Moses at the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:1-22)
Have you ever heard a sermon where a preacher was telling you that according to the Bible there was something you should go do and you sat there and thought to yourself that’s impossible there’s no way I could do that. I am not able to do that, that simply won’t work, have you ever felt that way. Maybe you were just reading your Bible and you found something the Bible said you should do, and you thought there is no way I could do that. If you’ve ever felt that way, and virtually all Christians have, then you need to know that you are not alone. No less than the mighty Moses was told to do something and that is exactly how he felt. He began to object to what the Lord told him to do. So, what I want us to do tonight is look at the objections, there are at least three of them that Moses gave to the Lord about why he wasn’t adequate to do what the Lord told him to do, and more importantly I’d like for us to see how God answered Moses. So, with that in mind would you turn with me to exodus chapter 3 second book of the Bible chapter 3 and let’s begin reading at verse one.
3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So, he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
(Exodus 3: 1-3)
I’m going to pause here; this is a sense an introduction to the rest of the chapter. We could call this the circumstances that produced the rest of the chapter after this, and we’ll look at it in a minute. What I want us to do is to begin by just looking at the circumstances in the first three verses. What these verses are telling us is that Moses, who you will recall we know from the first two chapters was in Egypt and he had killed an Egyptian fled for his life and he went to the land of Midian. There he met a man who was not named in chapter 2 but is named now in chapter three verse one as Jethro and he has seven daughters and Moses marries one of his daughters. So, at this point Moses becomes the shepherd so to speak of Jethroe’s flock, and verse one simply tells us he was leading the flock of his father-in-law Jethro and he led the flock to the back of the desert and came to Horeb, also called the mountain of God.
So, this is all just laying out for us the background or the setting for before I make a couple of observations, something I think it is important we grasp hold of. Remember Moses was 40 years old when he left Egypt and we know from other passages of scripture that this is forty years late, so at this point he is 80 years old. In total he will live to be 120 before he dies, but this point he is 80 years old. It tells us that he came to Horeb, which means “The Mountain of God” and that is just another name for Mount Sinai.
Later he will go to Egypt he delivers the children of Israel and return to the Sinai Peninsula , where he goes up to the mountain and God will gives him the 10 commandments as well as other of revelations how this early society should be constituted. But at this point he didn’t know any of that. However, it’s interesting to note that he’s at the place where he’s later going to come back too, and here it is called the mountain of God, and the reason it’s called the mountain of God is because at the point the text was written the writer new that this is where God will give Moses the 10 commandments. That the traditional explanation, there are Bible teachers who disagree with that, and I’m not gonna go into all the details, but I have concluded that the traditional site is probably the right place. So that’s where Moses is right now, and verse two tells us an Angel of the Lord appeared to him.
Now let’s pause for a second and ask, who is the Angel of the Lord? Is that a literal Angel because sometimes in the Old Testament when it uses the word Angel it’s talking about an angle and sometimes it uses the term, Angel of the Lord it’s talking about an appearance of the Lord himself. On this occasion I believe it the Lord himself, appearing as an angel, and so do most who come and study this passage and that is because in verse 4 he is is identified as the Lord.
The use of the term Lord being referring to God revealing himself as a full blow Christophany, in other words appearing in his salvation and redemptive form.
4 So 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.” (Exodus 3: 4)
This verse is talking about the Lord, and as you know this is a very famous story. According to these opening verses what Moses’ saw was a Bush that was burning, but it wasn’t burning up, and you might say that is odd, miraculous in fact. The Bush was on fire but not burning up. So, this was beyond just the Bush spontaneously catching on fire, the question becomes why appear an ever-burning Bush, what is the significance of a Bush that is burning?
As you can imagine Bible teachers suggest it means all kind of things, Some say it’s represents the affliction of the Israelites in Egypt, others say that it’s a reference to the presence of God, I tend to think that’s if it’s symbolic at all that’s what it symbolizes because Moses is later told to take off his shoes he’s on holy ground, so I take it that this is probably a reference to the presence of the Lord. So, what’s going on is Moses is in the Sinai Peninsula and there’s a burning Bush. Moses encounters the Burning Bush is the what I would suggest is the first example in written recorded history of what modern day thinking would call “the journey of self-discovery”, but here through an encounter with God. The Burning Bush can be seen as a representation of a transformative encounter, symbolizing the transformation of one's inner self, purpose, and identity through an encounter with the God who saves and redeems. It suggests to me that such a transformative experience can lead to a deeper connection with something greater than oneself and a broader understanding of the events going on in the world at the time we are living.
The story highlights the importance of recognizing and embracing one's calling or life purpose. These symbolic intersections between the story of Moses and the Burning Bush and current psychological thinking highlight universal themes of self-discovery, personal growth, purpose, and transformation. They demonstrate how ancient narratives can still resonate with modern psychological concepts and provide insights into the human experience. So, Moses he sees this burning Bush and let’s pick up the passage in verse 4 again.
4 So 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 draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your 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. 7 And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
(Exodus 3: 4-10)
That’s the Commission that’s the command I’m going to send you to Pharaoh, and you are going to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt. Let’s walk through this passage a little slower, God says to him, Moses and he says, here I am. That’s an interesting expression it occurs elsewhere in the scripture, as a matter-of-fact Abraham said that when the Lord spoke to him. Joseph said that when the Lord spoke to him also, and Samuel said that when the Lord spoke to him as well. So, Moses says here I am, and the Lord says take off your sandals, removing your shoes was a custom in that day, anyone who was lower in status took off their shoes in the presence of a superior to show respect. So, the removal of the sandals is a sign of respect. So that’s what’s going on here. God then identifies himself by saying, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that’s also significant. As you know we just went through the book of Genesis recently and we saw God make a covenant with Abraham to give him the land of Palestine, he then renewed that covenant with Isaac, and he renewed it again with Jacob. So, when God says I am the God of Abraham Isaac Jacob he means I’m the God that made a that covenant, a promise to give the land to the children of Israel.
Remember there have been many years between the events at the end of Genesis and those here at the beginning of Exodus. The last time God had revealed himself to this time is 400 years previously. So, it’s been 400 years since God revealed himself to anybody for any reason, so it makes sense he begins by identifying himself as the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. Having done that, he then says to Moses, I have seen the oppression of my people and I’ve heard their cry, I know their sorrow, and I’ve come down to deliver the people.
Notice who’s going to deliver them. I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians to bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey. If you know anything about the Bible you’ve probably heard the expression, “the land of milk and honey”, but have you ever wondered what it it means. Where do you get milk from, and you would say a cow, but in the scriptures at this point the milk came from goats and sheep, the point is the milk came from animals, and where do you get honey from, if you have honey then that is an indication that there will be pollinating plants there. So, the little expression milk and honey is describing a land that’s going to be able to sustain crops and herds, flocks and fruit, animals, and vegetables.
In Egypt they didn’t have much rain, they managed to rear crops but only in the nile delta area. They were only able to grow crops within about ½ km of the river by irrigated the land and created channels into farmland. In Egypt they had crops from the Nile valley only but in Palestine it rained, and they could grow crops in many places. So, this is another way of saying I’m taking you to a land that is going to produce an abundance of crops and will support grazing animals.
Verse 10, is a key verse in this whole chapter, “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
It seems Moses didn’t quite take it in. That’s evident because he starts objecting at this point, which we’ll look at in a minute. However, let me remind you that we need to remember that Moses killed somebody back in Egypt. What might happen if Moses goes back to Egypt? He is going to take his life in his hands. However maybe it was all forgotten now. But the other thing that I would like to point out is this.
Who did God choose to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt? Answer, a murderer, a guy who earlier thought he knew he could overturn the rule of the land and probably deliver the children of Israel by his own means, to which he got the reply, “Who are you to rule over us? He tried to do it his way and, in the process, killed an Egyptian. But now many years later God turns to him and says, you’re my man. There’s a word for that in the Bible, and that word is grace.
All we’ve seen so far basically is a commission, I mean you can reduce the whole core of this chapter to verse 10. It opens by giving us the setting and the circumstances, but then the whole rest of this is the commission of Moses, by God. Now starts the objections. Moses says, I understand the Commission, but I have a few concerns on the matter. As a matter of fact, he has five concerns in this chapter and three more in the next, but you’ll be glad to hear I’m only going to deal with the first two today. Look again at t verse 11, he says to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. Here’s his first objection, he has what we would today call imposter syndrome.
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Now remember when he was in Egypt and he was trying to do it all himself, and in chapter two when two Egyptians were fighting and he tried to stop it and one of them said, “Who made you a Prince and a judge over us.” But now 40 years later Moses says, “Who AM I to do such a thing, I have no authority, I have no power I have not right to stand before Pharoah and say such things”, and I think he was probably rightly. After these 40 years in the desert, he has learned a little humility.
This time he says, “Who am I”. So, here’s what the Lord says to him.
12 So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
The answer is basically don’t worry about it because I am going to be with you. That’s his answer, you may feel inadequate, but that’s immaterial, because I am going to be with you, and I am going to be the one that really does this. Moses was self-conscious, and what the Lord tried to do is make him God conscious. Remember that when you are feeling self-conscious, it just means that the focus is in the wrong place, that when it comes to obeying God’s commands we just need to be God conscious and not self-conscious. Alright, so Moses’ first objection is, “Who am I, and by what authority do I have the right to do that’s sort of thing”, and God says don’t worry about it, I’m the one who is going to do this. Verse 13.
13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you."
So, Moses has another objection, remember God hadn’t spoken in 400 years, and he says, Pharaohs going to say, who’s this God what is his name, and by what authority are you doing this. How are you, Moses, going to demonstrate to us that you have the authority to do demand this. and the Lord says in verse 14 tell him, “I am, who I am”, has sent you. Friends, this is one of the most important verses in all of the Old Testament. In It, God gives his name, and his name is “I am, who I am”. So, what in the world does that mean? Well, in Hebrew there are no vowels, in the original Hebrew text they weren’t the vowels, and this reply is technically a 4-letter word. There are no vowels so we don’t know exactly how to pronounce this in modern English, The original idea was it was pronounced Jehovah and then they decided it’s pronounced Yahweh so the current feeling is that it’s Yahweh (YHVH) and when you see in the Bible in an English translation it is written in capital letters, L capital O capital R capital D, and that’s this name of God. There’s another Hebrew word pronounced adonai and when they translate that word it’s capital L little O little R little D, but when you see in an English translation capital L capital O capital R capital D that means the personal name of God that has been used, and it means, I am. I am. It means, I exist. I self determinably exist, and I have always existed. S this is the eternal God that is identifying himself to Moses here.
15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord 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 to all generations.’ 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; 17 and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt (Exodus 3: 15-17a)
Go tell them, it’s me, God has showed up again and I’m the same God as the God of their forefathers, it’s me, it’s the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Go to the elders of Israel and say to them the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has appeared to me saying, I have seen what is being done to you in Egypt and I have heard your cry and I will bring you out of the affliction.
, the real answer God gives to Moses, to his second objection is tell them who I am. Go to Egypt tell them I’m the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and tell pharaoh to let my people go three. so that they can worship me in the wilderness. The implication is they are not coming back. It is a simple straightforward message, let us out of here. So, Moses first objection was, “Who am I, and the second objection is they’re not gonna listen to me. God response, just go and do what do I say he says, and trust me they’ll listen to you, I’ll see to it that they listen to you. God is answering every objection that Moses has to why he cannot obey this command then he adds this verse 19.
19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. 22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbour, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So, you shall plunder the Egyptians. (Exodus 3: 19-22)
God using his mighty hand with signs and wonders, and we will soon discover he is referring to him using 10 plagues which we will look at later, but he pre-warning Moses that even when God lays the 10 plagues upon Pharoah, he’s going to resist. God says Moses just just do what I tell you I’m gonna be with you and I’m giving you a promise not only will I be with you I’m promising you that you’re going to be successful in what I sent you to do.
Summary and Possible Conclusions.
What’s going on here is a relatively straight-forward story about how Moses objected to being obedient because he lacked confidence that they would even listen to him, and by what authority he spoke. The Lord told him that his authority was the fact he would be with him, and to answer to your second objection, God gives him the assurance that don’t worry about it, even if they appear not to listen to you. So, there’s all several kinds of lessons we can learn from this, but one of the greatest is simply this God gave Moses a command and Moses after some hesitation received it.
What do you and I need to know and do in order to obey the Lord’s commands? What do you need he gives us well you can boil this down to two things.
Number one, you need God’s presence, God said, I’ll be with you, I’ll be with, you so, number one, you need God’s presence and.
Number two, you need to believe the promise. So, all you need to do to obey the Lord, hold his presence, and his promise, then just go obey him and trust him to do what he said he would do.
In Matthew chapter 20, the Lord says to all his followers we are to go into all the world and make the disciple and preach the gospel and tell people about me and those who respond by trusting me will be forgiven and given the gift of eternal life. Then I want you to baptize those people and I want you to teach them. That is called the great commission. That means everybody is to get involved in this one way or another. But do you know how that Commission ends? In the last verse in Matthew chapter 20 he says, “And low I am with you always even to the end of the age”. There it is if you just go do what I tell you and remember I will be with you. That’s our problem we need to learn the simple lesson that God will be with us at all times and no matter what he calls us to do. John 15-5 says, “Without me you can do nothing” and that’s the way Moses felt and that’s the way we feel sometimes. When we look at a situation and we think, I cannot do that”, at that point we need to remember Philippians 4:13, which says “I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength”.
Put all that together, the one who promises to never leave us nor forsake us, but to always be with us, is the same one who can give us the power to do what he tells us to do. That’s your answer right there. I think some Christians feel I can’t do all of this until I go to Bible college or get trained or learn how to preach. I can’t do it, I’m not qualified, and that’s what’s going on in this chapter. Moses is saying I am not qualified, and God says Moses you’re not, but I am, and I am going to make you qualified. As a matter, God does not call the qualified, he qualifies those he calls. When God tasks Moses with the responsibility of confronting Pharaoh, Moses expresses self-doubt and resistance. This reflects the damage of holding onto self-limiting beliefs, imposter syndrome, and the fear of stepping into new roles or taking on the challenges God presents us with. This encounter emphasizes the process of overcoming obstacles and finding your strength in the Lord to fulfil one's potential through him.
The reality of God appearing in the form of a Burning Bush represents a powerful symbol of transformation through fire. Fire often symbolizes purification, renewal, and change and Moses' encounter with the Burning Bush can be seen as a metaphor for undergoing personal transformation, letting go of the old, and embracing the new path God has laid before us.
That’s it, folks, don’t wait until you think you’re qualified, God has called us to obey him to serve him and he qualifies the call by giving us his promises and his presence with us always to do what he wants us to do.