itself, with which God connects his presence, orwhich
he wills to continue in existence, canby any possibility be destroyed. From this

point of view - a thoroughly legitimate one - the emblem admits of various
applications, and directs our attention to a series of supernatural facts yet
greaterthan itself, and well deserving our turning aside to see.
1. There is the obvious application to the Church, which to a thoughtful'
mind, pondering as it should the facts of history, is a veritable repetition of the
wonder of the bush "burning but not consumed." The bush is an emblem of
the Church in the other respectof outward plainness and unattractiveness.
And it is noteworthy that the times when the Church has forgottenher calling
to be meek and lowly in heart, and has aspired to greatoutward splendour,
and been ambitious of worldly supremacy, have invariably been times of
marked decline in purity and spirituality. She fares best when content with
modest outward pretensions.
2. A secondapplicationis to the nation of the Jews - also a "sign and wonder"
in history (see Keble's hymn, "The Burning Bush').
3. A third is to the Bible. What enmity has this book encountered, and what
fierce attempts have been made to disprove its claims, destroyits influence,
sometimes even to banish it from existene!Yet the miraculous bush survives,
and retains to this hour its greenness andfreshness, as if no fire had ever
passedupon it.
4. Yet another application is to individual believers, againstwhom, while tried
by fiery trials (1 Peter4:12), neither the enmity of man, the assaults ofSatan,
nor providential afflictions and calamities (Job 1.) are permitted to prevail,
but who, under all, enjoy a support, a peace, a comfort, plainly supernatural -
"dying, and behold we live" (2 Corinthians 6:9). Flippant observers may see
in these things nothing worthy of peculiar attention - nothing which cannot be
explained by ordinary historicalcauses;but soberminds will not readily agree

with them. They will regardthe facts now referred to as truly "greatsights,"
and will, like Moses,reverently turn aside to inquire into them further. Note -
1. The true glory of the Church is God in her midst.
2. The outward weaknessofthe Church enhances the wonderof her
preservation.
3. The Church has most reasonto glory in those periods of her history when
she has been most despisedand persecuted(Matthew 5:11; 2 Corinthians
12:9; 1 Peter4:14). - J.O.
A Beautiful Conjunction of the Naturaland Supernatural
J. Parker, D. D.
Exodus 3:1-6
Now Moses keptthe flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and
he led the flock to the backside of the desert…
— A bush burned into a sanctuary! Though the heavens cannot contain the
GreatOne, yet He hides Himself under every flower, and makes the broken
heart of man His chosendwelling-place. So great, yet so condescending;
infinite in glory, yet infinite in gentleness. Whereverwe are, there are gates
through nature into the Divine. Every bush will teach the reverent student
something of God. The lilies are teachers, so are the stars, so are all things
greatand snell in this wondrous museum, the universe! In this case it was not
the whole mountain that burned with fire; such a spectaclewe should have

consideredworthy of the majesty of God; it was only the bush that burned: so
condescendinglydoes Godaccommodate Himself to the weaknessofman. The
whole mountain burning would have dismayed the lonely shepherd; he who
might have been overwhelmed by a blazing mountain was attractedby a
burning bush.
(J. Parker, D. D.)
Cultivate Reverence
G. D. Boardman.
Exodus 3:1-6
Cultivate the spirit of reverence. Forours is an age oficonoclasm,
overthrowing ancestraltraditions, dethroning venerable beliefs, making the
sacredcommon, dissolving the sacramentalin the physical equation of
correspondence withenvironment; in brief, shattering the very instinct of
homage. And this is peril indeed! For, as Emersonsays, "No greatercalamity
can befall a nation than its loss of worship." Bad as heathenism is, irreligion is
worse. Bettersuperstition than atheism. Young man, believe me; no man is
ever so greatas when he kneels. Be it yours to have the same lowly reverence
which so beautifully marked such illustrious scientists as a Galen, who
regardedhis professionallife as "a religious hymn in honour of the Creator";
a Copernicus, on whose tombstone, in St. John's of Frauenburg, is the
following epitaph: "Not the grace bestowedonPaul do I ask, not the favour
shown to Peterdo I crave; but that which Thou didst grant the robber on the
cross do I implore"; a Kepler, who concludes his treatise entitled "Harmony

of the Worlds" thus: "I thank Thee, my Creatorand Lord, that Thou hast
given me this joy in Thy creation, this delight in the works of Thy hands; I
have shown the excellencyof Thy works unto men, so far as my finite mind
was able to comprehend Thy infinity; if I have said aught unworthy of Thee,
or aught in which I have sought my own glory, graciouslyforgive it"; a
Newton, who never mentioned the name of Deity without uncovering his head.
(G. D. Boardman.)
Cultivate Reverence
G. D. Boardman.
Exodus 3:1-6
Cultivate the spirit of reverence. Forours is an age oficonoclasm,
overthrowing ancestraltraditions, dethroning venerable beliefs, making the
sacredcommon, dissolving the sacramentalin the physical equation of
correspondence withenvironment; in brief, shattering the very instinct of
homage. And this is peril indeed! For, as Emersonsays, "No greatercalamity
can befall a nation than its loss of worship." Bad as heathenism is, irreligion is
worse. Bettersuperstition than atheism. Young man, believe me; no man is
ever so greatas when he kneels. Be it yours to have the same lowly reverence
which so beautifully marked such illustrious scientists as a Galen, who
regardedhis professionallife as "a religious hymn in honour of the Creator";
a Copernicus, on whose tombstone, in St. John's of Frauenburg, is the
following epitaph: "Not the grace bestowedonPaul do I ask, not the favour
shown to Peterdo I crave; but that which Thou didst grant the robber on the

cross do I implore"; a Kepler, who concludes his treatise entitled "Harmony
of the Worlds" thus: "I thank Thee, my Creatorand Lord, that Thou hast
given me this joy in Thy creation, this delight in the works of Thy hands; I
have shown the excellencyof Thy works unto men, so far as my finite mind
was able to comprehend Thy infinity; if I have said aught unworthy of Thee,
or aught in which I have sought my own glory, graciouslyforgive it"; a
Newton, who never mentioned the name of Deity without uncovering his head.
(G. D. Boardman.)
From Curiosity to Reverence
J. Parker, D. D.
Exodus 3:1-6
Many a man has been led through the gate of curiosity into the sanctuaryof
reverence. Mosespurposedbut to see a wonderful sight in nature, little
dreaming that he was standing as it were face to face with God. Blessedare
they who have an eye for the startling, the sublime, and the beautiful in
nature, for they shall see many sights which will fill them with glad
amazement. Every sight of God is a "greatsight";the sights become little to
us because we view them without feeling or holy expectation. It was when the
Lord saw that Moses turned aside to see that He calledunto him and
mentioned him by name. This is indeed a greatlaw. If men would turn aside
to see, Godwould surely speak to them. But we do not do this. We pass by all
the greatsights of nature with comparative indifference, certainly, as a
generalrule, without reverence. The sea wants to speak to us, but we listen not

to its sounding voice;the stars are calling to us, but we shut them out; the
seasonscome round to tell their tale, but we are pre-occupied with trifling
engagements.We must bring so much with us if we would put ourselves into
healthful communion with nature: we must bring the seeing eye, the hearing
ear, and the understanding heart: we must, at all events, be disposedto see
and hear, and God will honour the disposition with more than expected
blessing.
(J. Parker, D. D.)
Lessons
G. Gilfillan.
Exodus 3:1-6
1. All ground is holy which has been consecratedby valour, virtue, piety, or
love. The island of Erromanga, where Williams died; the banks of Avon and
of Doon, where the two greatestbards of England and Scotlandwere born;
the patriot-fields of Marathon, Morgarten, and Bannockburn; the moors of
Drumclog and Airsmoss, where the Covenanters fought and fell; the peaks of
Lochnagarand BenCruachan; the bald and sovereignheadof Mont Blanc;
these, and ten thousand such spots as these, are holy ground; and if men do
not, like Moses atthe bush, put off their shoes while standing there, yet may
they uncover their heads, and feelthat in doing reverence to the greatof old
and to the works ofnature, they are doing homage to something which has in
it a large portion of the Divine, which is Godlike, althoughnot God.

2. Let us, in a figure, put off our shoes as we draw near, even here, unto God.
Let us strip our. selves of the high buskins of pride, of the light sock of
indifference and idle mirth, of the luxurious slippers of sensualsin, and of the
hard shoes of rude presumption; and let us, with naked and trembling feet,
and with coveredface, but, at the same time, with all holy boldness and filial
love, in the sanctuary and at the Lord's table, the presence of that Godwho is
"a consuming fire."
3. What an overpowering reflectionis that, of us all having one day to draw in
a very close degree nearto the presence of God. Conceive a mortal, although
winged being, after long wandering through the universe, caughtin a current
too mighty for his pinions, and which he feels is hurrying him into the very
heart of the burning sun! Conceive his horror as he sees the orb becoming
largerand larger,andfeels it becoming hotter and hotter; and how in vain he
struggles to turn upon his way, and shun that oceanof fire which is to
consume him. But on, on, on, he is precipitated, and the imagination shrinks
back as she sees the contactand hears the shriek of the extinguished wretch.
Thus may a guilty soul after death feelitself approaching its Maker;resisting
the attraction, but resisting in vain, drawn ruthlessly within the circle of that
eye of fire, and exclaiming as it sinks in terror, "It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God." But even the saint shudders sometimes at the
thought of meeting a Being so tremendous, and would on his death-bed
shudder more, did not at one time a merciful stupor deadenhis sensibilities,
and were it not that at anotherthe thought of God is swallowedup in the
image of Christ.
(G. Gilfillan.)

Lessons
G. Gilfillan.
Exodus 3:1-6
1. All ground is holy which has been consecratedby valour, virtue, piety, or
love. The island of Erromanga, where Williams died; the banks of Avon and
of Doon, where the two greatestbards of England and Scotlandwere born;
the patriot-fields of Marathon, Morgarten, and Bannockburn; the moors of
Drumclog and Airsmoss, where the Covenanters fought and fell; the peaks of
Lochnagarand BenCruachan; the bald and sovereignheadof Mont Blanc;
these, and ten thousand such spots as these, are holy ground; and if men do
not, like Moses atthe bush, put off their shoes while standing there, yet may
they uncover their heads, and feelthat in doing reverence to the greatof old
and to the works ofnature, they are doing homage to something which has in
it a large portion of the Divine, which is Godlike, althoughnot God.
2. Let us, in a figure, put off our shoes as we draw near, even here, unto God.
Let us strip our. selves of the high buskins of pride, of the light sock of
indifference and idle mirth, of the luxurious slippers of sensualsin, and of the
hard shoes of rude presumption; and let us, with naked and trembling feet,
and with coveredface, but, at the same time, with all holy boldness and filial
love, in the sanctuary and at the Lord's table, the presence of that Godwho is
"a consuming fire."
3. What an overpowering reflectionis that, of us all having one day to draw in
a very close degree nearto the presence of God. Conceive a mortal, although
winged being, after long wandering through the universe, caughtin a current
too mighty for his pinions, and which he feels is hurrying him into the very

heart of the burning sun! Conceive his horror as he sees the orb becoming
largerand larger,andfeels it becoming hotter and hotter; and how in vain he
struggles to turn upon his way, and shun that oceanof fire which is to
consume him. But on, on, on, he is precipitated, and the imagination shrinks
back as she sees the contactand hears the shriek of the extinguished wretch.
Thus may a guilty soul after death feelitself approaching its Maker;resisting
the attraction, but resisting in vain, drawn ruthlessly within the circle of that
eye of fire, and exclaiming as it sinks in terror, "It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God." But even the saint shudders sometimes at the
thought of meeting a Being so tremendous, and would on his death-bed
shudder more, did not at one time a merciful stupor deadenhis sensibilities,
and were it not that at anotherthe thought of God is swallowedup in the
image of Christ.
(G. Gilfillan.)
Put Off Thy Shoes. -- Reverence
Bp. S. Wilberforce.
Exodus 3:1-6
I. THE ESSENCE OF REVERENCELIES IN OUR FORMING A TRUE
ESTIMATE OF OUR PLACE AMONG THE POWERS AROUND US, AND
SO UNDERSTANDING ARIGHT AND HABITUALLY FEELING WHAT
IS OUR RELATION TO THEM. Now, to do this —

1. We must apprehend something of the mystery of life in ourselves and in
others.
2. We must recognize the distinction of the different grades of being in those
in whom life is, and seek to find and to keepour own due place in that mighty
and marvellous scale ofexistences.
II. WE MUST BOW DOWN BEFOREHIM WHO IS THE FOUNTAIN OF
ALL LIFE, THE LIFE OF ALL WHO LIVE. This adoration of the soul
before Him is the central point of the grace ofreverence, and its influence
pervades and adjusts all our other relations, both towards Himself and
towards the other creatures ofHis hand.
III. It is a question of the deepestmoment to us all HOW, IN AN AGE ONE
SPECIAL TEMPTATIONOF WHICH IS CLEARLY TO LOSE ITS
REVERENCE, THE GIFT CAN BE KEPT QUICK AND LIVING IN
OURSELVES.
1. The first step must be the keeping guard againstwhatevertends to
irreverence. All that professedlyrobs life of its mystery does this. So, even
more directly, does all that robs revelationof its awfulness. Receiving God's
Word as God's Word, striving to do it, striving to overcome temptations to
doubt, not by crushing them out, but by turning them into occasionsofprayer
and of adoration, these efforts, and such as these, will keepus in an irreverent
age from the greatloss of irreverence.
2. Above all, we must pray for reverence as the gift of God; for such prayer
not only draws down a certain answer, but even by its own actiontends to put
our spirits in the frame of reverence.

(Bp. S. Wilberforce.)
The Burning Bush
A. Nevins, D. D.
Exodus 3:1-6
1. Observe the substance of the figure. Nota fine tall tree, a cedaror a
cypress, but a bush — a mere bush. Such is the image of the Church — poor
and humble. It was at one time in the ark, and there was a wickedHam, at
another in the family of Abraham, and there was a mocking Ishmael. It was
now in Egypt, consisting of slaves and brickmakers. Jesus hadnot where to
lay His head, His followers were the common people, His apostles were
fishermen.
2. Observe the condition of the bush. It burned with fire. Fire denotes
suffering. Christians must have tribulation in the world. They are never to
consider"fiery trials" as strange things. Of how many canGod say, "I have
chosenthee in the furnace of affliction"?
3. Mark the bush's preservation. The bush was not consumed. Sometimes the
Church has burned in the fire of persecution, and sometimes of derision. But
with what result? Whilst kingdoms and empires have passedaway, and not a

wreck of them is left but some vestiges in ruins, lingering in monumental
mockeryof the boasts of men, the Church still stands, as she is destined ever
to do, in the light and strength of her omnipotent and faithful Lord. And this
is as true of every individual believer as of the whole Church collectively.
(A. Nevins, D. D.)
The Burning Bush
J. McNeill.
Exodus 3:1-6
Moses was notengagedin any unworthy work, or any careerof sin. He was
tending the flock of his father-in-law, and he led the flock to the backside of
the desert, and came to the mountain of God. Here, perhaps, he had been
often before, but as he led the flock along that familiar track, suddenly there
came to him, in the calm and quiet of that lonely place, this wonderful
revelation of the Lord, which became a point of departure in Moses'own
heart and history, and in the history of the people of God. So, I say, that which
makes life worth living is this — we will come to the point at once — the great
glory of our life is that God comes into it and reveals His presence;that God
opens our eyes to see that there is more in the world than simply our daily
calling, our flock of sheep, and our temporal interests;that life is more than a
day's work, no matter how diligently and conscientiouslyperformed, and a
night's sleep. God, the personalGod, is here to greetour own eyes with the
kindling glory of the manifestation of His ownpresence. He will change our
life, its whole current, its whole outcome. And I would like at the outsetto

wakenup an expectationin those who are rather apt to think that the day is
gone by for them either to expector to receive suchvisions and revelations of
the Lord. My friends, Moses was anold man when this took place. Therefore
let not those growing old, either in years or in cares, give in or sink down.
Many a long day and year Moses hadtrudged about this very region, when
suddenly one year, one day, one hour, one particular moment, he lifted up his
eyes, and, as we all know now, Lo! there was God. In the midst of all the
ordinary humdrum and; routine of life I see something. There is a glimmer, a
something extraordinary somewhere, sometime, and I open my eyes. I was
often there before, and saw nothing; but now there is a gleam, a light, an
Epiphany. My very soul is engaged, ledon, and on, and on, until the end of it
is God as man speaking to me, lifting up my life by the grappling-hooks of His
own purposes, and using and glorifying it and me for ever and ever. I want to
show, for example, that you might have had a man, another shepherd, and
that man might have been going on for seventy or eighty years of age like
Moses,and he never would have seenthis revelation. He would have gotso
down to the level of a shepherd's life and a shepherd's experience that when
he saw the bush burning he would have gotsome natural explanation for it,
and passedon. It would have come too late in the day for him to say, "Thatis
worth looking at. It is a little extra blush on that bush; but it cannot be a fire,
it is only an extra glow of the sunlight on the furze. I do not think I ever sew it
just so before, though." Meantime the sheepgive a bleat, and he turns his face
away, and on he goes. Oh, it is hard to wakenup some of us! We are so unlike
Moses.No;old as he was, he was as curious as a bairn. He had still the faculty
to open his eyes and see wonderful sights, and clap his hands, and wonder
what they were. May God take awaythe oldness of some of us, and give us the
freshness of youth! It will be the beginning of salvation. Open your eyes!The
world is not done, and you are not done. Your days are only in the beginning,
and if you only getyour eyes open to see what is here, they will never close
again. When once God shows Himself to us in Christ, we, at last, have our eyes
open. Curiosity! a human thing; — and God pulled Moses by that little thread
— curiosity. And this greatchain cable came after it — faith, clear, strong
faith in a personalGod, speaking to him, and giving him a personalmessage
and mission. "And Mosessaid, I will now turn aside, and see this greatsight,
why the bush is not burnt." Now, turn aside; getoff the track, oh man; step

out of your way; turn aside. Go, go, go along this new course;it is not far to
go. Do not sit still and let things go past. It is a wonderful world; it is a
wonderful church; all life is just bursting with wonder, if you will only turn
aside. But not everybody sees the burning. Everybody sees the bush. It is only
Moses thatbecomes aware ofthe "gloryon the grass";"the silence that is in
the starry sky";"the sleepthat is among the lonely hills." The world is more
than mud or atoms brought togetherfortuitously, or in any other way. The
world is a burning bush. It is so far earth — solid, material. I can handle it,
and become a man of science,and say, "What is in it?" And, God help me, I
can become so much a mere scientistas only to see the bush and leaves and
berries, and the shape of the leaves and the shape of the stem, and tell you
how it grew, and then say, "There is no flame." Just so; there is a way of
looking at that bush, man — a way of looking at the bush that puts out its
light, or your light, which is the same thing. There could have been a kind of
man come tramping along here with the sheep, and with one single look he
would have quenched that flame; and the same damnable thing may be in you
and me. We may look at nature, and look at our ownbodies, and look at
Christ in the Bible; and look at the Bible itself, with such a blank look and
stare of unbelief that God withdraws Himself, and never comes back. Never!
There is a wayof looking, a trick in the eye, that is an abomination to God,
and He simply withdraws. Everything is a burning bush. Nature is such a
burning bush. Nature is full of the supernatural, everywhere ready to burst
forth, but you must not push forward, but stand back if you wish to see it. The
more we push in irreverently, the more it flies from us. Our own bodies — a
burning bush! Have you ever thought of that? Here is the physical, the
material, the natural, but in it and on it the immaterial, the spiritual, in a true
sense, the metaphysical. Streaming out of it, and above it, and beyond it, is
that which lifts itself up from the mass of blood and brain and bone, and says,
"I, I am." Then, again, here is a burning bush for you — the Bible. So much
of it natural: the boards, and that means the binder; the print, and that means
the printer; the thoughts, and that means the thinker — like any other book.
Like any other book, but, God be praised, more than any other book. Forthe
glory, the voice, the "Thus saith the Lord," comes out from this, that comes
from no other book. Such a burning bush is the Church of Christ, and I speak
not now of her survival of fiery trials. Now, a congregation, a Church, either

in the large sense orthe sectionalsense ofthe word, is just like any other
corporationor society. It has its laws and purposes, and there is so much in it
of man's planning and guiding and ordering. Yet a Church is not a mere guild
like any other; a corporationof people like any other gathering. No, no, no! It
is like them as that bush is like any other bush; but, man, there is a glory in it,
there is a wonder in it! The Lord is in this place. "In all places — all places —
where I record My name, there will I come, and I will bless them." "Oh, Thou
that dwellestin Thy Church, shine forth." For some of us it is becoming only a
bush, an institution like any other. And I see coming to us Christ Himself as a
burning bush. There He lies, a baby, like your own, my goodwoman; but,
unlike your own, there is a glory, there is a flame. Wherever you come across
Him, as babe, or as boy, or as man, or as crucified, there is the flame, there is
the extra superadded something, and that something is the eternal and
uncreated Godhead. Worship Him, wherever you meet Him, from Bethlehem
right on to the cross, onto the glory. Worship Him — Godin human flesh.
Turn aside and see this greatsight: why human nature can exhibit this
mystery — why the bush is not burnt. But further, all this came to Moses,
humanly speaking, this wonderful revelation, because ofreverence. "Draw
not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereonthou
standestis holy ground." He was near enough. I canquite well understand
that very likely no man more than Moses wouldfeel, "Oh, I would like to see
this greatsight, and get to the bottom of it." But he could not, and we should
not. God has setbounds to the inquiries of the human spirit, not cramping
bounds, but wise and safe ones. So with many other difficulties. How am I at
once body and spirit? But I am warnedby this, that many men who have gone
into that question in order to find out about it have put out their eyes. They
come back from the examination of the human frame, from wonder upon
wonder, they come back and say, "We have found no spirit, no breath of God;
all that has no warrant from our researches."Out you go with your
researches!And they go to this Bible and say, "It is a very wonderful Book,
and we have examined it in the spirit of frank, candid, and fearless inquiry.
We have not scoffedat the Book, norscornedit; we have examined it in the
spirit of frank and fearless inquiry, and we find the glory is gone." It is just so.
There is only one method — the reverent; and one result — and that is to
know God better and bow down flatter before Him. You cannot take awaythe

hyphen that holds the "burning" and the "bush" together. When even Moses
would have gone forward to see why, he was kept back, and his thoughts
turned in more profitable directions. So you are forbidden to go nearer;you
are near enoughto see and to know and to bow down and to give an
intelligent, wholeheartedadorationand worship of obedience. And any spirit
that enters into you and me, and makes me go beyond the point where Moses
had to pull up, is a dangerous spirit, alike in method and result.
(J. McNeill.)
The Burning Bush
W. Jay.
Exodus 3:1-6
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH MOSES WAS, WHEN THE LORD
APPEARED TO HIM IN THE DESERT. Keeping sheep. What a contrastto
his employments in youth! Yet probably this was the happiest part of his life.
Time for reflectionand for poeticalmusings.
II. THE NATURE OF THE APPEARANCE.
1. The emblem in which the Church was held forth — "Bush." If numbers
and splendour are the mark of a true Church as its properties, where should
we find for many ages the Church of God? Seldom in the Old Testament,

never in the New. The Church of God was once enclosedin the ark; at this
time it consistedof a number of slaves and brickmakers.
2. The condition in which it was found. "Burning with fire." Grievously
oppressedand persecuted.
3. Its preservation. "Notconsumed." The blood of the martyrs has ever been
the seedof the Church.
4. The cause of this security. The angelof the Lord was in the midst of it.
III. THE ATTENTION IT AWAKENED. Let us, like Moses, turn aside, and
contemplate His revelations.
IV. GOD'S PROHIBITION, OR RATHER, REGULATION. A check on
curiosity. Be satisfiedwith the facts of Christianity, without the philosophy of
them. Be content with the use of things, rather than attempt to dive into their
nature and their qualities. Take the religious controversies,which have
occupiedso much time, and which have injured so many fine tempers; and
what have they commonly turned to, but things too deep for human reasoning
to fathom, too lofty to be soaredto without presumption, or too insignificant
to merit regard?
V. GOD'S ADDRESS.All along, from the beginning, God has shown favour
to some for the sake of others. Under the law He was called — "The God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."becausethe covenantmade with them was for
Israel: in him they were blessed, and for his sake they receivedall things. But
now the covenant made for the spiritual Israel, was made with a far more

glorious character;it was setup from everlasting — from the beginning, ere
the earth was. His name is Jesus:it is in Him that we are accepted;it is in Him
that we are blessedwith all spiritual blessings in heavenly places;it is for His
sake that we receive all things. And therefore, while of old His style was, "The
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," itis now, under the gospel, "The God
and Fatherof our Lord Jesus Christ." There are two things derivable from
this address of God, when He says, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob." The first is, that unquestionably, therefore, Moseshad some
knowledge ofa future state. He does not say, He was "the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob";but, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, andJacob";their
spirits are with Me now; their renewedbodies shall be, by and by, as certainly
as they are now in the dust. You observe, also, that God sustains His
relationship to those of your connections, who are gone before.
VI. Let us observe THE IMPRESSIONMADE UPON MOSES. "And Moses
hid his face;for he was afraid to look upon God."
1. Here you see, first, that Divine manifestationalways produces self-
diffidence and abasement.
2. You see, also, how little we can physically bear. "Fleshand blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God";the splendour would be too much for the eye,
the sounds too much for the ear; the poor frame would break down under
that "far more exceeding and eternal weightof glory."
(W. Jay.)
The Prophetic Vision

G.A. Goodhart
Exodus 3:1-6
Exodus 3:1-6. Forty years since, Moses (Exodus 2:11)had "turned aside"
from court life in Egypt to see how his brethren the children of Israelfared
amid the furnace of trial. The old life seems like a dream, so long ago;the old
lance (Exodus 4:10) grown unfamiliar. The annual routine; flocks to be driven
to distant-pasturage at the approachof summer. God's hour at hand just
when leastexpected.
I. THE PROPHETIC VISION. When Godcalls to the prophetic office, there
is usually some vision or appearance, throughwhich the call is emphasised
and its significance suggested. Cf. Isaiah6:1-7; Jeremiah1:11-13;Ezekiel1:4;
Matthew 3:16 to Matthew 4:11; Acts 9:3-6. So here:
1. The vision. A dry acacia bush on fire, not very singular. What is singular is
that the bush seems to flourish amidst the flame! The mystery explained, vers.
2,4. The bush is in the midst of the flame, but the angelof Jehovahis in the
midst of the hush.
2. Its significance. Israel"a rootout of a dry ground." In the furnace of
affliction, yet flourishing amid the furnace (cf. Exodus 1:12). When Moses had
"turned aside to see" forty years before, he had supposedthat his brethren
would have recognisedin him their deliverer; had not sufficiently recognised
himself that it was God's angelin their midst who was really preserving them.
Trouble, sorrow, persecutionmay consume and practically annihilate; whole
peoples have been killed off and left hardly a trace in history. Though "the

blood of the martyrs is the seedof the Church," yet there is no specially
conservative powerin suffering; it is only when God is with men that they can
"walk through the fire and yet not be burned" (cf. Isaiah 43:2).
II. THE DIVINE REVELATION.
1. Preliminary condition: ver. 4. "Jehovahsaw that he turned aside to see."
(1) Revelations are not for the unobservant. God will give us eye-guidance if
we will have it (Psalm 32:8), but we must be alert to catch his glance.
(2) Revelations are not for the cowardly;where one turned aside to see, nine
might have turned aside in sheer terror to escape seeing. He that would hear
God's voice must fight with and overcome his fears, otherwise he is likely to be
classedwith the unbelieving and the abominable (Revelation21:7, 8).
2. The call heard and answered. To the man ready to receive it the call comes.
God is going to rereadhis ownname to Moses,but calls Mosesfirst by his
name. The convictionthat God knows us is the bestpreparation for learning
more about him. Moses is on the alert; eagerto listen, ready to obey.
3. Reverence secured:ver. 5. Interviews with God need preparation. Even
when God calls, man cannothear his voice aright save in the hush of utter
reverence. To attain this for those who are in the body, material aids must not
be despised; so long as men possesssenses there must be a sensuous form for
even the most spiritual worship.

4. God declares himself: ver. 6. Cf. Matthew 22:32. God in the midst of the
nation, as in the midst of the bush, was preserving it in its entirety. Not like a
bundle of greentwigs, the relics of a perished stem. Stem and twigs, the
ancestralstock no less than the offspring, all alike preserved - kept by him
who can say, "I am their God." Application: - Has God everdeclared himself
to us? If not, whose the fault? Have we been on the outlook to catch his signs?
Have we used due reverence in listening for his voice? - Have we been ready to
obey even the lightestindication of his will? Attention, reverence, obedience -
all needed if we would hear God speak. We must be as Moses was -self stifled,
the world silenced, a-hush to hear the Divine voice. - G.
Daily Meditation
Jesus:I Am the Burning Bush
By Mamatha -November 12, 2018803
In John 1, we read that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
Rightly, we understand that this is Jesus. We know that Jesus came into the
world. Wrongly, many of us think that this is the first time that Jesus
appearedin the world. The Word made flesh was when Jesus, God, became a
man, became like one of us. But, it was not the first time that Jesus appeared
in the world. Jesus, the Word of God, was and living active in the creation
from the beginning of creation. The entire Old Testamenttestifies to this.
Exodus 3 is one such testimony of Jesus.

In this chapter, Mosesleads his flock to the westside of the wilderness.
Throughout the Bible, eastis the direction awayfrom the presence of God.
But, as we move west, we draw closerand closerto God’s presence. So, it’s
important to recognize that Moses ledhis flock to the westside of the
wilderness to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Verse 2 says, “And the angelof the Lord appearedto him in a flame of fire
out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it
was not consumed.”
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Burning bush
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The burning bush is an object describedby the Book of Exodus as being
locatedon Mount Horeb; according to the narrative, the bush was on fire, but
was not consumed by the flames, hence the name.[1] In the narrative, the
burning bush is the locationat which Moses was appointedby God to lead the
Israelites out of Egypt and into Canaan.

The Hebrew word used in the narrative, that is translatedinto English as
bush, is seneh(‫,)הנס‬ which refers in particular to brambles[2];[3][4] senehis a
biblical dis legomenon, only appearing in two places, both of which describe
the burning bush.[3] It is possible that the reference to a burning bush is
basedon a mistakeninterpretation of Sinai (‫,)יניס‬ a mountain describedby the
Bible as being on fire, and scholars think that the reference to the burning
bush in Deuteronomy, in particular, is a copyist's error, and was originally a
reference to Sinai.[3][5]
Contents[show]
Biblical narrative
In the narrative, an angel of Yahweh is describedas appearing in the bush,[6]
and God is subsequently described as calling out from it to Moses, who had
been grazing Jethro's flocks there.[1]When Yahweh notices Moses starting to
approach, God tells Moses to first take off his sandals, due to the place being
holy ground,[7] and Moses hides his face.[8]Textualscholars regardthe
accountof the burning bush as being spliced togetherfrom the Jahwistand
Elohist texts, with the Angel of Yahweh and the removal of sandals being part
of the Elohist version, and the Yahwist's parallels to these being Godand the
turning awayof Moses'face, respectively[9][10]
When challengedon his identity, Yahweh replies that he is the God of the
Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, andJacob -[11] and that he is Yahweh.[12]The
text derives Yahweh (‫)הוהי‬ from the Hebrew word hayah (‫]31[,)היהא‬meaning
he who is he, or I am that I am;[10] the Kabbalah takes this to mean that
Yahweh himself is equal to his name. Biblical scholars regardthe
triconsonantalroot of hawah (‫,)הוה‬ as a more likely origin for the name
Yahweh (‫]01[]3[;)הוהי‬ hawahliterally means blow/fall, and thus Yahweh
would be he who blows/he who [makes certain things] fall, which seems
particularly fitting for a storm deity.[3][10]

The text portrays Yahweh as telling Moses that he is sending him to the
(unspecified) Pharaoh in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, an action
that Yahweh is describedas having decided upon as a result of noticing that
the Israelites were being oppressedby the Egyptians.[14]Yahwehtells Moses
to tell the elders of the Israelites that Yahweh would lead them into the land of
the Canaanites,Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites,[15]a region
generallyreferred to as a whole by the term Canaan;this is described as being
a land of milk and honey.[16]
According to the narrative: Yahweh instructs Moses to confront the
Egyptians and Israelites and briefs the prophet on what is to take place.
Yahweh then performs various demonstrative miracles in order to bolster
Moses'scredibility. Among other things, a staff was transmuted into a snake,
[17] Moses'shand was temporarily made to appear leprous,[18]and water
was transmuted into blood,[19]In the text, Yahweh instructs Moses to take
this staff in his hands, in order to perform miracles with it,[20] as if it is a staff
given to him, rather than his own;[10] textual scholars argue that this latter
instruction is the Elohist's versionof the more detailed earlier description,
where Moses uses his own staff, which they attribute to the Yahwist.[9][10]
Despite the signs, Moses is describedas being very reluctant to take on the
role, arguing that he lackedeloquence, andthat someone else shouldbe sent
instead;[21] in the text, Yahweh reacts by angrily rebuking Moses for
presuming to lecture the One who made the mouth on who was qualified to
speak and not to speak. Yet Yahweh concedesand allows Aaron to be sent to
assistMoses, since Aaronis eloquent and was already on his wayto meet
Moses.[22]This is the first time in the Torah that Aaron is mentioned, and
here he is described as being Moses'mouth piece.[23]
St Catherine's Monastery

Christian hermits originally gatheredat Mount Serbal, believing it to be the
biblical Mount Sinai. However, in the 4th century, under the Byzantine
Empire, the monastery built there was abandoned in favour of the newer
belief that Mount Saint Catherine was the Biblical Mount Sinai; a new
monastery - St. Catherine's Monasterywas built at its foot, and the alleged
site of the biblical burning bush was identified. The bush growing at the spot
(a bramble, scientific name Rubus sanctus[24]), was latertransplanted several
yards awayto a courtyard of the monastery, and its originalspot was covered
by a chapel dedicatedto the Annunciation, with a silver starmarking where
the roots of the bush had come out of the ground. The Monks at St.
Catherine's Monastery, following church tradition, believe that this bush is, in
fact, the original bush seenby Moses, ratherthan a later replacement, and
anyone entering the chapel is required to remove their shoes, just as Moses
was in the biblical account.
However, in modern times, it is not Mount Saint Catherine, but the adjacent
JebelMusa (Mount Moses), whichis currently identified as Mount Sinai by
popular tradition and guide books;this identification arose from bedouin
tradition. Mount Serbal, JebelMusa, and Mount Saint Catherine, all lie at the
southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, but the peninsula's name is a
comparatively modern invention, and it was not known by that name at the
time of Josephus or earlier. Mostmodern scholars, as wellas many modern
theologians, dismiss the idea that the biblical Sinai was at the south of the
peninsula, instead favouring locations in the Hijaz (at the north westof Saudi
Arabia), northern Arabah (in the vicinity of Petra, or the surrounding area),
or occasionallyin the central or northern Sinai Peninsula. Hence, the majority
of academics and theologians agreethat if the burning bush ever existed, then
it is highly unlikely to be the bush preservedat St Catherine's Monastery.
Views of EasternOrthodoxy
In EasternOrthodoxy a tradition exists, originating in the Orthodox Fathers
of the Church and its EcumenicalSynods (or Councils), that the flame Moses

saw was in fact God's Uncreated Energies/Glory, manifestedas light, thus
explaining why the bush was not consumed. Hence, it is not interpreted as a
miracle in the sense ofan event, which only temporarily exists, but is instead
viewed as Moses being permitted to see these Uncreated Energies/Glory,
which are consideredto be eternal things; the Orthodox definition of salvation
is this vision of the Uncreated Energies/Glory, and it is a recurring theme in
the works ofGreek Orthodox theologians suchas John S. Romanides.
In EasternOrthodox parlance, the preferred name for the event is The
Unburnt Bush, and the theologyand hymnography of the church view it as
prefiguring the virgin birth of Jesus;EasternOrthodox theologyrefers to
[[Mary {mother of Jesus)|Mary, the mother of Jesus]]as the God bearer,
viewing her as having given birth to Incarnate God without suffering any
harm, or loss of virginity, in parallel to the bush being burnt without being
consumed.[25]There is an Icon by the name of the Unburnt Bush, which
portrays Mary in the guise of Godbearer; the icon's feastday is held on the
4th of September (Russian:НеопалимаяКупина, Neopalimaya Kupina).
While God speaks to Moses, in the narrative, EasternOrthodoxy believes that
the angelwas also heard by Moses;Easternorthodoxy interprets the angel as
being the Logos ofGod, regarding it as the Angel of GreatCounselmentioned
by the Septuagint version of Isaiah[26](it is Counsellor, Almighty God in the
masoretic text).
Shanon's hallucinogen theory
Benny Shanon, professorof cognitive psychologyat the Hebrew University of
Jerusalemwrote a paper, "BiblicalEntheogens:a Speculative Hypothesis", in
the philosophy journal Time and Mind, which suggests Mosesmay have been
under the influence of a hallucinogenic substance when he witnessedthe
burning bush.[27][28]In the abstract, Shanonstates that entheogens found in
arid regions of the Sinai peninsula and in the south of Israel(i.e. Negev)were

commonly used for religious purposes by the Israelites.[27][28]The plants he
suggestsmay have causedthe vision are Peganumharmala,[27]used by the
Bedouin people in present times but not identified with any plant mentioned
in the Bible,[28]and acacia, mentionedfrequently in the Bible, and also used
in traditional Bedouin and Arab medicine.[27][28]The effects of certain
species ofacacia are comparable to the effects ofayahuasca, whichcan cause
users to "see music".[29]
Symbolic uses of the burning bush
The burning bush has been popular symbol among Reformedchurches since
it was first adopted by the Huguenots (French Calvinists) in 1583 during its
12th NationalSynod:
The current symbol of the Reformed Church of France is a burning bush with
the Huguenot cross.
The motto of the Church of Scotlandis Nec tamen consumebatur - Latin for
Yet it was not consumed, an allusion to the biblical story of the burning bush,
and a stylised depiction of the burning bush is used as the Church's symbol.
The Burning Bush is also used as the basis of the symbol of the Presbyterian
Church in Ireland, which uses the Latin motto Ardens sedvirens, meaning
Burning but flourishing, and basedon the same passage.The same logo is
used from the separatedFree PresbyterianChurch of Ulster.
The burning bush is also the symbol for the Presbyterian Church in Canada,
PresbyterianChurch in New Zealand and the PresbyterianChurch in
Taiwan.
The logo of the JewishTheologicalSeminary of America is also an image of
the Burning Bush with the phrase and the bush was not consumedin both
English and in Hebrew[30].

The Burning Bush and Christ
STEPHEN BEALE
The Exodus accountis closelyconnectedwith the story of Christ in the
Gospels.
Just as the Israelites journeyed to Egypt so also did the Holy Family. They
wandered in the desert as did Christ. They were tempted as was He. They
receivedmanna from heaven. Christ was the true bread of heaven. They
drank water from the side of a rock. Water poured forth from His side on the
cross.
And so, when we approachthe story of the burning bush—the encounter with
God from which the entire exodus accountreally takes off—we should
instinctively be on the watch for ways in which it might foreshadow Christ.
The main accountof the burning bush is in Exodus 3:1-6:

Meanwhile Moses wastending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest
of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain
of God, Horeb. There the angelof the Lord appearedto him as fire flaming
out of a bush. When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being
consumed. So Mosesdecided, “I must turn aside to look at this remarkable
sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” When the Lord saw that he had
turned aside to look, God calledout to him from the bush: Moses!Moses!He
answered, “Here I am.” God said: Do not come near! Remove your sandals
from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of
your father, he continued, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob. Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
This is unquestionably a manifestation of God’s presence. Godcalls out to
Moses from the bush. The ground on which Moses stands is declared sacred.
And Moses fears to behold God. But is Christ here?
For the Fathers, there would have been little doubt. For it is the Word of God
that always reveals God. Certainly the fullness of God’s manifestation to man
came in the Incarnation, but moments like this, the Fathers would say, are the
work of the pre-Incarnate Christ. Their approachis certainly a biblical one:
St. Paul himself declared, for example, that the rock from which the Israelites
drank water in the desertwas none other than Christ.
In fact, from the very beginning itself, in Genesis, Fathers like St. Basilof
Caesarea associatedGod’s speaking with the secondpersonof the Trinity, the
Word. Again, their intuitions are confirmed by Scripture itself. As John 1
informs us, it was Christ who fashioned creation.
God speaks throughoutthe rest of Genesis. He sentences Adam and Eve to
banishment from the Garden of Eden. He calls Noahto build an ark. He calls

Abraham to the mountain to sacrifice His son. But there is something
noticeably different about His speaking this time. Now divine speech
correlates withdivine presence. The Word of God makes Godpresent to
Moses,hence the admonition that he is standing on sacredground. Such
presence is, moreover, accompaniedby a visible sign, the miracle of the bush
that burns but is not burnt.
Moses meets Godin personalway on Mt. Horeb. God does not thunder from
the heavens. Noris He perceivedas some sort of disembodied voice invisible
yet audible. The episode of the burning bush rather has the characterof a
personalmeeting. So it is most fitting that near the end, God gives Moseshis
name: ‘I am who I am’ (in verse 14).
The Church has long seenthis simple utterance as being a statement of
enormous significance. Whentranslatedin the Greek, the language in which
the earlierChurch read the Old Testament, the verbs here are those of being.
God was declaring not that he was a being among others. He was stating that
He was Being.
The Church has traditionally enlisted Greek philosophy in order to unpack
the profound meaning contained in this verse. In a particular way, Aristotle
and his conceptionof the Unmoved Mover might be able to help us better
understand what is happening here.
Recallthat the Unmoved Mover is one of the arguments from philosophy for
the existence ofGod. The argument is founded on an understanding of the
world that sought to strike a sort of balance betweentwo diametrically
opposedviews. One saw all reality as constantchange. The other considered
the only real thing to be that which did not change while everything else—that
is, our visible world in which things decay and die—as not really existing.

Aristotle assertedthat that both are true: some things change, yet there is an
unchanging reality behind it all. The Unmoved Mover, then, was the divine
being who set the world in motion but was itself motionless. Put another way:
there was a God who causedall the change in the world but was Himself
unchanging.
Is this not what happened with the burning bush? It was on fire, a process
that changes the chemical compositionof an entity in a way quite visible to
anyone. Yet the bush also remained unconsumed, unchanged. It is thus a
particularly apt manifestationof divine Being.
And it is Christ, we have seen, who always reveals Godto man. Ask yourself,
for a moment, who else identifies themselves as ‘I am’ in Scripture?
In the Gospelof John it is none other than Christ Himself. At leastseven
times, Jesus makes an‘I am’ statement. Some examples include: ‘I am the
bread of life,’ ‘I am the light of the world,’ ‘I am the way, the truth, and the
life,’ and ‘I am the resurrectionand the life’ (See John 6:35, 8:12, 11:25,
and 14:6).
But the burning bush also points directly to Christ. Consideragain, the way in
which the bush burns but is not consumed. Now in Scripture, fire is one of the
most recurring means by which the invisible God is represented. God
descends in a cloud of fire later on Mt. Sinai. Fire will consume the sacrifices
of Elijah. Ezekielalso witnesses something akinto the cloud of fire. Hebrews
12:29 declares that God is a ‘consuming fire.’

But of course this fire does not consume the bush. It is a divine presence that
does not consume the physical reality with which it is making itself known.
God is no less divine of course. And the bush is no less a bush. There is one
manifestation but seemingly two distinct aspects to it: woodand flame.
Does this not suggestto us the Incarnation? Forit is in the Incarnation that
God reveals Himself most profoundly to us. And it is in the Incarnation that
divinity assumedhumanity without consuming or obliterating it: Jesus Christ
was fully human while remaining fully divine. Fire came to the bush without
destroying it.
The burning bush thus further illuminates for us how the Incarnation was
God’s full manifestation to us. For it was in the Incarnation that the
unchanging and the changeable were mostprofoundly united while remaining
distinct. God who is changeless, motionless,and immortal assumedthat which
is subject to change, motion, and mortality. The fullness of divinity dwelled
with the fullness of humanity. In Christ, immovable truth moved among us.
Exodus 3:2-6 The Burning Bush
Something really strange happened. The bush started talking to Moses!

Moses was tending his father-in-law's sheep in the wilderness when: "The
angelof the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush;
and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was
not consumed" (Exodus 3:2).
That would grab your attention on a cold, dark night in the wilderness!The
thorny bush just kept on burning and burning. How long we don't know. But
when it stopped burning it was not consumed. You guessedit. There probably
wasn't even any ashes and smut on it.
The Shekinahglory of God was displayed before Moses. "The angelofthe
Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush . . ."
Moses saidto himself, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight,
why the bush is not burned up" (v. 3).
That is when the bush started talking to Moses!"When the Lord saw that he
turned aside to look, God calledto him from the midst of the bush and said,
"Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am" (v. 4).
Moses was thentold to take his sandals off because the ground upon which he
was standing was rendered holy by God's presence (v. 5). The place where he
was standing was holy because the LORD is holy.
This was a manifestationof GodHimself. Verse two says, "The angelof the
LORD appearedto him in a burning fire from the midst of a bush. . . " Verse
four tells us, "Whenthe LORD saw that he turned aside to look, Godcalledto
him from the midst of the bush . . . " In verse six he tells us the one speaking

says, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob." Moses moves us in his writing from the angelof the
LORD to the LORD (Yahweh) Himself and further identifies Him as the God
of Israel. The transition from "the angelof the LORD" in verse two to "the
LORD" in verse four proves the identity of the two and the interchange
betweenYahweh (LORD) and Elohim (God) in verse four.
What would you have done? "Moseshid his face, for he was afraid to look at
God" (v. 6b). He bowed and worshipped. The LORD is truly God. He is the
same God who createdthe heavens and the earth and the One who cut the
covenantwith Abraham, and renewedit with Isaac and Jacob.
The same angelof the LORD had appeared to Sarah, Hagar, Abraham and
Isaac four hundred years earlier. Now He appears to Moses as the burning
bush and reveals Himself as the "I AM THAT I AM." The identity of the
angelis not left in doubt. He clearly declares Himself as Yahweh.
Angel of the LORD
Let's pull togethersome observations of this angel in other Old Testament
passages.
1. He can refer to Himself as being sentof God and at the same time speak as
God. In every instance the phrase must be translated"the angel of the
LORD." He guides and protects (Ex. 14:19), is a companion to Israelin the
wilderness (23:20-33;Num. 20:16), He punishes (2 Sam. 24:15-17), He is seen
ministering (1 Kin. 19:7) and wins at war (2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chron. 32:21).

2. The angel of the LORD is always dependent upon the LORD and
subordinate to His commands (1 Chron. 21:27), yet He is addressedas the
LORD (Ex. 23:23).
3. The angel of the LORD exercises the prerogatives ofYahweh in forgiving
sin and commanding obedience. His deity is never left in doubt. In Exodus
23:20-33 He is the Angel of the Covenant. People consistentlyrecognize Him
as deity and respond to Him in that way. In Joshua 5:13-6:2 He possessesthe
full characterand authority of God.
4. He bears the titles of deity. He is calledYahweh, Elohim, and Yahweh's
Messenger. He is the objectof worship. Yahweh is never applied to anyone
other than the God of Israel(Isaiah 42:8).
5. Alongside these appearances ofthe angel of the LORD are manifestations of
Yahweh Himself in Theophanies. He is seenwith His people talking, walking
and eating. The inner life of deity is laid open. At the same time, He speaksof
the LORD God in the third person. People recognize that He is God and they
pray to Him, pay divine honor, offer sacrifices whichHe accepts and they
worship Him. This angelof the LORD is essentiallyone with God (Ex. 33:20;
Gen. 16:13;32:30;Ex. 33:1). He is deity, regardless ofHis appearance or the
service He renders. The angel of the LORD is one of the persons of the eternal
Godhead.
6. The angel of the LORD is not a createdbeing, but a divine being Himself.
He is in a class by Himself. The old JewishsynagoguesregardedHim as the
Shekinah. He is an "angel" only by his office.

7. Here in the desertat the burning bush "the angelof the LORD appeared to
him in a blazing fire from the midst of the bush . . . " (v. 2). There is no
question about who He is. He identifies Himself clearly. He is the eternal"I
AM." The One who is speaking from the burning bush is the same, yesterday,
today and forever. The angelof the LORD announces that He is Elohim, the
self-existentOne and beside Him there is none else. He is the Absolute I. He
told Moses,"IAM THAT I AM."
8. Probably the outstanding observationis the angel of the LORD was a form
in which the LORD Himself appearedto men. He revealedHimself in a form,
which was more easily discernible by our human senses. The only difference
was the method of appearing. It reminds us of the post resurrection
appearances ofJesus Christin the Gospels and His appearing to the apostle
Paul on the road to Damascus. OurLord Jesus was "transfigured" before
Peter, James and John and "appeared" with Moses andElijah on the
mountain side (Matthew 17:1-8). The invisible God made Himself visible so
human being could know Him. He is the manifestation of God (John 1:18).
We cansummarize these observations in the following way:
9. The angel of the LORD is distinct from Yahweh, yet identical with Yahweh
as revealedin Genesis,Exodus and Joshua.
10. The angelof the LORD seems completely interchangeable with Yahweh.
Yahweh's "name" is equivalent to saying Yahweh's being is in His special
angel(Ex. 23:20, 21).
11. The presence ofthe angelof the LORD is the same as the presence of
Yahweh (Ex. 32:30, 34; 33:14).

I AM THAT I AM
In Exodus 3:14 Moses makesit very clearthat the identity of this angel is
Yahweh. He moves us in his writing from the angelof the LORD to the LORD
Himself. "Godsaid to Moses,'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'Thus you
shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14).
Yahweh is traditionally rendered "the LORD" in most English translations.
The ASV uses "Jehovah" andthe Spanish translations "Jehova".In verse 14
the verb "I AM" is used in place of the name to indicate its meaning and to
remind Moses ofthe promise of the LORD in verse 12. Then He makes it even
clearerin v. 15 by using the actual name Yahweh (the LORD). "God,
furthermore, said to Moses,'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, The
Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My
memorial-name to all generations" (Exodus 3:15). Who is sending Moses to
the people of Israel? "Yahweh. . . has sent me." He is the "I AM THAT I
AM."
The name Yahweh is formed from "I AM" of "I AM THAT I AM." The
pronunciation of JHVH was long lost because ofa misinterpretation of
Leviticus 24:16 after the Babylonian captivity. In the Greek translationof the
Old Testament(Septuagint) "the Lord" (o kurios) was substituted which is
also followedin the New Testament.
He is the self-existent, absolute I, the absolute personality, moving in
unlimited freedom beside whom there is none other. He is the personalGod in
His historic manifestation in which the fullness of the Divine Being has
revealedHimself to His creation. He is the living One, without beginning and
ending, from everlasting to everlasting, eternal through the ages, pervading
history, and demonstrating Himself in His creation. But most importantly He

is the personalGod of His PromisedPeople. He will deliver His people
because He is always consistentlythe same, eternally changeless.
"I AM" expresses the idea that God is always with His people all the time,
even in the future. The LORD is sovereigntyindependent of all His creation.
When He uses His name Yahweh He is communicating to His people that He
is the God of the covenant with them.
Yahweh is the God of salvation. He is the God of grace. It was the LORD who
manifested Himself to Abraham and later to Moses and the prophets.
Jesus is the greatI AM
Jesus usedthis powerful "I am" statement on severaloccasions to presentthe
truth about Himself (John 8:58). The "I AM" who stoodbefore Moses atthe
burning bush declaredHimself saying, "I am the bread of life" (6:35), "I am
the light of the world" (8:12), "I am the door" (10:7), "I am the good
Shepherd" (10:11), "I am the resurrectionand life" (11:15), "I am the way,
the truth, and the life" (14:6), "I am the true vine" (15:1) and there is none
other. He told the Jewishleaders, "Iam" the eternalone.
In the angelof the LORD we find the pre-existent "Word of God," the Lord
Jesus Christ, the secondpersonof the Trinity functioning in the Old
Testament. The apostle John knew Him best of all. He said, "No one has seen
God at any time; the only begottenGod who is in the bosom of the Father, He
has explained Him" (John 1:18). No one had seenGod's essentialnature
before Jesus came. Godis Spirit. "The only begottenGod, who is in the bosom
of the Father, He has explained Him." Jesus is the exegesis ofGod. God has
revealedHimself to man in a personal intimate way.

The apostle Paulis referring to Jesus Christ when he says, "Forit was the
Father's goodpleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him. . . Forin Him all
the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Colossians 1:15;2:9).
Ever since the first recordedTheophany of the Bible God appears many times
to individuals until finally He appears in the Man Jesus Christ to atone for all
sin (cf. Hebrews 1:1-3).
Jesus saidto his disciple Philip, "He who has seenMe has seenthe Father;
how can you say, 'Show us the Father?'" (John 14:9).
The angelof the LORD was none other than the Logos, who not only was
"with God," but "was God", and in the personof Jesus Christ "was made
flesh" and "came unto His own." The only begottenSon of God, Jesus Christ,
was sent by the Fatherinto the world as the angelof the LORD before He
became incarnate and dwelt among us. The incarnation of Jesus Christ was at
once a new manifestationand the appearance ofOne who was not a newcomer
on the earthly scene. The prophet Mica spoke of Him "whose goings forth
have been from of old, from everlasting" (5:2). The resurrected, ascended
glorified Son of Man was seenby the apostle John in his vision walking in the
midst of the sevenchurches of Asia Minor (Revelation1).
The veiled angelof the LORD in the Old Testamentis revealedperfectly in
the personof the Lord Jesus Christ when He took upon Himself human flesh.
God manifest Himself fully in visible form in the personof our Lord and

Savior. The angelno longerappears after the coming of Jesus Christto the
earth.
The Hebrew prophet Isaiahsaw the LORD sitting on a throne in his vision.
"In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty
and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple" (Isaiah6:1). He
heard the seraphim sing the song of the holiness of God, the temple filled with
smoke, the foundations trembled and Isaiahexclaimed, "Woe is me, for I am
ruined! BecauseI am a man of unclean lips: for my eyes have seenthe King,
the LORD of hosts."
Who was it that Isaiahsaw on the throne? He saw the preincarnate Son of
God. The apostle John wrote, "These things Isaiah said because he saw His
glory, and he spoke of Him" (John 12:41). He saw Christ in His preincarnate
glory on the throne.
The angelof the LORD in the Old Testamentis the Messiahof the New
Testament. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christis not only deity, but He existed
as such from all eternity.
The apostle John who observed Jesus Christdaily for three years explained it
this way in 1 John 1:1-3.
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seenwith
our eyes, whatwe have lookedat and touched with our hands, concerning the
Word of Life "and the life was manifested, and we have seenand testify and
proclaim to you the eternallife, which was with the Father and was
manifested to us" what we have seenand heard we proclaim to you also, so

that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with
the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
Title: Exodus 3:2-6 The Burning Bush
Series: Christ in the Old Testament
http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/ex3v2.html
The Burning Bush - Exodus 3:2-3
BY GEORGE WHITEFIELD
"And he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not
consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why
the bush is not burnt"—Exodus 3:2-3
IT IS A COMMON SAYING, and common sayings, are generallyfounded on
matter of fact, that it is always darkestbefore break of day; and I am
persuaded, that if we do justice to our ownexperience, as well as consider
God's dealings with his people in preceding ages, we shallfind that man's
extremity has been usually made God's opportunity, and that "whenthe
enemy has broke in like a flood, the spirit and providence of God has lifted up
a standard againsthim": and I believe at the same time, that howeverwe may
dream of a continued scene of prosperity in church or state, either in respect
to our bodies, souls, or temporal affairs, we shall find this life to be chequered,
that the clouds return after the rain, and the most prosperous state attended
with such cloudy days, as may make even the people of God sometimes cry,
"all men are liars, and God has forgotten to be gracious."

The chapter in which is our text, is an instance of this. What a glorious day of
the sonof man was that when Josephsent for his father to Egypt; and the
goodold patriarch, after he had thought his son had been dead many years,
agreeablysurprised by a message fromhim to come to him, with all his
family, and are by him comfortably settledin Goshen;where the goodold
patriarch, after many a stormy day, died in peace, andwas highly honored at
his funeral by Pharaohand his servants, and attended to the sepulcherof his
fathers in Canaanby all his sons. After which, Josephcontinued to live in
splendor, lord of all the land of Egypt; and his brethren, doubtless, in the
height of prosperity: but how sadly did the scene change atPharaoh's death,
soonafter which, "anotherking arose that knew not Joseph," verifying the
observation, New lords, new laws, by whom the descendants of Jacob, instead
of reigning in Goshen, were made bond slaves;many, many long years,
employed in making bricks, and in all probability, had what we call their
bibles taken from them, by being forced to conform to the idolatry of Egypt,
and so were in a worse state than the unhappy Negroesin America are at this
day.
No doubt, numbers of them either wondered that ever they had been
prospered at all, or that God had forgotthem now; but what a mercy it is that
"a thousand years in God's sight are but as one day," and therefore when
God's time is come, the settime that he has appointed, he will maugre all the
opposition of men and devils, he will come down and deliver his people, and in
such a manner, that the enemy shall know, as well as friends, it is the Lord's
doing. A deliverer is born and bred in Pharaoh's court, a Moses is brought up
in all the learning of the Egyptians, for Pharaohintended him for a high and
exalted post: but when offers of the highest preferment are made to him, he
did not catchat them as some folks now do, who are very goodand humble till
something occurs to take them from God. Young as he was, he refused the
highest dignity, and spurned at it with an holy contempt; and choosesrather
to suffer affliction with the people of God, than enjoy all the grandeur and
pleasures of , perhaps, one of the greatestcourts on earth.

Forty years continued he in this state of obscurity, in which time he acquired
such a competent degree, and variety of knowledge,as qualified him for every
thing God intended him for: the occasionof this was his kind attempt to
compose a difference betweentwo of his brethren, one of whom accusedhim
of murder, on which he that was to be king in Jeshurun, is forced to fly into a
strange land; there he submits to the humble office of a servant, marries, and
lives in a state of subjection for forty years, as was saidbefore.
At length when he was eighty years old, dreaming of no such thing, behold
God calls, and commands him to go and deliver his people: as he himself
informs us, who is the author of this book, verse 1. "Now Moseskeptthe flock
of Jethro his father-in-law, priest of Midian": he might have said, what such a
scholaras I keepa parcelof sheep!such a learned man as I am employed in
such a menial service!some proud hearts would break first, but you never
knew a truly greatman but would stoop;some that are calledgreatmen, swell
till they burst; like sturdy oaks, they think they canstand every wind, till
some dreadful storm comes and blows them up by the roots, while the humble
reed bends and rises again. Moses was one ofthe latter, he keeps the flock of
Jethro his father-in-law, and leads them to the mountain of God, even to
Horeb. This shows how persons ought to methodize their time; but however
the name of a Methodist is despised, they will never be bad servants and
masters;you would be only weathercocks, unless you took care to order things
in proper seasons:the devotion and business of Methodistgo hand in hand; I
will assure you, Moseswas a Methodist, a very fine one, a very strong one too;
he kept his, flock, but that did not hinder his going to Horeb, he took them to
the desertand being thus employed in his lawful business, Godmet him. Some
say, we encourage people in idleness;I deny it; we say, people ought to be
industrious; and I defy any one to say, a personis called by God that is
negligentin his calling. "The angel of the Lord appearedto him in a flame of
fire out of the bush": some think this angelwas Gabriel, but most agree, and I
believe with the greatestprobability, that it was Jesus Christ, "the angelof the
everlasting covenant";and an expositortells you, that the eternalLogos,

longing to become man, often visited this earth in that form, as an evidence of
his coming by and by, and dying a curseddeath for man.
The manner of this angel's appearing is takenparticular notice of, it was to
Moses whennobody was with him: I do not hear he had so much as a boy, or
one companion; and I mention this, because I believe we have often found that
we are never less alone than when with God; we often want this and that
companion, but happy they that can say, Lord, thy company is enough. Moses
was startled at the sight, and I don't know that he is to be discommended for
it, it was not to gratify a bare curiosity, but seeing a bush burning it engaged
his attention, and made him think that something was uncommon; "the bush
burned with fire and yet was not consumed":this startled him, as it was
intended to do; for where God designs to speak, he win first gain attention
from the personspokento; Moses therefore says, "Iwill now turn aside and
see this greatsight, why the bush is not burned"; he did not know but the
bush might take fire by some accident;he saw no fire come from above, he
saw no fire round the bush, yet that did not so much startle him, as to see,
though it did burn, it was not consumed, or in the leastdiminished; it was a
strange sight, but it was, my brethren, a glorious one; a sight which, I pray
God, you and I may behold with faith and comfort this evening; for, my dear
hearers, this bush, and the accountof it, was given for our learning; and I win
venture to say, could Mosesarise from the dead, he would not be angry with
me for telling you, this is of no private interpretation, but is intended as a
standing lesson, as a significant emblem of the church, and every individual
child of God, till time itself shall be no more.
I would therefore observe to you, that this bush, In the first place, is typical of
the church of God in all ages;the bush was burning, why might it not be a tan
cedar, why might it not be some large or some glorious tree, why should the
greatGod choose a bush, a little bush of briars and thorns, above any other
thing? but because the church of Christ generallyconsists of poor, mean,
despicable creatures:though it is all glorious within, yet it is an despicable

without. It is observable, that when the church came to prosper when
Constantine smiled on it, it was soonhuggedto death; and that greatpoet,
Milton, observes, that when that emperor gave ministers rich vestments, high
honors, greatlivings, and goldenpulpits, there was a voice heard from
heaven, saying, this day there is poison come into the church; and I have
sometimes saidin discourse, I don't doubt but if any one made an experiment,
and left 100,0001. or200,0001, onlyamong the Methodists, there would be
hundreds and thousands that would not be reckonedMethodists now, that
would turn Methodists presently, that would buy an hymn book, because a
part of the legacywould pay for the hymn book and would wish to have a
living into the bargain: but though "not many mighty men, not many noble
are called," yetsome are;if any of you are rich here, and are Christians,
thank God for it, you ought to be doubly thankful for it; God's people are but
like a little bramble bush. I remember an eminent minister saidonce, when I
heard him preach upon Christmas day, "Christ personalis very rich, but
Christ mystical is very poor";and Jesus Christ does this on purpose to
confound the world. When he comes to judgment, millions that have their
thousands now, will be damned and burnt to all eternity, and Christ's church
will be rich to all eternity, that is now like a bramble all on fire.
"The bush burned," what is that for? it shewedthat Christ's church while in
this world, will be a bush burning with fiery trials and afflictions of various
kinds; this was a lively emblem of the state of religion, and liberty of Israel at
that time: they were busy making of brick, and there consequentlywere
burning continually; as though the Lord had said, this bush is burning with
fire, so my people are burning with slavery. Ah, but sayyou, that was only the
case ofthe Israelites whenthey were under Pharaoh; pray is not that the case
of the church in all ages? yes, it has been; read your Bibles, and you may
instantly see that it is little else than an historicalaccountof a burning bush;
and though there might be some periods wherein the church had rest, yet
these periods have been of a short date; and if God's people have "walkedin
the comforts of the Holy Ghost," it is only like a calm that precedes an
earthquake. If you remember, before the last earthquake, it was a fine
morning, and who when they arose in the morning, would have thought the

earth should shake under them before night; and so with the church when
they are in a calm, and all seems safe there, then comes a storm: God prepare
us for it.
But this is not the only case withthe church of Christ collected, but also it is so
with individual believers, especiallythose that God intends to make greatuse
of as prophets in his church. I know very well that 'tis said, that now the case
is altered: modern commentators therefore, and our greatDr. Young, calls
them downy Doctors;they ten us, now we have gota Christian king and
governor, and are under the toleration act, we shall have no persecution;and,
blessedbe God, we have had none since this family has been on the throne:
May God continue it till time shall be no more. Yet, my dear hearers, we shall
find, if God's word is true, whether we are born under a despotic power, or a
free government, that they that will five godly in Christ Jesus must suffer
persecution. You have heard of that saying, "Wonder not at the fiery trial
wherewith you are to be tried"; and God saith, "I have chosenthee," which is
applicable to every believer, "in the furnace of affliction." Now the furnace is
a hot place, and they that are tried in the furnace must be burnt surely. Now
what must the Christian burn with? with tribulation and persecution.
I heard a person not long ago say, I have no enemies. BishopLatimer came to
a house one day, and the man of the house said, he had not met with a cross in
all his life; give me my horse, says the goodbishop, I am sure God is not here
where no cross is.
But suppose we are not persecutedby the world, is there one Christian but is
persecutedby his friends; if there is an Isaac in the family, I warrant there is
an Ishmael to mock at him. "Woe is me," says David, "that I must dwell with
Mesheck,and in Kedar": and in one's own family, one's own brothers and
sisters, one's owndependants, though they wait for our death, and perhaps,
long to have us gone, that they may run awaywith our substance, to have

these persons mock at us, and if they dare not speak out, yet let us see they
hate the God we worship; if this be thy case, why, God knows, poorsoul, thou
art a burning bush: but if we have no such things as mocking, yet if we are
surrounded with afflictions, domestic trials, the loss of dear and nearfriends,
the bad conduct of our children, the dreadful misconduct of those that are
dependant upon us; O there is many a parent here that is a burning bush;
burning with what? with family afflictions; some don't care what becomes of
their children; O, I thank God, I have left my boy so much, and my daughter
a coach, perhaps;ah! well your sonand daughter may ride in that coachpost
to the devil: but the godly man says, I want an eternal inheritance for my son;
I want God's blessing for him; this is the poor man's prayer, while the poor
deluded youth mocks him: or, supposing this is not the case, a person may
burn with inward temptation; you have heard of the fiery darts, of the devil,
and were you to feelthem, I believe you would find them fiery darts indeed!
and you have greatreasonto suspectyour experience, your having any
interest in the love of the Son of God at all, if you never found the fiery darts
of the devil.
O, says one, I never felt the devil; I am sure thou mayest feelhim now; thou
art dadda's own child; thou art speaking the very language ofthe devil, and
he is teaching thee to deny thy own father; therefore graceless childof the
devil, you never felt the devil's fiery darts, it is because the devil is sure of
thee; he has got thee into a damnable slumber; may the Godof love wake thee
before real damnation comes!The fiery darts of Satanare poisoned, and
whereverthey stick they fill the persons with tormenting pain like fire; this I
mention, because there are some poor souls perhaps here tonight, whom the
devil tells, thou hastcommitted the unpardonable sin; you are afraid to come
to sacrament, you are afraid to go to prayer, because atthese seasons the devil
disturbs thee most, and tempts you to leave these seasons;and there are some
go on thus burning a greatwhile. My brethren the time would fail, and I shall
draw this discourse to too greata length, and hinder you from your families, if
I was to mention but a few more of those thousands that the believer burns
with, the trials without, and what is still worse, their trials within.

Why, says one, it is very strange you talk thus tonight; I am sorry it is strange
to any of you; sure you are not much acquainted with your bibles, and less
with your hearts, if you know not this. Why, sure, say some, you make God a
tyrant; no, but having made ourselves devils incarnate, we are now in a state
of preparation, and these various trials are intended by the greatGod to train
us up for heaven; and therefore, that you may not think I am drawing a
picture without any life, give me leave to observe, that it is particularly
remarkable, that though "the bush burned, it was not consumed":it was this
struck Moses,'he lookedto see why the bush was not consumed. But the
burning I have been here painting forth to you is not a consuming but a
purifying fire; is not that enough to answerthe shade that has been already
drawn; it is true the bush burns, the Christian is persecuted, the Christian is
oppressed, the Christian is burned with inward trials, he is perplexed at times,
he is "castdown but" blessedbe God, "he is not destroyed," he is not in
despair.
Who is that, that says he has got into such an estate that nothing disturbs
him? vain man! he discovers anignorance of Christ; are you greaterthan the
apostle Paul? some people think that the apostles had no trials; so they think,
perhaps, of some ministers, that they are always on the mount, while, perhaps,
they have been in the burning to get that sermon for them. We that are to
speak for others, must expect to be tempted in all things like to our brethren,
or we should be only poor whip syllabub preachers, and not rich men's hearts.
But whether ministers or people burn, the greatGod, the angelof the
everlasting covenant, spoke to Moses outof the bush; he did not stand at a
distance from the bush, he did not speak to him so much as one yard or foot
from the bush, but he spoke to him out of the bush; he said, Moses, Moses, my
people shall burn in this bush to the end of time, but be not afraid, I will
succourthem; when they burn, I will burn too. There is a scripture vastly
strong to this purpose, in which it is not said, "the goodwill of him that" was
"in the bush," but "the goodwill of him that" dwelt "in the bush."

Amazing! I thought God dwelt in heaven; but as a poor womanwho was once
in darkness fourteen years, before she was brought out of it, said, God has two
homes, one in heaven, the other in the lowestheart. He dwells in the bush, and
I am sure if he did not, the devil and their own cursed hearts would burn the
bush to ashes. How is it that it is not consumed? why, it is because Godhas
declaredit shall not be consumed; he has made an everlasting covenant, and I
pity those that are not acquainted with an interest in God's covenant;and it
would be better that people would pity them, than dispute with them: I really
believe a disputing devil is one of the worstdevils that can be brought into
God's church, for he comes with his gown and book in his hand, and I should
always suspectthe devil when he comes in his gownand band, and this is the
cause they agree and disagree. Some, who it is to be hoped are God's children,
if you tell them that God has loved them with an everlasting love, they are
afraid to suck it in, and especiallyif you pop out the word election, or that
hard word predestination, they will be quite frightened; but talk to them
another way, their dear hearts will rejoice.
God has said, "As the waters of Noahshall cease forever, so he will not forget
the covenantof his peace:nothing shall pluck them out of his hand." Ah! say
some, the apostle has said, "that neither things present, nor things to come,
shall separate us from the love of Christ": but he has not saidan evil heart
shall not; I fancy that is one of the "present things." The bush is not
consumed, because if the devil is in the bush, Godis in the bush too;if the
devil acts one way, the Lord, the Spirit, acts another to balance it, and the
Spirit of Godis engagedto train up the souls of his people; and God has
determined the bush shall not be consumed;his Spirit stands near believers to
support and guide, and make them more than conquerors:all that are given
to Jesus Christ shall come, he will not lose one of them; this is food for the
children of God; a bad mind will turn every thing to poison; and if it was not
for this, that God had promised to keepthem, my soul within these thirty
years would have sunk a thousand times over.

Come then, O suffering saints, to you the word of this salvationis sent. I don't
know who of you are the followers of the Lamb; may the Spirit of the living
God point them out, may every one be enabled to say, I am the man. O, says
one, I have been watching and very attentive tonight, but you have not
mentioned my burnings; what do you think of my burning lusts? what do you
think of my burning corruptions? what do you think of my burning pride? O,
perhaps some of you will say, thank God, I have no pride at all; like the
bishop of Cambray, as mentioned by Dr. Watts, who said, he had received
many sins from his father Adam, but, thank God, he had no pride. Alas! alas!
we are all as proud as the devil. Pray, what do you think of passion, that burns
not only themselves but all around them? what do you think of enmity? what
do you think of jealousy, is not this something that burns the bush? and there
are some people that pride themselves, they have not got so much of the beast
about them, they never got drunk, scornto commit murder, and at the same
time are full of enmity, of envy, malice, and pride, as the devil: the Lord God
help such to see their condition.
Happy is it, Christ can dwell in the bush when we cannot dwell ourselves
there; there are few Christians can live together, very few relations can live
togetherunder one roof; we cantake that from other people that we can't
bear from our own flesh and blood; and if God did not bear with us more
than we bear with one another, we should all have been destroyed every day.
Does the devil make you say, that you will give all up; I will go to the
Tabernacle no more; I will lay on my couchand take my ease;Oh! if this is
the case ofany tonight, thus tempted by satan, may God rescue their souls. O
poor dear soul, you never will have such sweetwords from God as when you
are in the bush; our suffering times will be our besttimes.
I know we had more comfortin Moorfields, on Kennington Common, and
especiallywhen the rotten eggs, the cats and dogs were thrown upon me, and
my gownwas filled with clods of dirt that I could scarce move it; I have had

more comfort in this burning bush than when I have been in ease.I remember
when I was preaching at Exeter, a stone came and made my foreheadbleed, I
found at that very time the word came with double powerto a laborer that
was gazing at me, who was wounded at the same time by another stone, I felt
for the lad more than for myself, went to a friend, and the lad came to me, Sir,
says he, the man gave me a wound, but Jesus healedme; I never had my
bonds broke till I had my head broke. I appealto you whether you were not
better when it was colderthan now, because your nerves were braced up; you
have a day like a dog-day, now you are weak, and are obligedto fan
yourselves:thus it is prosperity lulls the soul, and I fear Christians are spoiled
by it.
Whateveryour trails are, let this be your prayer, Lord, though the bush is
burning, let it not be consumed. I think that is too low, let it be thus; Lord,
when the bush is burning, let me not burn lower as the fire does, but let me
burn higher and higher: I thank thee my God, for trouble; I thank thee, my
God, for putting me into these afflictions one after another; I thought I could
sing a requiem to myself, that I should have a little rest, but trouble came
from that very quarter where I might reasonably expect the greatestcomfort:
I thank thee for knocking my hands off from the creature;Lord, I believe,
help my unbelief; and thus you will go on blessing God to all eternity: by and
by the bush shall be translated to the paradise of God; no burning bush in
heaven, except the fire of love, wonder, and gratitude; no trials there; troubles
are limited to this earth; above our enemies can't reachus. Perhaps there are
some of you here are saying, "burning bush, a bush burnt and not
consumed!" I don't know what to make of this nonsense:come, come, go on, I
am used to it, and I guess what are the thoughts of your hearts: I pray God,
that every one of you here may be afraid of comfort, lest they should be tossed
about by the devil. What is it I have said? how have I talked in such an
unintelligible manner? why, say you, what do you mean by a burning bush?
why, thou art the very man, how so? why, you are burning with the devil in
your hearts; you are burning with foppery, with nonsense, with"the lust of
the flesh," with "the lust of the eye, and pride of life"; and if you do not get
out of this state as Lot saidto his sons-in-law, e'erlong you shall be burning in

hell, and not consumed: the same angelof the covenant who spake to Moses
out of the bush, he shall e'erlong descend, surrounded with millions of the
heavenly host, and sentence youto everlasting burnings.
O you frighten me! did you think I did not intend to frighten you? would to
God I might frighten you enough! I believe it will be no harm for you to be
frightened out of hell, to be frighted out of an unconverted state:0 go and tell
your companions that the madman said, that wickedmen are as firebrands of
hell: God pluck you as brands out of that burning. Blessedbe God, that there
is yet a day of grace:Oh! that this might prove "the acceptedtime"; Oh! that
this might prove "the day of salvation";Oh! angelof the everlasting covenant,
come down; thou blessed, dearcomforter, have mercy, mercy, mercy upon the
unconverted, upon our unconverted friends, upon the unconverted part of this
auditory; "speak, and it shall be done: command, O Lord, and it shall come to
pass":turn the burning bushes of the devil into burning bushes of the Son of
God: who knows but God may hear our prayer, who knows but God may hear
this cry, "I have seen, I have seenthe afflictions of my people:the cry of the
children of Israel is come up to me, and I am come down to deliver them":
God grant this may be his word to you under all your trouble; Godgrant he
may be your comforter.
The Lord awakenyou that are dead in sin, and though on the precipice of hell,
God keepyou from tumbling in: and you that are God's burning bushes, God
help you stand to keepthis coatof arms, to say when you go home, blessedbe
God, "the bush is burning but not consumed." Amen! even so, Lord Jesus.
Amen!

HENRY LAW
The Burning Bush
"He looked, and, behold, the Bush burned with fire, and the
Bush was not consumed." Exodus 3:3
Wondrous is the sight which here meets our view. It is a Bush in
flames, but not consumed. Destroying fire fails to destroy.
Perishable woodrefuses to be fuel. Reader!this surely is no new
objectto you. But know that it abounds in lessons whichyour
searchcannotexhaust. It must be so. The unsearchable riches of
Jesus are in this mine! He, who is the Wonder of Wonders, is the
true Wonder of the Bush.
Reader!you must see Christ by faith, if ever you would see Godand
enter heaven. You must know Christ in heart, if ever you would
know peace in conscience andhope in death. Ask then the Holy
Spirit that He would make the blazing Bush to be a blaze of saving
light within your soul. The way to the burning Bush lies through an
avenue of instructive thoughts.
Moses is mercifully rescuedfrom an early grave of waters.
Pharaoh's decree dooms to death. But Pharaoh's daughteris the
means of life. When God has purposes to work, He canmake foes
his tools!The oppressor's courtbecomes the refuge of the
oppressed. The Hebrew child is caressedas an Egyptian prince. But

the perils of the Nile are scarcelygreaterto the body; than the perils
of the palace to the soul. Worldly pomp is very dazzling. Worldly
luxury is very entrancing. Worldly pleasures are very ensnaring. But
there is an ark of safetyin the flood of vanities, as in the flood of
waters. Mosesis neither dazzled, nor entranced, nor ensnared. He
looks above, and sees a splendor far more bright. He deliberately
choosesscornand affliction and loss and poverty, with the people of
God. And he finds such scornto be the truest honor—suchaffliction
to be the purest joy—suchloss to be the richest gain—suchpoverty
to be the most enduring wealth.
Reader!it is an important principle, that none can tread the world
beneath their feet until they see a fairer world above their heads.
When the Lord is set before you, your eyes are dim to lowerobjects.
The beauty of the all-beauteous One makes otherloveliness
unlovely. Moses proves the mighty energy of soul-elevating, soulpurifying
faith. This stirring principle turns his whole course from
ease and affluence and self, into one stream of daring activities for
God. He beholds with aching heart Israel's crushedtribes. He boldly
presents himself to avenge their wrongs, and to erectthe standard
of their freedom. But what is the welcome which awaits him? Alas!
he is thrust awaywith a rejecting taunt, 'Who made you a prince
and a judge over us?'
Reader!your eyes are open to such pitiable folly. You sigh over a

serfdom, which is content to do a tyrant's bidding, rather than defy a
tyrant's rage. But such may be your owncase. The Gospel, like
Moses,approachesmen. It tells them that they grind in Satan's
prison-house. It calls them to arise from the dust, to lift up the
head, to burst the fetters, to dare to be free. It shows them Jesus,
the Captain of Salvation, inviting them to the banner of His cross. It
assures them that this Leader never lost a battle—and never lost a
man. It beseeches themto castoff the filthy fetters, and to stride
boldly towards the sparkling crown. What answeris returned? Alas!
multitudes hate the voice which would arouse them. They hug the
bonds which bind them to perdition's cell. They little think how
sooneachlink in that chain will become a deathless scorpionand a
quenchless flame!
'Then Moses fled at this saying.'Reader!take heed. The decree may
issue, he 'is joined to idols; let him alone.'An unwelcomedSavior
may depart forever. The wings of love may fly away in judgment.
He was hidden as a strangerin the land of Midian forty years. But
the Godwho was his shield in the crowd, was his sun in the desert.
It is sad, that the Lord's servantmust be earth's outcast. But it is
sweetto see how heavenly wisdom can make the hardest usage to
yield our choicestblessings. The sweetesthoneyis from the stony
rock. There was work for Moses whichrequired lamb-like meekness
with lion-like resolve. He must be calm as the oceanwhen it sleeps

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