Christ in the Old Testament

Exodus 3:2

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. (NIV)

Today’s Reading: Exodus 3:1-6 and Colossians 1:15-23

So Moses left Egypt as a fugitive and found refuge with a priest’s family in Midian named Jethro. Moses would marry one of Jethro’s daughters and become a shepherd. This was his life for forty years making Moses eighty years old when we come to the burning bush.

We could spend weeks studying all the symbology and insights found in this chapter of Exodus. We won’t spend that long but we will hang out here until we’ve covered the best parts. We will always pause and dig in anytime God shows up on the scene in physical form. If God shows up then it must be important.

Note that Moses encounters the burning bush on Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. Some say this is the same mountain as Mount Sinai where Moses receives the ten commandments. Others dispute it and I look forward to covering that when we get to that event. But realize that we are in the same geographical area where the Israelites would return when they leave Egypt.

“There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.” (Exodus 3:2) This is the fourth recorded appearance of the angel of the Lord so far in Scripture. We’ve seen this “angel” appear twice to Hagar (Abraham’s servant and mother to Ishmael) and once to Abraham to spare him from sacrificing Isaac. Could this be the pre-incarnate Christ? Yes. Could it be God? Yes. Could it be an angel or the Holy Spirit? Yes. Sorry but I don’t have an answer. Whether it is God, a part of the Trinity, or an angel, we know God speaks through this angel. In verse 4, Scripture tells us that “God called to him from within the bush.” God is speaking and God is present.

So God is in the bush, the bush is on fire, yet the bush doesn’t burn up. Let’s explore some of the symbology that theologians have studied for centuries. Deuteronomy 4:24 calls God “a consuming fire” and God appears to Moses here in the form of fire. But God could’ve appeared as a pillar of fire without being in the bush or taken the form of anything else for that matter. Already we’ve seen that God appeared to both Abraham and Jacob as a man. So there’s likely a symbolic reason for God to appear to Moses as a bush on fire.

The bush was likely a thorny bush as the Hebrew word sᵉneh suggests. It’s probably a species of thorny acacia that typical of the region. The ark of the covenant is made out of acacia wood interestingly enough. The thorny bush could be a representation of the fallen world. When Adam sinned, God cursed the ground and said, “It will produce thorns and thistles for you.” This bush is symbolic of the fallen state of man.

And when the Consuming Fire inhabits this bush, the bush should’ve burned up. But it didn’t. In essence, the thorny bush is right with God so it isn’t consumed. The bush is in a proper relationship with the Almighty God. It’s been reconciled. So can you see Jesus here? Let me explain further.

By presenting himself as a burning bush that isn’t consumed, God is telling Moses that He will establish the manner in which the world can be in relationship with God and not be consumed. At first, God is going to establish the law and all the sacrifices and rituals the Israelites must do in order to be in right relationship with God. But then, God will send his son to pay the permanent price for the world to be in relationship with Him. “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” (Colossians 1:21-22)

The burning bush actually has lots of imagery throughout church history. As we walked through just now, it is the image of Jesus reconciling all things to God so that we can live in His presence forever. It’s also the image of the virgin birth for just as the bush burned but was not consumed, the Virgin Mary gave birth to the light and was not corrupted. And it’s also an image of Jesus as both God and man for just as the fire did not consume the bush, so the divinity of Jesus did not destroy his humanity. So cool!

Today’s Prayer: Lord, thank you for coming to us to make a way back to you. Just as you revealed yourself to Moses, I want to see you. Show me your ways in everything I do today.