God In The Burning Bush

God at the Burning Bush

Exodus 3

May 19, 2024

I’ve had a few moments in my life which were mountain top experiences, some spiritual and some which were part of normal life. I don’t remember the day I accepted Jesus, since it was a long, thought out process in my life. Yet, quite possibly the most transformational or mountain top day in my life occurred on August 26, 1995.

That’s the day I married Debbie. I was a nervous wreck. I knew I was doing was the right thing, but I was still this nervous and anxious guy.

I’m standing up front with the pastor, waiting for Debbie to make her entrance with her dad. The doors open and here comes the bride. And she was absolutely gorgeous! And to make matters worse, she was as cool as could be. She’s walking down the aisle, smiling and waving at the crowd. In the meantime, I’m crying!

Most every time I perform a wedding, I now become tearful. I keep tissues in my pocket for me and for the couple. It’s a reminder of the power of love and the commitment between two people. It always moves me.

I’ve had those mountain top experiences with God as well. Times when I felt God was so close to me that I didn’t need to question His presence or purpose in my life.

How about you? Have you had moments in your life that were mountain top experiences? Maybe it was spiritual, maybe not. Maybe it was winning something, or someone said something amazing to you which you’ll never forget, or it could have been the birth of a child, a job offer, a letter of acceptance to college. The power of God made very real in a very important moment. There’s lots of possibilities.

I want to look at a story from the Old Testament, it’s a story most of us have heard, but as I considered the story, there’s a thought that came to me as well.

There was a guy named Moses. He had this amazingly crazy life. He was born to Jewish parents, but because of the law in Egypt, all little boys were to be killed. So, after hiding him, his mom put him in a basket and in the river.

It just so happened, it’s a God moment, that pharaoh’s daughter was bathing in the river and she found Moses in the basket. She ended up having Moses mother nurse him, and then returned him to pharaoh’s daughter, which had to be difficult for his mom.

Moses grew up with all of the advantages of a son in the palace, yet, there was something different about Moses, he was a Jewish male. He knew it and his family knew it, and I’m sure rumor spread throughout the region that this privileged kid was a Jew.

Eventually Moses runs away, becomes a shepherd, and gets married. It appears life is moving along at what seems to be a normal pace.

That’s a quick snippet of the beginning of Exodus. Then in Exodus 3, we read ----

1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro,

and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.

He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”

4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

5 Then God said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

6 And He said, “I am the God of your 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 at God. - Exodus 3

Can you imagine that moment for Moses? There’s a fire burning in a bush, but the bush is not being consumed by the fire. That’s so surreal. And Moses did what most of us would do as well. He approached the fire to get a better look at what was happening. It was God calling Moses to begin this new journey.

He hears God calling out to him, then God speaking directly to him. This never happened in his life, it’s not an everyday occurrence. And here was God having a conversation, like they were neighbors talking to one another.

I mean, how often does that happen in your life? Usually, it’s one way conversation. We talk to God and don’t audibly hear God speaking back to us.