The Burning Bush and Beyond
by Eric Engelmann
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When are we?
At the time of the burning bush. I'll say it's around 1446 BC. This is during Moses' time; after Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; before Joshua and the prophets.
Where are we?
Outside Egypt on what might be called Mount Sinai. Moses is about to see a burning bush on the side of the mountain.
Have We Been Here and Now Before?
We've been to Mount Sinai after Moses brought people out during the Exodus, but we haven't visited the time when Moses was sent to fetch them.
Why are we here now?
There are signs Moses will be given the power to perform. He will eventually convince the descendants of Jacob that God has heard their sufferings.
Where is Jesus right now?
I think the voice from the burning bush comes from Jesus. This is before Jesus will humble himself to be born inside a woman with flesh like ours.
Scripture
Listen for the word "believe".
Exodus 4 Verse 1 Moses answered, “What if they won’t *believe* me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
2 The Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
3 “Throw it on the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it.
NOTE: Moses had approached the burning bush employed full time with his sandals and his staff. Now he's barefoot, running from a snake, and is changing jobs. God is about to talk to Moses about this snake.
Verse 4 The Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. 5 “This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will *believe* that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
6 In addition the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased, resembling snow. 7 “Put your hand back inside your cloak,” he said. So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it had again become like the rest of his skin. 8 “If they will not *believe* you and will not respond to the evidence of the first sign, they may *believe* the evidence of the second sign."
9 "And if they don’t *believe* even these two signs or listen to what you say, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”
That's the end of the passage.
Note God wanted to affect how the people in Egypt *believed*. God wanted people to listen and trust that Moses was sent by him. I count five occurrences of the word "believe" in the above passage.
Here's a question I'd like to pose: How will the signs Moses performed compare to the resurrection of Jesus? There are three signs: staff turning into a snake and then restored; hand becoming leprous and then restored; and water turning to blood.
In the future
In the future, Moses will perform these three signs in front of the elders of Israel. They will worship God who took notice of them. I think they'll identify emotionally with being treated like a snake and like a leprous hand.
The staff being thrown down I think will reflect the feelings of how Jacob's descendants had gone from a position of power to disgrace.
I think they'll identify with life-giving water coming out of a river that gets poured out as blood. It's the story of their lives in Egypt.
By bringing the leprous hand to himself, Moses will have his hand restored and prove his ability to lead Jacob's descendants.
Further in the future, Moses will complete a circuit like his hand. He will go from Mount Sinai to Egypt, and then back to Sinai and beyond.
In the future, I think Jesus will exceed all three signs Moses performed. I note Jesus will stay in the grave three days and three nights.
For starters, Jesus will call for water to be poured into *stone* jars. The water will come out ... wine (not blood).
Further In the future, Jesus will be treated like an accursed snake and crucified on a cross. Jesus will die, but after *three* days, Jesus won't just get restored -- he'll have life beyond what He had before.
Further in the future, just as Moses will have led people past Sinai, Jesus will lead people past the fear of death into life from glory to glory. We will be glad that Jesus has taken notice of us.
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