Exodus 3:2 - Forerunner Commentary

Exodus 3:2

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Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain Exodus 3:2:

Exodus 3:1-6
Excerpted from: Holy Ground

Here, Moses is just going about his regular duties. He had been tending flocks for 40 years, and he sees this burning bush. And it is amazing! We should know that it was God that was drawing him to Him. That is why it was burning. And the reason why, because He was preparing to introduce Himself to Moses, because He had a great duty for him to do. And as Moses came closer, God warned him, "Moses Moses!" I believe it was a warning to stop for his own safety, not to draw near. And then He said, "Remove your sandals because this is holy ground."

Why was the ground holy? It is because God's presence was in that place. Why remove his shoes? Well, many scholars consider that the shoe represented sin, and removing his shoes signified putting off that which is profane and absolutely necessary upon approaching that which is holy. In fact, here the word holy is Strong's 6944. It is a noun and it means hallowed, sacred, special, a place set apart for God. When the word holy is used it is of God. It is clear whenever we see holy, it is of God—it is sacred, it is special. And here we see this burning bush and the ground around it was also holy. The dirt, the rocks, the vegetation, the wood, the metal, everything around it was made sacred because God's presence was there.

Another interesting point is that Moses could not discern that he was standing on holy ground. The ground, when he looked at it, looked like it did any other time. And I am sure that he had been in that part of the desert many, many times with his flocks. But it was only because God's presence was there—God's essence, His holiness—that it was holy And God demonstrated His Spirit and His power in the burning bush. And there is no doubt that Moses hid his face and probably also knelt to acknowledge his unworthiness to be before God. And it is true, His holiness demands that we have proper reverence and humility. At that moment, Moses recognized God's power and His holiness. Again, he hid his face.

Exodus 3:1-5
Excerpted from: The Fourth Commandment (Part 1)

And so the Sabbath is different from what is common or ordinary. The other six days are common, and they are given for the pursuit of the common and ordinary things of life. On the Sabbath, we should strive to avoid those mundane things that promote the making of the Sabbath into an ordinary day. The Sabbath is a day for special things—different things. If you will turn with me to Exodus 3, we will see what makes the day holy. It is not merely proclamation by God. Here we have a biblical example of how something becomes holy.

This is what makes the Sabbath holy—different. Because God was present, the ground had to be treated in a different way—with respect and with deference that one would not give to something that is common. Until God put Himself in that area, the ground where Moses saw the burning bush was no different from all the other ground that was all the way around the area. But as soon as God put His presence there, it became sacred. It became holy.

It became holy by means of a spiritual action. It is something that is not physically discerned. And it is interesting to note, right in this context (in Exodus 3:1-5), that Moses was not aware that it was holy—until God told him! So the Sabbath is a spiritual thing. Its being holy is not something that is physically discerned. It is something that had to be revealed to you. (I Corinthians 2)

Exodus 3:1-4
Excerpted from: The Glory of God (Part 2): In Christ

So, to Moses here, He appeared in a flame of fire within a bush that did not burn up. Notice the wording here: It says that the Lord (in verse 2) appeared to him in a flame of fire in the midst of the bush. It does not say God was the flame of fire, but it says He was in the flame of fire. He was not the fire.

I want you to get that clear. In every instance in which God appears as something other than a bodily form, or angelic form, or human form, He is in that thing. He is not that thing. For instance, He goes through the wilderness with the Israelites as a pillar of cloud and fire. He was not the cloud. He was not the fire. He was in it. It was just a physical representation of His presence.

So, this flaming bush was not some projection of God from Heaven—like in Star Trek where somebody is beamed down, here and there at the same time, and projecting himself into this bush, or this flame.

We have God in that. He is there. He is not somewhere else and here. He is there, right in front of Moses. How do I know this? Because it says in verse 5,

Articles
The Fourth Commandment
The Fourth Commandment (Part One) (1997)

Sermons
The Angel of God
Where Do We Go From Here?
The Commandments (Part Five)
Samson and the Christian (Part 2)
The Fourth Commandment: Idolatry

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