The Reluctant Prophet 1 Of 2

Look at Exodus 3:1-9, we read, “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. 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. 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. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 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. 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; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, 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.”

This was a big request that God was making of Moses. Remember, he is now living in Midian because he had killed an Egyptian and he left Egypt in fear for his life. Now God is asking him to go back to Egypt.

But God had a purpose in making this request.

• God was deeply concerned about His people’s suffering

• God heard their cries of sorrow

• God wanted to deliver them from their enslavement

God wanted to do something about their suffering, so He called Moses to lead them out of Egypt.

Verse 1 tells us for forty years, “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.”

“The mountain of God” is the name used for Mt. Sinai in the burning bush account. (Exodus 3:1)

The fact that the burning bush occurred at Mt. Sinai indicates that it was within grazing distance of Midian, since Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro when he met God at Horeb, the mountain of God.

While tending to the flock he could, of course, just allow his mind to drift from one thought to another. While tending Jethro’s flock one night, look what happened in verse 2. “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.”

Suppose when Moses saw this burning bush he thought, “I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO CHECK THIS OUT, I have more important things to do,” and went on his way tending to the flock of the sheep. If that had happened, we probably would not be studying about Moses tonight.

But God got his attention. Notice two things he saw at the burning bush.

(1) “…and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” This of course was a miracle, something no one had ever seen before.

(2) But there is something more significant about this bush. The Bible tells us, “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.”

WHO IS THIS ANGEL? The messenger seems to be the second person of the Godhead, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verses 3-4, Moses said, “… I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 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 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.”