Marco Ambriz

January 5, 2025

Moses at the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:1–5)

1 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

3:1 THE WILDERNESS. In the scriptural stories, the wilderness was not a place where prophets isolated themselves indefinitely, but a place where they encountered God and found new strength and purpose for their activity within society (McGrath).

3:1 SHEPHERDING THE FLOCK. Recap Moses' journey up until this point? Was Moses a likely candidate for delivering the Hebrews from slavery? The day had probably begun much like any other, with Moses out in the wilderness tending sheep. He was simply minding his own business, but a person never knows when his life might be changed forever by an encounter with the living God. Not a chance encounter, for it was God’s providence that led Moses to the far side of the desert (Ryken, 80).

HOREB, THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD. Some suggest that this is another name for Mount Sinai, to which the Israelites would return after being freed (3:12; 19:1–2) (Coleman, 88).

3:2 ANGEL OF THE LORD. Here the angel of the Lord appeared, but later it is the Lord (v. 4) and finally God (v. 4). It seems that each is describing God himself (Coleman, 88-89). When the term is used in connection with God and stands in the singular (messenger/angel of God/the LORD), it usually represents a reticent way of referring to God himself (Janzen, 58).

The messenger did not simply see and speak for God but as God. Here the angel of the Lord is so closely identified with God that the burning bush is generally considered a theophany. In other words, it was a God-appearance, a visible manifestation of the invisible God. For a few brief moments in time and space, the bush was the temple of the living God, the place of his presence on earth. Since the time of the early church, Christians have wondered whether perhaps this was a revelation of God’s pre-incarnate Son, who brings God’s saving message to humanity. Whether or not Christ was in the bush, one thing is certain: Moses was in the presence of God (Ryken, 81).

3:2 A BUSH. What was the significance of the burning bush? It was a physical miracle that communicated spiritual truth. Even before God told Moses who he was, he showed him who he was. The burning bush revealed the very being of God. Moses would later say, “The LORD your God is a consuming fire” (Deut. 4:24). This miraculous sign pointed to God’s power by revealing his control over creation. Who else but God has the power to make a bush burn without its being consumed? It also pointed to God’s glory by giving a glimpse of the brightness of his splendor. Perhaps it was this experience that later led Moses to ask God to show him all his glory (Exod. 33:18). The miraculous sign pointed as well to God’s eternity and self-sufficiency. Like the burning bush, God never runs out of fuel. His glory never dims; his beauty never fades. He always keeps burning bright. This is because God does not get his energy from anyone or anything outside himself. He is completely self-existent and self-sufficient in his eternal being (Ryken, 80-81).

3:3 MOSES SAID, I MUST TURN ASIDE. God did not meet Moses where Moses was but brought Moses to the place where God was (Ryken, 80). Sometimes, we need to have eyes to see, ears to hear, and the faith to leave what we're doing to encounter God.

3:4 Moses, Moses! God knows Moses by name, even while Moses is clueless about God. How does this fact speak to you?

3:5 REMOVE THE SANDALS FROM YOUR FEET. Why do you think Yhwh commanded Moses to remove the sandals from his feet? To this day in the Middle East, removing one’s sandals is a sign of respect (Ryken, 82). Yet, as Pastor Marco points out, in some culture, when a host acts hospitably, they invite the guest to take off their shoes. "Come, stay, make yourself at home!" Pastor Marco suggests that perhaps the removal of the sandals was to remove any barrier between God and Moses. Moses viewed himself as an outsider, alien, foreigner, and immigrant (Ex 2:22). For over 80 years he had been on the run. Before that burning bush, in God’s presence, Moses did not have to be on the run anymore. He was home.

HOLY GROUND. This is the first time the Bible uses the word “holy” (Heb. qadosh) with reference to God. At the burning bush God revealed his holiness in a way it had never been revealed before. Moses was so impressed by this that later, when he wrote his famous victory hymn, he made sure to mention the divine attribute of holiness: “Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exod. 15:11) (Ryken, 82).

Holiness means separation. Something holy is set apart. In the case of God, holiness means that he is set apart from everything he has made. Holiness is not simply his righteousness (although that is part of it), but also his otherness. It is the distinction between the Creator and the creature, the infinite distance between God’s deity and our humanity. God says, “I am God, and not man—the Holy One among you” (Hos. 11:9). His people respond by saying, “There is no one holy like the LORD” (1 Sam. 2:2) (Ryken, 82).

The truth is that every place becomes holy ground when we realize that God is there.

Reflection

1. Where can you be aware of God’s presence this week?

2. What things get in between you and God? What things make you run away from God?

3. What would it mean for you to feel safe and home in God’s presence?

4. What would it take for you to say, "Here I am," when God calls your name?

Works Cited

Lyman Coleman, ed., Life Connections Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Holman Bibles, 2019.

Waldemar Janzen, Exodus, Believers Church Bible Commentary. Waterloo, ON;  Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2000.

James F McGrath, Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist

Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005.