23/12/2018
GOD’S CALL AND MOSES’ RESPONSES
PASSAGE STUDY
OF
EXODUS 3:1 – 4:17
Exodus 3:1-6
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. 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. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great
sight, why the bush is not burnt. 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. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off
thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 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.
Moses at the mountain of God
At this point Moses had been living in exile in Midian for approximately forty years.
He not only married Zipporah during this period, but also became responsible for
the keeping of her father’s flock. This is evidence that Moses had developed a deep
bond of trust with Jethro during the years of his sojourn in Midian. It is not apparent
whether the other sisters of Zipporah had married, but regardless of any other men
that may have been part of Jethro’s household, it was Moses that his father-in-law
entrusted with the source of the family’s material sustenance and supply.
Moses probably ranged much farther than usual to seek fodder for the flock. This
may have been due to a desire for solitude, or because of a lack of good grazing land closer to home. Perhaps God had been creating a pull in the heart of Moses toward
the wilderness so that He could have an intimate dialogue with him there.
There are several views regarding Mount Horeb. This mountain may be synonymous
with Mount Sinai, or it may be a reference to the mountainous range or region in
which Mount Sinai was located. The title “mountain of God” does appear to be a
reference to Mount Sinai, though it may also be a general reference to the place
where God descends to meet with his people, whether at Sinai or otherwise.
There are only seven places in the Bible where the exact phrase “mountain of God”
or “mount of God” are used. “Mountain of God” is the title used in Ezekiel 28:14
and 28:16 for the place the covering cherub was cast out of. “Mount of God” is the
title used in Exodus 4:27 for the place where Moses met with Aaron before returning
to Egypt. It is the title used in Exodus 18:5 for the place where Israel was encamped
after leaving Egypt when Jethro met Moses with his family. It is the title used for
the mountain that Moses and Joshua ascended in Exodus 24:13. It is also the title
used for Mount Horeb in 1 Kings 19:8. The title “mountain of the Lord” is used in
Genesis 22:14 for the place where Abraham went to offer up Isaac, and “mount of
the Lord” is used in Numbers 10:33 to refer to Mount Sinai.
God speaks to Moses out of the burning bush
When Moses approached the bush, God called out to him, twice repeating his name.
When an address is repeated by God in this way in the scriptures, it is often
characteristic of impending divine direction by God. In Genesis 22:11, during the
events surrounding Abraham’s intent to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah, the angel
of the Lord calls out Abraham’s name twice prior to directing him to spare his son.
In Genesis 46:2, when God directs Jacob to take his family down into Egypt, He
calls out his name twice in this same manner to get Jacob’s attention before He
relayed his instructions to him. In 1 Samuel 3:10, on the third occurrence of God
calling out to Samuel in the night, He used this same method to finally get Samuel’s
attention. It is interesting to note that God spoke in this type of a direct and directive
way when instructing Jacob to enter Egypt with his family as noted in Genesis 46:2,
and again when He calls Moses here in Exodus 3:4 to lead Jacob’s descendants out
of Egypt.
Moses responds to God’s introduction by hiding his face. The glory associated with
the presence and person of God is overpowering and awe inspiring.
The symbolism of the burning bush
The bush that burns with fire but is not consumed is a deeply symbolic pictorial type
with several different elements involved. To begin with, the self-sustaining fire that
burns on the bush, at its root level is symbolic of the presence of God. God is a self-
perpetuating power, and requires no fuel to be sustained. The presence of God is
often described by the element of fire, especially in the account of His interaction
with Israel during this period. Beginning in Exodus 13:21-22 and throughout the
wilderness wandering of Israel God’s presence went before them during the day in
a pillar of fire. When God descended upon Mount Sinai as described in Exodus 19:18
and elsewhere, His presence upon the mountain includes fire and smoke, and in this
context He is later described in Deuteronomy 4:33 as having spoken out of the midst
of the fire at Sinai just as He spoke from out of the burning bush.
God is described as a consuming fire in Deuteronomy 4:24, Hebrew 12:29, and
elsewhere. Fire is the principal element used to describe God’s protection
surrounding His people, His punishment poured out on His enemies, as well as the
purging and purifying force that He uses to prepare and perfect His people.1 Fire
1 Some of the many examples of this are found in Genesis 19:24, Numbers 11:1, 16:35,
Deuteronomy 9:3, 32:22, 2 Kings 1:10, Psalms 21:9, 50:3, 97:3, Isaiah 30:27-33, 66:15, Jeremiah
4:4, 21:12-14, Lamentations 4:11, Zechariah 2:5, Malachi 3:1-3, Matthew 3:11, and elsewhere.
falling upon and consuming a sacrificial offering is often a testimony to its
acceptance in the Bible.2
The bush itself seems to be an example of a multi-dimensional type: a prophetic
picture that refers to more than one symbolic anti-type.3
In its first and most direct
sense in Moses’ dispensation, it may have been a picture of Israel in Egypt. God
often uses symbolic descriptions of plants such as vines or trees to refer to His
people. The Israelites were the plant of the Lord that He intended to grow and
produce fruit.4
Though the people of God were in the midst of Egypt, in the fire that God had
allowed them to undergo, they were not consumed by the heat and hardship they
underwent, but continued to grow. In the midst of God’s statements to Abraham
regarding His intent to bring Abraham’s descendants out of captivity into Canaan is
this telling symbolic statement:
Genesis 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark,
behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
Israel was the burning lamp that passed out of Egypt. It was in the furnace of Egypt
that the burning lamp was set afire. The Israelites came up out of Egypt under the
light of the pillar of fire, and were given the oil of the understanding of the word of
God at Sinai that was intended to keep the lamp alight.
God brings His people through the fire so that they can be prepared to receive their
inheritance:
Psalms 66:12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire
and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.
God promised the children of Israel that He would redeem them in spite of the
difficulties they would have to face and the fire they would have to pass through as
a nation in the latter days:
Isaiah 43:1-2 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that
formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy
name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and
2 Some of the numerous examples of this are found in Leviticus 9:24, 1 Kings 18:24-38, 1
Chronicles 21:26, 2 Chronicles 7:1, and elsewhere.
3 The most common multi-dimensional types of this kind are those which appear to refer to both
Israel and Christ, or to Israel and the Church.
4
Isaiah chapter 5, Jeremiah 2:21, etc
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
It may be that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah5 had this scripture in mind in a literal
sense when they were faced with their passage through the fire:
Daniel 3:23-27 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down
bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king
was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellers, Did
not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto
the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in
the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son
of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace,
and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most
high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the
king's counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the
fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats
changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
Though the first fulfillment of the type of the bush not consumed by the fire appears
to be that of physical Israel in Egypt, the fullest spiritual fulfillment appears to be in
relation to the Church. God intends to have a spiritual people that are purified by
fire. Fire baptism is the purging and purifying process through which the Bride of
Christ is produced.
That element of God’s people who dwell in and under the fulness of the covering of
the Spirit of God (typified by his presence in the bush) will be able to go through the
fire without being consumed by it. The three Hebrew men were a type and shadow
of the children of God who will be baptized in fire, but who the fire will have no
power to destroy. They were able to endure the fiery furnace because Christ was
present with them in the fire. There are several key elements resultant in this “fire
baptism”.
1. The flames loosed the Hebrews from their bonds: Lo, I see four men loose,
walking in the midst of the fire….
2. The consuming heat of the flames had no power over the Hebrews: …they
have no hurt….upon whose bodies the fire had no power….
3. None of their hair was singed: …nor was an hair of their head singed….
4. Their clothing was not damaged by the fire: …neither were their coats
changed….
5. No smell of the fire clung to them: …nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
All these elements are symbolically true of those who pass through fire baptism to
purification and perfection. The bonds that enslave to the flesh are loosed by the fire.
The terrible consuming power of the fire is unable to destroy one who is already
dead to sin and fully alive to God. The hair of the head and clothing (representing
the covering that is over the life of the child of God) cannot be removed by any
external power or force.6 The smell of the smoke of the fire is a reminder of the fire
itself. The pain of the process of fire baptism will not linger in the mind and memory
of the overcomer when death is swallowed up in victory7
and the conditions of
mortality are swallowed up in life!8
Some have also interpreted the burning bush as symbolic of the hope of the
resurrection, given the fact that those whose lives are hid with Christ in God9 will
not be permanently destroyed by death, but will rise again. The only time Jesus is
recorded mentioning the burning bush is in a conversation related to the resurrection.
Mark 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book
of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
Luke 20:37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he
calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Though this interpretation can certainly be used as a practical lesson, it appears that
the focus of Jesus’s statements here is not the bush being symbolic of the resurrected
people of God, but rather refers to the claim the Lord makes to being the present
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob referring to the fact that they are alive to Him in
the resurrectional sense. Thus, it is not the bush itself, but the statement of God out
of the bush that is a proof text of the resurrection.
