A bush that burned but was not consumed: Moses meets God in Exodus 3

For forty years, Moses had been a shepherd in the desert, far from the palace where he grew up and far from the Hebrew slaves he had once tried to defend. Then one day, near Mount Horeb, he saw a bush on fire that did not burn up.

Palace to desert

Moses was born a Hebrew but raised in Pharaoh’s household. As a man, he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave, and fled to Midian. There he married Zipporah and kept the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro. Leading the flock to Horeb, “the mountain of God”, Moses saw that a bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. He said, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight.”

Holy ground

When Moses turned aside, God called to him from the bush: “Moses, Moses.” He answered, “Here am I.” God told him to take off his shoes, “for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground”. God said: “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry.” He announced that He had come to deliver them and bring them to a good land.

Then God told Moses that he would be the one sent to Pharaoh. Moses replied, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh?” God answered, “Certainly I will be with thee.”

The name and excuses

Moses asked what name he should give when the Israelites asked who sent him. God replied: “I AM THAT I AM.” He told Moses to say, “I AM hath sent me unto you.” In the next chapter, Moses continued to object: they will not believe me; I am not eloquent. God gave him signs, a staff that became a serpent and a hand that became leprous, and promised to be with his mouth. When Moses still asked God to send someone else, God appointed his brother Aaron to speak with him.

Turning aside

Many teachers see the burning bush as a picture of God’s presence: holy and powerful, yet not destroying what it touches. Others see in it Israel itself, suffering in the fire of Egypt but not destroyed. The encounter began because Moses turned aside to look. Many preachers point out that God often speaks to people who pause long enough to notice. The shepherd could have walked past, and the story of the Exodus would have started differently.