Exodus 3:1-9
1 Now, Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 The angel of 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. 3 So, Moses said, "I must turn aside
now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then
He said, "Do not come
near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 6 He said also, "I am the God of your father,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then
Moses hid his face, for he was afraid
to look at God. 7 The LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction
of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters,
for I am aware of their sufferings.
8 So I have come down to deliver
them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up
from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the
Perizzite and the Hivite
and the Jebusite. 9 Now, behold, the
cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.”
I began reading the book
of Exodus this week. At the beginning of Exodus, Moses, the writer, introduced
himself as the son of a Hebrew woman and raised by the Egyptian princess to be
a prince of Egypt. This story is very familiar to Jews and Christians. The story
is a very strong example of the power and love of God. From a young age, Jews
and Christians teach their children this history. This week, I delved deeper into
the story. There are several things we should acknowledge and understand,
things Moses learned, which we need to learn today. The main question, though,
for this story is - Will we recognize God and what He sets apart for His
purposes?
Before we study this
passage in depth, remember that Moses was a Hebrew from the tribe of Levi. His
mother laid him in the Nile River in a woven wicker basket coated with tar to
save him. The Pharaoh mandated at that time that midwives kill male Hebrew
babies because of the increasing number of Hebrews in Egypt. God had a plan for
Moses and led him in his basket to the arms of the bathing Egyptian princess.
While he was nursing from a wet nurse, who happened to be his biological
mother, he learned of his Hebrew heritage. Once weaned, Moses was educated as
an Egyptian. For forty years, Moses lived as an Egyptian, until one day he saw
a slave driver beating a Hebrew worker. This enraged Moses and he killed the
slave driver. Moses fled for his life and arrived in Midian. He traveled about 10,750
miles (6,719km) to arrive in the current lower Saudi Arabia. He traveled from
Egypt on the Nile across the Sinai Peninsula then across the Gulf of Aqaba to a
land inhabited by the descendents of Abraham’s son, Midian. Moses arrived at a
well there and met seven daughters of the priest Reuel (Jethro) whom he
defended from the shepherds. Jethro was not a priest of Yahweh when Moses met
him. Jewish tradition says Jethro worshipped many idols before he believed. He
offered a benediction to Yahweh in Exodus 18:9-10; this is when we recognize
his acceptance of Yahweh as the true God. From Jethro’s daughters, Moses chose
Zipporah to be his wife and for forty years, Moses tended Jethro’s sheep.
After Moses shepherded
Jethro’s sheep for forty years, he saw a bush burning, but it was not consumed. This
captured his attention. Where was Moses when he saw this burning bush? He was
in the Sinai Peninsula, the west side of the wilderness as verse 1 says. Why he
traveled so far from where Jethro normally kept his sheep we do not know. We do
know Moses encountered God on Horeb, another name for Mount Sinai. What the writer
of Exodus (Moses) told his readers is that an angel of the Lord appeared to him
in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush. God chose to use a weak, small
thing, a thorn bush, instead of something grand, such as a cedar. He chose to
use a shepherd and humbled man, Moses, instead of a trained leader of the
Hebrews, like a priest. We need to realize, too, that in the Bible, people
often recognize God as a fire, consider the pillar of fire that led the
Israelites. The Old Testament identifies the “angel of the LORD” with God in
many passages.
Moses said in the passage that
YAHWEH God appeared to him in the fire. Moses turned from his path and went to examine
this unconsumed burning bush, and that is where God called to him. Here is where my
enquiring mind began to dig deeper. How did Moses understand it was the LORD
speaking? How did Moses recognize the voice of the LORD? In retrospect, by the time
Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch), he had a
history with Yahweh and could recognize His hand out of hindsight. The question
remains though, how did Moses recognize God’s voice when he was trained and had
lived as an Egyptian for forty years and then lived with a priest of false gods
for forty years? My answer, from personal experience, is when a thought or idea
comes to your mind that is not in your line of thinking at the time or in your
inclination, and is not contrary to the laws of God, you should consider it to
be from God. Jewish teaching, Midrash, says when the voice you hear is like
your father’s or mother’s voice – authoritative, calming, giving confidence,
and giving hope – you hear God’s voice. Jewish teachers teach this to their
students. The teaching makes sense, too, when you think about it. Moses understood
God was speaking to him.
The remaining verses in
this passage show us how else Moses realize God was speaking to him. Upon following
his instinct, Moses turned aside to examine the bush. God told him not to come
near the bush and to take off his shoes because the ground he was standing on
was holy. He identified Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, too.
God taught Moses three things here. Humankind cannot be too near God for His glory
is too great for a sinful human to bear. When in the presence of God, you are
on holy (set apart) ground. He is Yahweh, the One his mother spoke of to him
when he was a toddler. Moses surely was overawed and humbled. The God whom his
mother spoke of was speaking to him, one who had not followed Yahweh. His
immediate reaction must have been to humble himself in the manner he understood
from his days as a receiver of reverence, hiding his face and bowing low to the
ground. Moses could have chosen to hear God calling him, but chosen not to acknowledge
Him. Many people do that today. They realize God wants to lead them in their
moral and life choices, but they choose not to recognize God’s glory and power
and, instead, follow their own plans. Moses’ curiosity led him to the bush. His
recognition of a voice not from himself led him to follow God. His humility led
him to acknowledge God’s majesty and obey. Moses spirit spoke to him to
recognize, acknowledge, and obey God. God’s presence set the place apart as
holy. He called Moses for His purposes. From this point, God set Moses apart as
His instrument of power, freedom, guidance, and provision.
Let's take a closer look at this encounter
between Moses and Yahweh. Let's consider God's command for Moses to remove his
sandals. This was a common custom in the Middle East and Asia at the time and
continues today in places. It is a sign of reverence and respect for the
persons of the house. With respect to God, this action is a token of respect and submission.
Removing one’s sandals is the expression of inward reverence through outward
behavior. By taking off one’s sandals before entering a holy place or holy
ground, it keeps the dirtiness of non-holy ground from the holy and sanctified
place. God taught Moses to prepare himself to be in His presence. We must
understand, too, that the ground was no more holy than any other until God
chose to meet with Moses at that moment in time at that place. The ground was
holy because of God’s presence. Any place can be holy. God can meet people anywhere.
The question is - are we prepared to acknowledge God anywhere and anytime. What
would it take us to be in that position?
Moses learned quite a bit
that day. He learned how God’s voice sounded. Moses learned how to approach God.
He learned that anywhere God is He makes holy. Moses learned God uses the humble
and weak to show His power and majesty. He learned God had a plan for Him. Moses
learned to adjust his life to follow God’s plan.
We should learn the same three lessons - 1) recognizing the voice of God, 2) knowing that where God is is holy ground, and 3) knowing how to approach God. We should be prepared at all times to be in God's presence, hear His voice, and obey Him. How do we do that? We should always recognize our sinful, finite, powerless selves. We should be humble, confessing our sins and need for God, and looking always to see where God is at work, seeking Him. If we keep an attitude of humility and realize God is near and may at any time reveal Himself and His will to us, we will be able to recognize, hear, and obey Him.
Do you need to adjust
something in your life to hear God speak to you? Are you too self-focused and
busy to see and hear God? Is God trying to get your attention? When He has our
attention and we are listening, we are on holy ground. To be in a relationship
with God, we each must attend to Him, by recognizing, listening, and heeding
Him.
Be prepared for God to
speak to you. Be humble and recognize God’s voice. Give reverence to Him and
listen to Him. Be ready to obey what God tells you, even if just to “remove
your sandals.”
God
can make any place holy ground.
Are
you willing to recognize Him and what He sets apart for His purposes?
