| “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 God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses” (Exodus 3:2, 4). |
| This was a very strange sight that Moses saw, for here was a bush on fire, yet it did not burn up. Have you ever seen a fire burning, yet the material being burned did not burn up? No, I am sure you have not, and neither have I. Whenever we make a fire, we have to put wood on it, and after a while, the wood burns up, and we have to add more. But this bush did not burn up. Naturally Moses went over to take a closer look at this unusual sight. When he went over there, the Lord called to him out of the middle of the bush, and repeated his name twice. |
| This was a very important occasion in Moses’ life, for finally, after forty years, God was going to send him back to Egypt, to speak to Pharaoh, and to deliver His people. But first God had to get Moses’ attention, by having a bush burn, but without burning up. This bush was a picture of the people of Israel. They had been slaves in Egypt for many years, and the hard work they had to do, and the abuse they suffered, was like the fire in the bush. The bush should have burned up, and the people of Israel should not have survived in Egypt either, but God was with them, and He saw to it that they multiplied, in spite of the way the Egyptians treated them. |
| The people of God today are like that too. All through the history of Christianity, God’s people (those who are saved) have been persecuted, sometimes even killed. Yet the Lord has seen to it that His people were not wiped out; rather they have multiplied in times of persecution. Also, there will come a time when the Lord will come and take us home to be with Himself, and deliver us from this world, just as He delivered His people Israel. |
| When the Lord spoke to Moses, He reminded him to take off his shoes, for he was now in the Lord’s presence. Moses did so, and also covered his face, for he did not want to look at God. But now the Lord told him that He (God) had seen how difficult it was for His people in Egypt, and that He was going to deliver them. |
| There are seven people recorded in the Bible, to whom the Lord spoke by calling their names twice. When this happened, it meant that the Lord had something very important to say to them. See if you can find the other six! Here are some hints — three more are in the Old Testament, and three are in the New Testament. One was a young woman. |
