At The Burning Bush

by T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead | Category: Moses A Man Of God | Feb 1975

From the splendour and affluence of the Egyptian court to the solitude and privation of the desert from the high affairs of state for which he had been carefully groomed to the menial duties of an eastern shepherd; such was the sudden, dramatic turnabout in the life of Moses, the man destined to fill a key place in God's dealings with mankind. Yet this unforeseen episode was to play a vital part in the preparation of the chosen vessel. When he fled from Egypt Moses was "mighty in his words and works", but he was not yet ready for the momentous undertaking to which God was training him. Forty years of exile in the wilderness were necessary to balance his character and mature his talents. The impetuosity of early manhood must be tempered by adversity and self-discipline. In the palace he had been "instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians". In the desert he was to be fashioned in the school of God until the cultured statesman became "meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth". The process was prolonged and severe: the finished product was unique. Now Moses was ready for the high office he was destined to fill, and the call to service came with the same dramatic suddenness as the flight from Egypt forty years before.

A veil is drawn over those solitary wilderness years. Moses would have ample opportunity for reflection. The bitter memory of rejection by his brethren persisted, but there were no regrets for the choice he made. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter not from necessity but from calm and deliberate choice. No longer could he be at home in the palace while his brethren languished in slavery. But they had refused him, misunderstood his concern for them, and endangered his life by their callous conduct. What news reached him of the fortunes of his brethren during his exile is not disclosed. Had he plans to return to Egypt? or did he expect to live out his days in obscurity? We do not know. But he was conversant with the terms of the Abrahamic covenant and the glorious destiny of his people. As the future historian of that patriarchal age Moses was aware that emancipation was near (Gen. 15:13,14). But he was far away from the hub of events, and it does not appear that he had an inkling that he was to be the chosen leader. The Fed Sea and a great and terrible wilderness lay between the children of Israel and the land of promise. A man of God was at hand with all the necessary qualifications, including an unrivalled knowledge of wilderness conditions acquired through forty years of practical experience. Meanwhile, the children of Israel grew and multiplied in Egypt. As their condition became more desperate no one could foresee how the promise of God would be implemented. But

"God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform."

In every age God employs human instruments to carry out His great designs. The preparation goes on in secret. Whether the form of service be small or great by human standards matters not; His hand shapes the vessel until it is "meet for the Master's use". He decides where, when and how the vessel will be used. One of the great lessons to be learned from His plan for Moses is the wisdom of submission to His overruling hand in the vicissitudes of our lives. God may lead in devious ways. He can even use our mistakes to train us for future service. Although we may be unable to discern His purpose in the setbacks and reverses we encounter

"The dark threads are as needful,

In the Weaver's skilful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned."

The life of a wilderness shepherd was austere and hazardous. It demanded endurance and skill of a high order. There was a familiar sameness in the daily routine but the shepherd had always to be on the alert for the unexpected. No doubt Moses had often led Jethro's flock through the awesome shadows of Mount Horeb. A wilderness bush on fire would not be an extraordinary sight. But on this day of destiny his trained eye observed a bush-fire which was different from any other he had seen. This bush did not quickly subside when the flames enveloped it. As it burned it remained erect and intact. This was a "great sight", and Moses approached to investigate. Then came the voice the Voice of God: "Moses, Moses, ... draw not nigh hither". Solemn, unforgettable moment God was here. In a flash this ordinary working day in the wilderness was transformed to become the crucial day in the life of Moses. It happens like this with many of God's servants. The call to service comes suddenly, unexpectedly, with compelling power. Moses waited barefooted until the silence of the desert was again broken as the Voice announced:

"I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Ex. 3:6).

The Speaker had now identified Himself in covenant terms, and as Moses hid his face from the fearful splendour of the divine presence the Voice continued:

"I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanite (vv.7,8).

Moses listened enthralled. From childhood days he had pondered the terms of God's covenant with Abraham. In accordance with that covenant a period of four hundred years was to elapse before the promised seed would be ready to possess their inheritance (Gen. 15:13). In those intervening years God was preparing the children of Israel for nationhood. Their period of bondage in Egypt was an important element in that preparation. Now He is moving forward to the next stage which was a decisive development for Israel and for mankind. Moses is given confirmation that the time of emancipation has arrived - God has come down to deliver. Whatever ideas he formerly had as to how the terms of the covenant would be implemented Moses must have been staggered by the magnitude of the plan spelled out to him there at the Burning Bush. Not only would this vast company of men, women and children be delivered from their bondage and leave the land of Egypt with all their necessary appurtenances; they would also have to trek across that arid wilderness to the land of promise. None better than Moses could assess the perils of such an undertaking and the enormous problems which would have to be resolved. Moreover, Pharaoh would need to be persuaded to release his captives. Moses knew that all the cunning of that ruthless tyrant would be employed to thwart any attempt to free them from his power. But no sooner had the plan been announced to Moses than the divine arrangement for its execution was disclosed:

"Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt" (Ex.3:1O).

No one who is truly called to serve God feels competent for the task. And Moses was no exception. His reaction was the normal response of a humble-minded man. Self-distrust is not cowardice. It might be argued that the Lord's, "I will send thee", was sufficient, and that Moses should have accepted without question the commission assigned to him. But we have an infinitely gracious God who bears gently with His servants, especially when the task allotted seems impossible by human calculation. The ensuing dialogue between Moses and God is on record for the encouragement of all His servants. It is not amiss to seek assurance and confirmation from God. We should bear in mind that this remarkable passage is among things "written aforetime for our learning". The record of God's dealings with men under the Old Covenant reveals the character and ways of our unchanging God.

Moses' self-deprecating plea, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh?" is offset by the pledge, "Certainly I will be with thee". Not only do you have My authority, you will also have My presence; I will be at your side. Moses then expressed his fears that when he told his brethren in Egypt that the God of their fathers had sent him they would ask, "What is His Name?" Again, God allayed the fears of His servant by affirming to him the inscrutable mystery of His eternal self-existence, in the sublime declaration, "I AM THAT I AM: ... Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you". This divine formula expressing timelessness, immutability and infinity - incomprehensible to created beings - is embodied in the name JEHOVAH, the name by which He would now be known to His people, Israel, "This is My name for ever, and My memorial unto all generations

Assurance of the divine presence and disclosure of the divine name having been given, the Voice then proceeded to outline to Moses the course of action to be followed in the initial stages of his mission. He would go first to the elders of Israel with Jehovah's message and then to Pharaoh with Jehovah's demands. Still Moses demurred. No doubt the memory of his rejection by his brethren forty years before weighed heavily on his mind at this moment: "They will not believe me", he said. Once more God graciously accommodated His servant by giving him two miraculous evidential signs the rod turned serpent and the hand turned leprous. And, as if to concede that his brethren would be difficult to convince, He gave instructions for a third sign to be used should this be necessary. He should take of the water of the river Nile, sacred to the Egyptians, pour it upon dry land, and the water would become blood. Surely no one would then question his credentials!

The bush still burns and the dialogue continues. There was yet another reservation in the mind of Moses as he reflects on the public prominence into which his mission would bring him. In the Egyptian court he had been a man of words but for the past forty years his environment had been the great silences of the desert. Of his own choice he preferred obscurity to prominence. Like some other great men he had learned to value the deep peace and tranquillity of a pastoral life. He shrank from the bustle and strife his mission would entail - he preferred to continue his present mode of life. "Oh Lord", he said, "I am not eloquent:...for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue". Moses was now moving from a proper and understandable diffidence to the borderline of self-will. The human mouth and powers of speech were the Creator's gift. As His chosen servant, Moses needed to be reminded that all his powers were expendable. His mouth and tongue had been set apart by Jehovah for His use in one of the great crises in human history. But even a further sharp reminder that he was under divine authority did not deter Moses from his final attempt to evade the high office for which God had fitted him: "Oh Lord, send, I pray Thee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send", he pleaded (Ex.4:13).

Moses must now learn the important lesson that the unchangeable I AM, although patient and gracious, does not brook interference in the disposition of His servants. There is a finality about the last concession to Moses. Aaron, his elder brother, who was a good speaker, would be at his disposal as an intermediate spokesman. But Moses would be leader; Aaron would be subordinate. It remained for Moses to comply; his instructions are now complete.

The interview is terminated, a man of God is enlisted to undertake the great work for which he had been prepared from the day of his birth eighty years before. The wilderness bush which had been the divine instrument reverts to its former state, but its story goes into inspired history for all time. Moses for the last time guides the flock back to Jethro his father-in-law, pondering the events of that memorable day and conscious of the heavy burden which had been placed upon his shoulders. He had looked towards the end of his life; God had in view a new beginning. But the assurances he had received would be carefully reviewed and he would go forward in faith, and with "the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush" (Deut. 33:16). And for the rest of his life, like that wilderness bush, he too would glow with holy fire and yet be unconsumed He would dwell with God and speak with Him face to face.

T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead | Feb 1975
Moses A Man Of God