THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #27 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #9
Lesson 3709
THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #27
THE LIFE OF MOSES #9
THE BURNING BUSH AND THE FLAMING MENORAH.
It may seem surprising that these two emblems are related and merged into the ageless symbol of the Tree of Life.
At the age of 80, Moses is no longer a crazy mixed-up teenager. He only gets his late call in life when he beholds God in the Burning Bush incident - where he heard the audible voice of God speaking to him directly. He was a changed man thereon for once you know Your Creator you know who you are in His sight and even your call in Him.
This is what worship means - beholding God in a close encounter like Moses "mouth to mouth" as it were - or on bended knees as most artists depict the incident.
But when God appeared to Moses in a Burning Bush, He did so as Holy Fire.
We could adopt a so-what attitude towards this gratuitous vision of grace.
But this was God's first appearance to Moses and we should not miss out on the meaning and significance of this unusual event.
We know in the natural, fire needs fuel - if a tree catches fire, its wood fuels the burning.
But here it was a divine and holy fire from heaven as the thorn bush of the Midian Desert did not burn up at all.
In short, the source of fuel was heavenly not earthly. God appeared as pure light - a powerful symbol to lead His chosen people out of the darkness of slavery in Egypt.
And it will be later be memorialised in the Menorah the Golden Lampstand.
The Hebrew word for the bush is SNEH which is an illusion to SINAI where Moses received the Law and the instructions to build the Menorah.
Both the Thorn Bush and Golden Menorah ( based on the Almond Tree ) are related to the "Tree of Life " symbol signifying the lost Garden of Eden.
Thus God "plants" the Menorah in the Tabernacle of Moses in the Wilderness ( where no real greenery grows!) as a physical reminder to His people He is bringing them back to His Kingdom of Light, an earthly Eden in the Promised Land of "milk and honey".
And the Menorah like the Burning Bush is the emanation of Holy Fire denoting His illuminating presence among His people.
This is most evident in the Feast of Hannukah or Chanukah.
This eight-day Jewish celebration is known as Hanukkah or Chanukah commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.
The Jews who took part in the rededication of the Second Temple witnessed what they believed to be a miracle.
Even though there was only enough untainted olive oil to keep the Menorah’s candles burning for a single day, the flames continued flickering for eight nights, leaving them time to find a fresh supply.
This wondrous event inspired the Jewish sages to proclaim a yearly eight-day festival.
The Hanukkah celebration revolves around the kindling of a nine-branched Menorah, known in Hebrew as the Hanukiah. On each of the holiday’s eight nights, another candle is added to the Menorah after sundown; the ninth candle called the Shamash (“ Servant Candle ”), is used to light all the 8 others.
Jews typically recite blessings during this ritual and display the Menorah prominently in a window as a reminder to others of the miracle that inspired the holiday.
Thus the Burning Bush and Menorah had a new meaning - that God is still with His people as long as they keep their hearts aglow with His Eternal Light.
And if we see Jesus as the Shamesh ( the Servant Candle that lights the other candles of the Hanukkah Menorah ), we can understand what Jesus means when He proclaimed
"I Am the Light of the World." ( John 8:12 )
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying,
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
