Have you ever wondered who Moses was talking to that day in the desert when he encountered a burning bush? Listen to Shawn Boonstra share the truth about the burning bush. 

<p>Have you ever wondered who Moses was talking to that day in the desert when he encountered a burning bush? Listen to Shawn Boonstra share the truth about the burning bush. </p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Voice Of Prophecy

Shawn Boonstra

The Truth About the Burning Bush

It's not every day you encounter a fiery presence in a burning bush.

But have you ever wondered exactly who Moses was talking to?

Today on the Voice of Prophecy, the truth about the burning bush.

I don't know if you've ever lived in the desert, but if you have, you know that fires are really bad news because there's dry fuel everywhere.

And in places like Southern California, there are hot winds every fall that make a fire spread like, well, I guess it spreads like wildfire.

For almost a decade, Jean and I lived in the greater LA area, and almost every single fall it seemed like our house would be filled with the smell of smoke.

In fact, our oldest daughter's birthday is in October, and almost every single year her birthday party smelled like smoke.

It's just 1 of the joys of living in Southern California.

You only think they've got 1 season there because that's what they say, but in reality they've got several seasons.

They've got fire season and mudslide season and earthquake season and smog season.

There are lots of seasons in Los Angeles and fire season every single fall is 1 of the worst of them.

Fires in the desert are a really bad thing.

So try to imagine the panic Moses must have felt when he notices this bush that's on fire.

You can't ignore that because the potential cost is just too high.

So the Bible says that Moses stepped off the path to go and investigate this bush.

And that's when he discovers this is no ordinary fire.

Here's what it says now in Exodus chapter 3.

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

So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

Then Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.

Now, in the Bible, fire often represents the presence of God.

You'll notice that when God appears on Mount Sinai, the top of the mountain is burning.

On the day of Pentecost, when God arrives in a room full of disciples, there are tongues of fire on their heads.

The second coming has a lot of fire associated with it, And the book of Hebrews reminds us that, quote, our God is a consuming fire.

Now, that doesn't mean that every single mention of fire in the Bible represents the presence of God, but generally speaking, you will find some fire when God puts in an appearance.

So even before the Bible explains what's happening in this story, we have an indication that God is present.

The burning bush is the presence of God and Moses goes to take a look.

Now it continues now in Exodus 3 and verse 4.

So when the Lord saw that he, that's Moses, turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses!

God doesn't actually say anything to Moses until Moses gets off the path.

Moses has to respond to the presence of God before God talks to him.

And I guess the reason I find that so interesting is because sometimes I find myself wondering when I might hear from God next.

Months will go by, maybe years, and I don't really see God doing anything or speaking to me directly.

I mean, you might have a dramatic experience at 1 point in life, this moment when it's obvious that God is real, but then it's almost like someone turns off the tap and heaven falls silent and life just goes back to normal.

It could leave you wondering where God went.

It leaves you wondering, will I ever hear from him again?

But pay attention carefully to this story because there's an interesting detail.

God does not speak until Moses leaves his path.

Is it possible sometimes that before you get to hear God speak, you're going to have to leave the path you've chosen to travel.

Is it possible you may not hear God until you give up your own plans?

Until you go to where the presence of God is?

Moses steps off the path and then he hears the voice of God.

Now what's really interesting about this story is the way that God is introduced.

It says that God's voice calls out from the bush but then it introduces the person in the bush as the angel of the Lord.

Is this just an angel or is this God speaking?

Because the Bible actually says it's both.

It's the angel of the Lord and it's God speaking.

And then when the angel of the Lord speaks, he identifies himself as God.

Moreover he, that's God, moreover 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 upon God." There's no question about who's in the bush.

So why in the world does it call him an angel of the Lord?

What it calls him is THE angel of the Lord, which is a very specific title.

You see, the word angel in the Bible doesn't necessarily mean a heavenly angel with wings.

It doesn't mean the kind of being you see on a Christmas card.

Sometimes the word angel simply refers to a messenger.

Now it might be a heavenly messenger like Gabriel, but it also might be a human messenger, which is why the bishops of the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are called the angels of those churches.

The word in Greek agalos simply means messenger and sometimes, sometimes when the Bible uses that expression it appears to be talking about God himself.

In fact it appears to be talking about God Himself.

In fact, it appears to be talking about Jesus before He is born as a human being.

Now, I have to be really careful with this because there are groups of people who teach that Jesus is nothing but a created angel, and they use passages like this 1 to make their case.

But biblically speaking, nothing could be further from the truth.

The rest of the Bible makes it abundantly clear that Jesus is the divine son of God, the second member of the Godhead.

At the burning bush, you'll notice the Bible doesn't say it was an angel of the Lord, it says it was the angel of the Lord.

And what's really interesting is that the Angel of the Lord never makes another appearance in the Bible after the birth of Christ.

All the way up to the manger in Bethlehem you have the Angel of the Lord delivering messages, but then after Bethlehem no more angel of the Lord.

Is it possible, and again I want to be really careful with this, but is it possible that the angel of the Lord is Jesus?

Again please understand, I want to be so clear about this, I am not I am not saying that Jesus is anything less than God.

I am NOT saying that Jesus is anything less than God.

I am NOT saying that Jesus is an angel, except in the sense that he delivers his own message, because of course again an angel is simply a messenger.

You and I can be messengers, Cherubim and Seraphim can be messengers, but apparently Jesus can deliver His own message.

And in that sense, and only in that sense, we can say Jesus is an angel, a messenger.

Not a created angel, but the angel of the Lord.

In Exodus chapter 3, this is really obvious.

It is the angel of the Lord who speaks from the burning bush.

And then that same angel of the Lord clearly identifies himself as God.

Now this is actually something that Bible scholars have long recognized and maybe the clearest explanation comes from the famous Methodist theologian Adam Clark.

Now If you've never read the Adam Clark commentaries, you should probably get your hands on a copy or look for it online because, man, they just don't write them like that anymore.

And when it comes to Exodus 3, Adam Clark is decisive about identifying who the angel of the Lord is.

He points out that Hagar actually worships the angel of the Lord.

And when Moses tells her story in Genesis 16, he uses the name Jehovah to describe the so-called angel that Hagar worshipped.

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The Truth About the Burning Bush

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