Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s mountain, to Horeb.
Parallel Translations
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Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s mountain, to Horeb.
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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.
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Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the farthest end of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb.
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Cross-references (23)
Passages linked to Exodus 3:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 19:8 He arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, God’s Mountain.
- Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb. You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
- Psalms 78:70-72 He also chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that have their young, he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance. So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
- Numbers 10:29 Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are journeying to the place of which Yahweh said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well; for Yahweh has spoken good concerning Israel.”
- Exodus 18:1-6 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, how Yahweh had brought Israel out of Egypt. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, received Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her away, and her two sons. The name of one son was Gershom, for Moses said, “I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land”. The name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my help and delivered me from Pharaoh’s sword.” Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with Moses’ sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the Mountain of God. He said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, have come to you with your wife, and her two sons with her.”
- Judges 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh.
- Malachi 4:4 “Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.
- Exodus 2:16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
- Exodus 3:5 He said, “Don’t come close. Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”
- Exodus 19:3 Moses went up to God, and Yahweh called to him out of the mountain, saying, “This is what you shall tell the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:
- Exodus 19:11 and be ready for the third day; for on the third day Yahweh will come down in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai.
- Exodus 24:13 Moses rose up with Joshua, his servant, and Moses went up onto God’s Mountain.
- Deuteronomy 1:6 “Yahweh our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, ‘You have lived long enough at this mountain.
- Deuteronomy 4:10 the day that you stood before Yahweh your God in Horeb, when Yahweh said to me, “Assemble the people to me, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.”
- Amos 7:14-15 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore figs; and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
- Luke 2:8 There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.
- Psalms 106:19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image.
- Matthew 4:18-19 Walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”
- Exodus 2:18 When they came to Reuel, their father, he said, “How is it that you have returned so early today?”
- Exodus 2:21 Moses was content to dwell with the man. He gave Moses Zipporah, his daughter.
- Exodus 4:27 Yahweh said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” He went, and met him on God’s mountain, and kissed him.
- Exodus 24:15-17 Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. Yahweh’s glory settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. The seventh day he called to Moses out of the middle of the cloud. The appearance of Yahweh’s glory was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
- Amos 1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Called also Sinai.
Called also Sinai.
It was so called after the law was given.
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Or, far within the desert.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Exo 3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro…
Exo 3:1 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.
Ver. 1. To the backside of the desert,] Here it was that Moses wrote the book of Genesis, and that of Job too, as some conceive, {a} for the comfort of his poor oppressed countrymen in Egypt, that they might lean upon, and live by faith in, the promises made to the fathers.
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{a} Alsted., Chron.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Jethro was either the same with Reuel, or his…
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Jethro was either the same with Reuel, or his son, who, upon his father’s death, succeeded into his office. See Exo 2:18. To the backside of the desert, to its innermost parts, which were behind Jethro’s habitation, and the former pastures, whither he went for fresh pastures.
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The mountain of God; so called, either as a high or eminent mountain; or from the vision of God here following; see Act 7:30; or by anticipation, from God’s glorious appearance there, and giving the law from thence, Exo 18:5; 19:3; see also 1Ki 19:8. Horeb, called also Sinai, Exo 19:1; Act 7:30. Or Horeb was the name of the whole tract or row of mountains, and Sinai the name of that particular mountain where this vision happened, and the law was delivered. Or Horeb and Sinai were two several tops of the same mountain.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain The years of the life of Moses are remarkably…
The years of the life of Moses are remarkably divided into three forties: the first forty he spent as a prince in Pharaoh's court, the second a shepherd in Midian, the third a king in Jeshurun; so changeable is the life of men, especially the life of good men. He had now finished his second forty, when he received his commission to bring Israel out of Egypt. Note, Sometimes it is long before God calls his servants out of that work which of old he designed them for, and has been graciously preparing them for. Moses was born to be Israel's deliverer, and yet not a word is said of it to him till he is eighty years of age. Now obverve,
I. How this appearance of God to him found him employed. He was keeping the flock (tending sheep) near mount Horeb, Exo 3:1. This was a poor employment for a man of his parts and education, yet he rests satisfied with it, and thus learns meekness and contentment to a high degree, for which he is more celebrated in sacred writ than for all his other learning. Note, 1. In the calling to which we are called we should abide, and not be given to change. 2. Even those that are qualified for great employments and services must not think it strange if they be confined to obscurity; it was the lot of Moses before them, who foresaw nothing to the contrary but that he should die, as he had lived a great while, a poor despicable shepherd. Let those that think themselves buried alive be content to shine like lamps in their sepulchres, and wait till God's time come for setting them on a candlestick. Thus employed Moses was, when he was honoured with this vision. Note, (1.) God will encourage industry. The shepherds were keeping their flocks when they received the tidings of our Saviour's birth, Luk 2:8. Satan loves to find us idle; God is well pleased when he find us employed. (2.) Retirement is a good friend to our communion with God. When we are alone, the Father is with us. Moses saw more of God in a desert than ever he had seen in Pharaoh's court.
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II. What the appearance was. To his great surprise he saw a bush burning, when he perceived no fire either from earth or heaven to kindle it, and, which was more strange, it did not consume, Exo 3:2. It was an angel of the Lord that appeared to him; some think, a created angel, who speaks in the language of him that sent him; others, the second person, the angel of the covenant, who is himself Jehovah. It was an extraordinary manifestation of the divine presence and glory; what was visible was produced by the ministry of an angel, but he heard God in it speaking to him. 1. He saw a flame of fire; for our God is a consuming fire. When Israel's deliverance out of Egypt was promised to Abraham, he saw a burning lamp, which signified the light of joy which that deliverance should cause (Gen 15:17); but now it shines brighter, as a flame of fire, for God in that deliverance brought terror and destruction to his enemies, light and heat to his people, and displayed his glory before all. See Isa 10:17. 2. This fire was not in a tall and stately cedar, but in a bush, a thorny bush, so the word signifies; for God chooses the weak and despised things of the world (such as Moses, now a poor shepherd), with them to confound the wise; he delights to beautify and crown the humble. 3. The bush burned, and yet was not consumed, an emblem of the church now in bondage in Egypt, burning in the brick-kilns, yet not consumed; perplexed, but not in despair; cast down, but not destroyed.
III. The curiosity Moses had to enquire into this extraordinary sight: I will turn aside and see, Exo 3:3. He speaks as one inquisitive and bold in his enquiry; whatever it was, he would, if possible, know the meaning of it. Note, Things revealed belong to us, and we ought diligently to enquire into them.
IV. The invitation he had to draw near, yet with a caution not to come too near, nor rashly.
1. God gave him a gracious call, to which he returned a ready answer, Exo 3:4. When God saw that he took notice of the burning bush, and turned aside to see it, and left his business to attend it, then God called to him. If he had carelessly neglected it as an ignis fatuus - a deceiving meteor, a thing not worth taking notice of, it is probable that God would have departed, and said nothing to him; but, when he turned aside, God called to him. Note, Those that would have communion with God must attend upon him, and approach to him, in those ordinances wherein he is pleased to manifest himself, and his power and glory, though it be in a bush; they must come to the treasure, though in an earthen vessel. Those that seek God diligently shall find him, and find him their bountiful rewarder. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. God called him by name, Moses, Moses. This which he heard could not but surprise him much more than what he saw. The word of the Lord always went along with the glory of the Lord, for every divine vision was designed for divine revelation, Job 4:16, etc.; Job 32:14-15. Divine calls are then effectual, (1.) When the Spirit of God makes them particular, and calls us by name. The word calls, Ho, every one! The Spirit, by the application of that, calls, Ho, such a one! I know thee by name, Exo 33:12. (2.) When we return an obedient answer to them, as Moses here, "Here am I, what saith my Lord unto his servant? Here am I, not only to hear what is said, but to do what I am bidden."
2. God gave him a needful caution against rashness and irreverence in his approach, (1.) He must keep his distance; draw near, but not too near; so near as to hear, but not so near as to pry. His conscience must be satisfied, but not his curiosity; and care must be taken that familiarity do not breed contempt. Note, In all our approaches to God, we ought to be deeply affected with the infinite distance there is between us and God, Ecc 5:2. Or this may be taken as proper to the Old Testament dispensation, which was a dispensation of darkness, bondage, and terror, from which the gospel happily frees us, giving us boldness to enter into the holiest, and inviting us to draw near. (2.) He must express his reverence, and his readiness to obey: Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, as a servant. Putting off the shoe was then what putting off the hat is now, a token of respect and submission. "The ground, for the present, is holy ground, made so by this special manifestation of the divine presence, during the continuance of which it must retain this character; therefore tread not on that ground with soiled shoes." Keep thy foot, Ecc 5:1. Note, We ought to approach to God with a solemn pause and preparation; and, though bodily exercise alone profits little, yet we ought to glorify God with our bodies, and to express our inward reverence by a grave and reverent behaviour in the worship of God, carefully avoiding everything that looks light, and rude, and unbecoming the awfulness of the service.
V. The solemn declaration God made of his name, by which he would be known to Moses: I am the God of thy father, Exo 3:6. 1. He lets him know that it is God who speaks to him, to engage his reverence and attention, his faith and obedience; for this is enough to command all these: I am the Lord. Let us always hear the word as the word of God, Th1 2:13. 2. He will be known as the God of his father, his pious father Amram, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his ancestors, and the ancestors of all Israel, for whom God was now about to appear. By this God designed, (1.) To instruct Moses in the knowledge of another world, and to strengthen his belief of a future state. Thus it is interpreted by our Lord Jesus, the best expositor of scripture, who from this proves that the dead are raised, against the Sadducees. Moses, says he, showed it at the bush (Luk 20:37), that is, God there showed it to him, and in him to us, Mat 22:31, etc. Abraham was dead, and yet God is the God of Abraham; therefore Abraham's soul lives, to which God stands in relation; and, to make his soul completely happy, his body must live again in due time. This promise made unto the fathers, that God would be their God, must include a future happiness; for he never did anything for them in this world sufficient to answer to the vast extent and compass of that great word, but, having prepared for them a city, he is not ashamed to be called their God, Heb 11:16; and see Act 26:6, Act 26:7; Act 24:15. (2.) To assure Moses of the fulfillment of all those particular promises made to the fathers. He may confidently expect this, for by these words it appears that God remembered his covenant, Exo 2:24. Note, [1.] God's covenant-relation to us as our God is the best support in the worst of times, and a great encouragement to our faith in particular promises. [2.] When we are conscious to ourselves of our own great unworthiness we may take comfort from God's relation to our fathers, Ch2 20:6.
VI. The solemn impression this made upon Moses: He hid his face, as one both ashamed and afraid to look upon God. Now that he knew it was a divine light his eyes were dazzled with it; he was not afraid of a burning bush till he perceived that God was in it. Yea, though God called himself the God of his father, and a God in covenant with him, yet he was afraid. Note, 1. The more we see of God the more cause we shall see to worship him with reverence and godly fear. 2. Even the manifestations of God's grace and covenant-love should increase our humble reverence of him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father…
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian,.... Who was either the same with Reuel or Raguel, spoken of in the preceding chapter; or, as others think, a son of his, the father being now dead; seeing it was now forty years since Moses came into Midian, Act 7:30. Demetrius (c), an Heathen writer, expressly says that Jothor a son of Raguel, and Zipporah or Sepphora, as he calls her, was his daughter, whom Moses married: now this was the business Moses was chiefly concerned in during his stay in Midian; keeping the sheep of his father-in-law, in which great personages have have employed, and who have afterwards been called to the kingly office, as David; and this was an emblem of his feeding and ruling the people of Israel, and in it he was an eminent type of Christ, the great shepherd and bishop of souls: no doubt there were other things besides this in which Moses exercised himself in this course of time, and improved himself in the knowledge of things, natural, civil, and religious, and which the more qualified him for the important work he was designed for: it is thought that in this interval he wrote the book of Genesis, and also the book of Job:
and he led the flock to the backside of the desert; of Sinai or Arabia, on the back part of which, it seems, were goodly pastures; and hither he led his flock to feed, which was about three days' journey from Egypt, Exo 5:3 or rather into the desert (d), for Horeb or Sinai was not behind the desert, but in it:
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and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb; so called either because of the appearance of God at this time, after related, or because of his giving the law and making the covenant with the people of Israel there; and it should be observed that that transaction was past when Moses wrote this book. Hither he led the sheep, they delighting in mountains, hence sometimes mountainous places are called (e), because sheep delight to feed upon them (f).
(c) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 29. p. 439. (d) , Sept. "in desertum", Syr. Samar, so Noldius, p. 11. No. 76. (e) Homer. Odyss. 11. prope finem. (f) , Theocrit. Idyll. 3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain In this chapter we have,
In this chapter we have,
I. The discovery God was pleased to make of his glory to Moses at the bush, ver. 1-5.
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II. A general declaration of God's goodwill to his people, who were beloved for the Father's sake, ver. 6.
III. A particular notification of God's purpose concerning the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt.
1. He assures Moses it should now be done, ver. 7-9.
2. He gives him a commission to act in it as his ambassador both to Pharaoh, ver. 10, and to Israel, ver. 16.
3. He answers the objection Moses made of his own unworthiness, ver. 11, 12.
4. He gives him full instructions what to say, both to Pharaoh and to Israel, ver. 13-18.
5. He tells him before-hand what the issue would be, ver. 14-22.
Now Moses - The years of Moses's life are remarkably divided into three forties; the first forty he spent as a prince in Pharaoh's court, the second a shepherd in Midian, the third a king in Jeshurun. He had now finished his second forty when he received his commission to bring Israel out of Egypt. Sometimes it is long before God calls his servants out to that work which of old he designed them for. Moses was born to be Israel's deliverer, and yet not a word is said of it to him till he is eighty years of age. Even to Horeb - Horeb and Sinai were two tops of the same mountain.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Moses keeping the flock of Jethro at Mount Horeb,…
CHAPTER III
Moses keeping the flock of Jethro at Mount Horeb, the angel of
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the Lord appears to him in a burning bush, 1, 2.
Astonished at the sight, he turns aside to examine it, 3,
when God speaks to him out of the fire, and declares himself to
be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 4-6;
announces his purpose of delivering the Israelites from their
oppression, and of bringing them into the promised land, 7-9;
commissions him to go to Pharaoh, and to be leader of the
children of Israel from Egypt, 10.
Moses excuses himself, 11;
and God, to encourage him, promises him his protection, 12.
Moses doubts whether the Israelites will credit him, 13,
and God reveals to him his NAME, and informs him what he is to
say to the people, 14-17,
and instructs him and the elders of Israel to apply unto Pharaoh
for permission to go three days' journey into the wilderness, to
sacrifice unto the Lord, 18;
foretells the obstinacy of the Egyptian king, and the miracles
which he himself should work in the sight of the Egyptians, 19, 20;
and promises that, on the departure of the Israelites, the
Egyptians should be induced to furnish them with all necessaries
for their journey, 21, 22.
NOTES ON CHAP. III
Verse 1. Jethro his father-in-law] Concerning Jethro, See Clarke on Ex 2:18. Learned men are not agreed on the signification of the word חתן chothen, which we translate father-in-law, and which in Ge 19:14, we translate son-in-law. It seems to be a general term for a relative by marriage, and the connection only in which it stands can determine its precise meaning. It is very possible that Reuel was now dead, it being forty years since Moses came to Midian; that Jethro was his son, and had succeeded him in his office of prince and priest of Midian; that Zipporah was the sister of Jethro; and that consequently the word חתן chothen should be translated brother-in-law in this place: as we learn from Ge 34:9, De 7:3, Jos 23:12, and other places, that it simply signifies to contract affinity by marriage. If this conjecture be right, we may well suppose that, Reuel being dead, Moses was continued by his brother-in-law Jethro in the same employment he had under his father.
Mountain of God] Sometimes named Horeb, at other times Sinai. The mountain itself had two peaks; one was called Horeb, the other Sinai. Horeb was probably the primitive name of the mountain, which was afterwards called the mountain of God, because God appeared upon it to Moses; and Mount Sinai, סיני, from סנה seneh, a bush, because it was in a bush or bramble, in a flame of fire, that this appearance was made.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Exo 3:1. Now Moses — The years of Moses’s…
Exo 3:1. Now Moses — The years of Moses’s life are remarkably divided into three forties; the first forty he spent as a prince in Pharaoh’s court, the second a shepherd in Midian, the third a king in Jeshurun. He had now finished his second forty when he received his commission to bring Israel out of Egypt. Sometimes it is long before God calls his servants out to that work which of old he designed them for. Moses was born to be Israel’s deliverer, and yet not a word is said of him till he is eighty years of age. To the mountain of God — So called, either from the vision of God here following, (see Act 7:30,) or by anticipation, from God’s glorious appearance there, and his giving the law from thence. Even to Horeb — Called also Sinai, Exo 19:1. Probably Horeb was the name of the whole tract of mountains, and Sinai the name of that particular elevation where the vision happened, and the law was delivered: or Horeb and Sinai were two different summits of the same mountain.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Jethro his father-in-law - Or “brother-in-law.” The word in…
Jethro his father-in-law - Or “brother-in-law.” The word in the Hebrew is a word signifying relative by marriage. When Moses arrived in Midian, Reuel was an elderly man Exo 2:16; 40 years later (Exo 2:23 note), Reuel’s son, Jethro, had probably succeeded him.
The backside - i. e. “to the west of the district.” Among the Hebrews the East is before a man, the west behind him, the south and north on the right and left hand.
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Desert - Or wilderness, not a barren waste, but a district supplying pasturage. The district near Sherm, on the west of the gulf of Akabah, where Jethro may have resided, is described as barren and parched; on the west and east are rocky tracts, but to the northwest lies the district of Sinai, where the pasturage is good and water abundant. The Bedouins drive their flocks there from the lowlands at the approach of summer. From this it may be inferred that the events here recorded took place at that season.
To Horeb - More exactly, toward Horeb. Moses came to the mountain of God, i. e. Sinai, on his way toward Horeb, a name given to the northern part of the Sinaitic range. Moses calls Sinai “mountain of God” by anticipation, with reference to the manifestation of God. There is no authority for assuming that the spot was previously held sacred (see Exo 5:5); but it has been lately shown that the whole Peninsula was regarded by the Egyptians as specially consecrated to the gods from a very early time.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Fed for the space of forty years. During which…
Fed for the space of forty years. During which time, he composed the books of Genesis and Job, for the consolation of his countrymen; (Menochius) though others believe he wrote all the Pentateuch in the desert. (Theodoret; &c.) --- Of God, on account of its height; or on account of God’s appearing to Moses. --- Horeb is so close to Mount Sinai, that the shadow of the latter reaches it when the sun rises. It is watered with three springs; and the summit is adorned with fruit trees. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain C.—The call of Moses. His refusal and obedience. His…
C.—The call of Moses. His refusal and obedience. His association with Aaron and their first mission to the people of Israel
Exodus 3, 4
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1Now Moses kept [was pasturing] the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the back side of [behind] the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a [the] bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3And Moses said, I will now turn aside [Let me turn aside] and see this great sight, why the bush Isaiah 4 not burnt. And when Jehovah 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. 5And he said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off [from] thy feet, 6for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover [And] he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of 7Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And Jehovah said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which [who] are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of1 their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8And 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 Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the 9Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10Come now therefore and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth [and bring thou forth] my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt, 11And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12And he said, Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a [the] token unto thee that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought [bringest] forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 13And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? 14And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. 15And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, God [the God] of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations [lit. to generation16 of generation]. Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, Jehovah, God [the God] of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob hath appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited [looked upon] you, and seen that [and that] which is done to you in Egypt. 17And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. 18And they shall [will] hearken to thy voice; and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, Jehovah, God [the God] of the Hebrews, hath met2 with us, and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God. 19And I am sure [know] that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no [even] not3 by a mighty hand. 20And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in he midst thereof; and after that he will let you go. 21And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall come to pass that, when ye go, ye shall not 22go empty. But [And] every woman shall borrow [ask] of her neighbor and of her that sojourneth in her house jewels [articles] of silver and jewels [articles] of gold and raiment [garments]; and ye shall put them upon your sons and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Exo_3:7. מִפְּנִיִ may be rendered more literally “from before,” the people being represented as followed up in their work by the taskmasters.—Tr.].
ž[Exo_3:18. נִקְרָה is taken by Rosenmüller, after same of the older versions, as = נִקְרָא vocatur super nos. But, as Winer remarks, ita tamen intolerabilis tautologia inest in verbis אֱלֹהֵי הָעִבְרִים.” The LXX. translate προσκέκληται ἡμᾶς—which makes better sense, but is grammatically still more inadmissible, as נִקְרָה is thus made = קָרָא.—Tr.].
[Exo_3:19. וְלֹא is rendered by the LXX., Vulg., Luther, and others, “unless.” But this is incorrect. The more obvious translation may indeed seem to be inconsistent with the statement in the next verse, “after that he will let you go.” But the difficulty is not serious. We need only to supply in thought “at first” in this verse.—Tr.].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Exo_3:1. “Jethro’s residence therefore was separated from Horeb by a wilderness, and is to be sought not north-east, but south-east of it. For only by this assumption can we easily account for the two-fold fact that (1) Moses, in his return from Midian to Egypt, again touches Horeb, where Aaron, coming from Egypt, meets him (Exo_4:27), and that (2) the Israelites, in their journey through the wilderness, nowhere come upon Midianites, and in leaving Sinai the ways of Israel and of the Midianite Hobab separate” (Keil). Horeb here is used in the wider sense, embracing the whole range, including Sinai, so that the two names are often identical, although Horeb, strictly so called, lay further north.—Mountain of God.—According to Knobel, it was a sacred place even before the call of Moses; according to Keil, not till afterwards, and is here named according to its later importance. But there must have been something which led the shepherd Moses to drive his flock so far as to this mountain, and afterwards to select Sinai as the place from which to give the law. The more general ground for the special regard in which this majestic mountain-range is held is without doubt the reverence felt for the mountains of God in general. The word הַמִּדְבָּר might be taken as = pasture, and the passage understood to mean that Moses, in profound meditation, forgetting himself as shepherd, drove the flock far out beyond the ordinary pasture-ground. Yet Rosenmüller observes: “On this highest region of the peninsula are to be found the most fruitful valleys, in which also fruit trees grow. Water in abundance is found in this district, and therefore it is the refuge of all the Bedouins, when the lower regions are dried up.” Tradition fixes upon the Monastery of Sinai as the place of the thorn-bush and the calling of Moses.
Exo_3:2. The Angel of Jehovah.—According to Exo_3:4, it is Jehovah Himself, or even God Himself, Elohim.9—The Bush.—Representing the poor Israelites in their low estate in contrast with the people that resemble lofty trees, Jdg_9:15. According to Kurtz, the flame of fire is a symbol of the holiness of God; according to Keil, who observes that God’s holiness is denoted by light (e.g. Isa_10:17), the fire is rather, in its capacity of burning and consuming, a symbol of purifying affliction and annihilating punishment, or of the chastening and punitive justice of God. But this is certainly not the signification of the sacrificial fire on the altar of burnt-offering, the “holy” fire, or of the fiery chariot of Elijah, or of the tongues of fire over the heads of the apostles on the day of Pentecost. Fire, as an emblem of the divine life, of the life which through death destroys death, of God’s jealous love and authority, has two opposite sides: it is a fire of the jealous love which visits, brings home, purifies, and rejuvenates, as well as a fire of consuming wrath and judgment. This double signification of fire manifests itself especially also in the northern mythology. That light has the priority over fire, Keil justly observes. While then the fire here may symbolize the Egyptian affliction in which Israel is burning, yet the presence of Jehovah in the fire signifies not something contrasted with it, meaning that he controls the fire, so that it purifies, without consuming, the Israelites; but rather the fire represents Jehovah himself in His government, and so the oppression of the Egyptians is lifted up into the light of the divine government. This holds also prophetically of all the future afflictions of the theocracy and of the Christian Church itself. The Church of God is to appear at the end of the world as the last burning thorn-bush which yet is not consumed.
“The אֵל קַנָּא is אֵשׁ אֹכְלָה (Deu_4:24) in the midst of Israel (Deu_6:15).” Keil.
Exo_3:3-5. Turn aside.—Comp. Gen_19:2.—Moses, Moses.—Comp. Gen_22:11. An expression of the most earnest warning and of the deepest sense of the sacredness and danger of the moment. The address involves a two-fold element. First, Moses must not approach any nearer to Jehovah; and, secondly, he must regard the place itself on which he is standing as holy ground, on which he must not stand in his dusty shoes. The putting off of the shoes must in general have the same character as the washing of the feet, and is therefore not only a general expression of reverence for the sacred place and for the presence of God, like the taking off of the hat with us, but also a reminder of the moral dust which through one’s walk in life clings to the shoes or feet, i.e. of the venial sins on account of which one must humble himself in the sacred moment. On the custom of taking off the shoes in the East upon entering pagodas, mosques, etc., see Keil, p. 439.
Exo_3:6. Of thy father.—The singular doubtless comprehends the three patriarchs as first existing in Abraham.10 Moses, in his religion of the second revelation, everywhere refers to the first revelation, which begins with Abraham; and thus the name of Jehovah first acquires its new specific meaning. The revelation of the law presupposes the revelation of promise (Romans 4; Galatians 3).—And Moses covered his face.—In addition to the two commands: draw not nigh, put off thy shoes, comes this act, as a voluntary expression of the heart. Vid. 1Ki_19:13. “Sinful man cannot endure the sight of the holy God” (Keil). Also the eye of sense is overcome by the splendor of the manifestation which is inwardly seen, somewhat as by the splendor of the sun. Vid. Revelation 1.
Exo_3:8. I am come down.—Comp. Gen_11:5. A good land, i.e. a fruitful. A large land, i.e. not hemmed in like the Nile Valley. Flowing, i.e. overflowing with milk and honey; rich, therefore, in flowers and flowery pastures. On the fruitfulness of Canaan, comp. the geographical works.—Into the place.—More particular description of the land. Vid. Gen_10:19; Gen_15:18.
Exo_3:11. And Moses said unto God.—He who once would, when as yet he ought not, now will no longer, when he ought. Both faults, the rashness and the subsequent slowness, correspond to each other. Moses has indeed “learned humility in the school of Midian” [Keil]; but this humility cannot be conceived as without a mixture of dejection, since humility of itself does not stand in the way of a bold faith, but is rather the source of it. After being forty years an unknown shepherd, he has, as he thinks, given up, with his rancor, also his hope. Moreover, he feels, no doubt, otherwise than formerly about the momentous deed which seems to have done his people no good, and himself only mischief, and which in Egypt is probably not forgotten. As in the Egyptian bondage, the old guilt, of Joseph’s brethren manifested itself even up to the third and fourth generation, so a shadow of that former rashness seems to manifest itself in the embarrassment of his spirit.
Exo_3:12. The promise that God will go with him and give success to his mission is to be sealed by his delivering the Israelites, bringing them to Sinai, and there engaging with them in divine service, i.e., as the expression in its fullness probably means, entering formally into the relation of worshipper of Jehovah. The central point of this worship consisted, it is true, afterwards in the sacrificial offerings, particularly the burnt offering, which sealed the covenant. This first and greatest sign involves all that follow, and is designed for Moses himself; with it God gives his pledge of the successful issue of the whole. It must not be overlooked that this great promise stands in close relation to the great hope which is reviving in his soul.
Exo_3:13. It is very significant, that Moses, first of all, desires, in behalf of his mission, and, we may say, in behalf of his whole future religious system, to know definitely the name of God. The name, God, even in the form of El Shaddai, was too general for the new relation into which the Israelites were to enter, as a people alongside of the other nations which all had their own deities. Though he was the only God, yet it was necessary for him to have a name of specific significance for Israel; and though the name Jehovah was already known by them, still it had not yet its unique significance, as the paternal name of God first acquired its meaning in the New Testament, and the word “justification,” at the Reformation. Moses, therefore, implies that he can liberate the people only in the name of God; that he must bring to them the religion of their fathers in a new phase. שֵׁם expresses not solely “the objective manifestation of the divine essence” [Keil], but rather the human apprehension of it. The objective manifestation cannot in itself be desecrated, as the name of God can be.
Exo_3:14. Can it be that אהיה אשר אהיה means only “I am He who I am?” that it designates only the absoluteness of God, or God as the Eternal One? We suppose that the two אהיה’s do not denote an identical form of existence, but the same existence in two different future times. From future to future I will be the same—the same in visiting and delivering the people of God, the faithful covenant-God, and, as such, radically different from the constant variation in the representations of God among the heathen. This his consciousness is the immediate form of his name; transposed to the third person, it is Jehovah. Hence also the expression: “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” is equivalent in meaning. When the repetition of this name in Exodus 6 is taken for another account of the same fact, it is overlooked that in that case the point was to get an assurance that the name “Jehovah” would surpass that of “Almighty God”—an assurance of which Moses, momentarily discouraged, was just then in need.11
Exo_3:15. My name forever.—Forward into all the future, and backward into all the past (זֶכֶר).
Exo_3:16-18. Moses is to execute his commission to Pharaoh not only in the name of Jehovah, but also in connection with the elders of Israel, in the name of the people. The expression “elders” denotes, it is true, primarily the heads of tribes and families, but also a simple, patriarchal, legal organization based upon that system.—Now let us go three days’ journey. The phrase נֵלְכָה־נָּא. is diplomatically exactly suited to the situation. Strictly, they have a perfect right to go; but it is conditioned on Pharaoh’s consent. Knobel says: “The delegates, therefore, were to practice deception on the king.” This is a rather clumsy judgment of the psychological process. If Pharaoh granted the request, he would be seen to be in a benevolent mood, and they might gradually ask for more. If he denied it, it would be well for them not at once, by an open proposal of emancipation, to have exposed themselves to ruin, and introduced the contest with his hardness of heart, which the guiding thought of Jehovah already foresaw. Moses knew better how to deal with a despot. Accordingly he soon increases his demand, till he demands emancipation, Exo_6:10; Exo_7:16; Exo_8:25; Exo_9:1; Exo_9:13; Exo_10:3. From the outset it must, moreover, have greatly impressed the king, that the people should wish to go out to engage in an act of divine service; still more, that they should, in making their offering, desire to avoid offending the Egyptians, Exo_8:26. But gradually Jehovah, as the legitimate king of the people of Israel, comes out in opposition to the usurper of His rights, Exo_9:1 sq. Moses, to be sure, even during the hardening process, does not let his whole purpose distinctly appear; but he nevertheless gives intimations of it, when, after Pharaoh concedes to them the privilege of making an offering in the country, he stipulates for a three days’ journey, and, in an obscure additional remark, hints that he then will still wait for Jehovah to give further directions.
Exo_3:19. Even not by a mighty hand.—Although God really frees Israel by a mighty hand. Pharaoh does not, even after the ten plagues, permanently submit to Jehovah; therefore he perishes in the Red Sea.
Exo_3:20. Announcement of the miracles by which Jehovah will glorify Himself.
Exo_3:21. Announcement of the terror of the Egyptians, in which they will give to the Israelites, upon a modest request for a loan, the most costly vessels (Keil: “jewels”). The announcement becomes a command in Exo_11:2 sq. On the ancient misunderstanding of this fact, vid. Keil, p. 445 sq., and the references to Hengstenberg, Kurtz, Reinke; also Commentary on Genesis, p. 29. “Egypt had robbed Israel by the unwarranted and unjust exactions imposed upon him; now Israel carries off the prey of Egypt. A prelude of the victory which the people of God will always gain in the contest with the powers of the world. Comp. Zec_14:14” (Keil).12
Footnotes:
[1][Exo_3:7. מִפְּנִיִ may be rendered more literally “from before,” the people being represented as followed up in their work by the taskmasters.—Tr.].
[2]ž[Exo_3:18. נִקְרָה is taken by Rosenmüller, after same of the older versions, as = נִקְרָא vocatur super nos. But, as Winer remarks, ita tamen intolerabilis tautologia inest in verbis אֱלֹהֵי הָעִבְרִים.” The LXX. translate προσκέκληται ἡμᾶς—which makes better sense, but is grammatically still more inadmissible, as נִקְרָה is thus made = קָרָא.—Tr.].
[3][Exo_3:19. וְלֹא is rendered by the LXX., Vulg., Luther, and others, “unless.” But this is incorrect. The more obvious translation may indeed seem to be inconsistent with the statement in the next verse, “after that he will let you go.” But the difficulty is not serious. We need only to supply in thought “at first” in this verse.—Tr.].
[Footnotes 4-8 are incorporated in Exodus 4]
[9][See a full discussion on the Angel of Jehovah in the Commentary on Genesis, p. 386 sqq., where the view is maintained that this Angel is Christ himself. This is perhaps the current opinion among Protestants. But the arguments for it, plausible as they are, are insufficient to establish it. The one fatal objection to it is that the New Testament nowhere endorses it. When we consider how the New Testament writers seem almost to go to an extreme in finding traces of Christ in the Old Testament writings and history, it is marvellous (if the theory in question is correct) that this striking feature of the self-manifestation of God in the Angel of Jehovah should not once have been used in this way. Hengstenberg indeed quotes Joh_12:41, where Isaiah is said to have seen Christ. But the reference is to Isa_6:1, where not the Angel of Jehovah, but Jehovah himself, is said to have been seen. But, what is still more significant, when Stephen (Act_7:30) refers to this very appearance of the angel in the bush, he not only does not insinuate that the angel was Christ, but calls him simply “an angel of the Lord.” Moreover, just afterwards he quotes Deu_18:15 as Moses’ prophecy of Christ, showing that he was disposed to find Christ in the Mosaic history. Other objections to the identification of the Angel of Jehovah with Christ might be urged; but they are superfluous, so long as this one remains unanswered.—Tr.]
[10][More naturally, Moses’ own father, or his ancestors in general. So Keil, Knobel, Murphy, Kalisch.—Tr.]
[11][Comp. Introduction to Genesis, p. 111 sqq. From so bald a term as “He is” or “He will be” (the exact translation of יְהוָֹה, or rather of יַהְוֶה), one can hardly be expected to gather the precise notion intended to be conveyed. We doubt, however, whether, if we are to confine the conception to any one of those which are suggested by the sentence: “I am He who I am,” we should be right in understanding, with Lange, immutability as the one. This requires the second verb to refer to a different time from the first, for which there is no warrant in the Hebrew. Quite as little ground is there for singling out the notion of eternity as the distinctive one belonging to the name. Self-existence might seem more directly suggested by the phrase; but even this is not expressed unequivocahy. Certainly those are wrong who translate יְהוָֹה uniformly “the Eternal.” The word has become strictly a proper name. We might as well (and even with more correctness) always read “the supplanter” instead of “Jacob,” and “the ewe” instead of “Rachel.”—There can be little doubt, we think, that Von Hofmann (Schriftbeweis I., p. 86) has furnished the clue to the true explanation. The comparison of other passages in which there is the same seemingly pleonastic repetition of a verb as in our verse ought to serve as a guide. Especially Exo_33:19 : “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” It is true that Lange attempts to interpret this expression in accordance with his interpretation of the phrase now before us; but he stands in opposition to the other commentators and to the obvious sense of the passage, which evidently expresses the sovereignty of God in the exercise of his compassion. Comp. Exo_4:13; 2Ki_8:1, and perhaps Eze_12:25. By this pleonastic expression, and then by the emphatic single term, “He is,” is denoted existence κατ’ ἐξοχήν; or rather, since the verb הָיָה is not used to denote existence in the abstract, so much as to serve as a copula between subject and predicate, the phrase is an elliptical one, and signifies that God is sovereign and absolute in the possesion and manifestation of his attributes. Self-existence, eternity and immutability are implied, but not directly affirmed. Personality is perhaps still more clearly involved as one of the elements. As contrasted with Elohim (whose radical meaning is probably power, and does not necessarily involve personality), it contains in itself (whether we take the form אֶהְיֶה or יַהְוֶה), as being a verbal form including a pronominal element, an expression of personality: I am—He is. Jehovah is the living God, the God who reveals Himself to His people, and holds a personal relation to them.—Tr.]
[12][The various explanations of this transaction are given by Hengstenberg, Dissertations on the Pentateuch, p. 419 sqq. Briefly they are the following: (1) That God, being the sovereign disposer of all things, had a right thus to transfer the property of the Egyptians to the Israelites. (2) That the Israelites received no more than their just due in taking these articles, in view of the oppressive treatment they had undergone. (3) That, though the Israelites in form asked for a loan, it was understood by the Egyptians as a gift, there being no expectation that the Israelites would return. (4) That the Israelites borrowed with the intention of returning, being ignorant of the Divine plan of removing them from the country so suddenly that a restoration of the borrowed articles to their proper owners would be impossible.—These explanations, unsatisfactory as they are, are as good as the case would admit, were the terms “borrow” and “lend,” derived from the LXX. and reproduced in almost all the translations, the quivalents of the Hebrew words. But the simple fact is that the Israelites are said to have asked for the things, and the Egyptians to have given them. The circumstances (Exo_12:33 sqq.) also under which the Israelites went away makes it seem every way probable that the Egyptians never expected a restoration of the things bestowed on the Israelites.—Tr.].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain JEHOVAH IN THE BURNING BRAMBLE, Exo_3:1-6.
JEHOVAH IN THE BURNING BRAMBLE, Exo_3:1-6.
1. Now Moses kept the flock — Rather, Was feeding the flock. The Hebrew word expresses a continued occupation. Reuel-Jethro, or Reuel the excellent, was priest of Midian, and father of Zipporah and Hobab. See Concluding Note, chap. 2.
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To the backside — That is, the western side, for in the Hebrew orientation the spectator is always supposed to face the east, which is hence called “the front,” while the south is the “right hand,” as in 1Sa_23:19, margin, and the north is “the left hand,” as in Gen_14:15. Moses led his flock westerly or northwesterly, through the desert strip, to the elevated ground of Horeb, where were the most fertile valleys of the peninsula, and where there was water when the lower lands were dry. The desert of Arabia is not a hot, sandy plain, like the deserts of Africa, but a very uneven, rocky, gravel-covered tract, which, except in summer, furnishes fair pasturage for flocks. Perhaps the approach of midsummer caused this movement. The mountain of God. So called from God’s subsequent manifestation there; or, as the Targumists express it, “the mountain on which was revealed the glory of Jah.” Moses wrote this after the giving of the law at Sinai.
Horeb — This was the name of the whole mountain cluster of which Sinai was a single summit. The two words are used interchangeably to denote the Mount of the Law; but before Israel reached the mountain district, as here — and after they left it, as in Deuteronomy, when they were encamped in the plains of Moab — it is called Horeb, since at a distance the special summit is not particularized; but while before the Mount of the Law it is always (except only in Exo_33:6) called Sinai, since, while among the mountains, it was necessary to specify the particular peak intended. Moses smote the rock in Horeb (the district) before they reached Sinai, the mountain. Exo_17:1-6. (ROBINSON, Bib. Res., 1:120.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 1. Moses acts as his father-in-law’s shepherd. According to…
1. Moses acts as his father-in-law’s shepherd. According to P (Exo_7:7) Moses was now 80 years of age, and some 40 years had elapsed since his flight from Egypt (Exo_2:11). But we must not attempt to fit the narratives of J and E to the chronological scheme of P (cf. on Exo_2:23).
Jethro] The name of Moses’ father-in-law in E (Exo_4:18, ch. 18). In J (Num_10:29), as also in Jdg_4:11 (RVm.), he is called Hobab. See on Exo_2:18.
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behind (i.e. to the west of) the wilderness] where there was good pasture. We do not know exactly where the ‘wilderness’ mentioned was; but the change of place from the E. or S. of the Peninsula (Exo_2:15) at least brought Moses to ‘Horeb.’ ‘On the approach of summer all the Bedawin leave the lower country, where the herbage is dried up, and retire towards the higher parts, where the pasture preserves its freshness much longer’ (Burckhardt, Syria, p. 482, quoted by Kn.).
the mountain of God] i.e. a sacred mountain. So Exo_4:27; Exo_18:5; Exo_24:13 (all E); 1Ki_19:8 †. It is possibly so called proleptically, in virtue of the sanctity acquired by it from the subsequent law-giving (ch. 19); but more probably (Ewald, Hist. ii. 43, 45, 103; Di.; W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem.2 p. 117 f.; Sayce, EHH. 188; DB. iv. 536b; Burney, Journ. of Theol. Studies, ix. (1908), p. 343 f.; and others), as being already an ancient sacred mountain. Lofty mountains towering towards heaven were often regarded as sacred by the Semites; and the very name ‘Sinai’ suggests at once that it is derived from Sin, the name of the moon-god in Babylonian. Antoninus Placentinus (Itin. c. 38) describes how c. 570 a.d. a white marble idol, representing the moon-god, was worshipped on the traditional Sinai by the native Arabs at every new-moon.
Horeb] the name used by E (here, Exo_17:6, Exo_33:6), by the Deuteronomist (Deu_1:2; Deu_1:6; Deu_1:19; Deu_4:10; Deu_4:15; Deu_5:2; Deu_9:8; Deu_18:16; Deu_29:1), and in 1Ki_8:9 = 2Ch_5:10, 1Ki_19:8; Mal. 3:22; Psa_106:19†; J and P always speak of ‘Sinai’ (see on Exo_19:1). The two names are almost interchangeable; both denote the mountain of the law-giving (comp. Deu_4:15 with Exo_19:18; Exo_19:20); and there is apparently no place where ‘Horeb’ occurs, in which ‘mount Sinai’ or ‘the wilderness of Sinai’ (‘Sinai’ alone, except in poetry, occurs only in Exo_16:1) could not have been used. As Di. rightly says, ‘the names vary only according to the writers, or, as in Sir_48:7, in the parallel clauses of the same verse.’ Still, it is unlikely that the two names denote exactly the same place; and probably ‘Horeb’ is a slightly wider term than ‘Sinai,’ and denotes not the mountain only, but the mountain with the circumjacent district (in Deu_4:10; Deu_9:8; Deu_18:16, it must denote not ‘mount Sinai,’ but the ‘wilderness of Sinai’ (see on Exo_19:1), i.e. the area in front of it, where the people were standing). The name Horeb (if Semitic) means probably either dry ground, or desolation.
1–5. The vision of the burning bush. Cf. Act_7:30-35.
Exo_3:1 to Exo_4:17. Moses commissioned by Jehovah at Horeb to deliver His people. The dialogue between Jehovah and Moses, as in other cases (cf. Delitzsch on Gen_12:1), must be pictured, not as one audible externally, but as giving expression,—in words which are naturally those of the narrators,—to Moses’ mental communings with God, through which he was gradually taught by Him that, in spite of the difficulties which he saw before him, he was nevertheless to be His appointed agent for accomplishing Israel’s deliverance (cf. the dialogue in Jeremiah 14-15). See further, on the sense in which God is to be understood as ‘speaking’ to a man, the Introduction, p. xlvii f.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) Moses kept the flock.—The natural occupation of one…
III.
(1) Moses kept the flock.—The natural occupation of one who had thrown in his lot with the Midianites.
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Jethro, his father-in-law.—Rather, his relation by marriage. The word is one of very wide use, corresponding with the Latin affinis. It is even applied to a husband, as in Exo_4:25. The supposition that it means “father-in-law” has led to the identification of Jethro with Reuel, which is very unlikely. He was more probably Reuel’s son, and Moses’s brother-in-law. His father having died, he had succeeded to his father’s position, and was at once priest and sheikh of the tribe.
To the backside of the desert.—Heb., behind the desert—i.e., to the fertile tract which lay behind the sandy plain stretching from the Sinaitic range to the shore of the Elanitic gulf.
The mountain of God—i.e., Sinai. See Exo_18:5; Exo_19:2-23, &c.
Even Horeb.—Rather, towards Horeb, or Horeb way. Horeb seems to have been the name of the entire mountain region; Sinai of the group or mass known now as Jebel Musa.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain Exodus 3
Exodus 3
We shall now resume the personal history of Moses, and contemplate him during that deeply-interesting period of his career which he spent in retirement-a period including, as we should say, forty of his very best years - the prime of life. This is full of meaning. The Lord had graciously, wisely, and faithfully, led His dear servant apart from the eyes and thoughts of men, in order that He might train him under His own immediate hand. Moses needed this. True, he had spent forty years in the house of Pharaoh; and, while his sojourn there was not without its influence and value, yet was it as nothing when compared with his sojourn in the desert. The former might be valuable; but the latter was indispensable.
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Nothing can possibly make up for the lack of secret communion with God, or the training and discipline of His school "All the wisdom of the Egyptians" would not have qualified Moses for his future path. He might have pursued a most brilliant course through the schools and colleges of Egypt. He might have come forth laden with literary honours - his intellect stored with learning, and his heart full of pride and self-sufficiency. He might have taken out his degree in the school of man, and yet have to learn his alphabet in the school of God. Mere human wisdom and learning; how valuable soever in themselves, can never constitute any one a servant of God, nor equip him for any department of divine service. Such things may qualify unrenewed nature to figure before the world; but the man whom God will use must be endowed with widely different qualifications - such qualifications as can alone be found in the deep and hallowed retirement of the Lord’s presence.
All God’s servants have been made to know and experience the truth of these statements. Moses at Horeb, Elijah at Cherith, Ezekiel at Chebar, Paul in Arabia, and John at Patmos, are all striking examples of the immense practical importance of being alone with God. and when we look at the Divine Servant, we find that the time He spent in private was nearly ten times as long as that which He spent in public. He, though perfect in understanding and in will, spent nearly thirty years in the obscurity of a carpenter’s house at Nazareth, ere He made His appearance in public. And, even when He had entered upon His public career, how oft did He retreat from the gaze of men, to enjoy the sweet and sacred retirement of the divine presence!
Now we may feel disposed to ask, how could the urgent demand for workmen ever be met, if all need such protracted training, in secret, ere they come forth to their work? This is the Master’s care - not ours. He can provide the workmen, and He can train them also. This is not man’s work. God alone can provide and prepare a true minister. Nor is it a question with Him as to the length of time needful for the education of such an one. We know He could educate him in a moment, if it were His will to do so. One thing is evident, namely, that God has had all His servants very much alone with Himself, both before and after their entrance upon their public work; nor will any one ever get on without this. The absence of secret training and discipline will, necessarily leave us barren, superficial, and theoretic. A man who ventures forth upon a public career ere he has duly weighed himself in the balances of the sanctuary, or measured himself in the presence of God, is like a ship putting out to sea without proper ballast: he will doubtless overset with the first stiff breeze. On the contrary, there is a depth, a solidity, and a steadiness flowing from our having passed from form to form in the school of God, which are essential elements in the formation of the character of a true and effective servant of God.
Hence, therefore, when we find Moses, at the age of forty years, taken apart from all the dignity and splendour of a court, for the purpose of spending forty years in the obscurity of a desert, we are led to expect a remarkable course of service; nor are we disappointed. The man whom God educates, is educated, and none other. It lies not within the range of man to prepare an instrument for the service of God. The hand of man could never mould "a vessel meet for the Master’s use." The One who is to use the vessel can alone prepare it; and we have before us a singularly beautiful sample of His mode of preparation.
"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." (Ex. 3: 1) Here, then, we have a marvellous change of circumstances. In Genesis 46: 31, we read, "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians;" and yet Moses, who was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," is transferred from the Egyptian court to the back of a mountain to tend a flock of sheep, and to be educated for the service of God. Assuredly, this is not "the manner of man." This is not nature’s line of things. Flesh and blood could not understand this. We should have thought that Moses’ education was finished when he had become master of all Egypt’s wisdom, and that, moreover, in immediate connection with the rare advantages which a court life affords. We should have expected to find in one so highly favoured, not only a solid and varied education; but also such an exquisite polish as would fit him for any sphere of action to which he might be called. But then, to find such a man with such attainments, called away from such a position to mind sheep at the back of a mountain, is something entirely beyond the utmost stretch of human thought and feeling. It lays prostrate in the dust all man’s pride and glory. It declares plainly that this world’s appliances are of little value in the divine estimation; yea, they are as "dung and dross," not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of all those who have been taught in His school.
There is a very wide difference between human and divine education. The former has for its end the refinement and exaltation of nature; the latter begins with withering it up and setting it aside. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. 2: 14) Educate the "natural man" as much as you please, and you cannot make him a "spiritual man." "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit:" (John 3: 6) If ever an educated "natural man" might look for success in the service of God, Moses might have counted upon it; he was "grown," he was "learned," he was "mighty in word and deed," and yet he had to learn something at "the backside of the desert," which Egypt’s schools could never have taught him. Paul learnt more in Arabia than ever he had learnt at the feet of Gamaliel.* None can teach like God; and all who will learn of Him must be alone with Him. "In the desert God will teach thee." There it was that Moses learnt his sweetest, deepest, most influential and enduring lessons. Thither, too, must all repair who mean to be educated for the ministry.
{*Let not my reader suppose for a moment that the design of the above remarks is to detract from the value of really useful information, or the proper culture of the mental powers. By no means. If, for example, he is a parent, let him store his child’s mind with useful knowledge; let him teach him everything which may, hereafter, turn to account in the Master’s service: let him not burden him with ought which he would have to "lay aside in running his Christian course, nor conduct him, for educational purposes through a region from which it is well-nigh impossible to come forth with an unsoiled mind. You might just as well shut him up for ten years in a coal mine, in order to qualify him for discussing the properties of light and shade, as cause him to wade through the mire of a heathen mythology, in order to fit him for the interpretation of the oracles of God, or prepare him for leading the flock of Christ}
Beloved reader, may you prove, in your own deep experience, the real meaning of "the backside of the desert," that sacred spot where nature is laid in the dust, and God alone exalted. There it is that men and things - the world and self - present circumstances and their influence, are all valued at what they are really worth. There it is, and there alone, that you will find a divinely-adjusted balance in which to weigh all within and all around. There are no false colours, no borrowed plumes, no empty pretensions there. The enemy of your soul cannot gild the sand of that place. All is reality there. The heart that has found itself in the presence of God, at "the backside of the desert," has right thoughts about everything. It is raised far above the exciting influence of this world’s schemes. The din and noise! the bustle and confusion of Egypt do not fall upon the ear in that distant place. The crash in the monetary and commercial world is not heard there. The sigh of ambition is not heaved there. This world’s fading laurels do not tempt there. The thirst for gold is not felt there. The eye is never dimmed with lust, nor the heart swollen with pride there. Human applause does not elate, nor human censure depress there. In a word, everything is set aside save the stillness and light of the divine presence. God’s voice alone is heard - His light enjoyed - His thoughts received. This is the place to which all must go to be educated for the ministry; and there all must remain, if they would succeed in the ministry.
Would that all who come forward to serve in public knew more of what it is to breathe the atmosphere of this place. We should, then, have far less vapid attempts at ministry, but far more effective Christ-honouring service.
Let us now enquire what Moses saw and what he heard at "the backside of the desert." We shall find him learning lessons which lay far beyond the reach of Egypt’s most gifted masters. It might appear, in the eyes of human reason, a strange loss of time for a man like Moses to spend forty years doing nothing save to keep a few sheep in the wilderness. But he was there with God, and the time that is thus spent is never lost. It is salutary for us to remember that there is something more than mere doing necessary on the part of the true servant. A man who is always doing will be apt to do too much. Such an one would need to ponder over the deeply-practical words of the perfect Servant, "He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." (Isa. 1: 4) This is an indispensable part of the servant’s business. The servant must frequently stand in his master’s presence, in order that he may know what he has to do. The "ear" and the "tongue" are intimately connected, in more ways than one; but, in a spiritual or moral point of view, if my ear be closed and my tongue loose, I shall be sure to talk a great deal of folly. "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak." (James 1: 19) This seasonable admonition is based upon two facts, namely, that everything good comes from above, and that the heart is brim full of naughtiness, ready to flow over. Hence, the need of keeping the ear open and the tongue quiet rare and admirable attainments! -attainments in which Moses made great proficiency at "the backside of the desert," and which all can acquire, if only they are disposed to learn in that school.
"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." (Ex. 3: 2, 3) This was, truly, "a great sight" - a bush burning, yet not burnt. The palace of Pharaoh could never have afforded such a sight. But it was a gracious sight as well as a great sight, for therein was strikingly exhibited the condition of God’s elect. They were in the furnace of Egypt; and Jehovah reveals Himself in a burning bush. But as the bush was not consumed, so neither were they, for God was there. "The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge." (Ps. 46) Here is strength and security - victory and peace. God with us, God in us, and God for us. This is ample provision for every exigence.
Nothing can be more interesting or instructive than the mode in which Jehovah was pleased to reveal Himself to Moses, as presented in the above quotation. He was about to furnish him with his commission to lead forth His people out of Egypt, that they might be His assembly - His dwelling-place, in the wilderness, and in the land of Canaan; and the place from which He speaks is a burning bush. Apt, solemn, and beautiful symbol of Jehovah dwelling in the midst of His elect and redeemed congregation! "Our God is a consuming fire," not to consume us, but to consume all in us and about us which is contrary to His holiness, and, as such, subversive of our true and permanent happiness. "Thy testimonies are very sure; holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, for ever."
There are various instances, both in the Old and New Testaments, in which we find God displaying Himself as "a consuming fire." Look, for example, at the case of Nadab and Abihu, in Leviticus 10. This was a deeply solemn occasion. God was dwelling in the midst of His people, and He would keep them in a condition worthy of Himself. He could not do otherwise. It would neither be for His glory nor for their profit, were He to tolerate ought in them inconsistent with the purity of His presence. God’s dwelling-place must be holy.
So, also, in Joshua 7 we have another striking proof, in the case of Achan, that Jehovah could not possibly sanction, by His presence, evil, in any shape or form, how covert soever that evil might be. He was "a Consuming fire," and, as such, He should act, in reference to any attempt to defile that assembly in the midst of which He dwelt. To seek to connect God’s presence with evil unjudged, is the very highest character of wickedness.
Again, in Acts 5 Ananias and Sapphira teach us the same solemn lesson. God the Holy Ghost was dwelling in the midst of the Church, not merely as an influence, but as a divine Person, in such a way as that one could lie to Him. The Church was, and is still, His dwelling place; and He must rule and judge in the midst thereof. Men may walk in company with deceit, covetousness, and hypocrisy; but God cannot. If God is going to walk with us, we must judge our ways, or we will judge them for us. (See also 1 Cor. 11: 29-32)
In all these cases, and many more which might be adduced, we see the force of that solemn word, "holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, for ever." The moral effect of this will ever be similar to that produced in the case of Moses, as recorded in our chapter. "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." (Verse 5) The place of God’s presence is holy, and can only be trodden with unshod feet. God, dwelling in the midst of His people, imparts a character of holiness to their assembly, which is the basis of every holy affection and every holy activity. The character of the dwelling place takes its stamp from the character of the Occupant.
The application of this to the Church, which is now the habitation of God, through the Spirit, is of the very utmost practical importance. While it is blessedly true that God, by His Spirit, inhabits each individual member of the Church, thereby imparting a character of holiness to the individual; it is equally true that He dwells in the assembly; and, hence the assembly must be holy. The centre round which the members are gathered is nothing less than the Person of a living, victorious, and glorified Christ. The energy by which they are gathered is nothing less than God the Holy Ghost; and the Lord God Almighty dwells in them and walks in them. (See Matt. 18: 20; 1 Cor. 6: 19; 1 Cor. 3: 16, 17; Eph. 2: 21, 22) Such being the holy elevation belonging to God’s dwelling-place, it is evident that nothing which is unholy, either in principle or practice, must be tolerated. Each one connected therewith should feel the weight and solemnity of that word, "the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." "If any man defile the temple of God, him will God destroy."(1 Cor. 3: 17) Most weighty words these, for every member of God’s assembly - for every stone in His holy temple! May we all learn to tread Jehovah’s courts, with unshod feet!
However, the visions of Horeb bear witness to the grace of the God of Israel as well as to His holiness. If God’s holiness is infinite, His grace is infinite also; and, while the manner in which He revealed Himself to Moses, declared the former, the very fact of His revealing Himself at all evidenced the latter. He came down, because He was gracious; but when come down, He should reveal Himself as holy. "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." (Verse 6) The effect of the divine presence must ever be to make nature hide itself; and, when we stand before God, with unshod feet and covered head, i.e. in the attitude of soul which those acts so aptly and beautifully express, we are prepared to hearken to the sweet accents of grace. When man takes his suited place, God can speak, in the language of unmingled mercy.
"And the Lord said, 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. . . . . Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come up unto me; and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them." (Ver. 7-9) Here the absolute, free, unconditional grace of the God of Abraham, and the God of Abraham’s seed, shines forth in all its native brightness, unhindered by the "ifs" and "buts," the vows, resolutions, and conditions of man’s legal spirit. God had come down to display Himself, in sovereign grace, to do the whole work of salvation, to accomplish His promise made to Abraham, and repeated to Isaac and Jacob. He had not come down to see if, indeed, the subjects of His promise were in such a condition as to merit His salvation. It was sufficient for Him that they needed it. Their oppressed state, their sorrows, their tears, their sighs, their heavy bondage, had all come in review before Him; for, blessed be His name, He counts His people’s sighs and puts their tears into His bottle. He was not attracted by their excellencies or their virtues. It was not on the ground of aught that was good in them, either seen or foreseen, that he was about to visit them, for He knew what was in them. In one word, we have the true ground of His gracious acting set before us in the words, "I am the God of Abraham," and "I have seen the affliction of my people."
These words reveal a great fundamental principle in the ways of God. It is on the ground of what He is, that He ever acts. "I AM," secures all for "MY PEOPLE." Assuredly He was not going to leave His people amid the brick-kilns of Egypt, and under the lash of Pharaoh’s taskmasters. They were His people, and He mould act toward them in a manner worthy of Himself. To be His people - to be the favoured objects of Jehovah’s electing love - the subjects of His unconditional promise, settled everything. Nothing should hinder the public display of His relationship with those for whom His eternal purpose had secured the land of Canaan. He had come down to deliver them; and the combined power of earth and hell could not hold them in captivity one hour beyond His appointed time. He might and did use Egypt as a school, and Pharaoh as a schoolmaster; but when the needed work was accomplished, both the school and the schoolmaster were set aside, and His people were brought forth with a high hand and an outstretched arm.
Such, then, was the double character of the revelation made to Moses at Mount Horeb. What he saw and what he heard combined the two elements of holiness and grace - elements which, as we know, enter into, and distinctly characterise, all the ways and all the relationships of the blessed God, and which should also mark the ways of all those who, in any wise, act for, or have fellowship with, Him. Every true servant is sent forth from the immediate presence of God, with all its holiness and all its grace; and he is called to be holy and gracious - he is called to be the reflection of the grace and holiness of the divine character; and, in order that he may be so, he should not only start from the immediate presence of God, at the first, but abide there, in spirit, habitually. This is the true secret of effectual service.
"Childlike, attend what thou wilt say
Go forth and do it, while ’tis day,
Yet never leave my sweet retreat."
The spiritual man alone can understand the meaning of the two things, "go forth and do," and, "yet never leave." In order to act for God outside, I should be with Him inside. I must be in the secret sanctuary of His presence, else I shall utterly fail.
Very many break down on this point. There is the greatest possible danger of getting out of the solemnity and calmness of the divine presence, amid the bustle of intercourse with men, and the excitement of active service. This is to be carefully guarded against. If we lose that hallowed tone of spirit which is expressed in "the unshod foot," our service will, very speedily, become vapid and unprofitable. If I allow my work to get between my heart and the Master, it will be little worth. We can only effectually serve Christ as we are enjoying Him. It is while the heart dwells upon His powerful attractions that the hands perform the most acceptable service to His name; nor is there any one who can minister Christ with unction, freshness, and power to others, if he be not feeding upon Christ, in the secret of his own soul. True, he may preach a sermon, deliver a lecture, utter prayers, write a book, and go through the entire routine of outward service, and yet not minister Christ. The man who will present Christ to others must be occupied with Christ for himself.
Happy is the man who ministers thus, whatever be the success or reception of his ministry. For should his ministry fail to attract attention, to command influence, or to produce apparent results, he has his sweet retreat and his unfailing portion in Christ, of which nothing can deprive him. Whereas, the man who is merely feeding upon the fruits of his ministry, who delights in the gratification which it affords, or the attention and interest which it commands, is like a mere pipe, conveying water to others, and retaining only rust itself. This is a most deplorable condition to be in; and yet is it the actual condition of every servant who is more occupied with his work and its results, than with the Master and His glory.
This is a matter which calls for the most rigid self-judgement. The heart is deceitful, and the enemy is crafty; and, hence there is great need to hearken to the word of exhortation, "be sober, be vigilant." It is when the soul is awakened to a sense of the varied and manifold dangers which beset the servant’s path, that it is, in any measure, able to understand the need there is for being much alone with God: it is there one is secure and happy. It is when we begin, continue, and end our work at the Master’s feet, that our service will be of the right kind.
From all that has been said, it must be evident to any reader that every servant of Christ will find the air of "the backside of the desert" most salutary. Horeb is really the starting post for all whom God sends forth to act for Him. It was at Horeb that Moses learnt to put off his shoes and hide his face. Forty years before he had gone to work; but his movement was premature. It was amid the flesh-subduing solitudes of the mount of God, and forth from the burning bush, that the divine commission fell on the servant’s ear, "Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." (Ver. 10) Here was real authority. There is a vast difference between God sending a man, and a man running unsent. But it is very manifest that Moses was not ripe for service when first he set about acting. If forty years of secret training were needful for him, how could he have got on without it? Impossible! He had to be divinely educated, and divinely commissioned; and so must all who go forth upon a path of service and testimony for Christ. Oh! that these holy lessons may be deeply graven on all our hearts, that so our every work may wear upon it the stamp of the Master’s authority, and the Masters approval.
However, we have something further to learn at the foot of Mount Horeb. The soul finds it seasonable to linger in this place. "It is good to be here." The presence of God is ever a deeply practical place; the heart is sure to be laid open there. The light that shines in that holy place makes everything manifest; and this is what is so much needed in the midst of the hollow pretension around us, and the pride and self complacency within.
We might be disposed to think that, the very moment the divine commission was given to Moses, his reply would be, "Here am I," or "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" But no; he had yet to be brought to this. Doubtless, he was affected by the remembrance of his former failure. If a man acts in anything without God, he is sure to be discouraged, even when God is sending him. "And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Ver. 11) This is very unlike the man who, forty years before, "supposed that his brethren would have understood how that God, by his hand, would deliver them." Such is man! - at one time too hasty; at another time too slow. Moses had learnt a greet deal since the day in which he smote the Egyptian. He had grown in the knowledge of himself, and this produced diffidence and timidity. But, then, he manifestly lacked confidence in God. If I am merely looking at myself, I shall do "nothing;" but if I am looking at Christ, "I can do all things." Thus, when diffidence and timidity led Moses to say, "Who am I" God’s answer was, "Certainly I will be with thee." (Ver. 12.) This ought to have been sufficient. If God be with me, it makes very little matter who I am, or what I am. When God says, "I will send thee," and "I will be with thee," the servant is amply furnished with divine authority and divine power; and he ought, therefore, to be perfectly satisfied to go forth.
But Moses puts another question; for the human heart is full of questions. "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?" It is marvellous to see how the human heart reasons and questions, when unhesitating obedience is that which is due to God; and still more marvellous is the grace that bears with all the reasonings and answers all the questions. Each question seems but to elicit some new feature of divine grace.
"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." (Ver. 14) The title which God here gives Himself is one of wondrous significancy. In tracing through Scripture the various names which God takes, we find them intimately connected with the varied need of those with whom He was in relation. "Jehovah-jireh," (the Lord will provide.) "Jehovah-nissi," (the Lord my banner.) "Jehovah-shalom," (the Lord send peace.) "Jehovah-tsidkenu," (the Lord our righteousness.) All these His gracious titles are unfolded to meet the necessities of His people; and when He calls Himself "I AM," it comprehends them all. Jehovah, in taking this title, was furnishing His people with a blank cheque, to be filled up to any amount. He calls Himself "I AM," and faith has but to write over against that ineffably precious name whatever me want. God is the only significant figure, and human need may add the ciphers. If we want life, Christ says, "I AM the life." If we want righteousness, He is "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." If we want peace, "He is our peace" If we want wisdom, sanctification, and redemption," He "is made" all these "unto us." In a word, we may travel through the wide range of human necessity, in order to have a just conception of the amazing depth and fullness of this profound and adorable name, "I AM."
What a mercy to be called to walk in companionship with One who bears such a name as this! We are in the wilderness, and there we have to meet with trial, sorrow, and difficulty; but, so long as we have the happy privilege of betaking ourselves, at all times, and under all circumstances, to One who reveals Himself in His manifold grace, in connection with our every necessity and weakness, we need not fear the wilderness: God was about to bring His people across the sandy desert, when He disclosed this precious and comprehensive name; and, although the believer now, as being endowed with the Spirit of adoption, can cry, "Abba Father," yet is he not deprived of the privilege of enjoying communion with God in each and every one of those manifestations which He has been pleased to make of Himself. For example, the title "God" reveals Him as acting in the solitariness of His own being, displaying His eternal power and Godhead in the works of creation. "The Lord God" is the title which He takes in connection with man. Then, as "the Almighty God," He rises before the view of His servant Abraham, in order to assure his heart in reference to the accomplishment of His promise touching the seed. As Jehovah, He made Himself known to Israel, in delivering them out of the land of Egypt, and bringing them into the land of Canaan.
Such were the various measures and various modes in which "God spake in times past unto the fathers, by the prophets:" (Heb. 1: 1) and the believer, under this dispensation or economy, as possessing the spirit of sonship, can say, "It was my Father who thus revealed himself - thus spoke - thus acted."
Nothing can be more interesting or practically important in its way than to follow out those great dispensational titles of God. These titles are always used in strict moral consistency with the circumstances under which they are disclosed; but there is, in the name "I AM," a height, a depth, a length, a breadth, which truly pass beyond the utmost stretch of human conception.
"When God would teach mankind His name,
He calls Himself the great "I AM,"
And leaves a blank - believers may
Supply those things for which they pray."
And, be it observed, it is only in connection with His own people that He takes this name. He did not address Pharaoh in this name. When speaking to him, He calls Himself by that commanding and majestic title, "The Lord God of the Hebrews;" i.e., God, in connection with the very people whom he was seeking to crush. This ought to have been sufficient to show Pharaoh his awful position with respect to God. "I AM" would have conveyed no intelligible sound to an uncircumcised ear - no divine reality to an unbelieving heart. When God manifest in the flesh declared to the unbelieving Jews of His day those words, "before Abraham was, I am," they took up stones to cast at Him. It is only the true believer who can feel, in any measure, the power, or enjoy the sweetness of that ineffable name, "I AM." Such an one can rejoice to hear from the lips of the blessed Lord Jesus such declarations as these: - "I am that bread of life," "I am the light of the world," "I am the good shepherd,’’ "I am the resurrection and the life," "I am the way, the truth, and the life," "I am the true vine," "I am alpha and Omega, "I am the bright and morning star." In a word, he can take every name of divine excellence and beauty, and, having placed it after "I AM," find JESUS therein, and admire, adore, and worship.
Thus, there is a sweetness, as well as a comprehensiveness, in the name "I AM," which is beyond all power of expression. Each believer can find therein that which exactly suits his own spiritual need, whatever it be. There is not a single winding in all the Christian’s wilderness journey, not a single phase of his soul’s experience, not a single point in his condition which is not divinely met by this title, for the simplest of all reasons, that whatever he wants, he has but to place it, by faith, over against " I AM" and find it all in Jesus. To the believer, therefore, however feeble and faltering, there is unmingled blessedness in this name.
But, although it was to the elect of God that Moses was commanded to say, "I AM hath sent me unto you," yet is there deep solemnity and reality in that name, when looked at with reference to the unbeliever. If one who is yet in his sins contemplates, for a moment, this amazing title, he cannot, surely, avoid asking himself the question, "How do I stand as to this Being who calls Himself, "I AM THAT I AM.’ If, indeed, it be true that HE Is, then what is He to me? What am I to write over against this solemn name, "I AM" I shall not rob this question of its characteristic weight and power by any words of my own; but I pray that God the Holy Ghost may make it searching to the conscience of any reader who really needs to be searched thereby.
I cannot close this section without calling the attention of the Christian reader to the deeply-interesting declaration contained in the 15th verse: "And God said, moreover, unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial to all generations." This statement contains a very important truth - a truth which many professing Christians seem to forget, namely, that God’s relationship with Israel is an eternal one. He is just as much Israel’s God now, as when He visited them in the land of Egypt. Moreover, He is just as Positively dealing with them now as then, only in a different way. His word is clear and emphatic: "This is my name for ever." He does not say, ’This is my name for a time, so long as they continue what they ought to be." No; "this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." Let my reader ponder this. "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew." (Rom. 11: 2) They are His people still, whether obedient or disobedient, united together, or scattered abroad; manifested to the nations, or hidden from their view. They are His people, and He is their God. Exodus 3: 15 is unanswerable. The professing church has no warrant whatever, for ignoring a relationship which God says is to endure " for ever." Let us beware how we tamper with this weighty word, "for ever." If we say it does not mean for ever, when applied to Israel, what proof have we that it means for ever when applied to us? God means what He says; and He will, ere long, make manifest to all the nations of the earth, that His connection with Israel is one which shall outlive all the revolutions of time. "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance." When He said, "this is my name for ever," He spoke absolutely. " I AM" declared Himself to be Israel’s God for ever; and all the Gentiles shall be made to understand and bow to this; and to know, moreover, that all God’s providential dealings with them, and all their destinies, are connected, in some way or other, with that favoured and honoured, though now judged and scattered, people. "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when be separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people, according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." (Deut. 32: 8, 9)
Has this ceased to be true? Has Jehovah given up His " portion," and surrendered "the lot of His inheritance?" Does His eye of tender love no longer rest on Israel’s scattered tribes, long lost to man’s vision are the walls of Jerusalem no longer before Him! or has her dust ceased to be precious in His sight? To reply to these inquiries would be to quote a large portion of the Old Testament, and not a little of the New but this would not be the place to enter elaborately upon such a subject. I would only say, in closing this section, let not Christendom " be ignorant of this mystery, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved." (Rom. 11: 25, 26)
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 1-22. THE MISSION OF MOSES. After forty years…
THE CALL AND MISSION OF MOSES.
Vers. 1-22. THE MISSION OF MOSES. After forty years of monotonous pastoral life, affording abundant opportunity for meditation, and for spiritual communion with God, and when he had attained to the great age of eighty years, and the hot blood of youth had given place to the calm serenity of advanced life, God at last revealed Himself to Moses "called him" (ver. 4), and gave him a definite mission. The present chapter is" intimately connected with the next. Together, they contain an account of that extraordinary and indeed miraculous interchange of thought.and speech between Moses and God himself, by which the son of Amram was induced to undertake the difficult and dangerous task of freeing his people, delivering them from their bondage in Egypt, and conducting them through the wilderness to that "land flowing with milk and honey," which had been promised to the seed of Abraham more than six centuries previously. (Gen_15:18) Whatever hopes he had entertained of being his people"s deliverer in youth and middle life, they had long been abandoned; and, humanly speaking, nothing was more improbable than that the aged shepherd, grown "slow of speech and of a slow tongue" (Exo_4:10) his manners rusticised his practical faculties rusted by disuse his physical powers weakened should come forth from a retirement of forty years" duration to be a leader and king of men. Nothing less than direct supernatural interposition could one may well believe have sufficed to overcome the natural vis inertiae of Moses" present character and position. Hence, after an absolute cessation of miracle for more than four hundred years, miracle is once more made use of by the Ruler of the Universe to work out his ends.. A dignus vindice nodus has arisen; and the ordinary laws of that Nature which is but one of his instruments are suspended by the Lord of All, who sees what mode of action the occasion requires, and acts accordingly.
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Moses kept the flock. The Hebrew expresses that this was his regular occupation. Understand by "flock" either sheep or goats, or the two intermixed. Both anciently and at the present day the Sinaitic pastures support these animals, and not horned cattle. Of Jethro, his father-in-law. The word translated "father-in-law" is of much wider application, being used of almost any relation by marriage. Zipporah uses it of Moses in Exo_4:25, Exo_4:26; in Gen_19:12, Gen_19:14, it is applied to Lot"s "sons-in-law;" in other places it is used of "brothers-in-law." Its application to Jethro does not prove him to be the same person as Reuel, which the difference of name renders improbable. He was no doubt the head of the tribe at this period, having succeeded to that dignity, and to the priesthood, when Reuel died. He may have been either Reuel"s son or his nephew. The backside of the desert, i.e. "behind" or "beyond the desert," across the strip of sandy plain which separates the coast of the Elanitic Gulf from the mountains, to the grassy regions beyond. He came to the mountain of God, even Horeb. Rather, "the mountain of God, Horeb-way," or "towards Horeb." By "the mountain of God" Sinai seems to be meant. It may be so named either by anticipation (as "the land of Rameses" in Gen_47:11) or because there was already a sanctuary there to the true God, whom Reuel and Jethro worshipped. (Exo_18:12)
Vers. 1, 2. The Burning Bush.
All nations have seen in fire something emblematic of the Divine nature. The Vedic Indians made Agni (fire) an actual god, and sang hymns to him with more fervour than to almost any other deity. The Persians maintained perpetual fires on their fire-altars, and supposed them to have a divine character. Hephaistos in the Greek and Vulcan in the Roman mythology were fire-gods; and Baal, Chemosh, Moloch, Tahiti, Orotal, etc., represented more or less the same idea. Fire is in itself pure and purifying; in its effects mighty and terrible, or life-giving, and comforting. Viewed as light its ordinary though not universal concomitant it is bright, glorious, dazzling, illuminative, soul-cheering. God under the Old Covenant revealed himself in fire, not only upon this occasion, but at Sinai, (Exo_19:18 Exo_24:17) to Manoah, (Jud_1:13:20) to Solomon, (2Ch_7:1-3) to Ezekiel, (Eze_1:4-28) to Daniel; (Dan_7:9, Dan_7:10) under the New Covenant, he is declared to be "a consuming fire", (Heb_12:29) "the Light of the world", (Joh_8:12) "the True Light", (Joh_1:9) "the Sun of Righteousness." Of all material things nothing is so suitable to represent God as this wonderful creation of his, so bright, so pure, so terrible, so comforting, To Moses God reveals himself not merely in fire, but in a "burning bush." In this respect the revelation is abnormal nay, unique, without a parallel. Surely this was done, not merely to rouse his curiosity, but to teach him some lesson or other. It is well to consider what lesson or lessons may have been intended by it. First, Moses would see that "the ways of God were not as man"s ways;" that, instead of coming with as much, he came with as little, display as possible; instead of showing all his glory and lighting up all Sinai with unendurable radiance, he condescended to appear in a small circumscribed flame, and to rest upon so mean, so poor, so despised an object as a thorn-hush. God "chooseth the weak things of the world to confound the strong;" anything is sufficient for his purpose. He creates worlds with a word, destroys kingdoms with a breath, cures diseases with clay and spittle or the hem of a garment, revolutionises the earth by a group of fishermen. Secondly, he would see the spirituality of God. Even when showing himself in the form of fire, he was not fire. Material fire would have burnt up the bush, have withered its fair boughs and blasted its green leaves in a moment of time; this fire did not scathe a single twig, did not injure even the most delicate just-opening bud. Thirdly, he might be led on to recognise God"s tenderness. God"s mercy is "over all his works," he will not hurt one of them unnecessarily, or without an object. He "careth for cattle", (Jon_4:11) clothes the lilies with glory, (Mat_6:28-30) wilt not let a sparrow fall to the ground needlessly. (ib. Mat_10:29) Lastly, he might learn that the presence of God is "consuming" only of what is evil. Of all else it is preservative. God was present with his people in Egypt, and his presence preserved them in that furnace of affliction. God was present in each devout and humble heart of his true followers, and his presence kept them from the fiery darts of the Wicked One. God would be present through all time with his Church and with his individual worshippers, not as a destroying, but as a sustaining, preserving, glorifying influence. His spiritual fire would rest upon them, envelop them, encircle them, yet would neither injure nor absorb their life, but support it, maintain it, strengthen it.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR
Vers. 1-5. Moses at the bush.
We do not now see burning bushes, or hear voices calling to us from their midst. The reason is, that we do not need them, The series of historical revelations is complete. Revelation in the sense of the communication of new truth of truth beyond the range of our natural faculties, or not capable of being derived, under the guidance of God"s Spirit, from revelations already given is not to be expected. The Bible is the sum of God"s authoritative revelations to the race. This bush, e.g. , still burns for us in Scripture, where at any time we can visit it, and hear God"s voice speaking out of it. But in another sense, revelation is not obsolete. It is not a tradition of the past, but a living reality. It has its objective side in the continuous (non-miraculous) revelation going on in nature (Psa_19:1; Rom_1:19, Rom_1:20) and history; (Act_17:26, Act_17:27) and in the tokens of a supernatural presence and working in the Church. (Mat_28:20; 1Th_1:3-10; Rev_2:1) And it has its subjective side in the revelation (mediate) of Divine things to the soul by the Holy Spirit, (Eph_1:17) and in the manifestation of God to the heart in private spiritual experience. (Joh_14:21, Joh_14:23; Rom_5:5 Rom_8:16) The veil between the soul and the spiritual world is at all times a thin one. The avenues by which God can reach devout minds are innumerable. The Word, sacraments, and prayer are special media, the Divine Spirit taking of the things of Christ, and showing them to the soul, illuminating, (Joh_16:15) interpreting, applying, confirming. But, in truth, God is "not far from every one of us"; (Act_17:27) and by events of providence, in workings of conscience, through our moral and spiritual intuitions, enlightened and purified as these are by the Word, by numberless facts of nature and life, he can still draw near to those who tarry for him; meets them in ways as unexpected and surprising as at the burning bush; awes them by his wonders; flashes to them the messages of his grace. Viewing this revelation at the bush as a chapter in spiritual history, consider
I THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF IT. The revelation came to Moses
(1) unexpectedly;
(2) while in the way of duty he "kept the flock;
(3) in a solemn place of God," a natural oratory and place of sacred repute and probably while revolving solemn thoughts;
(4) from a most unlooked-for quarter a common bush; and at first
(5) impersonally. The bush burning had no apparent relation to Moses more than to another. It was there for him to look at, to inquire into, if he chose. It invited, but did not compel, or even ask for, his attention. All which circumstances are significant.
1. The Divinity is ever nearer to us than we think. So Jacob, as well as Moses, found it. "Surely God is in this place, and I knew it not". (Gen_28:16)
2. Revelations are not to be expected, save in the way of duty.
3. God may be met with anywhere, (Joh_4:24) but some places are more favourable for communion with God than others the closet, (Mat_6:6) the sanctuary, (Psa_73:16, Psa_73:17) natural solitudes. (Mat_16:23) And revelations have usually a relation to the state of mind of those who receive them answering questions, resolving perplexities, affording guidance, adapting themselves to psychological conditions. (cf. Job_2:12, Job_2:13; Dan_2:29 Dan_9:20, 21 10:2-6; Act_10:3, Act_10:10; 1Co_12:9; Rev_1:10) It is in every way likely that Moses" thoughts were at that moment deeply occupied about Israel"s future.
1. God"s discoveries of himself are marked by great condescension. Lowliness of situation is no bar to the visits of the King of Heaven, while humility of heart is indispensable to our receiving them. He who dwelt in the bush will not refuse the dwelling place of the contrite heart. (Isa_57:15) God"s most wonderful discoveries of himself have been made through "base things of the world, and things which are despised". (1Co_2:2-8) The highest example of this is Christ himself, of whose incarnation the angel in the bush may be regarded as a prophecy. "He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness," etc.. (Isa_53:2)
2. God"s revelations act as a moral test. This applies to the objective revelation to the tokens of the supernatural strewn everywhere around us in life and history, as well as to Nature and the Bible. We may pass them unheeded, or we may draw nearer to inquire. The Bible invites attention by the supernatural in its history, as well as by its teachings. It is only when we draw nearer to it that the Word becomes personal, and seizes on the conscience with spiritual power. Attention on man"s part is rewarded by further self-discovery on God"s.
II ITS INTEREST FOR MOSES. We may connect his turning aside to see (ver. 4)
1. With an appeal to his faculty of wonder. This is one function of miracle to arrest attention, and awaken in the witness of it a powerfulconsciousness of the Divine presence.
2. With a general habit of devout inquiry. It may be true that "many a man has been led through the pale of curiosity into the sanctuary of reverence" (Parker); but it is also true that to a merely curious disposition God usually reveals little, and to an irreverent one nothing. The habit of inquiry is as valuable, if one"s ultimate aim is in all things to become acquainted with God and his will, as in science and philosophy, or any other form of the pursuit of knowledge; but let inquiry be devout. "Search the Scriptures". (Joh_5:39) Ponder thoughtfully events of providence and facts of history. Study Nature with an eye to spiritual suggestions to underlying spiritual analogies. Give to whatever you read or hear, which seems to have truth or value in it, the attention it deserves. Inquiry throws the mind into the attitude most favourable for receiving Divine revelations. Moses was not called by name till he "turned aside to see.
3. With the perception that in this circumstance God was specially calling him to inquire. As Moses gazed, he would be prompted to ask about this bush What means it? What invisible power is here manifesting itself? Why is it burning at this place, and at this time? What mystery is contained in it? Has it a message for me? And he would not be long in perceiving that it must be burning there with the special view of attracting his attention. And is it not thus that the Divine usually draws near to us? Attention is arrested by something a little aside from the course of ordinary experience, and the impression it makes upon us produces the conviction that it is not unintended; that it is, as we say, "sent;" that it has a meaning and message to us we do well to look into. Every man, at some point or another in his history, has felt himself thus appealed to by the supernatural. The impression may be made by a book we feel drawn to read, or by something we read in it; through a sermon, through some event of life, by a sickness, at a deathbed, by the sayings and doings of fellow-men, or in hours of solitude, when even Nature seems peopled with strange voices, and begins to speak to us in parables. But, originate as it may, there is plainly in it, as in all special dealings of God with us, a call to inquire, to question ourselves, to ask whether, from the midst of the mystery, God may not have some further message for our souls.
III THE SIGHT ITSELF. The bush that burned (ver. 2) was
1. A token of the Divine Presence. Moses would soon feel that he was standing in presence of the Unseen Holy.
2. A significant emblem. It represented the Israelites in their state of affliction, yet miraculously surviving. Possibly, in the questionings of his spirit, Moses had not before sufficiently considered the "token for good" implied in this astonishing preservation of the nation, and needed to have his attention directed to it. It was a clear proof that the Lord had not cast off his people. If Israel was preserved, it could only be for one reason. The continued vitality, growth, and vigour of the nation was the infallible pledge of the fulfilment of the promise.
3. An answer to prayer. For what could be the meaning of this portent, but that the long, weary silence was at length broken; that the prayer, "O Lord, how long?" was at last to receive its answer? Faith can see great results wrapped up in small beginnings. For nothing in God"s procedure is isolated. Beginnings with God mean endings too.
IV THE PERSONAL CALL. As Moses wondered
1. The revelation became personal. He heard himself addressed by name, "Moses, Moses" (ver. 4). Solemnised, yet with that presence of mind which could only arise from long habituation to the idea of an invisible spiritual world, he answered, "Here am I" This was to place himself unreservedly at God"s disposal. Mark the order
(1) God revealing (ver. 1);
(2) man attending (ver. 2);
(3) the revelation becoming Personal (ver. 3).
Then followed the direction (ver. 5), "Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes," etc. Thus Moses was instructed:
2. As to the right attitude towards God"s revelations.
(1) Self-surrender;
(2) reverence;
(3) obedience.
Moses doubtless obeyed the injunction he received. These qualities meet in all true religion: humility in hearing what God has to say; submission of mind and heart to it when said; readiness to obey. Glance for a moment at the requirement of reverence. One can understand how in the tumult of his feelings at the moment in the very eagerness of his spirit to hear what further God had to say to him Moses should be in danger of neglecting the outward tokens of the reverence which no doubt he felt; but it is instructive to observe that God recalls his attention to them. We are thus taught that reverence becomes us, not only in relation to God himself, but in relation to whatever is even outwardly connected with his presence, worship, or revelation. e.g. , in our dealing with Scripture, in the use of Divine names and titles, in the ritual of Divine service. The attitude of the spirit is doubtless the main thing; but a reverent spirit will seek for itself suitable forms of expression; and respect for the forms is itself a duty, and an aid in the education of the sentiment. Those are greatly to be censured who, presuming on a supposed special intimacy with God not granted to others, venture to take liberties, and allow themselves in a demeanour and in a style of expression to the Almighty at the least irreverently familiar, and not unfrequently bordering on profanity. Raptures of piety, however sincere, do not justify us in forgetting that in communion with God we stand on "holy ground. J.O.
Vers. 1-5. The bush and its suggestions.
Glean here a few of the general suggestions of the passage:
I REVELATION. The appearance at the bush suggestive
1. Of the supernatural in Nature. Bushes are aglow all around us, if only we had eyes to see them. Christ"s teaching an illustration of the spiritual suggestiveness of Nature. "Consider the lilies". (Mat_6:28) The parables.
2. Of the supernatural in common life. "Moses kept the flock of Jethro." The Higher Presence may be with us in the humblest occupations.
3. Of the supernatural in the Church
1. As a whole;
2. Individual believers.
The bush, burning but not consumed, an emblem of Israel of the Church enduring in tribulation.
4. Of the higher supernatural of positive revelation. Authoritative revelation is suspended, but the sum of its results is given in Scripture. The Bible is the Bush of revelation, to which the student of Divine things will do well to direct his attention.
II PREPAREDNESS. Cultivate with Moses
1. A spirit of duty (ver. 1).
2. A spirit of devout inquiry (ver. 3).
3. A spirit of humility and reverence (vers. 5, 6).
To such a spirit, God
1. Reveals himself.
2. Addresses calls to his service (ver. 4).
3. Gives work to do.
4. Honours in its work. J.O.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG Vers. 1-5. The burning bush.
I OBSERVE THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH GOD FINDS MOSES. He is still with Jethro, although forty years have passed since their first acquaintance. Though a fugitive, he had not become a mere wanderer.
1. He continues, however, in a comparatively humble position. His marriage to Jethro"s daughter and his long stay in the country do not seem to have brought him much external prosperity.. He has not reached even the modest point of success in the eyes of a Midianite shepherd, viz. to have a flock of his own. But this very humility of position doubtless had its advantages and its place in the providence of God with respect to him. With all the lowliness of his state, it was better to be a living man in Midian than to have been Main as the son of Pharaoh"s daughter. God had brought him out of a king"s house, so that he might be freed from all the temptations of soft raiment, and also to make manifest that, although among courtiers, he was, not of them. But if during his stay in Midian he had increased in pastoral wealth, and become a second Job (, Then, (Job_1:3) like Job, he might have had to go into humiliation because of his wealth. It was well for him that while he had the care of property, he had not the cares of it. (Jam_1:10, Jam_1:11)
2. God finds him engaged in faithful service, leading his flock far into the desert that they might find suitable pasture. God comes to those who are diligently occupied in some useful work, even if it be as humble and obscure as that of Moses. He does not come with his revelations to daydreamers; they are left to build their castles in the air. They who despise common and daily work, on the pretext that they are fitted for something much better, will at last be thrown into the corner among the refuse. "Let those that think themselves buried alive be content to shine like lamps in sepulchres, and wait till God"s time comes for setting them in a candlestick". (Mat_4:18-22, Mat_9:9; Luk_2:8)
II GOD APPROACHES MOSES WITH A SUDDEN TEST. "The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush" i.e. the flame of fire became a messenger of God to Moses. We are told inPsalm 104. that God is he who makes the clouds his chariot, walks upon the wings of the wind, makes the winds his messengers, and flaming fire into his ministers. (Heb_1:7) And so here God sends this flame of fire, encompassing and attacking the bush, in order to discover what sort of man Moses is. Certain features of his character, viz. his patriotism, his hatred of oppression, his prompt action to serve the weak, have hitherto been exhibited rather than tested. He had shown what sort of man he was in the ordinary experiences of life, such experiences as might come to any of us. But now he is face to face with an extraordinary experience, a sudden and unexpected test. The burning bush was to Moses what both miracles and parables were to those who came into contact with Jesus. To some the miracles were mere wonders; to others they revealed an open door of communication with God. To some the parables were only aimless narratives, mere story-telling. To others the Divine Teacher was able to say, "It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven". (Mat_13:11) And, in a similar way, when Moses came suddenly upon the burning bush, there was also a sudden revelation of the state of his heart. He did not treat the phenomenon as a delusion; did not begin to suspect his own sanity; did not seek his kindred, that they might come and gape at this new wonder. It was impressed upon his mind exactly as it was meant to be impressed. He asked the very question that above all others needed to be asked why this bush was not consumed. For observe that it was something which in ordinary circumstances would be easily and quickly consumed. (Exo_22:6; Ecc_7:6; Mat_6:30) It was not some metal well used to the fire, but a bush actually burning yet not burning away. And as this burning bush was thus a test to Moses, so the record of it is also a test to us. Let us suppose the question put all round, "What would you have done if you had been there?" We know well the answer that would come from one class of minds: "There was no such thing; it was all Moses" own imagination." Thus the test comes in. As God tested Moses in exhibiting the burning bush as his messenger, so he tests us by the record of this and all other unusual occurrences with which the Scriptures are crowded. If we say at once concerning the burning bush and all that is supernatural that it is but delusion, then God"s way to our hearts and our salvation is blocked at once. We must be loyal to fact wherever we find it. The very evidence of our own senses, and the accumulated testimony of honest and competent witnesses, are not to be sacrificed to so-called first principles of rational inquiry. The right spirit is that shown by Peter and his companion in the house of Cornelius. They saw with their own eyes that the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and his household; and Peter made his inferences and his action to depend on this indisputable fact. (Act_10:44 Act_11:18) When Moses turned aside to see the great sight his eye was single; he did not quibble and despise; and therefore his whole body was filled with light.
III GOD MEETS A PROPER INQUIRY WITH PROPER TREATMENT. Moses is approaching the burning bush to investigate the difficulty by his natural faculties, when God at once arrests him, making known his own presence, and enjoining such outward marks of reverence as became the place and the occasion. And Moses, as we might expect, is immediately obedient. Those who have in them the spirit that seeks for truth, the spirit of faith and right inquiry, will also show a spirit ready at once.to respond to the presence of God. Moses must have had those principles in his life which pointed on to perfect purity of heart. That purity he had in its beginnings, or he would not have gained such a sense of God"s presence as was here bestowed on him. Note next, that God does not proceed to answer the inquiry of Moses. There was really no occasion to answer it. When Moses knew that the presence of God had to do with the miracle, he knew enough. To know exactly how God had done it was beyond him. Even God cannot explain the inexplicable. The secrets of creation cannot be penetrated by those who lack creative power. Man can make machines; therefore the man who makes a machine can explain the purpose and the parts of it to another man. Human beings are the parents of human beings; but as they have no power to make intelligently any living thing, so they cannot understand either how living things are brought into existence or sustained in it. God calls Moses now, not to explain why. the bush is burning, but to subdue his mind into appropriate reverence and expectation. The search for truth must not degenerate into curiosity, nor be pursued into presumption.
IV THOUGH GOD LEAVES THE INQUIRY FORMALLY UNANSWERED, YET THE BURNING BUSH DOES SERVE SOME FURTHER PURPOSE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF INSTRUCTION. There was much teaching in this burning bush. If the aim had been merely to arrest the attention of Moses, then any wonder would have served the purpose. But the wonders of God not only test; they also teach. They must be something unusual, or they would not test sufficiently; they must be something more than merely unusual, else they would not teach. The bush was Israel in the flame of Egypt. That bush had been burning now a century, more or less, yet it was riot consumed. All that was essential to its nature, its growth, and its fruitfulness still remained. What was permanent in Israel was no more affected than the tree is by the fading and falling of its leaves in autumn. The leaves die, but the tree remains. Its roots are still in the soil and the sap still in the trunk. Thus, by this exhibition of the burning bush, God brought before Moses the great truth that, however natural forces may be gathered against his people, and however they may be intensified in their attack, there is nevertheless a power from on high which can resist them all a secret, countervailing power in which we may ever put our trust. And this power is not only for preservation in the midst of affliction, but for ultimate deliverance from it. The power by which God can keep the bush from being consumed, is a power by which he can take it out of the fire altogether. Believe in this power, and trust it more and more, and God will lead you into sublime conclusions, and endow you with most precious privileges. Y.
HOMILIES BY G. A. GOODHART
Vers. 1-6. Forty years since, Moses (Exo_2:11) had "turned aside" from court life in Egypt to see how his brethren the children of Israel fared amid the furnace of trial. The old life seems like a dream, so long ago; the old lance (Exo_4:10) grown unfamiliar. The annual routine; flocks to be driven to distant-pasturage at the approach of summer. God"s hour at hand just when least expected.
I THE PROPHETIC VISION. When God calls to the prophetic office, there is usually some vision or appearance, through which the call is emphasised and its significance suggested. Cf. Isa_6:1-7; Jer_1:11-13; Eze_1:4; Mat_3:16 to Mat_4:11; Act_9:3-6. So here:
1. The vision. A dry acacia bush on fire, not very singular. What is singular is that the bush seems to flourish amidst the flame! The mystery explained, vers. 2, 4. The bush is in the midst of the flame, but the angel of Jehovah is in the midst of the hush.
2. Its significance. Israel "a root out of a dry ground." In the furnace of affliction, yet flourishing amid the furnace (cf. Exo_1:12) When Moses had "turned aside to see" forty years before, he had supposed that his brethren would have recognised in him their deliverer; had not sufficiently recognised himself that it was God"s angel in their midst who was really preserving them. Trouble, sorrow, persecution may consume and practically annihilate; whole peoples have been killed off and left hardly a trace in history. Though "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church," yet there is no specially conservative power in suffering; it is only when God is with men that they can "walk through the fire and yet not be burned" (cf. Isa_43:2)
II THE DIVINE REVELATION.
1. Preliminary condition: ver. 4. "Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see.
(1) Revelations are not for the unobservant. God will give us eye-guidance if we will have it, (Psa_32:8) but we must be alert to catch his glance.
(2) Revelations are not for the cowardly; where one turned aside to see, nine might have turned aside in sheer terror to escape seeing. He that would hear God"s voice must fight with and overcome his fears, otherwise he is likely to be classed with the unbelieving and the abominable. (Rev_21:7, Rev_21:8)
1. The call heard and answered. To the man ready to receive it the call comes. God is going to reread his own name to Moses, but calls Moses first by his name. The conviction that God knows us is the best preparation for learning more about him. Moses is on the alert; eager to listen, ready to obey.
2. Reverence secured: ver. 5. Interviews with God need preparation. Even when God calls, man cannot hear his voice aright save in the hush of utter reverence. To attain this for those who are in the body, material aids must not be despised; so long as men possess senses there must be a sensuous form for even the most spiritual worship.
3. God declares himself: ver. 6. Cf. Mat_22:32. God in the midst of the nation, as in the midst of the bush, was preserving it in its entirety.
Not like a bundle of green twigs, the relics of a perished stem. Stem and twigs, the ancestral stock no less than the offspring, all alike preserved kept by him who can say, "I am their God." Application: Has God ever declared himself to us? If not, whose the fault? Have we been on the outlook to catch his signs? Have we used due reverence in listening for his voice? Have we been ready to obey even the lightest indication of his will? Attention, reverence, obedience all needed if we would hear God speak. We must be as Moses was self stifled, the world silenced, a-hush to hear the Divine voice. G.
HOMILIES BY H. T. ROBJOHNS Vers. 1-10. The Burning Bush.
"Behold the bush," etc. Exo_3:2. A very astonishing event; yet amply evidenced to us by those voluminous arguments which now more than ever establish the authenticity of Exodus; but in addition to this, we have here the special endorsement of the Truth Incarnate. See Mar_12:26. Examine this passage critically, and consider how full and valid theendorsement is! No mere acceptance of received legend.
I THE TIME. A solemn undertone in ver. 1. A great soul wandering under the starlight of a partial revelation.
1. In the life of the Church. A time of trial; Israel like leaves in autumn, like the foam of the sea, and that for long. Of deepening trial, see Exodus
1. Deliverance apparently impossible. The government of the new Pharaohnow firm and strong. For evidence of depression see Exo_6:9.
2. In the life of Moses. Eighty years of age. Act_7:23, Act_7:30. Yet hardly any history of the man. In fact we have no continuous history. Died at 120. First forty years? Blank. So with second and third. A history of four crises! Birth; decision; entrance on service; death.
Learn:
(1) Crises in all lives. Divergent roads Crises fix what we are to be and do. Illustrate from life. Watch for them. Pass them on your knees. "Hold up my goings," etc.
(2) God determines them. This came on Moses unexpectedly. Where? On the line of common duty. "He led the flock," etc. "So, rest in the Lord," etc.
(3) Leave life to God.
II THE SCENE. The following should be carefully observed, with the view of vivifying and realising this story of Divine manifestation. The scene was laid
1. In the desert. See Stanley"s "Sinai and Palestine," pp. 12-14, for the general characteristics of the desert.
2. In the Midian section of the desert. For exact definition of this, see "Midian," in Smith"s "Bibl. Dict." 356a.
3. In the Horeb range. Horeb designates the range of mountains about Sinai; Sinai the solitary grandeur of Jebel Mdsa. "Desert of the Exodus," p. 118.
4. At Sinai. Probably in Er Rahah, the wide wady north of Sinai, with the mighty pile of Ras Sufsafeh towering on the south.
5. Generally amid mountains: where oft, as on the sea at night, Godseems so near. His face towards the sun, Sinai in grand altitude of shade before him, Moses saw the brightness and heard the word of the Loges, the manifested God.
III THE VISION. Observe here two elements:
1. The subjective. Moses" state of mind. This would be determined by the known circumstances of Israel, and by his own: he was away from his people, seemingly out of the covenant, the Divine promise forgotten.
2. The objective. A lowly plant; not a tree. Fire. No consuming; no smoke, no ashes, no waste. In the Fire (ver. 4) the Angel-God of the Old Testament. Symbol of the Church of all time. Isa_43:2, Isa_43:3.
IV THE FIRST EFFECT. Intellectual curiosity. "I will now why the bush," etc. This attention was better than indifference, but was probably nothing more than an intelligent curiosity. Still, this was not enough.
V THE CHECK: vers. 4, 5. The attitude of the mind should be that of reverent attention, face to face with Divine manifestations. "The word of the Lord always went along with the glory of the Lord, for every Divine vision was designed for Divine revelation." This the more necessary because over every revelation there is a veil." Hab_3:4. Distance becomes us. "Draw not nigh hither) So in Science, Psychology, History, the revelation of the Christ. The aim not to satisfy the curiosity, but to enlighten and empower the conscience, and direct the life.
VI THE DRAWING into covenantal relations, notwithstanding the momentary check. This by making known
1. The Divine Name: ver. 6. The God of thy father; of the immortal dead too; therefore thy God. The effect of this tender revelation: "Moses hid his face," etc.
2. The Divine sympathy. "I know." Sense of the Divine Omniscience alone is an awful pressure from above on the soul; but there is a restoration to equilibrium, by a pressure from beneath supporting, i.e. by a sense of Divine sympathy sorrows." See Maurice, "Patriarchs and Lawgivers," p. 162.
3. A Divine salvation. "I am come down to deliver.
4. Possibility of Divine service. "Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh:" ver. 10. R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain A flame of fire out of the midst of…
Exo_3:1-6
A flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.
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Moses at the burning bush
I. The story of Moses is the story, at first, of failure. Two great streams of influences moulded his life--the one drawn from the Egyptian surroundings of his early days, and the other drunk in with his mothers milk and his mothers teaching. On the one side he had before him the revelation of the world in its majesty and power, brute energy and magnificence, massive purpose and force, and splendid genius, with a kind of weird and magical faith in the dim powers of the unseen--those speechless-eyed deities of Egypt looking for ever into his face; and, along with these, a rugged sense of the responsibility of human life. And then, from the Hebrew side, another strain of thought. There came belief in the governing providence of God; there was belief in something more than might and majesty of force, and brute power; something like a belief that the weak might yet become strong--for the early history of that people was the history of the individual, or of the tribe waiting, not for his power upon the tokens of brute force, but waiting, rather, for his power upon the evolution of their history under the providence of God. But where he expected amongst people of his kin to find aspirations after better things, and responsiveness to his own spirit, he met only with chillness, coldness, and refusal to follow. Then came his exile in Midian--an exile from all his early dreams and hopes, an exile from the splendid position he had in Egypt, an exile from the future which glowed before him, and an exile, too, from the confidence he had that there was the power capable of lifting the hearts of his people and making them fit to strike a blow for freedom.
II. Look, now, at the vision which restored him to faith and energy.
1. A revelation of permanence. The bush was not consumed; it held its own life amidst the devouring flame. Moses feeling was one of suffering from that which, after all, is so common an experience of life--from the temptation to cry, Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. It was something at such a moment to find that the revelation was to him one of permanence, where everything had slipped from his grasp. A while ago young dreams were his; a while ago, in his manhood, a noble purpose was his; and now all is gone, the temptation is to sit down and take a cynical attitude, and say, with a world where all things change, and where nothing abides, the safest and the wisest course is to laugh at existence, and take up either the language of despair, which wails out vanity of vanities, or the easy cynicism which treats life as a joke. But to the man in that state came a revelation of permanence. In the midst of all this change of things there is something which abides. Do not believe the answer to the cry of your heart, that all things perish, that the powers of decay touch everything in your life. There is in the unconsumed bush, there is in the change and policy of the world, an element of permanence.
2. A revelation of purity. The place whereon thou standest is holy ground. In our first thought we think of permanence in material things. We see intellectual and moral things pass away and the materials remain; but the revelation of faith, the revelation of God, the revelation of all noble impulses of men, is everlastingly this: it is in the elements of purity that the powers of permanence are concerned. Mark you that the revelation given to Moses was not simply of the burning bush. Thrust thine hand into thy bosom; and he thrust it in, and drew it out leprous. Thrust thine hand into thy bosom again; and he did so, and drew it out clean. What significance is here to remind him that the cause of his failure lay not in the want of high purpose and high moral methods! The failure was not the failure of Moses purpose, it was not the failure of his high hopes; there was permanent power, possibly, but there was a leprous stain within the breast of the patriot, and he understood it so; for when at last his dream was nearly accomplished, and he had led the people out from beneath the tryannies of the Pharaohs, and had planted them in the wilderness, then he drew from the throne of God that real law, that holy code, and he gave it to them graven as the image of eternity upon permanent stone, and said this is the law of the longevity of the people; these ten commandments, engrafted into the peoples life, made part of their aspirations, part of their feelings, part of their intellectual powers, part of their whole social life, will guarantee their permanence. It shall be your life if ye will observe to do these things. The vision had taught him that permanence was to be found in purity.
3. A revelation of personal power and love. Behind the purity is a personal God. We might pause a moment and say, Why is this? If I have this moral law, and if the possession of this righteous strength gives permanence, why this personal God behind? The answer is simple. You and I may think there is energy in law; but, after all, law is merely a name given to certain causes and effects and sequences. There is no inspiration necessary in law. To tell Moses, indeed, that here this people could live, that there was no reason why Israel should die, that the element of permanence might be there if only the element of righteousness was there, would be to mock Moses, who might have said, All my patriotic hopes are gone; here I get the answer of permanence, but I do not get the guarantee of it. I get no inspiration as to whether any one cares. Lo! the answer is given: God cares; these people that seemed God forsaken, have yet God as their God; righteousness is not a dead letter, righteousness is an expression of a living will, and an expression of a living will moulding human life to achieve some great and final thing. Thus he began to see that he was not struggling merely against the nerveless hearts of men, but living and loving hearts were co-operating with his, and the aspirations which had dawned within his breast were not simply his own weak thought, but were the answers back to the purposes of God; for in the best sense it is true that the aspirations of man are the aspirations of God; and when you realize that, then you begin to see how needed is the guarantee which Moses asked, Give me strength; what am I that I should go? Because He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob--the God of this people who seemed to be no people; therefore their resurrection is possible.
III. The revelation was not for Moses alone. You remember the scene in Alton Locke, where the poet would go to the Southern Pacific, and there find inspiration for his song, and a shrewd Scotchman took him into the slums of a great city, where the squalor and dinginess of life existed, and said to him that the poet sees poetry everywhere--the poetry is there if you will turn your poets eye upon it. So also is religion. There is in every common bush the light of God, and only those who see it draw off their shoes. It is the old story again. God is near, God is in this place, and we knew it not. You may say that the vision, and that faith which the life which has surrounded you, has slowly dimmed and numbed, and you say, There is no revelation for me; my heart, my mind, is a wilderness now; there were little fruits and flowers in the garden of my early life, and I hoped to dedicate my life, and consecrate my services, to God--perhaps as a minister of His Church, perhaps in a high calling in the State; but now I have grown confused with new and strange thoughts, that rise sirocco-like; new things have swept away the old, and have left me no verdure and flowers in their place; I am in a wilderness, and there is no revelation of fire for me. Pardon me, there is. Alter your views. Do you never feel a sense of dissatisfaction? did ever cross your mind the law of self-condemnation, and have you not said, I meant to make more of my life in this place of study, and meant to have worked for a purpose; and now I am dissatisfied? Where I meant to be a living agent, I have only become an idle dreamer. I look back upon a wasted and unprofitable life, and say, Woe is me! all the bright, hopeful views have gone, and my life is like a shipwrecked thing. Is not that pain, which is the witness of your failure, the fire of God? He lets it burn, that it may burn away the base thing, and that you may see in the voice of noble discontent the possibility of stepping up once more to the dream of your early life, and by the strength of God achieving it. But we forget to turn aside to see the great sights about us. Give your hearts leisure sometimes to meet with God, and God will meet with you. Give your souls the opportunity of letting the light of Gods vision shine sometimes with a possibility of reflection upon your own, life, and the fire will glow, and the bush will burn, and the revelation will begin. (Bp. Boyd Carpenter.)
The vision and the voice
I. The vision.
1. The vision was miraculous.
2. Moses had this vision when he was in solitude.
3. It was symbolic--
(1) Of Israel in Egypt.
(2) Of the Church in the world.
(3) Of the truth of the gospel.
(4) Of ourselves, who have the religious life within us.
II. The voice.
1. It revealed the majesty and grandeur of God.
2. It revealed the special providence of the great God--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
3. It proclaimed the faithfulness of God.
4. It demanded reverence. (T. Jones.)
Moses as the bush
This narrative is a chain of glorious wonders. We see here--
I. An old man called to go out on the great errand of his life. The education of Moses for the great mission of his life lasted eighty years. God never sends forth fruit until the season is fitted for the fruit, and the fruit for the season; when the hour was ready for the man, and the man for the hour, then God sent forth Moses.
II. The burning bush from which that call was sounded.
1. This was a sign to indicate the peculiar presence of God.
2. It was also a symbol of His people, eminently adapted to encourage the prophet in undertaking their cause.
III. The angel who uttered this call. We see at the first glance that He is Divine; we next learn that He is an angel; we further find, from a chain of Scripture proofs, that He is Christ.
IV. The covenant under which the angel gave him his commission. It was the same covenant that had been given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
V. The angels name. That name asserts--
1. His real existence.
2. His underived existence.
3. His independent existence.
4. His eternity.
VI. The effect to be wrought by the remembrance of his name.
1. It was intended to inspire profoundest reverence for the Being to whom it belongs.
2. It reveals the infinite sufficiency of a Christians portion.
3. It gives encouragement to evangelical enterprise. (C. Stanford, D. D.)
Moses education and life-work
I. How was the earlier history of Moses an education for the great work of his life? In order to free his people from their bondage, Moses needed sympathy and faith; and the Bible gives us three phases of his life, wonderfully adapted to educate him in these qualities.
1. His education in the Egyptian court.
2. His attempt to convince the people of their brotherhood.
3. His flight into the wilderness.
II. How did this vision explain to Moses the work of his life?
1. The vision of God prepared him for the work of his life. It showed him the everlastingness of God, and his own unworthiness to do Gods work. But the voice upheld him amid the overwhelming sense of his nothingness, and made him feel his vocation.
2. The vision of God gave endurance in fulfilling that work. Even should his work seem to fail, he had a grasp on eternity which would keep him strong and true. (E. L. Hull, B. A.)
The Divine call and its sign
I. The call of the chosen leader. Moses was already a believing man, walking in favour and fellowship with God, and in sympathy with his down-trodden people. We must carefully distinguish between Moses decision for God, and Gods disclosure of duty to Moses. The one took place in his early manhood; the other was deferred till the threshold of old age, when God gave the charge of the story before us, and the servants self-denying choice was rewarded by the sovereigns honourable commission. The two experiences differ, you see, as conversion from service, as personal consecration from official appointment, as entrance on a life of holiness from entrance on a life of work.
1. And here comes our first lesson--a lesson for all who, like Moses, await Gods call--the lesson, namely, of faith and of self-restraint. Are we struck with the fact that of the hundred and twenty years assigned to Moses, eighty were spent in preparation, and only forty in work? But it is Gods way. What seems a time of uselessness as regards the world may be a time of probation as regards yourself. And the time of probation, if quietly endured and conscientiously improved, may issue, ere God has done with you, in a work of deliverance on the earth, whose concentration, rapidity, and success may amply explain the preceding delay.
2. Take a second lesson at this point in passing--a lesson of diligence. I know not how God means to meet and to summon you, if, as in Moses case, He has special service in store for you; but I am sure of this, that revelations of special service are given only in the midst of conscientious application to ordinary duty.
3. Learn here yet a third truth--a lesson of constant watchfulness. For though Moses was at the time unexpectant, he was not upon that account heedless. His mind was in sympathy with the spiritual and eternal, and his eye was kept open to discern it: Be sure that, for all his industry in his worldly calling, the mood of Moses was such that no indication or hint could escape him from the world that is unseen and Divine. And let us take that spirit along with us, if, like Moses, we would find the lights and the beacons of God on our path--a spirit of devout and careful attention, of inquiry, and of vigilant thought.
4. The lesson of reverence is needed too. While the secret of the Lord is for those that seek Him, it is also for those that fear Him.
5. Holy diffidence. Much of the best work with which the Church has been served has been rendered by men who, like Moses, were at first overcome by the thought of it, and would fain have drawn back had Providence permitted. Take the example of the great pioneer of the Church in Scotland--the leader of its glorious exodus from the superstition and tyranny of popery to the heritage which God had prepared for it, in the light wherewith His Spirit illumines, and the liberty wherewith His truth makes free. When Knox was called to the pastorate of the church of St. Andrews, and the first step was disclosed to him of a road that led onwards to service and fame, we read that a strange thing happened. The audience were gathered, the service was proceeded with, the wish of the people was announced by the officiating minister, and echoed back as he spoke by the cries of the people themselves. But when Knox rose to speak in return, he broke clown into tears, left the meeting-place abruptly, and enclosed himself in the privacy of his house; and from that day, as the chronicler tells of him, till the day he presented himself to preach, his countenance and behaviour did sufficiently declare the grief and the trouble of his heart, for no man saw any sign of mirth from him, neither had he pleasure to accompany any man for days together. Such feelings of diffidence and misgiving will a true man feel whensoever he is honoured with special service; nor, if he is wise, will he seek to repress it.
II. The revelation of the changeless God. Nothing will establish the Church, nothing will support and encourage its leaders in times of trial such as those through which Israel was passing, like the thought of the changelessness of God, and in especial the changelessness and eternity of His love, of which trials, however grievous, and temptations, however scorching, form only a brief and a passing phase. The processes God employs may be many, but the principle He acts on is one. The manifestations He makes of Himself may be various, but the character that underlies them is the same. (W. A. Gray.)
Man in relation to mystery
I. That sometimes men meet with mystery in the pursuit of their daily calling.
1. This vision was unexpected.
2. This vision was educational.
II. That sometimes mystery is associated with things of a very ordinary character. A bush. The smallest, the most trivial, the apparently unmeaning things, events of life, are full of mystery, contain a heavenly presence, a Divine voice, will teach a reflective spirit, will become an impulse to a higher life--avocation. The bushes of life are full of mystery. The world is a great secret--is vocal with messages of freedom to listening souls.
III. That mystery should be investigated with the utmost devotion of soul. Put off thy shoes from off thy feet.
1. There must be devotion in opposition to levity.
2. There must be devotion in opposition to curiosity. Why this devotion?
(1) Because mystery is holy.
(2) Because mystery is authoritative. It commands us to take off our shoes. Its authority is Divine; will be recognized by true manhood.
IV. That sometimes good men are favoured with a grand unfolding of Mystery. I am the God, etc.
1. God observes the conduct of men in relation to mystery. And the Lord saw that he turned aside to see. What a subduing, inspiring thought, that God knows all the efforts of our souls in their investigation of mystery.
2. God speaks to men who are anxious to investigate mystery. God called to him out of the midst of the bush. God speaks--allows us to investigate.
3. God reveals Himself as the great solution of all mystery. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Desert revelations
I. Let us contemplate the element of wonder in the history.
1. This was the crowning preparation and call of Moses for his lifes work.
2. This was to be the beginning of a new stage in the life and history of the chosen people, and of the history of the Divine unfolding.
II. Some of the elements of wonder here are old.
1. The Angel Jehovah was not a created Being. The designation is evidently used in a special sense, because, He speaks as God Himself and receives Divine homage. Here it means the Divine as self-revealing; the Infinite bringing Himself into relations of knowledge with a limited and finite creature, and into relations of covenanted grace and mercy. It is God to whom we can get near, understand, grasp, love, serve, obey.
2. The Angel Jehovah was God of the fathers. But He was revealed to them as El Shaddai, God Almighty.
3. But what He had been to the fathers He still was. The fathers God! The God of our dead! The sanctities of home life go into and along with our religion.
4. There was still another old element in the wonder; and that was the Fire. This was the same element which appeared amid and upon the cherubic symbols, darting hither and thither like flashing sword in the sunshine at the gate of Eden, and which we read of as the Presence, the faces of Jehovah; and as the glory of the Lord.
III. But to the wonder which was old there were elements added which are new. God reveals Himself here under a new name. An old word is vitalized with a new meaning, and is laid at the foundation of a dispensation. He will be known in all the Mosaic times and institutions, not as El Shaddai, but as Jehovah, I am that I am. He is the one self-existent, unchangeable, ever-living God of ages. From everlasting to everlasting God. But the name is adopted and comes into use, specially in relation to the deliverance from Egypt and the constitution of the nation. So it means, the Sovereign Ruler and Ordainer of the Ages, who has become a Righteous Deliverer and Redeemer. (W. H. Davison, D. D.)
The burning bush
1. Observe the substance of the figure. Not a fine tall tree, a cedar or a cypress, but a bush--a mere bush. Such is the image of the Church--poor and humble. It was at one time in the ark, and there was a wicked Ham, at another in the family of Abraham, and there was a mocking Ishmael. It was now in Egypt, consisting of slaves and brickmakers. Jesus had not where to lay His head, His followers were the common people, His apostles were fishermen.
2. Observe the condition of the bush. It burned with fire. Fire denotes suffering. Christians must have tribulation in the world. They are never to consider fiery trials as strange things. Of how many can God say, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction?
3. Mark the bushs preservation. The bush was not consumed. Sometimes the Church has burned in the fire of persecution, and sometimes of derision. But with what result? Whilst kingdoms and empires have passed away, and not a wreck of them is left but some vestiges in ruins, lingering in monumental mockery of the boasts of men, the Church still stands, as she is destined ever to do, in the light and strength of her omnipotent and faithful Lord. And this is as true of every individual believer as of the whole Church collectively. (A. Nevins, D. D.)
The bush as an emblem
Some also see in this bush an emblem of--
1. The awfulness of Gods offended justice (Deu_4:21; Mal_3:2).
2. The incarnation and sufferings of Christ, the bush representing His human nature (Isa_53:2), the flame of fire shadowing forth His Divine nature (Deu_4:24), and the union of the flame with the bush denoting the union of the Divine with the human nature.
3. Those dreadful sufferings by which sin should be expiated--Christ enduring the fierce flames of the wrath of God, yet not consumed (Heb_9:28). (A. Nevins, D. D.)
Was this a great sight?
1.It was the great I Am who exhibited it.
2. It afforded a bright gleam of hope to Israel, that their bondage was nearly over (verses 7, 8).
In order to see this great sight, we must turn aside--
1. From the world (1Jn_2:15; 2Co_6:17).
2. Carnal reasoning (1Co_2:14; Joh_3:9).
3. All known sin (Eph_4:17-18; 2Pe_1:9). (A. Nevins, D. D.)
The God of Moses
Here we have an account of God s disclosure of Himself to Moses; we have that which is the root out of which Moses whole conception of God and His government grew. Laying aside all preconceptions and prejudices, let us see what sort of a portrait this chapter gives us:
1. It shows us a self-revealing God; a God who discloses Himself to the human race, and communicates with them.
2. This God is one who is not indifferent to the woes and sufferings of His people.
3. He is a God of deliverance.
4. In working out this deliverance, He chooses human and imperfect instruments.
5. The very name by which God at once reveals and conceals Himself suggests the similitude between the Old Testament and the New Testament revelations. I am, says Jehovah to Moses; you must trust Me and walk by faith in My assurance, and not in an intellectual comprehension of My character and My purposes. I am, says Christ to Philip; you must trust in Me, and walk by your faith in Me: not by an understanding of what the Father is who hath sent Me, or a comprehension of what the Father purposes to accomplish in and by you. In a sense the Egyptian inscription, the Athenian altar, and Herbert Spencers definition are true; God is the Unknown and Unknowable. The intellect tries in vain to draw aside the veil; but love and sympathy pass behind it. Philosophy in vain endeavours to analyse and interpret mother-love; but the child in simplicity and faith reposes on it. The God of Moses and the God of the twelve disciples are alike in this--that They are the incomprehensible I am; to be loved, trusted, obeyed, rested on, but never to be measured, fathomed and understood. Sometimes from my hill-side home among the Highlands of the Hudson I see, fifty miles away, obscured by haze and overhanging clouds, and partially veiled, perhaps, in mist or rain, the distant outline of the Catskill range; and then the veil is drawn aside, the turbaned mist is lifted off their foreheads, and that which before was dim and indistinct stands out against the dark background of sky in clear, intelligible outline, yet leaving all the dress of grey rock and green tree and foaming cataract, and dark gloom, and flitting sunshine breaking through the trees, to the imagination; for at best it is only an outline I can see. So in the Old Testament I look upon the outline of my God veiled in cloud; in the New Testament the cloud is lifted, the mist is cleared away, and through an atmosphere like that of the most perfect October day I look on the same outline, distinct and beautiful against a heavenly background: and still it is but an outline that I see of the mystery and majesty of the nature I shall never know, never be able even to explore, until I stand in His presence and am invited to know Him even as I am known. (Lyman Abbott, D. D.)
Moses and the burning bush; or, a picture of a true student and the Bible
1. That Gods purposes are punctual in their accomplishment (see Gen_15:1-21.). The clock of time had now struck the four hundred years, and God forthwith began to redeem His pledge.
2. That Gods purposes, in relation to our world, are generally accomplished by the agency of man.
3. That the men whom God employs for the carrying out of His purposes, He qualifies by a special revelation.
4. That this special revelation which He vouchsafes, is frequently symbolical in its character. All nature is a symbol. Truth in symbol is palpable, attractive, impressive. The burning bush was a symbol. But what did it symbolize? Gods presence.
I. Observe moses directing his earnest attention to the divine revelation.
1. Moses directs his attention to it, under an impression of its greatness.
2. Moses directs his attention to it, in order to ascertain its import. It is ever so with a true student of the Bible. He will seek to find out the reason of things.
II. Observe Moses holding intercourse with god through the divine revelation.
1. Gods communications depended upon his attention. Only he who looks and inquires, hears in the Bible the voice of God.
2. Gods communications were consciously personal to him.
3. Gods communications were directive and elevating.
III. Observe Moses realizing the profoundest impressions through the divine revelation. Hid his face, etc.
1. These impressions are peculiarly becoming in sinful intelligences. The Bible is designed to produce reverence for God.
2. These impressions are necessary to qualify men for Gods work.
3. These impressions are consonant with the highest dignity and enjoyment. He that is consciously least is always greatest. (Homilist.)
The burning bush
I. The locality. How many noted Scriptural events took place on mountains!
1. It seems as if they were above the common herd of man.
2. They are difficult of access. All religious duties must be connected with difficulty.
3. They were mostly places of solitude.
II. The spot. A bush.
1. Its insignificance.
2. Its incongruity. What apparent connection between God and a bush?
3. Its intrinsic worthlessness.
III. The phenomenon.
1. The bush burned with fire. Gods glory appeared in it, humble as it was.
2. The bush, though burning, was not consumed. (Homilist.)
Moses encouraged by the burning bush
Some would have us learn, that it is Gods glory makes the Church beautiful, and gives the poor bush its excellence and power; others, that the burning fire represents the afflictions to which we are subject as Christians, which exist, but do not consume the soul. We may, indeed, profitably extract any such lessons; they all help us on our way. But I think the appearance was only intended to encourage Moses. He was sent forth to go to Pharaoh, but complained of his own inability. God showed him that it was not the power of the instrument that was to prevail, but the influence of the Spirit which animated it; even as it was not the bush which was remarkable, but the fire which dwelt in it. (Homilist.)
The betraying bush; or, the Church in the world
Remember also, that you may attain the end of your being in any place; that you may adorn with moral beauty the very humblest sphere; that you may confer upon your position greater dignity than any position could possibly confer upon you. When we read the histories of the worlds brightest characters, we seem to forget altogether the social ranks to which they belonged; the dazzling brightness of their heroism, their valour, their truth, makes their outward surroundings of no account; the one prominent fact which forces itself upon our attention is, that they acquitted themselves like men, and won the admiration of all succeeding ages. Who ever stops to reflect that John Bunyan was a tinker; that Paul the apostle was a tent-maker; that Jesus of Nazareth was a carpenters son? Be it ours, therefore, not to murmur at our circumstances, but to make the most of whatever circumstances in which we may be placed. Let us learn from this scene how to conduct ourselves in Gods presence. Of course, God is present everywhere, our conduct should therefore be an habitual recognition of this solemn fact. Still there are times and places in which we come into Gods special presence. When we open Gods book, and meditate upon its contents, and endeavour to profit in the study of it, His presence breathes in every page, and speaks words of mercy, warning, and encouragement to our souls. Ah! my friends, it makes one sad to think, how men can treat their Bible as if it were mere trash; how men can repeat their prayers, as if they were useless forms; how men can hear the gospel, as if it were a worthless tale!
I. The Church in the midst of the world. The primary reference in the text is to the Jewish Church in Egypt. There is an uncompromising antagonism, an eternal conflict, between the Church and the world. And the Church being comparitively small in number, engages in this conflict at great odds. Hence it frequently seems as if she must be eventually overcome. The spirit of this world is in direct opposition to the principles which the Church is commissioned to hold forth. The morality which it propagates is a standing protest against the worlds most cherished notions. Is it likely that such teaching as this should provoke no opposition? It has provoked opposition of the strongest, keenest, deadliest kind. I shall not detain you with any account of the horrible persecutions which the Church has passed through during the last eighteen centuries of its history. But in spite of all, the Church has proved itself invincible; though persecuted, it has not been cast down; though burned with fire, it has not been consumed. Nay, we can say even more. The very trials to which the Church has been exposed, have only helped to develop its powers, to widen its influence, to make it what it is at the present day. The bush has been set on fire. True. But what then? The fire itself has been for its benefit; fanned into a mighty conflagration, it has shone all the more brilliantly in the midst of the worlds darkness.
II. God in the midst of the Church. The glory which appeared in the bush is a fit emblem of Gods presence in the Church--His life-giving presence--His protecting presence--His conquering presence. God is in the heart of every true member of the Church, God is the source of his spiritual life, God is the secret of his spiritual power. Gods presence is the Churchs chief defence. It is not strange that she has been so firm, so immovable, so enduring, when we consider the mighty Being, whose power has protected her. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. But this great fact--this ever-abiding presence of God in the Church--suggests a still more precious thought; for it is a guarantee for the Churchs future; its future safety, its future triumphs, its future glory. (D. Rowlands, B. A.)
The burning bush
Moses was not engaged in any unworthy work, or any career of sin. He was tending the flock of his father-in-law, and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God. Here, perhaps, he had been often before, but as he led the flock along that familiar track, suddenly there came to him, in the calm and quiet of that lonely place, this wonderful revelation of the Lord, which became a point of departure in Moses own heart and history, and in the history of the people of God. So, I say, that which makes life worth living is this--we will come to the point at once--the great glory of our life is that God comes into it and reveals His presence; that God opens our eyes to see that there is more in the world than simply our daily calling, our flock of sheep, and our temporal interests; that life is more than a days work, no matter how diligently and conscientiously performed, and a nights sleep. God, the personal God, is here to greet our own eyes with the kindling glory of the manifestation of His own presence. He will change our life, its whole current, its whole outcome. And I would like at the outset to waken up an expectation in those who are rather apt to think that the day is gone by for them either to expect or to receive such visions and revelations of the Lord. My friends, Moses was an old man when this took place. Therefore let not those growing old, either in years or in cares, give in or sink down. Many a long day and year Moses had trudged about this very region, when suddenly one year, one day, one hour, one particular moment, he lifted up his eyes, and, as we all know now, Lo! there was God. In the midst of all the ordinary humdrum and; routine of life I see something. There is a glimmer, a something extraordinary somewhere, sometime, and I open my eyes. I was often there before, and saw nothing; but now there is a gleam, a light, an Epiphany. My very soul is engaged, led on, and on, and on, until the end of it is God as man speaking to me, lifting up my life by the grappling-hooks of His own purposes, and using and glorifying it and me for ever and ever. I want to show, for example, that you might have had a man, another shepherd, and that man might have been going on for seventy or eighty years of age like Moses, and he never would have seen this revelation. He would have got so down to the level of a shepherds life and a shepherds experience that when he saw the bush burning he would have got some natural explanation for it, and passed on. It would have come too late in the day for him to say, That is worth looking at. It is a little extra blush on that bush; but it cannot be a fire, it is only an extra glow of the sunlight on the furze. I do not think I ever sew it just so before, though. Meantime the sheep give a bleat, and he turns his face away, and on he goes. Oh, it is hard to waken up some of us! We are so unlike Moses. No; old as he was, he was as curious as a bairn. He had still the faculty to open his eyes and see wonderful sights, and clap his hands, and wonder what they were. May God take away the oldness of some of us, and give us the freshness of youth! It will be the beginning of salvation. Open your eyes! The world is not done, and you are not done. Your days are only in the beginning, and if you only get your eyes open to see what is here, they will never close again. When once God shows Himself to us in Christ, we, at last, have our eyes open. Curiosity! a human thing;--and God pulled Moses by that little thread--curiosity. And this great chain cable came after it--faith, clear, strong faith in a personal God, speaking to him, and giving him a personal message and mission. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. Now, turn aside; get off the track, oh man; step out of your way; turn aside. Go, go, go along this new course; it is not far to go. Do not sit still and let things go past. It is a wonderful world; it is a wonderful church; all life is just bursting with wonder, if you will only turn aside. But not everybody sees the burning. Everybody sees the bush. It is only Moses that becomes aware of the glory on the grass; the silence that is in the starry sky; the sleep that is among the lonely hills. The world is more than mud or atoms brought together fortuitously, or in any other way. The world is a burning bush. It is so far earth--solid, material. I can handle it, and become a man of science, and say, What is in it? And, God help me, I can become so much a mere scientist as only to see the bush and leaves and berries, and the shape of the leaves and the shape of the stem, and tell you how it grew, and then say, There is no flame. Just so; there is a way of looking at that bush, man--a way of looking at the bush that puts out its light, or your light, which is the same thing. There could have been a kind of man come tramping along here with the sheep, and with one single look he would have quenched that flame; and the same damnable thing may be in you and me. We may look at nature, and look at our own bodies, and look at Christ in the Bible; and look at the Bible itself, with such a blank look and stare of unbelief that God withdraws Himself, and never comes back. Never! There is a way of looking, a trick in the eye, that is an abomination to God, and He simply withdraws. Everything is a burning bush. Nature is such a burning bush. Nature is full of the supernatural, everywhere ready to burst forth, but you must not push forward, but stand back if you wish to see it. The more we push in irreverently, the more it flies from us. Our own bodies--a burning bush! Have you ever thought of that? Here is the physical, the material, the natural, but in it and on it the immaterial, the spiritual, in a true sense, the metaphysical. Streaming out of it, and above it, and beyond it, is that which lifts itself up from the mass of blood and brain and bone, and says, I, I am. Then, again, here is a burning bush for you--the Bible. So much of it natural: the boards, and that means the binder; the print, and that means the printer; the thoughts, and that means the thinker--like any other book. Like any other book, but, God be praised, more than any other book. For the glory, the voice, the Thus saith the Lord, comes out from this, that comes from no other book. Such a burning bush is the Church of Christ, and I speak not now of her survival of fiery trials. Now, a congregation, a Church, either in the large sense or the sectional sense of the word, is just like any other corporation or society. It has its laws and purposes, and there is so much in it of mans planning and guiding and ordering. Yet a Church is not a mere guild like any other; a corporation of people like any other gathering. No, no, no! It is like them as that bush is like any other bush; but, man, there is a glory in it, there is a wonder in it! The Lord is in this place. In all places--all places--where I record My name, there will I come, and I will bless them. Oh, Thou that dwellest in Thy Church, shine forth. For some of us it is becoming only a bush, an institution like any other. And I see coming to us Christ Himself as a burning bush. There He lies, a baby, like your own, my good woman; but, unlike your own, there is a glory, there is a flame. Wherever you come across Him, as babe, or as boy, or as man, or as crucified, there is the flame, there is the extra superadded something, and that something is the eternal and uncreated Godhead. Worship Him, wherever you meet Him, from Bethlehem right on to the cross, on to the glory. Worship Him--God in human flesh. Turn aside and see this great sight: why human nature can exhibit this mystery--why the bush is not burnt. But further, all this came to Moses, humanly speaking, this wonderful revelation, because of reverence. Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. He was near enough. I can quite well understand that very likely no man more than Moses would feel, Oh, I would like to see this great sight, and get to the bottom of it. But he could not, and we should not. God has set bounds to the inquiries of the human spirit, not cramping bounds, but wise and safe ones. So with many other difficulties. How am I at once body and spirit? But I am warned by this, that many men who have gone into that question in order to find out about it have put out their eyes. They come back from the examination of the human frame, from wonder upon wonder, they come back and say, We have found no spirit, no breath of God; all that has no warrant from our researches. Out you go with your researches! And they go to this Bible and say, It is a very wonderful Book, and we have examined it in the spirit of frank, candid, and fearless inquiry. We have not scoffed at the Book, nor scorned it; we have examined it in the spirit of frank and fearless inquiry, and we find the glory is gone. It is just so. There is only one method--the reverent; and one result--and that is to know God better and bow down flatter before Him. You cannot take away the hyphen that holds the burning and the bush together. When even Moses would have gone forward to see why, he was kept back, and his thoughts turned in more profitable directions. So you are forbidden to go nearer; you are near enough to see and to know and to bow down and to give an intelligent, wholehearted adoration and worship of obedience. And any spirit that enters into you and me, and makes me go beyond the point where Moses had to pull up, is a dangerous spirit, alike in method and result. (J. McNeill.)
The call of Moses
I. The occasion of the call.
1. Solitude.
2. God is watching a man.
3. God doesnt call until the man turns aside to see.
II. The source of the call. A bramble that does not burn away.
III. Results of the call.
1. Reverent self-surrender.
2. Transformation of life. (E. Judson.)
The manifestation of God
I. The manifestation of God in the purity of its nature.
1. Purity is essential to the being of God.
2. Purity is essential to the government of God.
3. Purity is essential to the worship of God.
II. The manifestation of God in the severity of its operation--the bush was burned with fire. Every impurity must be consumed, and every obstacle to the kingdom of God must be destroyed. This severity is evident--
1. In the chastisements of the godly, and--
2. In the utter destruction of the impenitent.
III. The manifestation of God in its gracious intention--and the bush was not consumed.
1. God in Christ is a Saviour.
2. The operations of the Holy Spirit purify the soul, but do not destroy the man. (British Weekly.)
The burning bush
I. The circumstances in which Moses was, when the Lord appeared to him in the desert. Keeping sheep. What a contrast to his employments in youth! Yet probably this was the happiest part of his life. Time for reflection and for poetical musings.
II. The nature of the appearance.
1. The emblem in which the Church was held forth--Bush. If numbers and splendour are the mark of a true Church as its properties, where should we find for many ages the Church of God? Seldom in the Old Testament, never in the New. The Church of God was once enclosed in the ark; at this time it consisted of a number of slaves and brickmakers.
2. The condition in which it was found. Burning with fire. Grievously oppressed and persecuted.
3. Its preservation. Not consumed. The blood of the martyrs has ever been the seed of the Church.
4. The cause of this security. The angel of the Lord was in the midst of it.
III. The attention it awakened. Let us, like Moses, turn aside, and contemplate His revelations.
IV. Gods prohibition, or rather, regulation. A check on curiosity. Be satisfied with the facts of Christianity, without the philosophy of them. Be content with the use of things, rather than attempt to dive into their nature and their qualities. Take the religious controversies, which have occupied so much time, and which have injured so many fine tempers; and what have they commonly turned to, but things too deep for human reasoning to fathom, too lofty to be soared to without presumption, or too insignificant to merit regard?
V. Gods address. All along, from the beginning, God has shown favour to some for the sake of others. Under the law He was called--The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. because the covenant made with them was for Israel: in him they were blessed, and for his sake they received all things. But now the covenant made for the spiritual Israel, was made with a far more glorious character; it was set up from everlasting--from the beginning, ere the earth was. His name is Jesus: it is in Him that we are accepted; it is in Him that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places; it is for His sake that we receive all things. And therefore, while of old His style was, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it is now, under the gospel, The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are two things derivable from this address of God, when He says, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The first is, that unquestionably, therefore, Moses had some knowledge of a future state. He does not say, He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; their spirits are with Me now; their renewed bodies shall be, by and by, as certainly as they are now in the dust. You observe, also, that God sustains His relationship to those of your connections, who are gone before.
VI. Let us observe the impression made upon moses. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
1. Here you see, first, that Divine manifestation always produces self-diffidence and abasement.
2. You see, also, how little we can physically bear. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; the splendour would be too much for the eye, the sounds too much for the ear; the poor frame would break down under that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (W. Jay.)
Gods Bible not consumed
This book, do you see it? Not a leaf, not a word, not a letter of it, but has been burned ten thousand times--on parchment, papyrus, and paper; in many a language and many a land it has fed the furnace and lit the fire. It has been piled by thousands and thousands at a time in huge bonfires, and offered amid the yells of triumphant crowds, a holocaust to gods of wood and to the triple-crowned idol of the papal throne! The bush has burned with fire. But the bush was not consumed. This Book is ubiquitous; never a land under heaven that has it not, never a language among men that does not contain it. Paganism, I tell you, has had it trampled into dirt by beasts; popery has burnt it at the hands of the common hangman; sceptical science has branded and seared it as with hot iron; infidelity has torn it into shreds; and atheism, of the modern type, has besmeared its pages with mud and filth whose fumes are insupportable--but the bush is not consumed! Lo! the bush burned with fire. But the blessed Saviour declares that the servant shall be as his Lord. What has been done to Him in the world, He says, shall be done to you also, Christian believer. Then the burning bush is a lively image of the Christian too. Now I desire to leave one final thought with you. Why did not the fire burn the bush? Because the Lord was in it. He had made it His temporary dwelling-place. Why did not the fire burn the Christ? Through wrath and rage of man and devil, through cross, and death, and hell, He passed unscathed. Why? Because of the Divine in Him. Because the bush of that clay temple of humanity was the tabernacle in which dwelt the Deity. Why has not the fierce, horrible, and perpetual fires of persecution and testing succeeded in destroying the Christian Church? Because God is in it. In it the tabernacle of God is with men. Christ walks amid the golden candlesticks; the Father dwells where His name is recorded, and the very life-breath of the Church is the living Spirit of God. (J. J. Wray.)
The burning bush
I. An emblem.
1. This bush had God in the midst of it (verse 4), and the Church has God in the midst of her (Psa_46:5).
2. This bush, burning in the night, gave a great light in the wilderness; and the Church of God gives a great light in this dark world.
3. The bush burns, but is unburnt. The Church suffers, but stiff survives.
II. A miracle. The first miracle we read of was wrought upon fire. Fire had been more worshipped than any of the elements of nature: from the Moloch of the Ammonites to the Juggernaut of the Hindoos, no idol has had such crowded temples or costly offerings. God struck His first blow at the favourite idol. He will not give His honour to another, nor His glory to graven images. He will not have a rival--He cannot have an equal. All the miracles of Egypt were wrought against idolatry. Each was a blow struck at some favourite idol. In Babylon another blow was struck at fire, in the case of the three Hebrew youths.
III. A magnet. I will draw near and see, etc. Since the fall, man has ever been more alive to the gratification of his curiosity than the welfare of his soul. Plain truths, though big with importance to him, he neglects; but mysteries in nature, providence, and revelation, he industriously pries into.
IV. A monitor. It is true, that now we are not ordered to keep at a distance, but draw near; instead of timidity, there is to be boldness; instead of a burning bush a throne of grace; and instead of a God upon whose face we cannot look, there is an incarnate God upon whose face we can look. Yet this monitor teaches us this most important truth--that we can come to God acceptably, only when we come in His own way; and Gods way is through Christ, with reverence and godly fear. (T. Macconnell.)
The burning bush.
I. The learned shepherd.
1. Humility. From a palace he stoops to this lowly life.
2. Patience. For forty years he thus laboured.
3. Fidelity. Led his father-in-laws flock.
Involved seeking out the best pasturage: folding, and guarding, etc. A good servant in his own house, before God made him a master in Israel. Faithful in little, etc.
II. The great sight.
1. Where it appeared. In the wilderness. God there also.
2. When it appeared. In the time of Israels sorrow, and Moses toil.
3. Wherefore it appeared.
(1) Because the day of deliverance was near.
(2) To instruct the mind of Moses, and excite his curiosity.
(3) To represent the state of the Israelites.
A Church in the furnace of affliction. The bush not consumed, though the fire was hot. Israel flourishing in trial. It was not only a wonder, but a sign. A great sight, but not merely a something to look at and investigate; but also to learn from.
III. The present God. He dwelt in the bush (Mar_12:26; Luk_20:37; Act_7:35; Deu_33:16). God in the bush showed His relation to His people.
1. With them in trouble.
2. Sustains them in trouble.
3. With them a source of instruction.
Learn--
1. To cultivate high qualities in lowly callings.
2. Seek our comfort in affliction from an ever-present God. (J. C. Gray.)
The burning bush
1. As an emblem it instructs.
2. As a miracle it astonishes.
3. As a magnet it attracts.
4. As a monitor it warns. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
A great sight
1. Occasioned by a Divine agency.
2. Illumined by a Divine presence.
3. Given for a Divine purpose. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Great sights
1. Desired by the world.
2. Sought by the pleasure-seeker.
3. Found only by the Christian.
4. The inspiration of a good life. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The moral preparation and condition necessary for the beholding of heavenly visions
1. We must turn aside from the gaiety of the world.
2. From the futility of merely human reasonings.
3. From the commission of moral evil in daily life.
4. From following the instruction of incompetent teachers.
5. They are largely dependent upon our personal willingness of soul--God speaks to all men who reverently turn aside to hear Him. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
God calls truth-seekers by name
Moses,--Nathaniel.
1. To indicate His delight in them.
2. His favour toward them.
3. His hope of them.
4. To prepare them for further revelations. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The name of a good man vocal on the lips of God
1. An honour.
2. A destiny.
3. A prophecy.
4. A vocation. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The truth-seekers response
1. His personality.
2. His place.
3. His willingness.
We should always respond to the calls of heaven. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The souls tutoring aside to see often leads to visions of God
1. In His Book.
2. In His works.
3. In His providences,
4. In His Church and sanctuary. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Soul visions
1. Obtained by prayer.
2. Refreshing to the soul.
3. Strengthening to manhood.
4. Related to human suffering. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The neighbourhood of Horeb
The southern end of the peninsula of Sinai, to which the sacred narrative now takes us, consists of a confused mass of peaks (the highest above 9,000 feet), some of dark green porphyry, but mostly red granite of different hues, which is broken by strips of sand or gravel, intersected by wadies or glens, which are the beds of winter torrents, and dotted here and there with green spots, chiefly due to perennial fountains. The great central group among these mountains is that of Horeb, and one special height in it Sinai, the mount of God. Strangely enough, it is just here amidst this awful desolateness that the most fertile places it the wilderness are also found. Even in our days part of this plateau is quite green. Hither the Bedouin drive their flocks when summer has parched all the lower districts. Fruit-trees grow in rich luxuriance in its valleys, and the neighbourhood is the best watered in the whole peninsula, running streams being found in no less than four of the adjacent valleys. It was thither that Moses, probably in the early summer, drove Reuels flock for pasturage and water. Behind him, to the east, lay the desert; before him rose in awful grandeur the mountain of God. The stillness of this place is unbroken; its desolateness only relieved by the variety of colouring in the dark green or the red mountain peaks, some of which shine in the sunlight like burnished copper. The atmosphere is such that the most distant outlines stand out clearly defined, and the faintest sound falls distinctly on the ear. All at once truly a strange sight presented itself. On a solitary crag, or in some sequestered valley, one of those spiked, gnarled, thorny acacia trees, which form so conspicuous a feature in the wadies of the desert, of which indeed they are the only timber tree of any size, stood enwrapped in fire, and yet the bush was not consumed. (A. Edersheim, D. D.)
The bush and the fire
In the brier we have a symbol of the people of Israel. From this time till the cursing of the fig-tree, which had no fruit on it but only leaves, the chosen people of God are frequently and variously referred to under the figure of a bush or tree. Here they are represented as a low, contemptible brier, in contradistinction to the tall majestic trees, which proudly rear their heads to the clouds, and are gazed at and admired by the world. Hence the brier was symbolical of Israel, as a people despised by the world. The fire is always used in the Scriptures as a symbol of Divine holiness. And this is the case here; for the record expressly says that the presence of God was made known in the fire. The burning brier, therefore, was a symbol of the community of God, in which the holiness of God had its abode. The brier was burning in the fire, but it was not consumed, although from its nature it deserved to be consumed, and could easily be so. It was a miracle that it was not consumed. And thus was it also a miracle of mercy, that the holiness of God could dwell in a sinful community without consuming it. But in the midst of the thorns of the natural life of the community there was hidden a noble, imperishable germ, namely, the seed of the promise, which Jehovah Himself had prepared. It could not, indeed, be set free without the pain of burning, but by that burning it was made holy and pure. There was also another fact of great importance represented by this symbol, viz., that the fire of Divine holiness, which burned in Israel, without consuming it, served also as an outward defence. Hitherto, every one who passed by might ridicule, injure or trample on the insignificant bush, but henceforth whoever touched it would burn his own fingers. (J. H. Kurtz, D. D.)
A beautiful conjunction of the natural and supernatural
A bush burned into a sanctuary! Though the heavens cannot contain the Great One, yet He hides Himself under every flower, and makes the broken heart of man His chosen dwelling-place. So great, yet so condescending; infinite in glory, yet infinite in gentleness. Wherever we are, there are gates through nature into the Divine. Every bush will teach the reverent student something of God. The lilies are teachers, so are the stars, so are all things great and snell in this wondrous museum, the universe! In this case it was not the whole mountain that burned with fire; such a spectacle we should have considered worthy of the majesty of God; it was only the bush that burned: so condescendingly does God accommodate Himself to the weakness of man. The whole mountain burning would have dismayed the lonely shepherd; he who might have been overwhelmed by a blazing mountain was attracted by a burning bush. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Honest vocations
Forty years was Moses a courtier, and forty years after that a shepherd. That great men may not be ashamed of honest vocations, the greatest that ever were have been content to take up with mean trades. The contempt of honest calling in those which are well born argues pride without wit. There can be no fitter disposition for a leader of Gods people than constancy in his undertakings, without either weariness or change. He that hath true worth in himself and fatalliarity with God finds more pleasure in the deserts of Midian than others can do in the palace of kings. While he is tending his sheep God appears unto him. God never graces the idle with his visions. (Bishop Hall.)
Solitude a preparation for service
Writing of his father, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Julian Hawthorne says: The knights-errant of old watched their armour previous to embarking on their enterprise; the young Indian chiefs were made to undergo a period of solitude and fasting before being admitted to full standing. Bunyan wrote his book in Bedford jail; and Hawthorne, in Salem, withdrew himself from the face of man, and meditated for twelve lonely years upon humanity. He came forth a great original writer. He was destined to do a great work, and to theft end were needed, not only his native abilities, but an exceptional initiation, or forty days in the wilderness. (H. O. Mackey.)
Usefully employed
Satan loves to meet men idle. God delights to honour diligence and fidelity. (William Jay.)
Exile profitings
James Douglas, son of the banished Earl of Angus, afterwards well known by the title of Earl of Morton, lurked during the exile of his family in the north of Scotland, under the assumed name of James Innes, otherwise James the Grieve (i.e., Reve or Bailiff)
. And as he bore the name, says Godscroft, so did he also execute the office of a grieve or overseer of the lands and rents, the corn and cattle, of him with whom he lived. From the habits of frugality and observation which he acquired in his humble situation, the historian traces that intimate acquaintance with popular character which enabled him to rise so high in the State, and that honourable economy by which he repaired and established the shattered estates of Angus and Morton. (Sir Walter Scott.)
Put off thy shoes.--
Reverence
I. The essence of reverence lies in our forming a true estimate of our place among the powers around us, and so understanding aright and habitually feeling what is our relation to them. Now, to do this--
1. We must apprehend something of the mystery of life in ourselves and in others.
2. We must recognize the distinction of the different grades of being in those in whom life is, and seek to find and to keep our own due place in that mighty and marvellous scale of existences.
II. We must bow down before him who is the fountain of all life, the life of all who live. This adoration of the soul before Him is the central point of the grace of reverence, and its influence pervades and adjusts all our other relations, both towards Himself and towards the other creatures of His hand.
III. It is a question of the deepest moment to us all how, in an age one special temptation of which is clearly to lose its reverence, the gift can be kept quick and living in ourselves.
1. The first step must be the keeping guard against whatever tends to irreverence. All that professedly robs life of its mystery does this. So, even more directly, does all that robs revelation of its awfulness. Receiving Gods Word as Gods Word, striving to do it, striving to overcome temptations to doubt, not by crushing them out, but by turning them into occasions of prayer and of adoration, these efforts, and such as these, will keep us in an irreverent age from the great loss of irreverence.
2. Above all, we must pray for reverence as the gift of God; for such prayer not only draws down a certain answer, but even by its own action tends to put our spirits in the frame of reverence. (Bp. S. Wilberforce.)
Access to God
1. Accesses by honest hearts to the place of Gods appearing may be rash.
2. Such hasty and unadvised accesses, God forbids unto His servants.
3. Due preparations must be made by creatures in their accesses to God.
4. Places have been and may be relatively holy, for Gods appearance in them.
5. So far to use them holily as in reference to Gods presence is the duty of all (verse 5). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The reception of the Christian mysteries
Here is an intimation, that clearness of intellect is not that upon which mainly depends the right perception of Gods revelation of Himself. Moral fitness, rather than subtilty of intellect, is needed for receiving rightly this revelation of Himself. This, indeed, is but what we might reasonably expect; for as the Christian revelation, by its own profession, is not a mere intellectual abstraction, but in its nature and foundations is essentially moral, the evidence on which it rests cannot, as in abstract science, be addressed purely to the intellect. To receive it rightly, the will must assent to it no less than the understanding; a pure and teachable spirit is the main distinction of that temper in which we should approach the mysteries of the Christian revelation.
I. From this, then, it follows, first, that man is responsible for his belief;--responsible, that is, just as he is for any other branch of moral conduct: that it is, indeed, a part of his trial, and a great one, whether he will believe: that, as a right belief is the only source of moral purity, so a wrong belief, where a true revelation is offered to us, is the undoubted fruit of moral evil: and hence, that as in all other parts of his probation, it is out of the power of fallen man by his own might and strength to do that which is right, so especially is it out of his power to believe; but that, as in all other parts of his probation, so too in this, obedience is within the power of redeemed man, through that blessed help of Gods most Holy Spirit which will not be withheld from those who seek for it.
II. And this leads us on to the second part of our inquiry; for to be thoroughly convinced of the certainty of this connection, is one of the first means of maintaining a fit temper for receiving these great mysteries. So long as we in any degree deem of them as of subjects into which we are to obtain a peculiar insight by our own reasonings, we shall find it impossible to repress that pride of intellect, which, whilst it flatters us with apparent discoveries, does, in fact, most effectually shut out the light of truth. We must be content to be learners, not discoverers, in the school of faith; receiving a revelation, not reasoning out conclusions: and this temper we cannot maintain, unless we come into Gods presence remembering that, so far only as He gives us to know Him can we know aright; for that we need perfect purity to see Him as He is, and that we are compassed about with infirmity. Then only when the thought of His holiness and of our corruption bows us to the earth, shall we receive His teaching with the simplicity of children; fixing on the ground those eyes which were ready to gaze too rashly at the wonders of His presence, and be ready, indeed, to put off our shoes from our feet, feeling that the place whereon we stand is holy ground. To this conviction, moreover, we should bear a constant watchfulness, lest allowed sin in any form, lest boldness of spirit, or slothfulness in our use of holy things, impair the reverence of our souls. To these means must be added further as perhaps the greatest instrument of all for preserving the unsullied clearness of a reverend faith, that we be deep and constant students of Gods holy Word. We need not fear, with Bishop Andrewes, to speak of the Word as one of those arteries which convey the Spirit to us. In a two-fold way does the faithful study of the Scripture, by increasing in us the gift of the Holy Ghost, secure our receiving rightly the mysteries of God: first, since it is the especial province of the Spirit to reveal these mysteries, those will the most surely grow in light who grow in grace;they who the most humbly seek His teaching will be the most surely led on into all truth. There is a teaching of the Spirit; we may, as children, give up ourselves to Him, and humbly trust He will enlighten us. And then, secondly, besides the increase of this direct teaching, we are thus made the fitter recipients of His instruction; for since, as we saw before, the due reception of these mysteries depends more on moral than on intellectual fitness, they who by a growth in grace are growing in holiness, are indeed taking the surest way to purge the eyes of their understanding, so that they may see without speck or dimness what the Lord has revealed of Himself (Psa_119:99-100). (Bp. S. Wilberforce.)
Reverence in Gods presence
The impression that God is here, ought ever to have a solemnizing effect upon our minds, and repress everything like carelessness, listlessness, or levity. Had we a proper sense of the Divine majesty resting upon our spirits, would it be possible that we could give way to that profane heedlessness of mind which often steals over us? Would one short hours attendance betray us into slumber? Would a crowd of worldly or sensual thoughts intrude into our minds? Could the eye find leisure to roam over the assembly, and upon the dress or deportment of others? Could a scornful or simpering countenance by significant smiles communicate its contemptuous or frivolous emotions to another? Assuredly not. (G. Bush.)
Holy ground
This admonition may be understood in various ways.
I. As a check to vain curiosity. Let us be satisfied, in religious matters, with what the Holy Spirit has made plain.
II. As an incentive to humility in the presence of God. We should offer outward tokens of respect and reverence when we come to worship in His holy house.
III. As a proof of the sanctity of Gods presence. All places set apart for the worship of God are holy ground, God will be sanctified in all that come near Him. (Preachers Analyst.)
Lessons
1. All ground is holy which has been consecrated by valour, virtue, piety, or love. The island of Erromanga, where Williams died; the banks of Avon and of Doon, where the two greatest bards of England and Scotland were born; the patriot-fields of Marathon, Morgarten, and Bannockburn; the moors of Drumclog and Airsmoss, where the Covenanters fought and fell; the peaks of Lochnagar and Ben Cruachan; the bald and sovereign head of Mont Blanc; these, and ten thousand such spots as these, are holy ground; and if men do not, like Moses at the bush, put off their shoes while standing there, yet may they uncover their heads, and feel that in doing reverence to the great of old and to the works of nature, they are doing homage to something which has in it a large portion of the Divine, which is Godlike, although not God.
2. Let us, in a figure, put off our shoes as we draw near, even here, unto God. Let us strip ourselves of the high buskins of pride, of the light sock of indifference and idle mirth, of the luxurious slippers of sensual sin, and of the hard shoes of rude presumption; and let us, with naked and trembling feet, and with covered face, but, at the same time, with all holy boldness and filial love, in the sanctuary and at the Lords table, the presence of that God who is a consuming fire.
3. What an overpowering reflection is that, of us all having one day to draw in a very close degree near to the presence of God. Conceive a mortal, although winged being, after long wandering through the universe, caught in a current too mighty for his pinions, and which he feels is hurrying him into the very heart of the burning sun! Conceive his horror as he sees the orb becoming larger and larger,and feels it becoming hotter and hotter; and how in vain he struggles to turn upon his way, and shun that ocean of fire which is to consume him. But on, on, on, he is precipitated, and the imagination shrinks back as she sees the contact and hears the shriek of the extinguished wretch. Thus may a guilty soul after death feel itself approaching its Maker; resisting the attraction, but resisting in vain, drawn ruthlessly within the circle of that eye of fire, and exclaiming as it sinks in terror, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But even the saint shudders sometimes at the thought of meeting a Being so tremendous, and would on his death-bed shudder more, did not at one time a merciful stupor deaden his sensibilities, and were it not that at another the thought of God is swallowed up in the image of Christ. (G. Gilfillan.)
Holy ground
All places are holy, but some are especially so:--
1. Because they are hallowed by the supreme residence of God.
2. By happy memories.
3. By holy friendships.
4. By moral conquest. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The humility and reverence of an accepted worshipper
It has been said that God is everywhere present, and therefore should everywhere be honoured alike; it has been said, that the mind and the heart are everything, and that the posture of the body is nothing. In opposition to these refined speculations of modern days, it were sufficient to hold up the authority and command of the Word of God. But we may properly remark, in addition to this, that though the Almighty is everywhere present, He may be present at some times and in some places, in a peculiar manner. Our blessed Lord Himself has declared, Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them. It is again contended, that the mind and the affections may be equally lifted up to God in any posture; sitting or lying down, as well as kneeling: and to a certain extent this remark may be perfectly true. If the mind and affections be equally interested in the two cases; if the devotion be equally pure and the obedience equally sincere, then the acceptance of the service may be equal. But how can the obedience in these two cases be equally complete and sincere, when we know that God has enjoined, in His holy Word, a reverent posture of devotion--a posture, which we find all good men, in all ages, scrupulously observing? A carelessness of posture is an act of positive disobedience. Nor is it easy to believe, that the feelings of devotion are equally pious and sincere. Does not nature herself, when the soul is overwhelmed, teach us to humble and prostrate the body? There may be, in many instances, sufficient reasons for declining this bodily service; there may be infirmity, there may be other reasons; but where there are not, such service would seem to be indispensable to the devout and accepted worshipper. Let me not appear to be countenancing the practices of those, whose religion chiefly consists in outward form: let it not be supposed, that any corporeal homage is of the smallest avail, unless it proceed from an earnest and a pious heart: so far otherwise, that to bow down unmeaningly in the presence of the Lord, is an act of insufferable hypocrisy. Yet we must not, from such abuses as these, draw arguments against a positive duty; we must not conclude, as some are perverse enough to do, that every outward appearance and form are hypocritical. Such a conclusion is not only weak, but wicked. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God: be jealous of thy ways; be narrowly attentive to thy demeanour; be watchful of the affections and imaginations of thy heart: thou goest for a holy and mighty purpose, see that it be answered; see that thou be accepted in thy deed; see that thou return with a blessing on thy head. (J. Slade, M. A.)
Value of reverence
All that delicate perception of what is due from man to man upon which the high-bred courtesy of life depends, is closely linked to a reverential spirit. Society, when robbed by irreverence of the shrinking consideration for others which a sense of the mystery of redeemed life within them can alone make real, has already lapsed half-way to barbarism. Man becomes ready to sacrifice man in the chase for wealth, or honour, or pleasure, or power; and class grows to be parted fatally from class, by the selfish enjoyment of those who possess, and the selfish discontent of those who lack what they see others have. Family life, too, suffers the same wrong; its tender kindliness cannot long survive the death of reverence. And all this, observe, reaches far beyond the surface of mere manners. For it affects all those exertions and sacrifices for others which require a high ideal standard to call them out; it leads men to be contented with poor and immediate results measurable by the direct gain or loss of money, pleasure, or power. It dwarfs, too, almost all the actings of the intellect. In such a state of society the highest art can scarcely more exist than verdure without dew, or life without an atmosphere. Science, too, will soon feel the loss, for no one ever penetrated deeply into natures secrets unless a deep reverence for that which he explored taught him to be of a humble spirit--made him a true learner, and not a self-conceited theorist--kept him ready to follow out hints, and to lift the veil which God has cast over even His natural works with a hand which almost trembled under a sense of the mightiness of the mysteries it was revealing. But pre-eminently is this true as to the reception of Gods revelation of Himself. For here above all is the receptive faculty injured by the lack of reverence. As to this the ancient voice which broke the silence of the mount of Horeb sounds yet in the ear of every man who would turn aside to see the awful sight, Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. The humility, the patience, the docility, without which there can be no clear intuition into the mystery of Gods nature and ways, cannot survive in the irreverent heart. The scorner is, in Gods Word, but another word for the atheist. (Bp. S. Wilberforce.)
The earth holy ground
1. The whole earth is holy ground, because here Gods perfections are everywhere so conspicuously displayed. Wherever I go or stay, I will think that Jesus has lived upon the earth, and that nowhere, in thought or in deed, can I sin where it is not holy ground. Besides, in the lives of every single one of us have there been holy experiences, and we have single spots on the earths surface, which make for us the whole earth holy. Either that place is most holy to us where we first saw the light, or where our ancestors dwell or have dwelt, or where the years of our childhood glided joyously by; can we see it again, visit it, without tears in our eyes and thanks in our hearts; without looking up to heaven? Is not that place holy to us, where the most important earthly relations were formed; where we found a partner for life in marriage? Is not that place holy to us, where we experienced some good fortune we had longed for, sent to us by the Giver of all good; deliverance from danger, the safe return of relatives and friends? Alone wandered Jacob through a wild pathless waste. In weariness and grief he closed his eyes. But how completely was he comforted by the vision of that ladder let down from heaven, and of his Lord speaking to him in accents of blessing! Holy to him was that place! And should not that place be holy to us where the Lord, faithful, earnest, ay, severe, appeared to us in the purifying flame of affliction? These places we think of, as though the events connected with them happened of themselves. Shall we not remember that God is over all, and that He is near in joy and sorrow; in danger, which He allows, but out of which He delivers us? If we do this, earth will more and more become to us holy ground, the very gate of heaven; and more and more holy will be our lives from the constant feeling of Gods nearness and presence.
2. The earth is holy ground, because God is worshipped upon it. As God revealed Himself to man from the beginning, there never has been a period when some of His creatures, however small the number, have not known and worshipped Him aright. The patriarchs builded altars to Him and called on His holy name. Few and small, at first, were these streams of the knowledge and the worship of God. Behold, how mightily He has extended them I And the time will come, He confidently awaits it, when the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth, as the waters fill the sea. Perfect in heaven stands the Kingdom of God, to which our race after a long pilgrimage will attain. But because of our high destination holy is the earth on which we have journeyed thither. And is not our fatherland holy ground? Yes, so we proclaim it: and that without comparing it with any other land, Yes, ye children, holy is your home, because of the edifying life of your parents. Yes, ye residents of this city, there is within the enclosure of your own walls, outside of the churches where God is worshipped, many a spot, upon which He approvingly smiles. Look, then, at this: this earth on which you dwell and walk, is a holy place. It is so because of the worship of God; because of the faith and piety which have been displayed upon it. Recognize this fact, and let it inspire you with fervent enthusiasm, or with wholesome reverence; this earth can be made holy or profane by yourselves.
3. The earth is holy ground, because of what daily transpires upon it, and because of what will yet transpire upon it, intimately linking it to the world of spirits. What is more frequent than birth and death? Not less holy than birth is death itself. (J. E. Rankin.)
From curiosity to reverence
Many a man has been led through the gate of curiosity into the sanctuary of reverence. Moses purposed but to see a wonderful sight in nature, little dreaming that he was standing as it were face to face with God. Blessed are they who have an eye for the startling, the sublime, and the beautiful in nature, for they shall see many sights which will fill them with glad amazement. Every sight of God is a great sight; the sights become little to us because we view them without feeling or holy expectation. It was when the Lord saw that Moses turned aside to see that He called unto him and mentioned him by name. This is indeed a great law. If men would turn aside to see, God would surely speak to them. But we do not do this. We pass by all the great sights of nature with comparative indifference, certainly, as a general rule, without reverence. The sea wants to speak to us, but we listen not to its sounding voice; the stars are calling to us, but we shut them out; the seasons come round to tell their tale, but we are pre-occupied with trifling engagements. We must bring so much with us if we would put ourselves into healthful communion with nature: we must bring the seeing eye, the hearing ear, and the understanding heart: we must, at all events, be disposed to see and hear, and God will honour the disposition with more than expected blessing. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Religious awe
Curiosity must not become familiarity. The difference between the creature and the Creator must always be infinite. Is not all ground holy? Is not God everywhere? Certainly so; yet it hath pleased God to mark special lines and special places as peculiarly holy. We are not to treat all places alike. Every successful appeal to mans reverence redeems him from vulgarity. When a man loses his sense of religious awe, he has exhausted the supreme fountain of spiritual joy. He then measures everything by himself: he is to himself as God, and from the point of self-idolatry he will speedily sink to the point of self-despair. It is only the good man who can be satisfied from himself, and this is only because goodness has its very root in God. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Cultivate reverence
Cultivate the spirit of reverence. For ours is an age of iconoclasm, overthrowing ancestral traditions, dethroning venerable beliefs, making the sacred common, dissolving the sacramental in the physical equation of correspondence with environment; in brief, shattering the very instinct of homage. And this is peril indeed! For, as Emerson says, No greater calamity can befall a nation than its loss of worship. Bad as heathenism is, irreligion is worse. Better superstition than atheism. Young man, believe me; no man is ever so great as when he kneels. Be it yours to have the same lowly reverence which so beautifully marked such illustrious scientists as a Galen, who regarded his professional life as a religious hymn in honour of the Creator; a Copernicus, on whose tombstone, in St. Johns of Frauenburg, is the following epitaph: Not the grace bestowed on Paul do I ask, not the favour shown to Peter do I crave; but that which Thou didst grant the robber on the cross do I implore; a Kepler, who concludes his treatise entitled Harmony of the Worlds thus: I thank Thee, my Creator and Lord, that Thou hast given me this joy in Thy creation, this delight in the works of Thy hands; I have shown the excellency of Thy works unto men, so far as my finite mind was able to comprehend Thy infinity; if I have said aught unworthy of Thee, or aught in which I have sought my own glory, graciously forgive it; a Newton, who never mentioned the name of Deity without uncovering his head. (G. D. Boardman.)
Reverence
When a boy in Princeton College, it was my inestimable privilege to be the pupil-assistant of Professor Joseph Henry, the illustrious Christian scientist, in his original experiments. When for the first time electric signals were sent from point to point, the earth itself being used for the return current, Professor Henry put me at one end of the circuit, while he stood directing the experiments at the other. I can well remember the wonderful care with which he arranged all his principal experiments; when he approached the solution the experiment was repeated and repeated over and over again, and all its variable conditions altered and recombined in every form. Then often, when the testing moment came, that eminent scientist would raise his hand in adoring reverence, and call upon me to uncover my head and worship in silence, Because, he said, God is here. I am about to ask God a question. (A. Hodge.)
Lowering the standard of reverence
It is very easy to lower our standard of reverence for anything. We have only to speak of it habitually in a light way. There is nothing like it to take the life out of the most precious texts of Scripture. We may repent of such a sin with bitter weeping, but those words can never be to us again what they were before. We may have cut down a bridge we shall some day vainly long to cross. A gentleman of keen wit used often to point his remarks with some apt quotation from the Bible. A friend who greatly admired him was present in his last hours, and asked with deep sympathy what was the future outlook. Very gloomy, indeed, was his response. Surprised and deeply pained, he hastened to quote some precious promises suited to the solemn hour. I have spoiled them all for myself, was his answer. There is not one but is associated with some jest. His light went out in darkness, though his name was on the church roll. What a lesson is here for all who are willing to be taught by it! Lay it to heart. (Christian Age.)
Unclogged feet
Put off thy shoes of sensuality, and other sins. Affections are the feet of the soul; keep them unclogged. (J. Trapp.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_3:1-6
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_3:1-6
MAN IN RELATION TO MYSTERY
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I. That sometimes men meet with mystery in the pursuit of their daily calling. “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro.” Very often, in the pursuit of daily work are good and heroic men—who are in the path of Providence—called upon to witness great sights, such as are not permitted to weak, restless, and unthinking souls. The daily avocation of a good man may lead into mystery—or break into heavenly vision at any point—which shall conduct him into a higher sphere of toil. The calling may be humble, it may not be that of preacher—student—philanthropist, but simply that of shepherd; yet, if prosecuted in quietude—in prayerful spirit—with an outlook toward God—it is not far from the mystery of the burning bush. God always rewards diligent and faithful men—gives them great sights—of truth—of hope—calls them to a higher service—renders them conscious of a Divine companionship—holds converse with them.
1. This vision was unexpected. There was nothing to indicate its advent—the desert was silent—unbroken by the sound of heavenly messenger—the bush casually attracted the attention of Moses. As a rule, the Divine Being does not warn men of vision and mystery—else they would make unusual preparation to welcome it. The design of mystery is to test—appeal—to the normal condition of our manhood, hence the need of always having our moral nature in the calm, quiet exercise of its power, ever ready for communion with the spirit-world.
2. This vision was educational. It taught Moses the solemnity of life—the crisis of his nation’s suffering—the solution of his own past history—the destiny of his prior training—in the palace and in the desert—it gave him a glimpze into his great future—it showed him that his life was deeply allied to that of his brethren—to the divine administration of Heaven. The symbolism of the vision was most impressive—it would awe his soul—he was in personal contact with God which is always educational to man. He is made conscious of a Divine commission to his future work—this a source of strength—comfort—inspiration to him. This communion with the mystery of the burning bush was most important—gave a new impetus to his being—awakened new thoughts—emotions—prayers—which never died away from the great temple of his soul. The vision was educational to him in the very truest sense of the word.
II. That sometimes mystery is associated with things of a very ordinary character. “Out of the midst of a bush.” Here it is associated with a bush of the desert. The flame did not descend and rush along the great mountains, near the lonely shepherd, lighting up the desert with a grandeur altogether magnificent: this might have been more tragic—more wild—imposing—but it would not have been so divinely educational as this unconsumed bush—Moses would have been startled—would have fled—the turbulent energies of his soul would have been awakened. Whereas this vision was calm—it made him peaceful—it was full of the heavenly—it elevated his spirit to sublimity—it was progressive—the bush burning—then the voice directing him how to approach—and lastly the revelation of its indwelling Divinity. Thus, the instruction in this case would be more gradual—effective. God knows the best methods of communication with human souls. And so it is now. The smallest—the most trivial—the apparently-unmeaning—things—events of life—are full of mystery—contain a heavenly presence—a divine voice—will teach a reflective spirit—will become an impulse to a higher life—avocation. The bushes of life are full of mystery. The world is a great secret—is vocal with messages of freedom to listening souls.
III. That mystery should be investigated with the utmost devotion of soul. “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet.”
1. There must be devotion in opposition to levity.
2. There must be devotion in opposition to curiosity. Why this devotion:—
(1) Because mystery is holy. It is holy ground—the Divine indwelling in the bush consecrates it—it leads to moral elevation—must therefore command reverence.
(2.) Because mystery is authoritative. It commands us to take off our shoes. Its authority is Divine—will be recognised by true manhood.
IV. That sometimes good men are favoured with a grand unfolding of mystery. “I am the God.” &c.
1. God observes the conduct of men in relation to mystery. “And the Lord saw that he turned aside to see.” What a subduing—inspiring thought—that God knows all the efforts of our souls in their investigation of mystery.
2. God speaks to men who are anxious to investigate mystery. “God called to him out of the midst of the bush.” God speaks—allows us to investigate. It would have been a poor modesty on the part of Moses had he not tried to understand the meaning of the sight before him—so we may look into mystery—and the longer we gaze—the more we shall see and hear of it—Heaven will direct our thinkings and inquiries. Mystery has a definite bearing upon individual life. “Moses.”
3. God reveals Himself as the great solution of all mystery. “I am the God of thy fathers.” God is the explanation of all mystery. He teaches listening—humble—devout souls the secrets of life’s burning bushes.
THE BURNING BUSH UNCONSUMED
I. Make some remarks on the Burning Bush, by way of Illustration. A Shepherd’s life friendly to contemplation. Why this appearance?—To give Moses the most sublime conception of the glory and majesty of the Supreme Being, and to fit him for his future mission. Nothing could be more conducive to this, than the fire in the bush. Among the Hebrews, and ancient nations, fire was considered a very significant emblem of Deity—in this instance it would represent the majesty—purity—power of God—it would show that He was going to bring terror—destruction upon His enemies, and light—comfort—salvation to His people. The burning bush an emblem:—
1. Of the state of the Israelites in their distress. Consider their trials—persecutions—severe—likely to consume them—yet Israel was not diminished—the burning bush a fit emblem of them.
2. Of the state of the Church in the wilderness of the world—by the Church we mean all true Christians, independent of sect This world a wilderness—nothing in it to suit the taste of a spiritual mind—the Church must pass through the wilderness to reach Canaan—has many enemies. It has passed through the fires of persecution—has never been consumed in numbers—or piety.
3. Of the state of every true Christian. What is true of the Church is true of the individual—trials not so general—tempted by the powers of darkness—fire of affliction—yet is unconsumed.
II. Consider why the bush was not consumed! The reason obvious Jehovah was in the midst of it. This true in the emblematical signification of the bush:—
1. Jehovah was present with Israel.
2. With the Church in all ages.
3. With Christian life in all its grief. Learn:—
1. Religion does not exempt from suffering.
2. The certainty of Divine protection in trial [Lay Preacher].
MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH; A PICTURE OF A TRUE STUDENT AND THE BIBLE
The circumstances connected with this incident suggest four general facts.
1. That God’s purposes are punctual in their accomplishment. God declared to Abraham that his seed should go into a strange land—that they should be slaves there—and come out with great substance. The clock of time had now struck the 400 years, and God began to redeem His pledge.
2. That God’s purposes, in relation to our world, are generally accomplished by the agency of man. The Almighty could have emancipated the Jews by His own immediate volition, or he might have selected other instrumentality than human; but He elected man for the work. This is God’s plan of raising humanity—wise—loving.
3. That the men whom God employs for the carrying out of His purposes, He qualifies by a special revelation. The work to which Moses was now called required dauntless heroism—self-sacrifice—power—he was to confront Egypt’s proud king. Whence was he to derive the power? This power of the human mind depends upon the thoughts and ideas it receives from the Divine, as the vitality and power of the branch depends upon its connection with the root: all moral mind is powerless without ideas from God. Hence this special Revelation
4. That this special revelation, which he vouchsafes, is frequently symbolical in its character. Frequently made thus to the Jews. All nature is a symbol. Truth in symbol is palpable—attractive—impressive. It symbolised God’s presence. Observe the Student:—
I. Directing His earnest attention to the Divine Revelation. “And Moses said I will turn aside,” &c.,
1. Moses directs his attention to it, under an impression of its greatness. A marvellous object—a bush burning, away from the habitation of men—bursting into flame at once—ignited by no visible hand—unconsumed. This is but a faint shadow of the marvellousness of the Bible—the fact of its existence—its contents.
2. Moses directs his attention to it in order to ascertain its import. “Why the bush is not burnt.” So the student of the Bible must not be satisfied with a mere acquaintance with the forms and circumstances of the Bible, he will enquire into their import.
II. Holding intercourse with God through the Divine Revelation. “God called to him.” &c.
1. God’s communications depended upon his attention. The Bible is the great organ of Divine intercourse; but it is the devout student only who looks and inquires—that hears in it the voice of God. God’s communications were consciously personal to him. “Moses.” There are few in these days who hear the voice of God to them in the Bible,
3. God’s communications were directive and elevating. “Draw not high.”
III. Realising the profoundest impressions through the Divine Revelation. “And Moses hid his face.”
1. These impressions are peculiarly becoming in sinful intelligencies.
2. These impressions are necessary to qualify men for God’s work.
3. These impressions are consonant with the highest dignity and enjoyment [Homilist].
THE ANGEL IN THE BURNING BUSH
Here we see:—
I. An old man called to go out on the great errand of his life. The education of Moses lasted 80 years. Egypt—Midian. When the brightness of his life was gone, and the hopes of his youth were dead; when his fiery spirit was tamed into patience, and his turbulent passion stilled into repose, at last he came out of school. Man in haste—God never; the former looks to results—the latter to preparations.
II. The Burning Bush from which that call was sounded.
1. It was a sign to indicate the peculiar presence of God.
2. God’s people.
III. The angel who uttered this call.
IV. The covenant under which the angel gave him his commission.
V. The angel’s name. “I am that I am.” He asserts His seal existence—His underived existence—His independent existence—His eternity—unchangeableness—ineffability.
VI. The effect to be wrought by the remembrance of His name.
1. Profoundest reverence.
2. It reveals the infinite sufficiency of a Christian’s portion.
3. It gives encouragement to evangelical enterprise [Symbols of Christ].
I. The employment in which Moses was engaged. “Kept the flock.”
II. The sight which he witnessed. “And the Angel of the Lord.”
III. The resolution he made. “I will now turn aside.”
IV. The prohibition he received. “Draw not nigh,” &c.
V. The announcement he heard. “I am the God of thy father” [Expository Outlines].
I. The Learned Shepherd.
1. Humility.
2. Patience.
3. Fidelity.
II. The Great Sight.
1. Where.
2. When.
3. Wherefore it appeared.
III. The Present God:—
1. With them is trouble.
2. Sustains them is trouble.
3. A source of Instruction [Class and the Desk].
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_3:1. Moses:—A faithful Song of Solomon
2. A diligent worker.
3. A true worshipper.
Solitude:—
1. Needful for toil.
2. Useful for moral preparation.
3. Favourable for heavenly visions.
The desert:—
1. The sheepfold of a Priest.
2. The School of Providence.
3. The Temple of the Eternal.
It is not a subsidence into commonplace that we find in this verse; it is going into the severest and most useful of schools—the school of lowliness, meditation, self-measurement, and fellowship with God. Fiery natures must be attempered by exile and desertion.… We must exchange rough and romantic chivalry for the deep, calm, vital revelation which emancipates and purges the spiritual nature of mankind [City Temple].
God’s determination to deliver His Church and people is soon followed by the execution thereof.
God’s instruments of deliverance are not altogether laid aside, although they are long in preparation.
It is God’s use to take shepherds of flocks to make them shepherds of men.
God’s great instruments may be servant-shepherds, not masters of their own flock.
Church deliverers, God orders to be nurtured, sometimes under priests, amongst strangers.
The Divine Being leads good men to places the most favourable to heavenly visions.
Shepherds seeking pasture for their flock, may find better for themselves.
Places are rightly called by God’s name, wheresoever He appears.
Deserts are sometimes ordered for saints to meet God in.
Those who descend from riches to poverty, from the palace to the desert, should be patient in their temper and toil.
“Came to the mountain of God.” It was here:—
1. That God appeared to Moses in the bush.
2. That He manifested His glory at the delivery of the Law.
That Moses brought water out of the rock.
4. That, by lifting up his hands, he made Joshua to prevail against Amelek.
5. That he fasted twice forty days and forty nights.
6. That from thence he brought the tables of the Law.
7. That Elijah was vouchsafed a glorious vision.
“Even to Horeb.” We know not the precise place. Tradition, reaching back to the sixth century of the Christian era, fixes it in the same deep seclusion as that to which, in all probability, he (Moses) afterwards led the Israelites. The convent of Justinian is built over what was supposed to be the exact spot where the shepherd was bid to draw his sandals from off his feet. The valley in which the convent stands is called by the Arabian name of Jethro. But, whether this or the other great centre of the peninsula, Mount Serbal, be regarded as the scene of the event, the appropriateness would be almost equal. Each has at different times been regarded as the sanctuary of the desert. Each presents that singular majesty which, as Joseph us tells us, and as the sacred narrative implies, had already invested “the Mountain of God” with an awful reverence in the eyes of the Arabian tribes, as though a Divine Presence rested on its solemn heights. Around each, on the rocky ledges of the hill-side, or in the retired basins, withdrawn within the deep recesses of the adjoining mountains, or beside the springs which water the adjacent valleys, would be found pasture or herbage, or of aromatic shrubs for the flocks of Jethro. On each, in that early age, though now found only on Mount Serbal, must have grown the wild acacia, the shaggy thornbush of the Seneh, the most characteristic tree of the whole range. So natural, so thoroughly in accordance with the scene, were the signs in which the call of Moses made itself heard and seen; not in any outward form, human or celestial, such as the priests of Heliopolis were wont to figure to themselves as the representatives of Deity; but out of the midst of the spreading thorn, the outgrowth of the desert wastes, did “the Lord appear unto Moses” [The Jewish Church, by Dean Stanley].
Exo_3:2. The burning bush:—
1. As an emblem it instructs.
2. As a miracle it astonishes.
3. As a magnet it attracts.
4. As a monitor it warns. When a workman is busily engaged in his work, we say he is in the midst of it. For the same reasons, God, whose workmanship the Church is, is said to be in the midst of the Church.
A beautiful conjunction of the natural and the supernatural. A bush turned into a sanctuary. Though the heavens cannot contain the Great One, yet he hides Himself under every flower, and makes the broken heart of man his chosen dwelling-place. Wherever we are, there are gates through nature into the divine. Every bush will teach the reverent student something of God. The lilies are teachers, so are the stars, so are all things great and little in this wondrous museum, the universe [City Temple].
The burning bush gave light in the wilderness, and so ought the Church to do in the world.
This “Angel of the Lord” is afterwards called Jehovah and God (ch. Exo_4:6). The shekinah, or luminous glory, was not only Jehovah Himself, but was the Angel-Jehovah. The very word “Angel,” signifies messenger, or one sent; and though it generally designates a personal being, yet as a term of office it may be applied to any medium by which God makes communications to man. This Angel was—
1. Eternal.
2. Omnipotent.
3. Self-existent.
4. Commanded the moral activities of men.
This Angel in the bush a prophecy of the Saviour’s incarnation.
After long-expected deliverances, God appears at length to help.
God sometimes mercifully appears to men, and comes to their deliverance, as in a flame of fire.
God’s sweet appearances are usually in desert conditions.… God’s visions of old have had real demonstrations by eye-witnesses.
God’s bush habitation is in order to show good will unto His Church.
God can interdict the power of fire to consume (Daniel 3.)
God works miracles upon lower creatures, in order to show the Church His power.
The preserving and sustaining influence of true religion.
Exo_3:3. Many a man has been led through the pale of curiosity into the sanctuary of reverence. Moses purposed but to see a wonderful sight in nature, little dreaming that he was standing, as it were, face to face with God. Blessed are they who have an eye for the startling, the sublime, and the beautiful in nature, for they shall see many sights which shall fill them with glad amazement. Every sight of God is a “great sight;” the sights become little to us because we view them without feeling, or holy expectation [City Temple].
St. Austin, who came to Ambrose to have his ears tickled, had his heart touched. It is good to hear, howsoever. Come, said Latimer, to the public meeting, though thou comest to sleep; it may be, God will take thee napping. Absence is without hope. What a deal lost Thomas by being but once absent [Trapp].
A great sight:—
1. Occasioned by a Divine agency.
2. Illumined by a Divine Presence.
3. Given for a Divine purpose.
Great sights:—
1. Desired by the world.
2. Sought by the pleasure-seeker.
3. Found only by the Christian.
4. The inspiration of a good life.
The moral preparation, and condition necessary for the beholding of heavenly visions—
1. We must turn aside from the gaiety of the world.
2. From the futility of merely human reasonings.
3. From the commission of moral evil in daily life.
4. From following the instruction of incompetent teachers.
5. They are largely dependent upon our personal willingness of soul.… God speaks to all man who reverently turn aside to hear Him.
Unusual apparitions of God may well put the best men upon self-reasoning.
Observing hearts are inclined more to turn into the inquiry of God’s discoveries than from them.
All revelations from God should be carefully looked into.
Exo_3:4. God sees our first desire to investigate the truth, and our earliest effort towards a religious life.
God calls truth-seekers by name—“Moses,”—Nathaniel.
1. To indicate His delight in them.
2. His favour toward them.
3. His hope of them.
4. To prepare them for further revelations.
The name of a good man vocal on the lips of God—
1. An honour.
2. A destiny.
3. A prophecy.
4. A vocation.
The truth-seeker’s response:—
1. His personality.
2. His place.
3. His willingness. We should always respond to the calls of heaven.
The soul’s turning aside to see often leads to visions of God.
1. In His Book.
2. In His works.
3. In His Providences.
4. In His Church and sanctuary.
Such visions:—
1. Obtained by prayer.
2. Refreshing to the soul.
3. Strengthening to manhood.
4. Related to human suffering.
God looks to them who turn into His discoveries, with a purpose to show them more.
God gives to His servants not only a vision, but a voice for them to know His mind.
God doubly calleth where he doubly loveth, and stirreth into double duty.
Those who are truly called by God, ought to be willing to offer themselves either to do, or suffer His pleasure.
Exo_3:5. All places are holy, but some are especially so:—
1. Because they are hallowed by the supreme residence of God.
2. By happy memories.
3. By holy friendships.
4. By moral conquest.
There must be an occasional pause in the investigation of truth, and in the devotion of our religious life.
Curiosity must not merge into familiarity.
Put off thy shoes of sensuality, and other sins. Affections are the feet of the soul; keep them unclogged [Trapp].
The putting off the sandals is a very ancient practice in worship; Pythagoras enjoins it. The rabbis say that the priests perform their service with bare feet, in token of purity and reverence. Among the Greeks, no person was admitted to the Temple of Diana, in Crete, with shoes on. All Mohammedans, Brahmins, and Parsees worship barefooted to the present day [Dr. Nevin].
May we all learn to tread Jehovah’s court with unshod feet.
We must come to God; we must not come too near Him. When we meditate on the great mysteries of His word, we come to Him; we come too near Him when we search into His counsels. The sun and the fire say of themselves, “Come not too near;” how much more the light which none can attain to. We have all our limits set us. The Gentiles might come into some outer courts, not into the innermost; the Jews might come into the inner court, not into the temple; the priests and Levites into the temple, not into the holy of holies; Moses to the hill, not to the bush. The waves of the sea had not more need of bounds than man’s presumption. Moses must not come close to the bush at all; and where he may stand, he may not stand with his shoes on [Bishop Hall].
The access of honest hearts to the place of God’s appearance may be rash.
Such hasty and unadvised access God forbids unto His servants.
Due preparation must be made by those who wish access to God.
Exo_3:6. The Divine Being here reveals Himself as:—
1. The God of individual men.
2. The God of Families.
3. The God of the immortal good.
There is something inexpressibly beautiful in the idea that God is the God of the father, and of the son, and of all their descendants; thus the one God makes humanity into one family [City Temple].
God does not say, “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” but “I am.” The Patriarchs still live so many years after their dissolution. No length of time can separate the souls of the just from their Maker [Henry and Scott].
Let a man but see God, and his plumes will soon fall [Trapp].
God’s gracious discoveries may prove terrible to those who are not acquainted with them.
Consciousness of self-guilt is enough to make creatures hide from God. Like instances:—1Ki_19:13, Isa_6:2.
Men fear to look upon God:—
1. Because of the greatness of His Majesty.
2. Because of the awfulness of His revelations.
3. Because He is the Arbiter of their destinies.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Exo_3:1. No vessels that God delights so much to fill as broken vessels, contrite spirits. “He resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” Jas_4:6. The silver dews flow down from the mountains to the lowest valleys. A humble soul that lies low, oh, what sights of God has he! what glories does he behold, when the proud soul sees nothing. He that is in the low pits and caves of the earth sees the stars of the firmament, when they who are upon the tops of the mountains discern them not [T. Brooks].
Exo_3:2. The Church has been subject to much persecution. The first was under the Emperor Nero, thirty-one years after our Lord’s ascension. Multitudes were apprehended; they were covered by the skins of wild beasts, torn to pieces by devouring dogs; fastened to crosses, wrapt up in combustible garments, that, when the daylight failed, they might, like torches, serve to dispel the gloom of night. For this tragical scene Nero lent his own gardens; and thus the shrieks of women burning to ashes supplied music and diversion for their circus. The second was under Domitian, in the year 95, and forty thousand are supposed to have perished. The third began in the third year of Trajan in the year 100. The fourth under Antonius. The fifth began in the year 127, under Severus, when great cruelties were committed. The sixth began in the reign of Maximus, in 235–7. The seventh, which was the most dreadful ever known, began in 250, under the Emperor Decius. The eighth began in 257, under Valerian. The ninth was under Aurelian in 274. The tenth began in the nineteenth year of Diocletian, in 303. In this dreadful persecution, which lasted ten years, houses filled with Christians were set on fire, and whole droves were twisted together with ropes and cast into the sea. It is related that seventeen thousand were slain in one month, In this fiery persecution it is believed that not fewer than one hundred and forty-four thousand Christians died by violence, besides seven hundred thousand that died through the banishments, or the public works to which they were condemned [Beaumont].
Persecutions are beneficial to the righteous. They are a hail of precious stones, which, it is true rob the vine of her leaves, but give her possessor a more precious treasure instead [Aron].
The Church has sometimes been brought to so low and obscure a point that, if you will follow her in history, it is by the track of her blood; and, if you would see her, it is by the light of those fires in which her martyrs have been burnt. Yet hath she still come through, and survived all that wrath, and still shall till she be made perfectly triumphant [Leighton].
A Roman Catholic king, who was bitter in his opposition to the Protestant cause, had been speaking of its downfall, and how it would be brought about A celebrated Protestant replied, “Sire, it assuredly behoves the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to strike them; but may it please you also to remember that it is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”
As the flowers of water betony, with the leaves and sprigs, though they die often, and yearly; yet the root is aye-lasting from which they come and to which they belong: so though discipline and the outward beauty of the Church change and often die, yet the Church is aye-lasting and of all continuance.
Like as when trees are hewn down, much more imps (offshoots) do spring up than the boughs wore that were cut off; so now, after the slaughter of many godly men, more did run into the Gospel, and that day by day, than ever did; yea, and the blood of the slain bodies was a certain watering of the now plants springing up in the Church; so that a martyr in suffering doth not suffer for himself alone, but also for every man. For himself, he suffereth to be crowned; for all men he suffereth, to give them an example; for himself to his rest; for every man to his welfare.
As the fiery bush that Moses saw in the Mount Horeb, which bush, for all that it was on a flaming fire, yet did it not consume; or as the shining worm, that being cast into the fire, doth not perish nor consume, but contrariwise, is thereby purged of filth and more beautiful than if it were washed with all the waters of the world; even so such Christians as are cast into the fire of affliction are not consumed, but purged, tried, and purified.
“Far seen across the sandy wild,
Where, like a solitary child,
He thoughtless roam’d and free,
One towering thorn was wrapt in flame—
Bright without blaze it went and came,
Who would not turn and see?” [Keble].
Exo_3:3-5. It is recorded of one Sir William Champney, in the reign of King Henry III., that, living in Tower-street, London, he was the first man that ever builded a turret on the top of his house, that he might the better overlook all his neighbours: but it so happened that not long after, he was struck blind, so that he who would see more than others, saw just nothing at all. A sad judgment! And thus it is just with God, when men of towering, high thoughts must needs be prying into those arcana Dei (the hidden secrets of God), that they should be struck blind on the place, and come tumbling down in the midst of their so serious inquiry. At the ascension of Christ, it is said that he was taken up in a cloud; being entered into His presence chamber, a curtain, as it were, was drawn to hinder His disciples gazing and our further peeping; yet, for all that, a man may be pius pulsator, though not temerarius scrutator—he may modestly knock at the door of God’s secrets, but, if he enter further, he may assure himself to be more bold than welcome.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain Exo 3:1-14
Exo 3:1-14
This narrative is a chain of glorious wonders. We see here—
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I. An old man called to go out on the great errand of his life. The education of Moses for the great mission of his life lasted eighty years. God never sends forth fruit until the season is fitted for the fruit, and the fruit for the season; when the hour was ready for the man, and the man for the hour, then God sent forth Moses.
II. The burning bush from which that call was sounded. (1) This was a sign to indicate the peculiar presence of God. (2) It was also a symbol of His people, eminently adapted to encourage the prophet in undertaking their cause.
III. The angel who uttered this call. We see at the first glance that He is Divine; we next learn that He is an angel; we further find, from a chain of Scripture proofs, that He is Christ.
IV. The covenant under which the Angel gave him his commission. It was the same covenant that had been given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
V. The Angel’s name. That name asserts (1) His real existence, (2) His underived existence, (3) His independent existence, (4) His eternity.
VI. The effect to be wrought by the remembrance of His name. (1) It was intended to inspire profoundest reverence for the Being to whom it belongs. (2) It reveals the infinite sufficiency of a Christian’s portion. (3) It gives encouragement to Evangelical enterprise.
C. Stanford, Symbols of Christ, p. 61.
References: Exo 3:1-14.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 57. Exo 3:1-15.—A. M. Fairbairn, The City of God, p. 107. Exo 3:1-22.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iv., p. 141. Exo 3:2—S. Baring-Gould, One Hundred Sermon Sketches, p. 20; J. Edmunds, Sermons in a Village Church, p. 79; J. Hamilton, Works, vol. v., p. 185; The Weekly Pulpit, vol. i., p. 312; D. J. Vaughan, The Days of the Son of Man, p. 209; H. Varley, Penny Pulpit, No. 369; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. v., p. 145; J. Jackson Wray, Light from the Old Lamp, p. 231.
Exo 3:2-6
I. The vision. (1) The vision was miraculous. (2) Moses had this vision when he was in solitude. (3) It was symbolic (a) of Israel in Egypt; (b) of the Church in the world; (c) of the truth of the Gospel; (d) of ourselves who have the religious life within us.
II. The voice. (1) It revealed the majesty and grandeur of God. (2) The voice revealed the special providence of the great God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (3) The voice proclaimed the faithfulness of God. (4) The voice demanded reverence.
T. Jones, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. v., p. 220.
Reference: Exo 3:2-6.—S. Leathes, Truth and Life, p. 70.
Exo 3:3
I. The story of Moses is the story, at first, of failure. Two great streams of influences moulded his life, the one drawn from the Egyptian surroundings of his early days, the other drunk in with his mother’s milk and his mother’s teaching. On the one side he had the speechless-eyed deities of Egypt looking for ever into his face, on the other he had a belief in the governing providence of God. He expected to find amongst his own people aspirations after better things, and responsiveness to his own spirit, but he met with chilliness, coldness, and refusal to follow. Then came his exile in Midian, an exile from all his early dreams and hopes, from the position he had in Egypt, from the future which flowed before him.
II. The vision was the revelation that restored him to faith and energy. The revelation was threefold. It was a revelation (1) of permanence, (2) of purity, (3) of personal power. A revelation of permanence, for the bush was not consumed; it held its own life amidst the devouring flame. A revelation of purity, for before he could enter into the deep meaning of that vision, a voice had bidden him "put his shoes from off his feet, for the place on which he stood was holy." A revelation of personal power and love, for out of the distance, out of the background of the vision, giving it its heart and life, came the voice of Him who proclaimed Himself through all the changes and vicissitudes of the life of Israel, as the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.
III. The revelation was not for Moses alone. There is in every common bush the light of God, and only those see it who draw off their shoes. We forget to turn aside to see the great sights about us. If we give our hearts leisure to meet with God, God will meet with us.
Bishop Boyd-Carpenter, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 91.
References: Exo 3:3.—Parker, vol. ii., p. 308. Exo 3:4.—H. Allon, Congregationalist, vol. viii., p. 469.
Exo 3:5
I. The essence of reverence lies in our forming a true estimate of our place amongst the powers around us, and so understanding aright and habitually feeling what is our relation to them. Now, to do this, (1) we must apprehend something of the mystery of life in ourselves and in others; (2) we must recognise the distinction of the different grades of being in those in whom life is, and seek to find and to keep our own due place in that mighty and marvellous scale of existences.
II. We must bow down before Him who is the fountain of all life, the life of all who live. This adoration of the soul before Him is the central point of the grace of reverence, and its influence pervades and adjusts all our other relations, both towards Himself and towards the other creature of His hand.
III. It is a question of the deepest moment to us all how, in an age one special temptation of which is clearly to lose its reverence, the gift can be kept quick and living in ourselves. (1) The first step must be the keeping guard against whatever tends to irreverence. All that professedly robs life of its mystery does this. So, even more directly, does all that robs revelation of its awfulness. Receiving God’s word as God’s word, striving to do it, striving to overcome temptations to doubt, not by crushing them out, but by turning them into occasions of prayer and of adoration, these efforts, and such as these, will keep us in an irreverent age from the great loss of irreverence. (2) Above all, we must pray for reverence as the gift of God; for such prayer not only draws down a certain answer, but even by its own action tends to put our spirits in the frame of reverence.
S. Wilberforce, University Sermons, p. 335.
References: Exo 3:5.—C. J. Vaughan, Lessons of Life and Godliness, p. 114; W. J. Butler, Sermons to Working Men, p. 259; G. Litting, Thirty Children’s Sermons, p. 189. Exo 3:6.—T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. iv., p. 214; J. Keble, Sermons for the Christian Year, Lent to Passiontide, p. 336; Old Testament Outlines, p. 25; Congregationalist, vol. vi., p. 428.
Exo 3:7
Quite apart from its religious significance, there is no other historical phenomenon that is to be compared for a moment in interest with this ever-growing wonder of the Jewish race. The light falls clearly and steadily on its history from first to last. The whole connected story lies before us like a mighty river, which from some high mountain summit you can trace from its fountain to the ocean.
I. The history of this people is thus the history of mankind in its central seats of power. It brings with it living reminiscences of the remotest past. In order to understand how strange a phenomenon is this indomitable vitality of the race, a race without a home or a country, compare their history with that of the numberless tribes of other races who have been either migratory or settled. Excepting the Arabs, also Abraham’s descendants, all the other settled contemporary races around Palestine have either died out completely, as the ancient people of Tyre, Edom, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt; or, if migratory, they have been lost and absorbed after a few centuries. The bond that has held the Jews apart from other nations, and yet together, has been their common religion, their common historical glory. When all Eastern Asia held evil to be incurable, and eternal, and Divine, the race of Abraham held that evil was "but for a moment," and that God’s goodness and justice alone were eternal; and it is they who have taught this lesson to the nations of the modern world.
II. Notice next the tragic side of this wonderful national history. The honour of being the intellectual and spiritual leaders of the world for four thousand years, has been paid for by four thousand years of national martyrdom and humiliation. The terrific penalties announced at the beginning for failure in their national vocation amidst the great nations of the ancient world, have been exacted to the letter. The so-called Christian nations have made their lives for nearly fifteen hundred years one prolonged Egyptian bondage. New Testament Christianity has at last taught us English, at least, to love the nation to whom we owe such priceless blessings. We believe that the time is hastening on when Christ will return to avenge the quarrel of Israel, and to end "the times of the Gentiles" by the restoration of the scattered nation to its old central position in a renovated world.
E. White, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxi., p. 65.
References: Exo 3:7.—Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 229. Exo 3:7, Exo 3:8.—M. G. Pearse, Thoughts on Holiness, p. 230. Exo 3:8.—J. W. Burgon, Ninety-one Short Sermons, No. 32.
Exo 3:10
(with Heb 11:27)
I. How was the earlier history of Moses an education for the great work of his life? In order to free his people from their bondage, Moses needed sympathy and faith; and the Bible gives us three phases of his life, wonderfully adapted to educate him in these qualities: (1) his education in the Egyptian court; (2) his attempt to convince the people of their brotherhood; (3) his flight into the wilderness.
II. How did this vision explain to Moses the work of his life? (1) The vision of God prepared him for the work of his life. It showed him the everlastingness of God, and his own unworthiness to do God’s work. But the voice upheld him amid the overwhelming sense of his nothingness, and made him feel his vocation. The everlasting sympathy was with his people in their sorrows, and that thought upholding his sinking weakness, became a clear, strong call to action, and summoned him with the voice of the Eternal to his calling. (2) The vision of God gave endurance in fulfilling that work. "Moses endured as seeing Him who is invisible." He had received the grand revelation of the name of God, which was to abide with him until his work was done: "I Am that I Am." This revelation of the name of God made him feel the glory of the vision as an ever-present power. Under that consciousness the sense of his own insignificance faded, his terror of Pharaoh passed away. Even though his work should seem to fail, that mighty vision had given him a grasp on eternity which would keep him strong and true.
E. L. Hull, Sermons, 3rd series, p. 81.
References: Exo 3:12.—Parker, vol. ii., p. 308; T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. vi., p. 17; J. Hiles Hitchens, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xv., p. 40.
Exo 3:13
I. Moses on entering upon a great mission naturally inquires the conditions upon which he proceeds. Before going on any of life’s great errands we should know (1) Who has sent us, and (2) What is the business on which we proceed.
II. In the revelation made to Moses, "I AM hath sent me unto you," we have being distinguished from manifestation. "I AM" is the summary of Being.
III. The answer which Moses received from Almighty God was an immutable authority for the greatest of missions. Only let us be sure that we are doing God’s errand, and Pharaoh and Caesar and all names of material power will fall before us, never again to rise.
Parker, Wednesday Evenings at Cavendish Chapel, p. 105.
References: Exo 3:13.—A. Fletcher, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. xv., p. 213.
Exo 3:14-15
In the long bondage of Israel the God of their fathers had become to the most a name, a faint echo, an image ever growing dimmer. They were in a country where countless gods were worshipped, where the forces and products of nature in all their changes were adored. The very conception of Deity was polluted and degraded by being associated with creeping things and monstrous shapes. How wise then that God should be presented to them as "I AM." "I AM THAT I AM,"—the Being who is, as essential life, inscrutable and unchangeable, and who was also the God of their fathers. God is thus set very high and yet He is brought very near, near in a way to appeal to the heart. To us the two aspects of God possess the same importance and interest. Let us look at them in several different lights.
I. God is the Incomprehensible One, and yet is revealed in His intercourse with men. The conviction of God’s unsearchableness lies at the root of all reverence and awe. Before the "I AM THAT I AM" our spirits lie in deepest adoration and rise into loftiest aspiration. But we need equally the other side. We need a God revealed in the essential features of His character, and it is in His dealings with men who feared and loved Him that He has made Himself known.
II. God is the Independent and Absolute One, and yet He enters into covenant and most definite relationship with men. He is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. The great sea of His love has its channel and tides. His infinite love and mercy have their regular fixed ways not less than the sunshine.
III. God is the Eternal One, and yet the God of dying men. Every moment that we have of fellowship with the Eternal God assures us that for us there is no death. The thought of death only makes us cleave the more to the Eternal God.
IV. God is the Unchangeable One, yet the God of men of all different types and temperaments. He is the same Lord over all. Take these three patriarchs, so closely related in blood.
How different they were. Yet God was the God of all the three, for they all agreed in being seekers of God.
J. Leckie, Sermons Preached at Ibrox, p. 35.
References: Exo 3:14.—T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. vi., p. 156; Expositor, 2nd series, vol. i., p. 12, 3rd series, vol. ii., p. 81; C. Kingsley, Gospel of the Pentateuch, p. 132; J. Travers Sherlock, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx., p. 44; R. Heber, Sermons Preached in England, pp. 102, 124. Exo 3:14, Exo 3:15.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 61. Exo 3:19, Exo 3:20.—Bishop Armstrong, Parochial Sermons, p. 239. 3—Parker, vol. ii., p. 31.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain Section 3. (Exo 3:1-22; Exo 4:1-17.)
Section 3. (Exo 3:1-22; Exo 4:1-17.)
God’s revelation of Himself.
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The glory of the gospel is that God is revealed in it. He is making known for all eternity, and to all His creatures, "the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus." (Eph 2:7.) For us also "all things that pertain to life and godliness are given in the knowledge of Him who hath called us." (2Pe 1:3.) We had lost such knowledge as we had, or as creation would have afforded us. Now both we and principalities and powers in heavenly places are to learn what puts into our mouths a "new song." In the section now before us, God, in calling Moses to the work for which He has been preparing him, reveals to him Himself.
1. The shepherd is the fitting type of the divine Deliverer and King. So, afterward, God "chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes great with young He brought him, to feed Jacob His people and Israel His inheritance." (Psa 78:70-71.) So the beautiful expression in the second chapter of the gospel of Matthew, which speaks of Christ as the Governor who shall "rule" God’s people Israel, is literally "shall be a Shepherd" to them. This is God’s thought. Thus He trains up Moses, after all that he had learned in the palace in Egypt, forty years in the desert in simple shepherd work, until he is fit for the power to be entrusted to him -the meekest man on earth (Num 12:3). And such is the Shepherd God has appointed us (Mat 11:29).
We find, then, Moses, in the course of his service, now at Horeb, the mount of God. Here the angel of Jehovah appears to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. And the bush burns with fire, yet is not consumed. There from the bush the Lord addresses him, and, as the angel of the bush, gives him, his commission.
God had before, and in reference to this very captivity in Egypt, revealed Himself under the similitude of fire. The "smoking furnace" had been His symbol when in covenanting with Abraham He passed between the pieces of the sacrifice. It is to the deep sleep which overpowers him there, and the horror of great darkness which falls upon him, that the vision which follows addresses itself. The smoking furnace and the burning lamp are what the deep sleep and the darkness respectively demand; and these the sacrifice secures and the faithfulness of God supplies to His people. If the activity and vigilance of faith fail, the furnace will not fail as the appointed means of purification; while for the darkness the burning lamp is equally provided.
Thus the fiery trial which was trying them in Egypt was in reality God’s remembrance of His covenant with Abraham; and if we look at this thorn-bush, for such it is, it is a very striking picture of the people. The thorns and briars are a figure of those "sons of Belial" of whom David speaks as to be "all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands." Thorns were a sign of the curse at the beginning; and are, in fact, abortive leaves or branches, easily read as this, -parts of a plant incapable of fulfilling their original purpose. Sinners are thus, in this symbol, naturally connected with the curse upon sin. But the thorn-bush here is not consumed, for the angel of Jehovah, the covenant-God, is in the fire. The tribulation is the means ordained of God in grace to work repentance; and so the grace that takes us up ordains for us all necessary discipline.
The wonder attracts Moses, and he turns aside to see. This is the first design of a miracle -to force men, by the mystery in it, to attention. And those who draw nigh with unshod feet, as Moses did, find in it a "sign" -a thing significant of divine "power" working in man’s behalf. These are the three Scripture terms for miracles: "wonders," "signs," "powers." How many of these offer themselves still in nature and in Scripture, and in what we call "providence," to engage our interest, if we have but hearts to ponder them! For the Scripture miracles have thus still their evidences, and are proofs still of what they are attached to, -not burdens upon the evidence, as men say.
Here, then, out of this bush God declares Himself to Moses, and to us, the triune God of revelation, God of his fathers, -the self-same God all through.
2. This God is to be known as the God of salvation, for only thus can He be the object of love or worship (Joh 4:22). And for this, it is not enough that He speak the word from heaven: He must "come down to deliver;" words which necessarily carry us on beyond the pillar of cloud in which His presence was manifested then to Israel, to the incarnation and the cross. In this "coming down" of God all the sweetness and power of salvation are. God is declared in it, and the manifestation abides for us in the perpetual humanity of the Lord Jesus. "Christ come in flesh" is thus the test, with the apostle, of the utterance of the Spirit of God. (1Jn 4:2-3.)
Salvation by such an one must be a complete salvation; and it is not complete until the land of promise is their own. Six nations are specified here as to be overthrown, -the full power of evil, and the land is a good land and a large, flowing with milk and honey. It is not a land of straitness, as Egypt is, -and heaven is not conditioned by the needs and struggles of earth. The "river" is not at strife with the desert there. There is all "fatness," which the word for milk literally means, and all sweetness, as the honey implies. Salvation for us must issue in satisfaction, or it is not salvation. Our Canaan, as we shall later learn, is to be entered upon now by faith.
Moses objects his personal unfitness, but this only brings the assurance that God is with him, so that self-distrust need not be discouragement. Nay, the more complete it is, the more will God’s all-sufficiency be realized. He is solemnly assured, for his encouragement, that the people brought forth by him shall serve God upon that mount; and this is what is the fruit of salvation, and the sign of who hath wrought in it, that it thus brings back to Him in obedience the former slaves of sin.
3. And now we come to what is of the deepest importance -the name of God according to which He takes up, and can alone take up, the people. The question as to this is clearly not of His historical name simply. Names have in the present day so little significance, -stand so much as mere algebraical symbols for unknown quantities, -that we have need to be reminded of the different manner in which Scripture uses them, and indeed in which people of old regarded them. In Scripture, all names appear to have -often a prophetic -significance, of which those who gave them were in general profoundly unconscious, while guided thus by a wisdom quite beyond their own. The names of God especially express what He is Himself, -are a revelation of His attributes; and the question Moses puts in the mouth of the people, "What is His name?" implies, "In what way are we to interpret His present actings? What do they mean? Why is it that He does this?" The answer, therefore, must answer questions such as these, and it should be evident that this will not be given best by God declaring Himself under some new name, but rather by flashing some new significance out of an old one. Thus His present acts will be made only to bring out in fresh glory attributes that were but dimly seen before, and He will be seen to be consistent with Himself all through, while yet more and more revealing Himself.
Thus the difficulty is cleared up where God says afterwards, speaking of the patriarchs, "By My name," or "According to My name ’Jehovah’ was I not known unto them." This is not in the least a denial of the fact that even before the flood "men began to call on the name of Jehovah," or that Abraham also built his altars to Jehovah, and called upon His name. It means, rather, that the significance of that name had not yet been properly told out. Now it was to be. Israel’s deliverance was to illustrate Jehovah’s name so as to make it His memorial name for all generations; and in it Israel should find their abiding ground of confidence.*
{*What, then, is this name, "Jehovah?" Almost the whole consensus of commentators agree, and I see no possible ground of dissent from it, that it means "He who is." Thus the connection with "I am," which the Lord’s words to Moses naturally imply, is clear at once; and in the version I have ventured to give, though with few among moderns perhaps to agree with me, it is equally clear with the first title He takes but a few words before it. Here most read, indeed, with the common English version, "I am that I am." The Septuagint, however, gives Ego eimi ho on," I am He who is," and my own version is substantially the same, though more literal, - "I am I who am." I must say a few words in justification of this rendering.
The common version makes an apparent disjunction of thought between "I am that I am" and the "I am" that follows it. Although this does not seem in general to be conceded, yet they are surely not the same. "I am" speaks of God as the Living and Unchanging God; "I am that I am" speaks rather of, or implies the Inscrutable One, whose vail cannot be lifted. These thoughts are in no wise the same; nor do they seem connected. "I am that I am" appears rather a rebuke to the question, "What is His name?" than an answer to it. Yet the answer is given immediately in the "I am" that follows.
The first "I am" does not seem part of the name, any more than it would be if it were said, "I am Jehovah;" and this would be, if we judge by the connection, its real equivalent. It is exactly the Septuagint "I am He who Is," and the rendering "I am I who am," while strictly literal, brings all into harmony.}
"I am" is the Living, Unchanging, Self-existent One, necessarily independent of all others. As such, He acts from Himself in necessary independence also; and here is the ground of redemption, God acting from Himself, and, therefore, according to what He is Himself. God is showing forth Himself, showing forth the riches of His grace in His kindness toward us, glorifying Himself, letting the light of His glory shine. Is it not worthy of Him? We reason from ourselves to God, and can make nothing of it. We are sinners, and can merit nothing: why should not He punish, how can He do aught but punish, sin? How blessed, then, to hear Him say, "I, even I, am He who blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake." (Isa 43:25.) Who can deny His right in this, if He chooses to do it, and declares that He has done it?
Jehovah, then, is the living, unchangeable God, acting from Himself, finding in Himself the argument for what He does. How suitable a name for the God of redemption - the covenant-name!
And this is closely connected with what He at the same time declares Himself to be - the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; for as this He fulfils an absolute promise which He had given, and by which He stood pledged, apart from all question of what they were. He was thus plainly acting from Himself, and for His own sake. But this is not all: in connecting Himself with these three men He was surely telling out Himself in a peculiar way. Why just these three? To us now it should be plain at least. Who can read the twenty-second of Genesis without finding in the offerer and the offered there another Father than Abraham, another Son than Isaac? Again too in the epistle to the Galatians, Isaac, the child of the free-woman, is shown to typify those who have now received the adoption - the free-born sons of God, and Abraham here again is the shadow of Him who is our God and Father. The God of Jacob once more declares the divine power which takes up the most intractable material to fashion it into a vessel for the Master’s use: and this is the office of the Holy Ghost. Thus Father, Son, and Spirit are really in some true sense shown in the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; and these are but Jehovah, the God of redemption, fully manifested. How clearly can we understand Him, then, when He says, "This is My name forever; and this is My memorial to all generations."
Here, then, is the ground of redemption - that upon which a soul can surely rest, revealed in God’s covenant-name. He is the Self-existent One, who acts necessarily from Himself and according to His own nature: "all things were created by Him and for Him." (Col 1:16.) That this is said of Christ shows at once who Christ is, and how truly He is the full expression of the divine mind. God is revealing Himself, acting for the display of Himself, -the joy and blessing of His creatures. And this is the true thought of His glorifying Himself, not as if glory could be conferred upon Him, or as if He craved or had need of something from His creatures. "Love seeketh not her own "(1Co 13:5), and "God is love." If He seek His own glory, it is to fill as the sun the heavens with His brightness. This is grace, and the theme of His people’s praise forever.
4. In the accomplishment of His purpose, the Lord reveals the state of the world, -its opposition to Himself, its false trusts, its pride and feebleness. This is the meaning of all this parleying with Pharaoh, and the measured succession of judgments upon the land. His people needed the lesson, and, given in a manner so public, all who would might learn it. God foretells the result, that they may not be discouraged or disappointed. We may learn before experience, if we will, by the Word of God, all that we are and all the world is. How much would we be spared if we would learn thus!
5. As the result of all this, moreover, the wealth of the world passes into the hands of the people of God. "All things are yours," says the apostle; "whether the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, -all are yours." (1Co 3:22.) Men out of Christ, as they have right to nothing, so indeed they possess nothing. In the end, it will be found so. "Godliness" it is that "hath promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come." (1Ti 4:8.) They who go as pilgrims out of the world yet carry with them all the good of the world, and the world that would enjoy it must yield it up to them. To him who belongs to the world the world cannot belong.
6. Moses is still unready. He objects the unbelief of the people, and is hindered by his own. The Lord gives him three signs, witnessing of the power at work in behalf of the people -signs which are to witness for him as the deliverer raised up of God for them. They must have faith in the deliverer in order to find the deliverance; and so it is today: faith in Christ Himself is the first and absolutely necessary thing upon which all else depends.
(1.) The sign of the rod comes first. The rod is the sign of power -"the rod of Thy power" (Psa 110:2) -here, as we know, in the shepherd’s hands, who, as we have seen, is the very type of royalty according to God. Even the iron rod with which Christ will smite His enemies is still represented as in a shepherd’s hands. In all passages, it reads really, "He shall shepherd them with an iron rod." (Rev 2:27.) Severely as it may smite, love guides it. Woe indeed to those whom everlasting love has thus to smite!
The rod in Moses’ hand is, then, the type of power -divine, and characterized by tenderness and care, as a shepherd’s rod. But Moses is told to cast it on the ground; and out of his hand the rod changes its character -it becomes a serpent. Plainly enough the type can be read here. Who that looks round upon the earth with the thought in his mind of power being in the hands of eternal love but must own to strange bewilderment at finding every where what seems so completely to negative the supposition? Scripture itself puts the question in its full strength: "Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with Thee, which frameth mischief by a law?" (Psa 94:20.)
The rod is to all appearance out of the Shepherd’s hand, and "the prince of this world" is now not Christ, but Satan. The claim he once made to universal empire, before the Son of God Himself, has but too much truth in it: and so the dragon is pictured in Revelation with the heads and horns of the imperial beast. (Rev 12:3.)
There is no doubt that there is a special reference to Egypt here, which Moses and the Israelites would readily understand. "The asp played a conspicuous part in Egyptian mythology. It was the emblem of the goddess Ranno, the snake of Neph, the hieroglyphic of ’goddess,’ and the sign of royalty. From this last use it was called ’Uraeus,’ from ouro, king, and basiliskos, royal. Egypt was, therefore, not obscurely pointed out as the adversary of God and His people at this time." -(Murphy’s Exodus.)
But Egypt itself is a type of the world at large, as we have seen; and the meaning, while it includes this, is much broader. Every where, we find the apparent contradiction which sin has wrought. The rod seems not in His hand to whom it belongs, but on the ground, and satanic. But observe the beautiful accuracy of the type, and the comfort prepared for us in it. The rod was cast out of Moses’ hand -did not slip out. God has not lost control of the world after all: of His own will, and for purposes of highest wisdom, He has permitted man’s self-chosen subjection to demon rule. But if the Lord come in, as in the scene at Gadara, Satan is displaced at once: the victim is delivered without an effort. Alas! this only brings out the real foundation of satanic empire, in man’s rejection of the Deliverer. The people pray Him to depart out of their coasts!
"Judgment shall" yet "return unto righteousness" (Psa 94:15), and Satan be vanquished, and cast out of his usurped dominion. Meanwhile, the rod of power is found on the side of love with Him who is the Deliverer from Satan’s tyranny. "He is gone up on high; He has led captivity captive," and having spoiled principalities and powers, made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Psa 68:18; Col 2:15.) Here is man’s first need met.
(2) The second sign is that of sin and its cleansing; for that is, above all, what marks the condition of man. Leprosy is the Old Testament type of sin in its loathsomeness and malignity, and power to spread. It is shown us in it as no mere accident, or local thing, but a virulent, growing, contagious evil, deeper than the surface, not to be measured by the outward appearance, and absolutely fatal, unless God come in to save. In Moses’ case it is strikingly pictured as that which from the heart affects the hand, not from the hand the heart. The clean hand placed in the bosom is drawn out leprous -white as death. "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Be sure, if the hand be leprous, the heart is not better, but worse: it is the seat of the whole disease. And cleansing must begin accordingly, not with the hand, but with the heart.
So with the type here. Moses’ hand thrust into the bosom becomes leprous; thrust into his bosom again, it is restored. Defilement and cleansing both begin at the heart. What has cleansed the heart? No remedial process is seen in this case, but the way to cleansing is very simply shown. For leprosy in the heart is sin hidden, but leprosy on the hand is sin exposed. The hand plucked out of the bosom makes manifest what is there. And "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1Jn 1:9.) Here, it is leprosy in the hand that is manifested; not the mere confession of sin being in our hearts or in our natures, but of sin actually committed -a very different thing. We can own easily, and without any conscience, that we are all sinners, but it is for the sins actually committed we feel we are responsible before God.
Repentance and remission of sins God has joined together. (Luk 24:47.) Faith owns the righteous judgment of God, according to His Word, and finds remission of sins preached through Christ by the same infallible Word. Forgiveness it is that purifies the heart, faith working by love (Luk 7:47); and thus the blessedness becomes ours of "the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." (Psa 32:1.)
(3) The third sign predicts judgment for obstinate unbelief. The stream of life and blessing which is ministered to us here from God becomes wrath and judgment if, after all, His goodness lead not to repentance, -every blessing becoming in the end but judgment if a Saviour’s voice be disregarded. Here, that is given as a sign to Israel which is given as a testimony to Pharaoh afterward. God’s principles are unchanging, and unbelief, even in a believer, will find its judgment, while, by the same Word, as a believer, he is, as to eternal condemnation, free forever.
Thus, as there is salvation for sin, so on the other hand there must be faith in order to salvation. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." (Joh 3:36.)
7. But Moses still objects; and evil as is this slowness of heart to respond to the grace of God, that grace nevertheless, still sovereign over it, makes it the occasion of the more perfect display of what is in His heart. Moses cannot yet speak, and God provides now for him one who is to be his mouth-piece to the people. This is Aaron, in God’s mind the designed high-priest of Israel, though not yet revealed as that. It is as Moses’ "prophet" that he is here announced, -his associate and complement in the great work which God had committed to them. Provision is now completely made.
Taking in, however, what in the purpose of God he was, Aaron as the priest is indeed the complement of Moses, and together they are the double type of Christ. In Him, king and priest are united, -redemption by power and by blood: without the latter, there could not be the former. Priesthood alone can interpret the Deliverer: sacrifice alone account for salvation. This, in its true import, Israel has not yet learned: there, Moses is delayed by his need of Aaron; when they look upon Him, they shall not only see One whom they have pierced, but know why He had to stoop to that unequaled humiliation.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain
Exodus
THE BUSH THAT BURNED, AND DID NOT BURN OUT
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Exo 3:2.
It was a very sharp descent from Pharaoh’s palace to the wilderness, and forty years of a shepherd’s life were a strange contrast to the brilliant future that once seemed likely for Moses. But God tests His weapons before He uses them, and great men are generally prepared for great deeds by great sorrows. Solitude is ‘the mother-country of the strong,’ and the wilderness, with its savage crags, its awful silence, and the unbroken round of its blue heaven, was a better place to meet God than in the heavy air of a palace, or the profitless splendours of a court.
So as this lonely shepherd is passing slowly in front of his flock, he sees a strange light that asserted itself, even in the brightness of the desert sunshine. ‘The bush’ does not mean one single shrub. Rather, it implies some little group, or cluster, or copse, of the dry thorny acacias, which are characteristic of the country, and over which any ordinary fire would have passed like a flash, leaving them all in grey ashes. But this steady light persists long enough to draw the attention of the shepherd, and to admit of his travelling some distance to reach it. And then-and then-the Lord speaks.
The significance of this bush, burning but not consumed, is my main subject now, for I think it carries great and blessed lessons for us.
Now, first, I do not think that the bush burning but not consumed, stands as it is ordinarily understood to stand, for the symbolical representation of the preservation of Israel, even in the midst of the fiery furnace of persecution and sorrow.
Beautiful as that idea is, I do not think it is the true explanation; because if so, this symbol is altogether out of keeping with the law that applies to all the rest of the symbolical accompaniments of divine appearances, all of which, without exception, set forth in symbol some truth about God, and not about His Church; and all of which, without exception, are a representation in visible and symbolical form of the same truth which was proclaimed in articulate words along with them. The symbol and the accompanying voice of God in all other cases have one and the same meaning.
That, I think, is the case here also; and we learn from the Bush, not something about God’s Church, however precious that may be, but what is a great deal more important, something about God Himself; namely, the same thing that immediately afterwards was spoken in articulate words.
In the next place, let me observe that the fire is distinctly a divine symbol, a symbol of God not of affliction, as the ordinary explanation implies. I need not do more than remind you of the stream of emblem which runs all through Scripture, as confirming this point. There are the smoking lamp and the blazing furnace in the early vision granted to Abraham. There is the pillar of fire by night, that lay over the desert camp of the wandering Israelites. There is Isaiah’s word, ‘The light of Israel shall be a flaming fire.’ There is the whole of the New Testament teaching, turning on the manifestation of God through His Spirit. There are John the Baptist’s words, ‘He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.’ There is the day of Pentecost, when the ‘tongues of fire sat upon each of them.’ And what is meant by the great word of the Epistle to the Hebrews, ‘Our God is a consuming fire’?
Not Israel only, but many other lands-it would scarcely be an exaggeration to say, all other lands-have used the same emblem with the same meaning. In almost every religion on the face of the earth, you will find a sacred significance attached to fire. That significance is not primarily destruction, as we sometimes suppose, an error which has led to ghastly misunderstandings of some Scriptures, and of the God whom they reveal. When, for instance, Isa 33:14 asks, ‘Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?’ he has been supposed to be asking what human soul is there that can endure the terrors of God’s consuming and unending wrath. But a little attention to the words would have shown that ‘the devouring fire’ and the ‘everlasting burnings’ mean God and not hell, and that the divine nature is by them not represented as too fierce to be approached, but as the true dwelling-place of men, which indeed only the holy can inhabit, but which for them is life. Precisely parallel is the Psalmist’s question, ‘Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, and who shall stand in His holy place?’
Fire is the source of warmth, and so, in a sense, of life. It is full of quick energy, it transmutes all kinds of dead matter into its own ruddy likeness, sending up the fat of the sacrifices in wreathes of smoke that aspire heavenward; and changing all the gross, heavy, earthly dullness into flame, more akin to the heaven into which it rises.
Therefore, as cleansing, as the source of life, light, warmth, change, as glorifying, transmuting, purifying, refining, fire is the fitting symbol of the mightiest of all creative energy. And the Bible has consecrated the symbolism, and bade us think of the Lord Himself as the central fiery Spirit of the whole universe, a spark from whom irradiates and vitalises everything that lives.
Nor should we forget, on the other side, that the very felicity of this emblem is, that along with all these blessed thoughts of life-giving and purifying, there does come likewise the more solemn teaching of God’s destructive power. ‘What maketh heaven, that maketh hell’; and the same God is the fire to quicken, to sanctify, to bless; and resisted, rejected, neglected, is the fire that consumes; the savour of life unto life, or the savour of death unto death.
And then, still further, notice that this flame is undying-steady, unflickering. What does that mean? Adopting the principle which I have already taken as our guide, that the symbol and the following oral revelation teach the same truth, there can be no question as to that answer. ‘I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. ‘I AM THAT I AM.’
That is to say, the fire that burns and does not burn out, which has no tendency to destruction in its very energy, and is not consumed by its own activity, is surely a symbol of the one Being whose being derives its law and its source from Himself, who only can say-’I AM THAT I AM’-the law of His nature, the foundation of His being, the only conditions of His existence being, as it were, enclosed within the limits of His own nature. You and I have to say, ‘I am that which I have become,’ or ‘I am that which I was born,’ or ‘I am that which circumstances have made me.’ He says, ‘I AM THAT I AM.’ All other creatures are links; this is the staple from which they all hang. All other being is derived, and therefore limited and changeful; this Being is underived, absolute, self-dependent, and therefore unalterable for evermore. Because we live we die. In living the process is going on of which death is the end. But God lives for evermore, a flame that does not burn out; therefore His resources are inexhaustible, His power unwearied. He needs no rest for recuperation of wasted energy. His gifts diminish not the store which He has to bestow. He gives, and is none the poorer; He works, and is never weary; He operates unspent; He loves, and He loves for ever; and through the ages the fire burns on, unconsumed and undecayed.
O brethren! is not that a revelation-familiar as it sounds to our ears now, blessed be God!-is not that a revelation of which, when we apprehend the depth and the preciousness, we may well fix an unalterable faith upon it, and feel that for us, in our fleeting days and shadowy moments, the one means to secure blessedness, rest, strength, life, is to grasp and knit ourselves to Him who lives for ever, and whose love is lasting as His life? ‘The eternal God, the Lord . . .fainteth not, neither is weary. They that wait upon Him shall renew their strength.’
The last thought suggested to me by this symbol is this. Regarding the lowly thorn-bush as an emblem of Israel-which unquestionably it is, though the fire be the symbol of God-in the fact that the symbolical manifestation of the divine energy lived in so lowly a shrine, and flamed in it, and preserved it by its burning, there is a great and blessed truth.
It is the same truth which Jesus Christ, with a depth of interpretation that put to shame the cavilling listeners, found in the words that accompanied this vision: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He said to the sneering Sadducees, who, like all other sneerers, saw only the surface of what they were sarcastic about, ‘Did not Moses teach you,’ in the section about the bush, ‘that the dead rise, when he said: I AM the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob.’ A man, about whom it can once be said that God is his God, cannot die. Such a bond can never be broken. The communion of earth, imperfect as it is, is the prophecy of Heaven and the pledge of immortality. And so from that relationship which subsisted between the fathers and God, Christ infers the certainty of their resurrection. It seems a great leap, but there are intervening steps not stated by our Lord, which securely bridge the gulf between the premises and the conclusion. Such communion is, in its very nature, unaffected by the accident of death, for it cannot be supposed that a man who can say that God is His God can be reduced to nothingness, and such a bond be snapped by such a cause. Therefore Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still living, ‘for all’ those whom we call dead, as well as those whom we call living, ‘live unto Him,’ and though so many centuries have passed, God still is, not was, their God. The relation between them is eternal and guarantees their immortal life. But immortality without corporeity is not conceivable as the perfect state, and if the dead live still, there must come a time when the whole man shall partake of redemption; and in body, soul, and spirit the glorified and risen saints shall be ‘for ever with the Lord.’
That is but the fuller working out of the same truth that is taught us in the symbol ‘the bush burned and was not consumed.’ God dwelt in it, therefore it flamed; God dwelt in it, therefore though it flamed it never flamed out. Or in other words, the Church, the individual in whom He dwells, partakes of the immortality of the indwelling God. ‘Every one shall be salted with fire,’ which shall be preservative and not destructive; or, as Christ has said, ‘Because I live ye shall live also.’
Humble as was the little, ragged, sapless thorn-bush, springing up and living its solitary life amidst the sands of the desert, it was not too humble to hold God; it was not too gross to burst into flame when He came; it was not too fragile to be gifted with undying being; like His that abode in it. And for us each the emblem may be true. If He dwell in us we shall live as long as He lives, and the fire that He puts in our heart shall be a fountain of fire springing up into life everlasting.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain The Call of Moses and his Commission to be…
The Call of Moses and his Commission to be the Deliverer of Israel
1. Horeb] The names Horeb and Sinai seem to be synonymous, though it has been suggested that Horeb is the name given to the entire mountain range, while Sinai denotes the particular mountain where the Law was given. Assuming that the Pentateuch is composed of different documents, it is better to believe that Horeb is the name used by one set of writers and Sinai by another. Horeb is here called the mountain of God by anticipation. The reason of the appellation follows in Exodus 19. At the same time, it is not improbable that there was a sanctuary on Mt. Sinai from earliest times, connected with the worship of the Babylonian moon-god Sin.
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2. Angel of the Lord] i.e. of Jehovah (see on Exo_3:13). In Exo_3:4 it is Jehovah Himself who speaks; in Exo_23:20-21, Exo_23:22 divine attributes are ascribed to the 'angel of the Lord,' God's' name' is in him (see on Exo_3:13), and his voice is identified with that of God. It would therefore appear that the Angel of Jehovah is not a created angel but Jehovah Himself in the act of self-manifestation: see on 'my presence' in Exo_33:14. On the other hand, there are passages like Exo_32:34 where the angel seems to be distinguished from Jehovah, the explanation being probably that the mere manifestation of God gives rise to a distinction between what He is in Himself, and what He is in His special appearance. In this distinction between God in Himself and God in self-manifestation, we may see an adumbration of the Incarnation of God in Christ. By many, the Angel of the Lord is identified with the Second Person of the Trinity. It is to be observed that on this occasion Moses saw no human form: cp. Deu_4:15. In a flame of fire] Fire is a frequent emblem of God in the Scriptures on account of its illuminating, purifying, and destructive properties, and appears as the accompaniment and indication of His presence: see Exo_13:21; Exo_19:18; Exo_24:17; Deu_4:24; Psa_97:3; Eze_1:4; Act_2:3, etc. On this occasion the bush, though enveloped in flame, was not consumed. This may be symbolical of the graciousness of God who spares the unworthy and restrains the fierceness of His anger while He communicates with them: see on Exo_24:9-11.
5. Every place where God manifests Himself is holy. To take off the shoes is an ancient as well as modern way of expressing reverence in the East. The Mohammedan takes, off his shoes when he enters the mosque. The action symbolises the removal of the defilement caused by sin or contact with the world on entering the presence of Him with whom 'evil cannot dwell.'
6. The patriarchs are mentioned to show that it is no new or unknown God who speaks, but One who made a covenant with the fathers of the nation and who still remembers it. These words are cited by our Lord as a proof that God's people continue to live after death: cp. Mar_12:26-27; Moses hid his face] cp. the act of Elijah, 1Ki_19:13, and see on Exo_19:9; Exo_33:18. Reverenee is not only due to God, but is the first condition of receiving divine truth. God manifests Himself to the lowly.
8. Flowing with milk and honey] A proverbial expression indicating fertility and abundance. On the tribes inhabiting Canaan see on Genesis 10; Num_34:1-15.
11. With the hesitation of Moses compare that of Jeremiah, Jer_1:4-8. Forty years before Moses was more self-confident (cp. Act_7:25). In the long sojourn in Midian he learned to mistrust himself, and was on that account all the more fitted to be the instrument of Him whose 'strength is made perfect in weakness.' Moses here puts forward four excuses, each of which is in turn overborne. He pleads (1) that he is personally unfit (Exo_3:11-12), (2) that the Israelites will not know who sent him (Exo_3:13-22), (3) that they will not believe that Jehovah has sent him (Exo_4:1-9), and (4) that he does not possess the gift of persuasive eloquence (Exo_4:10-17). I will be with thee] The guarantee of fitness and success: cp. our Lord's promise, Mat_28:20. A token] The token was still in the future: cp. 1Sa_2:34; 2Ki_19:29; Isa_7:14. Experience corroborates the ventures of faith. For the fulfilment of this sign see Exodus 19.
13. What is his name?] The name of God is His revealed character: see Exo_23:21; Exo_34:5-7. Here God reveals Himself by the name Jehovah. As already explained (Gen_2:4) the word 'Jehovah' is the result of a combination of the consonants of the original name (the consonants alone are written in ancient Hebrew) and the vowels of its substitute 'Adonai.' Most scholars believe that the original form of the name was 'Jahve' or 'Yahve.' Now this resembles in form the third person singular masculine imperfect of a Hebrew verb, and is here connected with the verb hawa or haya, 'to be.' God calls Himself 'Ehyeh,' i.e. I am. When He is named by others, He is 'Jahve,' i.e. He is. The name denotes the absolute self-existence of God. He alone truly exists: cp. Deu_4:35; Isa_45:6; Rev_1:4. Some scholars, however, prefer to take the word as a future, 'I will be,' in which case the name expresses rather the faithfulness of God, the assurance that He will be with His people as their helper and deliverer. Others, again, take the word to be the causative form of the verb, in which case it will mean, 'He who causes to be,' 'the Creator': see RM and on Exo_6:3.
15. My memorial] i.e. my name, the designation by which I will be remembered.
16. Elders of Israel] The heads or representatives of the tribes and families. It appears from this that even in Egypt the Israelites had some kind of organisation. In the Pentateuch, when the people of Israel are addressed, it is frequently the 'elders' who are meant. They are the usual medium of communication between Moses and the people, and act as the representatives of the latter: see e.g. Exo_17:5; Exo_19:7; Deu_27:1; Deu_31:9, Deu_31:28.
18. God of the Hebrews] To the Israelites God is 'Jehovah, the God of your fathers' (Exo_3:16), a designation which would appeal to their hearts as it reminded them of God's covenant, with their forefathers and His faithfulness to it. See on Exo_3:6. But to Pharaoh He is simply 'the God of the Hebrews.'
Three days' journey into the wilderness] i.e. most probably to Horeb, the 'wilderness' being a general term for the region lying between Egypt and Palestine. There was no intention to deceive Pharaoh in this request. Had Pharaoh been willing to grant the people entire release this would have been asked at first. But God, knowing that Pharaoh was not willing to let them go, enjoined Moses to make only this moderate request, so as to emphasise the obstinacy of the king.
19. No, not by a mighty hand] This means either 'in spite of the fact that I will lay My hand heavily upon him'; or better, with a slight change of reading, as LXX has it, 'unless I lay My hand heavily upon him.'
22. Shall borrow] RV 'shall ask.' The word is the common Hebrew verb meaning 'to ask,' as used e.g. in Jdg_5:25; 1Ki_3:11; 2Ki_2:10; Psa_122:6, where there is no idea of asking under a promise of giving back what is received. Spoil] The same word is rendered 'recover' in 1Sa_30:22, which suggests that if there was any 'borrowing' it was on the part of the Egyptians, who had been taking the labour of the Israelites without any recompense. For the fulfilment, see chapter Exo_12:35, Exo_12:36.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain CHAPTER 3 The Burning Bush and the Call and…
CHAPTER 3 The Burning Bush and the Call and Commission of Moses
1. The vision of the burning bush (Exo 3:1-3)
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2. Jehovah speaks and calls Moses (Exo 3:4-10)
3. Moses’ answer (Exo 3:11-12)
4. The name revealed (Exo 3:13-14)
5. The commission of Moses (Exo 3:15-18)
6. The promise (Exo 3:19-22)
The two last verses of the preceding chapter form the introduction to the great manifestation of Jehovah in the burning bush and the call of Moses. God’s time had come. He heard their groaning, He remembered the covenant, and looked upon His suffering people. The scene is at Horeb, called here the mountain of God by anticipation. Moses had become a shepherd, that occupation which the Egyptians despised (Gen 46:34). It was part of God’s training by which he became “very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth” (Num 12:3). In his shepherd character he is the type of Christ.
The burning bush is the picture of the suffering people, the wretched slaves in Egypt . It was a thornbush. Thorns being the results of sin, it typifies the sinfulness and worthlessness of the people. The fire is the symbol of their suffering and tribulation. It has the same meaning as the “smoking furnace” Abraham saw in his vision. Later God called Egypt the “iron furnace” (Deu 4:20). The thornbush, however, is not consumed. All the fires of persecution and tribulation could not consume Israel . In the flame of the fire in the midst of the burning bush the angel of the Lord appeared. This was the secret of the preservation of the bush; God was there and kept them. “When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isa 43:2). He is with all His people in their affliction; He preserves them and carries them through the fire. But the fire is also the figure of God’s consuming and purifying holiness. All that is unholy must be consumed by the fire. “Our God is a consuming fire.”
The angel of Jehovah, who addressed Moses out of the burning bush reveals His name. It shows that the Angel of Jehovah (God the Son) is God. He calls Himself the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. The triune God is thus revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In Abraham, as the Father, in Isaac as the Son and in the experience of Jacob as the Holy Spirit. Our Lord quotes these words and silenced with them the unbelieving Sadducees, who rejected the doctrine of resurrection (Mat 22:31-32). The words Jehovah spoke to Moses are the expressions of His sovereign grace. What had they merited? What could they do to secure His intervention? Nothing whatever. They were in Egypt , a lot of miserable slaves, given more or less to idolatry, a sinful people. It was grace which looked upon them and heard their cry. It was grace which came down to deliver them. The work of salvation He came to do was all His own work. It foreshadows His coming down in incarnation for the work of salvation. Note the five words: 1. I have surely seen the affliction of my people; 2. I have heard their cry; 3. I have known their sorrow; 4. I have come down to deliver them; 5. And to bring them up out of the land into a good land. He is ever the same, Jehovah, who changeth not. He ever sees, hears and knows and acts in behalf of His people. He never leaves nor forsakes.
And when the Lord called Moses to send him to Pharaoh to lead His people forth, he answered, What am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt ? Forty years before in self-confidence he had undertaken the work and had run before he was sent, and now he had learned humility and his weakness. God answered his confessed distrust with the all-sufficient assurance, “I will be with thee.” When He sends forth He goes along to accomplish His own purposes. What encouragement for all who wait on the Lord and conscious of their own weakness, go forth in service. In response to another question, God reveals His name. “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM, and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel , I AM hath sent me unto you.” God had made Himself known to Abraham as Jehovah (Gen 15:7). But here He gives the explanation of His name Jehovah. The patriarchs knew the name Jehovah, but the blessed significance of that name was not known to them. He reveals Himself as the Self-Existing One, THE I AM THAT I AM. He is the One, which is, which was, which is to come (Rev 1:4). And this wonderful Name of the Unchanging, Living One, the Eternal, the Name unsearchable in its depths is the Name of our Lord who has redeemed us. When about to act in the deliverance of His enslaved people to lead them out and to bring them in, He makes Himself known as the I AM. “Before Abraham was I AM” (Joh 8:58). Our ever-blessed Lord is the I AM, who spoke to Moses. And what is Jehovah, the I am for His people? Well has it been said, “Jehovah, in taking this title, calling Himself ‘I AM,’ was furnishing His people with a blank check, to be filled up to any amount. He calls Himself I AM, and faith has but to write over against that ineffably precious name whatever we want.”
In Exo 3:15 we have the hint of Jehovah’s eternal relationship with His people Israel . He is still and ever will be the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. “This is my name forever and this is my memorial unto all generations.” Here is the hope for Israel . He hath not cast them away; He is their God still and His gifts and calling are without repentance.
The commission to Moses follows, and Jehovah telling beforehand that the king of Egypt would not let them go also promises Moses that He would smite Egypt and that when the exodus takes place, they were not to go empty-handed. This is in fulfillment of a previous promise (Gen 15:14).
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Burning Bush
The Burning Bush
v. 1. Now Moses kept, was pasturing, the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, whose given name was Reuel, Exo 2:18; and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, beyond the wilderness which separated the country of the Midianites from the Sinaitic mountain range, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb, named so here on account of its later importance in the history of Israel. Even after the lower valleys are dried up, the upper regions of these mountains are still green with rich pastures.
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v. 2. And the Angel of the Lord, the Son of God Himself, appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, the fire being a symbol of the purifying affliction and of the chastening justice of God. And he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. The obvious miracle of a desert thorn-bush which was burning, while at the same time the flames left it intact, drew and held his attention.
v. 3. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. It was an appearance or vision decidedly worth investigating.
v. 4. 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. So the Angel of the Lord of
v. 2. is here identified with Jehovah, with God Himself, who addresses Moses with words of solemn warning.
v. 5. And He said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. The places where the Lord deigns to appear to sinful men are ever afterward set apart in their eyes and may not be desecrated by irreverent behavior, for man owes to God the highest degree of veneration. Throughout the Orient, the custom of removing the shoes before entering into a place dedicated to divine service, whether true or false, is still observed.
v. 6. Moreover, He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. This was the formal declaration of majesty and power. Where deliverance, salvation, is required, there the Angel of the Lord, Jehovah, the mighty God Himself, must come to the rescue of weak and sinful men. But where God is present and visits His children in mercy, there the safety of all those that put their trust in Him is assured. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. Sinful man cannot endure the sight of the holy God, and the eye is naturally overcome by the splendor which reflects the glory of the Lord.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 angel of Yahweh
angel of Yahweh
This was Yahweh himself appearing as an angel, and not just an angel that Yahweh sent. "Yahweh appeared as an angel" .
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Yahweh
This is the name of God that he revealed to his people in the Old Testament. See the translationWord page about Yahweh concerning how to translate this.
behold
The word "behold" here shows that Moses saw something that was very different from what he expected.
translationWords
Moses
shepherd
flocks
Jethro
priest
Midian
desert
Horeb
God
angel
Yahweh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:1–4:28 This section presents Moses’ call to rescue the…
3:1–4:28 This section presents Moses’ call to rescue the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. It is divided into two subsections, 3:1–4:17 and 4:18-28. The first deals with the call itself, while the second addresses the full implications of accepting that call. Moses was not presented with a mere vocational change; he faced an entire reorientation of his life.
3:1-10 In these verses, the stage is set for the reorientation of Moses’ life.
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3:1 Sinai is the name usually used for the mountain where God later revealed himself in the covenant (see, e.g., 16:1; 19:1-2). Here and in 17:6 and 33:6 the Hebrew text uses the proper name Horeb. Both names presumably refer to the same mountain, so the NLT consistently uses Sinai.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.