The Gospel in Exodus: God Speaks

Our golden retriever ran away the other day.  The more we called him the farther he went.  We watched him follow two walkers into the park and disappear.  Hoping he would eventually return on his own, we later received a phone call from the two walkers, who had taken him home with them – they returned him to us fortunately.  Our dog does not come when he is called unless he wants to.  He knows when we call him that he is supposed to come to us, but he chooses not to sometimes.  He will look right at us and think about it, then run off.   We could run and catch him when he acts like this, dragging him back to the house, but we really want him to choose to come when we call him.  God is like this with us.  He could make us come to Him but He wants us to choose to come to Him.  Today we come to the part of the Exodus story where God calls to Moses, and Moses responds.

“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)

Moses is tending his father-in-law’s sheep on a typical routine day, and he sees a bush that is on fire yet is not consumed by the fire.  He is curious enough to investigate this “marvelous” phenomenon further, and when he gets to the burning bush, God speaks to him from within the bush, calling him by name.  Moses answers, saying “Here I am”.  This scene is a picture of God calling to each of us through His Son, the man who died and yet lives, the ultimate burning bush, Jesus.  Four ways that we see the gospel in this interaction between God and Moses include:

1. God notices that Moses has turned aside – He is watching to see who responds to His burning bush, the Messiah Jesus.
2. God speaks from within the bush – not from the side, or above it, or behind it, but from within it, just as He now speaks to us thru His Son.
3. God calls Moses by name – He knows us personally.
4. Moses answers – we are to respond to God, not just sit there.

The first thing that stands out is that God notices that Moses has turned aside to check out the bush.  The bush is not just sending out a repeating call, like a beacon or something, but rather, it is silently burning, and God does not speak until He sees action on Moses’ part.  Similarly, God does not necessarily speak to us directly until we turn aside to check out the resurrected Jesus.  He is watching to see who turns aside, and calls out to those who do.

Another thing that stands out is that God speaks from within the bush.  There is not a figure standing next to the bush, or a voice coming from above or to the side of the bush, but the voice comes from within the bush.  In the book of Hebrews we read the following:

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world.”  (Hebrews 1:1-2) 

Here we read that God has “spoken to us in His Son”.  The voice of God calls to us from within the Son, from within His ministry.  While God has been speaking to us since the beginning of creation in many different ways, we appear to be slow to hear and understand, so “in these last days” He sent us His Son, and has spoken to us thru “His Son”.  John 1:18 tells us that Jesus has “explained” God to us.

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.  (John 1:17-18)

God spoke to us directly thru the ministry of Jesus for three years when He was here, and those words are recorded in the bible.  They are the greatest words ever spoken.  They are written for all to read.  And He has not stopped speaking thru them to us.  God continues to speak to us thru His burning bush, the “Word of God”, Jesus.

We also note that when God speaks from within the bush, he calls Moses by his name.  He doesn’t say, “Hey you, yeah you, come here.”  He says, “Moses, Moses,” calling him by his name.  Just as God knows who Moses is and calls him by name from within the burning bush, the same is true today.  God knows each of us personally and is calling each of us by name.  The God of the Bible is not an impersonal god like the gods of other religions, but rather He knows who we are and knows us by name.

Moses answers God.  He does not run away scared, like some might do if they heard a voice coming out of a bush.  He does not remain silent.  He responds, and says, “Here I am”.  Similarly, when God calls to us in Christ thru the gospel, we are to follow the example that Moses sets for us and respond to Him.

Have you “turned aside” and taken the time to look into the claims of the gospel?  Have you looked into this man who died and yet lives?  Or have you remained distant?  What is keeping you away?  Are you too busy with work?  Or maybe you are embarrassed to be associated with Jesus, the true “burning bush” of God.  Whatever the reason, I encourage you to overcome it and “turn aside”.  Staying away from Jesus may guarantee that you will not hear from God, just as Moses would not have ever heard from God if he had ignored the burning bush.

This verse also encourages us to draw close to “the Word of God” daily, so that we can hear from God each day.  Are we taking time each day to hear from God?  Do we have a special time or a special place where we meet with Him regularly in His Word?  Some people even have a special chair that they sit in each morning in which they spend time with God daily.  Whatever works for each of us, it is important that we make time to “turn aside” daily to connect with Him and hear from Him. 

Just as our golden retriever followed the walkers rather than coming when we called him, oftentimes we follow the voice of the culture or some other “strange” voice, rather than coming to God when he calls us from His burning bush, Jesus. The walkers carried our golden away, just as we are often carried away by the voice of the culture and the other voices we choose to follow. We were fortunate the walkers brought him back to us. Will the same be true for us if we turn away and follow the culture, rather than coming when God calls us?

This verse encourages us to draw close to God, whether it is the first time or our daily time with Him. It encourages us to make the time to step away from our daily routines to be in the presence of His “burning bush”, Jesus Christ.  It reassures us that when we do, God will speak to us from “His Word”.  He will call us by name.  He will develop a personal relationship with us, just as He did with Moses.  He has chosen us to be His, just as he chose Moses. Will you turn aside and respond to Him, as Moses did, or will you run off with strangers like our dog did the other day? The choice is yours to make.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers…….My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”  (John 10:1-5, 27-28) 

Lord God Almighty, I confess that I do not turn aside to meet with you nearly as often as I should. I often feel like I am too busy, I am too tired, or I just forget sometimes. I confess that my time with You has not been a priority lately.  I confess that in many ways I have been following the culture rather than following You. Forgive me.  Help me to make time with You a priority in my life.  Awaken me in the morning, draw me to Your word, give me a burning desire to be with You, to spend time in Your presence, to learn Your ways.  Draw me to Your word during the day and in the evenings.  I want to hear from You every day.  Direct me and guide me that I may walk in Your paths. Help me to be obedient when You call me.  Teach me Your ways and show me how to live.  I pray these things in Jesus name, amen.