THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #25 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #7

Pastor Christopher Choo

Lesson 3707

THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #25

THE LIFE OF MOSES #7

GOD'S MOST HOLY NAME: YHVH #2

Moses stayed in Midian until he was 80. He married Zipporah and fathered sons. 

But what was the highlight of his long exile at Midian?

It was not his family life but God's call to liberate His chosen people in Egypt.

This was found in the incident at the Burning Bush.

Yesterday we learnt how God chose to identify Himself as a covenant-keeping God who is upfront and personal. He thus gave Moses a very personal name: YHVH which meant that He would go through the Exodus with Moses as a partner.

This key to a personal relationship will unlock the meaning of later revelations of why God spoke to Moses "face to face" or "mouth to mouth."

But what did the flaming thorn bush or bramble that did not burn represent?

Mt. Horeb where Moses encountered God is a barren mountain.

The bush in Exodus 3: 2-4 refers to the indigenous short-shrub thorn bush that grew in such dry areas.

Sometimes they caught fire from the intense heat of the sun which could spark bush fires. Or they could become "wheels of fire " if blown about by strong desert winds. 

But this natural phenomenon was superseded by a miracle that drew Moses' attention.

The thorn bush was alight with supernatural fire that did not burn. And even more shockingly, God spoke through it in an audible voice.

Such an uncanny miracle holds deep symbolic meanings for us.

1. This spikey thorn bush symbolised the withered Israelites after 400 years of Egyptian slavery. 

Their lives were miserable with so many afflictions that they cried to the Lord ( Exodus 1:12-14 ).

2.  Their fiery sufferings in Egypt were as though they were in a furnace ( Deut.4:20; 1 Kings 8:51; Jer.11:4 ).

3. Like the bush that did not burn, they did not perish in their great suffering. 

4. The angel that appeared in the flame of the burning thorn bush was God's clear revelation that He had come down in response to the prayers of His people in Egypt and would deliver them ( Acts 7:30-32 ).

Such a great revelation birthed an even greater Exodus to come.

And this salutary lesson includes the understanding for us all that God does answer prayers in His perfect timing.