The Miracle of the Burning Bush
The story of the burning bush recorded in Exodus 3 is perhaps one of the most famous in all of the Bible. It’s a fascinating event for several reasons. 
Moses was out in the fields tending the sheep of his father-in-law, Jethro. Nothing impressive about that part of the story. And that’s probably the point. God often works His best stories in the common details of life. There is no such thing as “Heaven’s Got Talent.” Just the opposite. The Bible indicates that the need to be seen and heard disqualifies you from encounters with God.
From there the story lights up, so to speak. For the Bible says, “And the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.” God initiates an encounter that will leave Moses forever changed. That’s what He loves to do.
But please notice what happens next. The book of Exodus tells us that “Moses turned aside to see this great sight.” Don’t miss the faith lesson. Too many will miss their Divine appointment because they don’t take the time to look at the great things that God has done. I suspect that many don’t investigate the Bible’s claims out of fear that they may find them untrue, but that they will find them true as true.
The lesser miracle in the text gave way to the greatest of all miracles. God speaks to the man who is wise enough to look at the evidence and listen for the presence in the burning bush. The greatest of all miracles in life is to hear the inaudible voice of our Great Shepherd. Jesus said in John 10, “my sheep hear my voice.”
Make note of the humility with which Moses, this great son of Pharaoh’s court, now a fugitive shepherd, responds to God. He takes off his sandals and gets as low as he can before the awesome presence of God Almighty. It’s a good example of how we need to deal with our pride and self-confidence. Moses hid his face for he was “afraid to look at God.” I often wonder about this detail in the story. Is it that Moses was afraid to behold the beauty of the Lord? Probably not. Who doesn’t like to catch a glimpse of an extraordinary scene? It’s more likely that Moses was afraid of seeing himself as he was in reality. It’s hard for us to see ourselves for who we are in totality, especially before the presence of God.
The story of the burning bush is a response that God initiated because of the suffering of His people. He heard their groanings and went to find a man who would serve the great cause of liberating them from their dark slavery. Of course God could have done it without Moses, but that wasn’t His plan.
God’s plan all along was to set a bush on fire from which He would light a fire in the heart of his servant Moses. When I read the story of the “burning bush” I see a man on fire with passion and vision to serve the true and living God.
Pastor Deric
Your body, a perfect gift from God!
Your body is a gift from God, the creator of heaven and earth. King David describes the early process of human development in his famous Psalm, Chapter 139.
“For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.”
Every life, conceived in a mother’s womb, is to be valued and protected as a full-fledged citizen of the human race. It’s fascinating to me how the Bible describes and defines the body.
On one hand it’s a TOMB. The book of Romans refers to our flesh as “this body of death” in which we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly the redemption of our bodies. That great resurrection of the body is described by Jesus in John Chapter 5: “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
On the other hand, your body is a TEMPLE. Paul asked the Corinthians to remember a vital fact about the body that has been gifted to us by posing a question to those ancient Christians. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.”
The body is also a TENT, as described by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians, Chapter 5. “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” For all its intricate detail, the body is the “tent” where your soul resides. When you separate the body from the soul, death is the result. You are meant to flourish as a soul that has a body. God cares about both. Not one or the other, but both. So, take care of your body as best as you can. And be sure to nurture your soul. “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” The body (‘jars of clay’) contains a great TREASURE. Your body is a “clay pot” containing a brilliant treasure in order “to show” that God is the one who created us, redeems us from our sin and shines His glory in us, body and soul.
Let me wrap up by reminding you what Jesus said in John chapter 5. In the great resurrection that is planned for all humanity, there will be one of two sides on which you will stand. Those who have “done good” will be resurrected to “eternal life” while those who have “done evil” to the resurrection of judgment. The greatest good that a person can ever do, is to receive God’s indescribable gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. The greatest evil that anyone can ever commit is to reject God’s great gift of love. Please receive the gift because “all who receive him, who believe in his name, are given the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
Pastor Deric
