Meditations in Exodus
Exodus 3:1-4 reads, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.”
Sometimes in this life we become content and comfortable simply to maintain our existence in this life and to experience some enjoyment in this life. Yet in so doing, we neglect to pursue the call of the Lord our God upon our lives. This was just the walk of life into Moses had fallen in Exodus 2:21-22. Yet the Lord our God does not allow us to remain in such a self-contented and self-comfortable condition. Rather, He confronts us in order to stir us up unto His purpose for our lives.
Exodus 3:1-4 reads, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.”
Sometimes in this life we become content and comfortable simply to maintain our existence in this life and to experience some enjoyment in this life. Yet in so doing, we neglect to pursue the call of the Lord our God upon our lives. This was just the walk of life into Moses had fallen in Exodus 2:21-22. Yet the Lord our God does not allow us to remain in such a self-contented and self-comfortable condition. Rather, He confronts us in order to stir us up unto His purpose for our lives.
The Contentment of Moses
According to Stephen’s report in Acts 7:23-25, Moses recognized by the age of forty that the Lord had called him for the deliverance of the Israelites from the oppression of the Egyptians. Yea, He also “supposed his brethren would have understood that God by his hand would deliver them.” Yet through the account of Exodus 2:11-15, we find that Moses attempted to fulfill this call in his own way by his own ability. Thus we also find that Moses attempt failed. Indeed, it became necessary for him to flee from Egypt unto the land of Midian, wherein Moses settled down to live with the priest of Midian and to marry one of his daughters. In fact, Moses became quite content in this new context for his life, even as the opening portion of Exodus 2:21 states, “And Moses was content to dwell with the man.” Indeed, Moses became quite content for the next forty years of his life in the household of his father in law, serving as a shepherd of the sheep. Thus Exodus gives the report, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.” Yet what of the Lord’s call upon Moses’ life?
The Confrontation of the Lord
Although Moses had become quite content living apart from the Lord’s call upon his life, the Lord was not so content having Moses live apart from that call. Therefore, the Lord moved to confront Moses about His call upon Moses’ life. Indeed, the Lord moved in such a manner that Moses’ attention was fully arrested and engaged. Yea, the Lord moved in such a manner so as to shake Moses out of his self-contentment and self-comfort. Even so, the opening portion of Exodus 3:2 states, “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.” Certainly, the Lord our God does not always confront our self-contentment and self-comfort through the use of “a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.” In fact, this is the only Biblical record of our Lord’s employing this particular method. However, the Lord our God will in some manner shine the light of His presence into the circumstances of our lives.
The Circumstance of the Bush
In Moses’ case, the Lord shined the light of His presence into Moses’ self-contented and self-comfortable life through the “great sight” of a bush that “burned with fire,” but “was not consumed.” Even so, Exodus 3:2 continues, saying, “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” This circumstantial event in Moses’ life certainly caught his attention. Indeed, Exodus 3:3 gives the report, saying, “And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” Yea, this burning, but unconsumed bush moved Moses “turn aside” from his every-day contentment in shepherding the flock. In like manner, when we have continued in a time of self-contentment apart from our Lord’s call upon our life, the Lord our God will bring some circumstantial event into our lives in order to catch our attention and to return our focus back upon Him. Yea, the Lord our God will bring some circumstance into our lives in order to move us to “turn aside” from the contentment of our daily existence and enjoyments, and in order to move us to ask “why” this circumstance might be present in our lives.
The Call of the Lord
Then, when our attention is caught, and when we have been moved to “turn aside” from our self-contentment, and when we have been moved to ask “why” such a circumstance might be present in our lives – then the Lord our God will reengage His call upon our lives. Even so, Exodus 3:4 reports concerning Moses’ case, saying, “And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.” In what manner is the Lord our God attempting to get your attention at the very time? In what manner is He attempting to move you to “turn aside” from your self-contentment and self-comfort? My beloved brethren, it is time to answer Him – “Here am I.”
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