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.

Called To The Fire And Away from Himself

Moses in Exodus 3 is now 80 years old, he has been a shepherd in the desert for 40 years. For his first 40 years he was a prince of Egypt, a son of Pharoah’s daughter, but after killing a man who was beating a fellow Hebrew, he fled and now has settled into completely different life as a shepherd in the wilderness of Midian.

80 years old, to Moses and to us it would seem almost impossible to be used of God now. He is not a young man, he has no political standing, and probably even the Hebrews have forgotten all about him, if they ever really knew him. Now he is only lowly shepherd, not a noble prince. He leads his father-in-law’s sheep instead of God’s people.

Yet one day in all those long, long days of the past 40 years, he is shepherding the flocks on the backside of the desert, around Mt. Horeb, aka Mt Sinai, the mountain that will forever after the Exodus be known as the “mountain of God.”  The range of mountains in Midian is harsh, forbidding and imposing. The highest peak rising to 8000 feet. Now Moses is there, he has probably been there before, but on this day, after 40 years of hiding and 40 years of accepting his new life, on this day he sees a bush burning with a bright fire, burning but not being consuming.

I think the fire of the buring bush is the Glory of God. The fiery cloud that represents the presence of God, the Shekinah Glory of God. Shekinah is not a word found in the Bible but it was used by the ancient Jewish scholars of the Word. It means “that which dwells.” God’s presence or glory resided within the fiery cloud.

The Shekinah Glory of God

If we look carefully in the scriptures to the times that God called and separated His servants from the world, it is almost always accompanied by this supernatural cloud of fire.

Abraham and the covenant: Genesis 15:17 17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp

The Hebrew children during the Exodus journey: Psalms 78:14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.

The dedication of the Tabernacle Exodus 40:38 For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

The dedication of the Temple built by Solomon. 1 Ki 8:10–11And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for

The empowering of the church on the Day of Pentecost: Acts 2:2-4 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost…

Moses was called to the fire and away from the way he was on. Exodus 3:3 And Moses said, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”

For Moses, the burning bush will be a fire of calling, a fire of separation. Removing him from his former life, his family, his friends and his livelihood of the past 4 decades. Suddenly at 80 years old, everything will change and there will be no going back.  

Called To Separation

When God calls us, whether it be the call of salvation or the call to special service, it won’t take place at a burning bush. We won’t see the fire of God, but we are all still called of God. And just like the Moses, the call of God always calls us away from ourselves, our interests and our world. It rarely happens when we expect it for God’s timing is never our timing. He does not work in our life when it is convenient for us.

Nor can the call of God cannot be ignored, like the burning bush it is a bright burning and demands our attention. Jeremiah 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

The call of God moves us away from our world, our plans, our future and into God’s will. 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.

The call of God is a fire that consumes our past and sets us on a new future path. As it did in Moses, it also did when Paul was on the Damascus road,  Acts 9:3-6 As he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest… 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
Quotes:

After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your aim in life is because God has taken you up into his purposes. Are we prepared for what sanctification will do? It will cost an intense narrowing of all our interests on earth and an immense broadening of our interest in God. - Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)