What Was the Burning Bush?

The burning bush is one of the most iconic theophanies in Scripture, recorded in Exodus 3. Moses, who had fled Egypt forty years earlier, was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro in the wilderness near Mount 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.' Moses said, 'I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.' When God saw that he turned aside, He called out of the bush, 'Moses, Moses... Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.' God identified Himself: 'I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' Moses hid his face, afraid to look upon God. The Lord then commissioned him: 'Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.' When Moses asked what to say when the people inquired about God's name, the answer came: 'I AM THAT I AM... Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.' Many see deep symbolism in the unconsumed bush. The fire represents God's holy presence; the bush represents Israel, afflicted in Egypt yet not destroyed. God dwells with His people in the midst of their suffering without consuming them. The fire also speaks of God's purifying presence, and the bush of His humility — He appears not on a cedar of Lebanon but in a common desert shrub. The burning bush teaches that God meets His servants in unexpected places, calls them by name, sends them on missions beyond their strength, and assures them, 'Certainly I will be with thee.'