Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....April 26, 2021
As we continue our look at the Old Testament, lets explore Exodus: “The History of the Redeemed: The Burning Bush”
The appearing of God to Moses points to the coming of Jesus in the flesh 1500 years later. The giving of God's Name continues the revelation of God's nature and character to redeem sinful mankind.
Exodus 3:1-17
The second book of the Bible is Exodus which is a Latin word meaning “exit” or “departure”.It was not intended to be a “stand alone book”, because in the Hebrew, the book was originally named “we’elleh shemoth” which is translated, “these are the names of”, which is the same phrase occurring in Genesis 46:8 where it lists the names of those Israelites who traveled to Egypt with Jacob in search of food because Israel was experiencing a famine. Exodus reveals to us the History of the Redeemed People of God.
Genesis reveals Abraham’s son Isaac was the promised one whose son of promise was Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons, 11 of whom contrived a plot to sell their little brother Joseph into slavery to the Egyptians. Joseph became the a person of royalty in Egypt who initiated a plan to stockpile food and Jacob and his family traveled to Egypt out of desperation to survive, and the brothers meant harm to Joseph, but God intended for good in order to save the beginnings of the people of Israel from starvation. The names of those people are mentioned at the end of Genesis and are the same chosen people of God who will become slaves in Egypt as they grow into the chosen nation of the Almighty Eternal God.
In Egypt Moses is chosen to represent God’s people after Israel had spent 430 years in Egypt as slaves, all the while growing in number until they reached a total of between 2.5-3.5 million. God’s promise to Father Abraham was being just beginning to be fulfilled, for he would be the Father of ALL believers who would trust in the promise of God to redeem by faith in His promise.
There are at least two dozen threads of the Gospel in the book of Exodus and so I am going to spend a few weeks examining these wonderful historical testimonies of the works of our Great and Glorious God.
We begin our teaching in Exodus 3:1-9: “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 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. 3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." 4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to 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. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."
6 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. 7 And the Lord said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
The Fire which would not be consumed
I want to challenge you to visualize this and don’t look at this event as a story but try and be there. Realize that Moses was an 80 year old man when this happens. God is calling him from being a shepherd… to tending” human sheep”, much like Jesus’ disciples 1500 years later. At an old age he was being called to the stressful task of being the under-shepherd of 2.5 million people! Remember that he had hiding for forty years as a stranger in the land of Midian, always looking over his shoulder, living in fear after he killed an Egyptian who was beating one of his people…but God found him and came to him in this miraculous and dramatic way.
God was drawing Moses out of his shepherding to lead His people out of bondage. (Remember Moses’ name means “drawn out”; he had been placed in a basket [actually a small ark] by his mother and he was “drawn” from the water. He was saved, as it were, through that small ark.) God had prepared Moses in Pharoah’s household as an Egyptian prince, but Moses never forgot that he was a Hebrew, and the work God has yet for Moses to do would require lamb-like meekness with lion-like resolve, but God would equip him.
Moses was drawn to the fire of the burning bush because it burned but would not be consumed. Fire has a number of symbolisms in the Bible, and one that is often used is used here: Fire exhibits the presence and power of the Most High God. Hebrews 12:29 says, “For our God is a consuming fire.” John's vision of Jesus as judge is with eyes "like blazing fire" three places in Revelation ( Rev 1:14 ; 2:18 ; 19:12). God’s fiery presence would be seen on Mt. Sinai. Fire from Heaven is mentioned when sacrifices were miraculously consumed; but this fiery bush would not be consumed, which naturally drew Moses’ attention.
The voice of God calls Moses and Moses responds as every true prophet does in the Old Testament with the simple reply of humility and submission: “Here I am.” But then God warns Moses: "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." The ground is not holy by nature. Dirt is dirt by God’s design, but when and where God appears, His holy and perfect presence hallows that place.
Here Moses is being called by God and God is consecrating Him for service to Him and so the place is holy. The moment is especially “holy”. It is a time which is being separated from the commonplace. Moses is being called to serve God as His representative.
Christians are called to serve God too. We are called to consecrate ourselves to God. 1 Peter 2:9–10 says:
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” People of God are a Holy Nation, filled with the very Spirit of God and set apart for His service, so for every believer, wherever God is, “the place where you stand is holy ground." Colossians 3:17 would support this; it says: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
I believe that it is the person of Jesus who appears in this fire that will not be extinguished. In the New Testament, Jesus is described as the "one sent" by God--the Messenger or Apostle of God. The word “angel” in verse 2 in the Hebrew is “malak”, which is translated as messenger or angel. It can refer to a theophany, that is, an appearance by God in an earthly form. Jesus is the voice of God coming down here in this manifestation, declaring God’s deliverance for His People, but approximately 1500 years, Jesus later appears as the voice of God in the Flesh in order to “come down and deliver” His people from their captivity to sin and death. Jesus declares in John 6:29: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."
Remember that Abraham “believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness”. The promise to deliver would be fulfilled by Jesus’ work. The “Fire” of God would not be consumed because God is Eternal and we see Him revealed in His Name.
God’s Name is Revealed to Moses.
Look at Exodus 3:11-17: But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" 12 So He said, "I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain." 13 Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" 14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " 15 Moreover God said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.' 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, "I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; 17 and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey."
God’s Name Describes His Character and Nature (Ex. 3:12-17)
“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” It is a fair question by a former Egyptian Prince now disguised as a fugitive-shepherd. It is not the education, the cultural status, nor the character of Moses that gives him the reason for approaching Pharaoh; it is the calling of the Most High Eternal God. It was being called to represent God’s people as God’s mediator, appointed by God, which gave Moses the “right” to act as Mediator/Redeemer for God’s people. (Remember later that the disciples and all followers were to go out in the authority of the name of Jesus and baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.)
Names have always been important, but especially in approaching powerful authorities. Moses asks God:
When I go to the children of Israel and eventually Pharaoh, how should I respond when they ask me who has sent me, in other words, on whose authority am I speaking? God actually gives three versions of His name, the first being “I AM WHO I AM” in verse 14a. This is the Hebrew word which should be translated “Yahweh”. This name of God is used over 6,000 times in the Old Testament, and translated as “LORD” in most bibles. It is thought that the root word is the word “to be”, and so “I AM WHO I AM” is God’s self-disclosure to His People as the SELF-EXISTENT ONE. Because He depends upon no one else in the universe but Himself, His promises are always sure because He can never be anything less than forever faithful. He has NEVER been defined or determined by any other thing or being other than Himself.
In verses 14 b, “I AM” is a shortened form of “I AM THAT I AM”. It would be represented by the first part of “YAHWEH”, namely, “YAH”. It is used rarely in scripture but is often used in the word for “praise the LORD” in the Psalms, namely, Hallelu-YAH.
“The name YAHWEH (the LORD) sounds like “I am” in the Hebrew…The name in all its forms proclaims His eternal, self-sustaining, self-determining, sovereign reality-the supernatural mode of existence that the sign of the burning bush had signified (Ex. 3:2). The bush that was not consumed was God’s illustration of His own inexhaustible life. In designating “Yahweh” as “My name forever, God indicated that His people should always think of Him as the living, reigning powerful King that the burning bush showed Him to be.” (New Geneva Study Bible, Theological Note, “This is My Name”: God’s Self-disclosure”, p. 98)
In verse 15 God says to Moses: "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'The LORD (Yahweh) God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.” This statement is so very important. The only “God who is” does not change. God made a solemn oath to Abraham and carried it out to Isaac and Jacob as well. Jacob’s sons, including Joseph (who was also a child of promise, believing God against all odds). God’s covenant as Savior/deliverer continues to Moses and to all those who will trust Him…forever.
God would continue to reveal His character throughout the Exodus and the remainder of the Old Testament era. In Exodus 34:6-7, as He reveals part of His Holy Glory to Moses, He proclaims: "The LORD (Yahweh), the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..."
The voice from the burning bush, who is the I AM of the Old Testament, is the same person who said in John 8:58: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” He delivered, not only His people from the bondage of Egypt, but also from the bondage of sin and death on the cross. He is the one King eternal who reigns forevermore. He is the only one who can claim: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending" (Revelation 1:8).
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
A minister passing through his churc In the middle of the day Decided to pause by the altar And see who had come to pray. Just then the back door opened, a man came down the aisle, The minister frowned as he saw The man hadn't shaved in a while. His shirt was shabby, old, And his coat was worn and frayed. The man knelt, he bowed his head Then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed, Each noon time came this chap. Each time he knelt just for a moment, a lunch pail in his lap. Well, the minister's suspicions grew, with robbery a main fear. He decided to stop the man and ask him, "What are you doing here?" The old man said he worked down the road. Lunch was half an hour. Lunchtime was his prayer time for finding strength and power. "I stay only moments, see,Because the factory is so far away. As I kneel here talking to the Lord, This is what I say...
I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP,
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM,
CHECKING IN TODAY."
The minister, feeling foolish, told Jim, that was fine. He told the man he was welcome To come and pray just anytime. Time to go, Jim smiled, and said "Thanks." He sped to the door. The minister knelt at the altar, He'd never done it before. His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
And met with Jesus there. As the tears flowed, in his heart, He repeated old Jim's prayer...
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP,
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERY DAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME,
CHECKING IN TODAY."
Past noon one day, the minister noticed that old Jim hadn't come. As more days passed without Jim, He began to worry some. At the factory, he asked about him
Learning he was ill. The hospital staff was worried, but he'd given them a thrill. The week that Jim was with them, brought changes in the ward. His smiles, a joy contagious. Changed people, were his reward. The head nurse couldn't understand why Jim was so glad when no flowers, calls or cards came, not a visitor he had. The minister stayed by his bed, he voiced the nurse's concer. No friends came to show they cared.
He had nowhere to turn. Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up and with a winsome smile; "The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know, that in here all the while, everyday at noon, He's here, A dear friend of mine, you see, He sits right down, takes my hand, Leans over and says to me...
'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM,
HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP,
AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN.
I ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,
AND I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERY DAY,
SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS,
CHECKING IN TODAY.'"
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
This is the fourth teaching in our series "Knowing the Bible."
What Is the Main Theme of the Bible?
Trying to determine the main theme of the Bible is tricky business. It is like asking, “What is the most important thing about God?” There are no easy answers to these kinds of questions, but one very important theme of the Bible, perhaps the most important theme, is Jesus Christ. Most people would recognize this as true for the New Testament, but for the Old Testament? Absolutely. The Old Testament anticipates or foreshadows Jesus Christ. The New Testament fulfills the Old Testament by revealing Jesus Christ.
This begins at creation. Genesis 1:1 says, “God created the heavens and the earth.” But the New Testament clarifies that the Son of God specifically was the agent, or cause, of creation (John 1:1–3, 10; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews 1:2). Colossians 1:16 is especially relevant here: “For in [Christ, the Son of God] all things were created … all things have been created through him and for him.” This and other biblical texts indicate that not only is he the agent of creation, he is the very goal of creation: “All things have been created … for him.” That means we live in a Son-centered universe. Everything in it is about Jesus Christ. So the theme of Christ starts in Genesis 1:1: He is the beginning (and goal) of creation.
He is also mentioned in the consequences of the fall. God said to the serpent/tempter, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). This has come to be known as the protoevangelium, or first proclamation of the gospel. The “he” seems to refer to Jesus, and the “you” seems to refer to Satan. Satan would “wound” Jesus through the crucifixion, but Jesus would inflict a fatal blow on Satan and evil by the crucifixion (see, for example, Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8).
The flood in the days of Noah was God’s judgment and symbolic of divine judgment in general. First Peter 3:20–21 shows Noah’s ark as a symbol of salvation from the judgment of God, through Jesus Christ. Another Old Testament symbol of salvation in Christ is the bronze snake that provided healing for the people bitten by snakes (Numbers 21:6–9). John 3:14–15 says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
As noted in the previous chapter, Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament covenants. He is a descendant of Abraham and will bring blessing to “all peoples on earth” (Genesis 12:3). He is also a descendant of David and will reign on the throne of David forever. The death of Christ initiated the new covenant, and all who believe in Christ are members of that eternal covenant.
The great exodus event is also primarily about Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 5:7, he is referred to as “our Passover lamb [who] has been sacrificed.” As God redeemed his chosen people from their enslavement in Egypt through the event known as the Passover, so God, through Christ, redeems his people from their enslavement to sin.
Christ also fulfilled the Mosaic covenant, also known as “the Law” (Matthew 5:17). He is the only person who ever did or will perfectly obey all of God’s laws. But Christ is also seen in this covenant in other ways. Most explicitly, all of the animal sacrifices that were mandated in the law anticipate, or symbolize, the final and perfect sacrifice of Jesus (Hebrews 9:12–14; 10:4).
Another mandate in the Law was the building of the tabernacle. The Hebrew word for tabernacle means “dwelling place.” It symbolized God’s intention to dwell among his people (Exodus 25:8–9). This intention was fulfilled when he, through his Son, not only came to dwell among his people but actually became one of them in order to share their humanity. John 1:14 says, “The Word [Christ] became flesh and made his dwelling [tabernacled] among us.” The furnishings of the tabernacle also symbolize Christ (these are described in Exodus 37–40). There was a table where twelve loaves of fresh bread would be placed daily; Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). There was a lampstand to provide light in the tabernacle; Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). The sacrifices offered on the altar and the sacrificial blood taken into the Most Holy Place symbolize the sacrifice and the blood of Christ that allows sinful people into the very presence of a holy God (Hebrews 9:3–14).
Christ is even anticipated in some of the holy days that were a part of the Law. As already noted, the Passover Feast (Leviticus 23:5) is about Christ. The Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:9–14) anticipates Christ who is the firstfruit of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20). The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26–32) anticipates the final atonement for sin made by Jesus (Hebrews 9:28).
Jesus Christ is also seen in the three offices of the Old Testament: prophet, priest, and king. The many prophets of the Old Testament looked forward to the greatest prophet, Jesus (Hebrews 1:1–2). The priests established in the Law anticipated Jesus Christ, who is the great high priest (Hebrews 4:14; 5:5–6). The kings of God’s people, especially King David, anticipated Jesus Christ, the King of kings (1 Timothy 6:14–15).
The Old Testament prophets also anticipated the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Probably the best summary of these many texts, as well as what we have already seen and more, is what Jesus himself said to his disciples: “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms [the entire Old Testament]” (Luke 24:44; see also Luke 24:27). The theme of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ.
As we come to the New Testament, this theme becomes clear and explicit. The following is a brief summary of what the New Testament says about him.
Not only has he created all things and is the goal of all things, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). He sustains all things by his powerful word (Hebrews 1:3). He has reconciled all things to himself (Colossians 1:20). In him are “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). He is the judge of all people (John 5:24–30). He is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). He is head of all things (Ephesians 1:22). He is supreme over all things (Colossians 1:18). He is heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2). He has authority over all things (Matthew 28:18). For all of these reasons and much, much more, he has been glorified and exalted by God and must be glorified and exalted by all people (Philippians 2:9–11).
LIFE-PRIORITIZING FACT
Jesus Christ is “the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13). This means that every aspect of our lives every day that we live should be oriented toward Jesus Christ.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
Ho'omaikaʻi ka Pua iā kākou