Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old Testament: The Burning Bush.
Occasion: Call of Mosses.
Location: Mount Horeb.
Bible Text:
Exodus 3:1-6 KJV
1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
Exodus 3:1 KJV
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
There is quite an interesting story regarding Mosses' life, little of which may be mentioned here. Raised in the Egyptian house of the Pharaoh (Some 40 years). One day Moses (an Israelite) saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, Moses killed the Egyptian. Once word had gotten out, that it was Moses who slew the Egyptian, and that Pharaoh was very angry, Moses ran to the desert of Midian as a place of refuge. He was in the Midian desert for 40 years, tending the sheep of a priest, named Jethro, who's daughter, Zipporah, he would marry.
No longer in Pharaohs court, and no longer among his people, a dessert shepherd, and 80 years old.
This is the setting to which we come to in Exodus chapter three.
Exodus 3:2,3 KJV
2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
“The Angel of the Lord,” was the presence of Jehovah, God.
The fire, was the Shekinah Fiery presence of our living God.
Exodus 13:21,22 NLT
21 The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a Pillar of Cloud, and He provided light at night with a Pillar of Fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night.
22 And the Lord did not remove the Pillar of Cloud or Pillar of Fire from its place in front of the people.
Exodus 14:19,20 NLT
19 Then the Angel of God, who had been leading the people of Israel, moved to the rear of the camp. The Pillar of Cloud also moved from the front and stood behind them.
20 The Cloud settled between the Egyptian and Israelite camps. As darkness fell, the Cloud turned to Fire, lighting up the night. But the Egyptians and Israelites did not approach each other all night.
Psalm 50:2 NLT
From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance.
Isaiah 60:1-3 KJV
1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Isaiah 60:1-3 NLT
1 “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
2 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.
3 All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.
Romans 9:4 NLT
They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed His glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them His law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping Him and receiving His wonderful promises.
Hebrews 12:28,29 KJV
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Exodus 3:4,5,6 KJV
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
Godly reverence:
Joshua, Mosses successor.
Joshua 5:13-15 NLT
13 When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a Man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
14 “Neither one,” He replied. “I am the Commander of the Lord’s Army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
15 The Commander of the Lord’s Army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.
Psalm 33:8 KJV
Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
Psalm 89:7 KJV
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him.
Psalm 111:9 KJV
He sent redemption unto His people: He hath commanded His covenant for ever: holy and reverend is His name.
Habakkuk 2:20 KJV
But the Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.
In the Orient, and among Arabs, it is the habit of worshipers, to remove their shoes, before entrance into their temples, upon entrance, they kneel down with their faces to the floor.
And among Christian believing people, their habit is of …...............................................
Why, do we not yet see the Pillar of Cloud, or the Pillar of Fire?
Why, do we not yet see the Fiery burning bush?
Perhaps it is because we have forgotten that in the presence of Almighty God, in fear and trembling, we show great reverence, as did Moses (Joshua).
Our Lord, did “not,” take 12 disciples up on the Mount of Transfiguration!
Not all were “Sons of Thunder.” Not all were as closes to the Lord, or as desirous to see His glory.
Matthew 17:5,6 KJV
5 While he (Peter) yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
The “first call,” Moses (and Joshua) received, was to show reverence before God.
Leviticus 19:30 KJV
Ye shall keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.
Psalm 5:7 KJV
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
Ecclesiastes 5:1,2 KJV
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
Salvation Prayer
