Exodus 3:2

Moses at the Burning Bush

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of ^aJethro his father-in-law, ^bthe priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to ^cHoreb, ^dthe mountain of God.

2 And ^athe 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.

3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this ^agreat sight, why the bush does not burn.”

4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called ^ato him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. ^aTake your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

6 Moreover He said, ^a“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 ^bhe was afraid to look upon God.

7 And the Lord said: ^a“I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry ^bbecause of their taskmasters, ^cfor I know their sorrows.

8 So ^aI have come down to ^bdeliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to ^ca good and large land, to a land ^dflowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^ethe Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Exodus 3:2 Mean?

God's presence made the ground where Moses stood holy, setting it apart so it could not be approached in an ordinary fashion. God commanded Moses to treat it with a respect and deference not given to something common. Though Moses recognized something unusual, God had to tell him he stood on holy ground, for its holiness was spiritual, not physically discernable. This same principle applies to the Sabbath, which God's presence makes holy and transcendent above the other six common days given to mundane pursuits. God places His presence into the Sabbath for His people and His spiritual creation. Since God commands keeping the Sabbath holy, mundane things that make it ordinary must be avoided.

Exodus 3:2-5

Exodus 3:2-5 shows a principle regarding the making of something holy. Because God was present, the ground itself was holy and could not be approached in the ordinary fashion. God commanded Moses to treat it with a respect, a deference, that he would not give to something common. Interestingly, even though Moses knew there was something unusual about what he was observing, God had to tell him that he was on holy ground. Its holiness was something spiritual; it was not physically discernable.

The same presence of God makes the Sabbath holy, a cut above, transcendent, as compared to the other days not declared holy by God. God puts His presence into the Sabbath day for the sake of His people and His spiritual creation. The other six days are common and given to the pursuit of the mundane activities of life. Since God commands us to keep the Sabbath holy, we must strive to avoid those mundane things that make the Sabbath—or promote making it—into an ordinary day.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fourth Commandment (Part One) (1997)

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Exodus 3:2:

Genesis 2:3
Exodus 3:2-5
Exodus 20:8
Exodus 20:8

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Moses at the Burning Bush

What Does Exodus 3:2 Mean?

A Verse and a Thought,Every Morning

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