The Gospel in Exodus: The Burning Bush

Nothing gets our attention quite like fire does. They even trained us once that if we ever needed help, don’t yell “Help”, but yell “Fire”, and people will come running. The wildfires on the west coast have certainly gotten our attention over the last decade or so, specifically because the fires are so destructive. The forests are being consumed, homes are destroyed, even entire cities have been wiped out by the wildfires on the west coast. Fire typically consumes the things that it comes into contact with. But the burning bush in the story of Moses was not consumed by the fire. This is not normal. Fire typically consumes a bush quickly. A tree might burn for hours or days, but a bush is gone in minutes once it is on fire. What is God telling us in this story of the burning bush? What message is there for us in the story of a bush that is on fire but is not consumed?

“Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. So Moses said, “I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”“ 

(Exodus 3:2-4)

While Moses was busy herding sheep and raising his family, minding his own business, he witnesses a strange phenomenon. He sees a bush that is burning, but that is not consumed by the fire.  He decides to take a detour from his normal routine and go check it out for himself to see what on earth is going on.  By doing this, he encounters the living God, and Moses’ legacy as deliverer of Israel is born.  God used the burning bush to get Moses attention, and it worked.  Moses’ life is changed forever.  He is never the same from this point on.

Similarly, today we hear the story of a man who died, and yet lives, and we ask ourselves, how can that be?  A man who death did not consume?  A man who came back from the dead and continues to live, even to this day?  Impossible.  The story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s ultimate ‘burning bush’ that is calling to us.  It is God reaching down from heaven and inviting us to meet with Him, one on one, just as He met with Moses that day on the mountainside.  Those of us who are willing to take a detour and investigate the resurrection for ourselves will have the opportunity to meet with the living God.

The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate burning bush, and it is calling to all of us, all day long, every day of our lives.  Jesus is the ‘burning bush’ of God for each of us today. The resurrection of Jesus has completely defied explanation for centuries. It is a burning bush that calls to all people, all ages, all races, to both men, women and children, in all places of the world, at all times in history.  Death could not hold Him, and His resurrection cries out to us all, even now.  Will we turn aside and see this amazing thing, or will we shrug it off and go on with our day to day lives?  The choice is ours to make.

Have you met God at the ‘burning bush’ yet?  If not, why?  What could be more important than looking into the life of a man who died and came back to life permanently?  Are you believing what you have been taught or heard others say about Jesus’ death and resurrection, or have you looked into it for yourself?  Have you ever stopped and really thought about it, thought about the implications of it?  What if it is true?  What then?  Where does that leave you if it is true, and you have never really looked at it for yourself?

I remember in my story, walking down the sidewalk one day at Auburn University, on my way to class, clear blue sky above me, thinking to myself that forever is a long time, and that I had never really looked into this “Jesus” for myself. I just believed what I had been told by others, what I had been taught by the rabbi and my father. I decided that day that I would read the Bible for myself someday to see what all the fuss is about. And a year later I did just that, reading the four gospels and the book of Romans for the first time. While reading it I remember thinking to myself that it was some of the best stuff I had ever read, and I wanted to know who has been hiding this from me all of these years? My main thought was, “Why have I not been told about this before?”

Death is a terrible thing.  It takes the people we love away from us. It is like a fire, consuming us all eventually.  Yet Jesus tells us that He has overcome death, and He proved it by dying and coming back to life.  Jesus is the ultimate ‘burning bush’, beckoning us all to turn aside and see this marvelous thing that deifies reality as we know and understand it.  God is calling to us from within the resurrection of Jesus, just as He called to Moses from within the burning bush.  I encourage you to turn aside and investigate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for yourself. Take some time and really look into it. You will be amazed at what you find, just as Moses was when he did the same.

Lord God Almighty, I realize that You are calling to me today from within the death and resurrection of Your son.  I decide today to turn aside and learn more about this amazing thing that You have done.  I pray that You would reveal to me the truth of the resurrection. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear, that I may see and hear and understand and be saved. I pray that you would remove the blinders from my eyes that I may see clearly. Give me the courage to turn aside from whatever has been holding me back all of these years, and to finally truly investigate this burning bush of Yours, Jesus the Messiah. I pray that today would mark the beginning of my relationship with You, as it did for Moses that day on the mountain when he decided to investigate the burning bush for himself.  Start me on the path of deliverance today.  I pray these things in Jesus name, amen.

Click here for a great J Warner Wallace video on the validity of Christianity.