The Burning Bush

 

When God selects a great soul for a special mission, De does not do so by half-measures. I will write out what is written in the Book of Exodus about Moses, and God’s amazing self-introduction to Moses from the burning bush. Here is my entry quoted from The New American Bible (Exodus, 3:1-6): “Meanwhile, Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, ‘I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.’ When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ God said, ‘Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father,’ he continued, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.’ Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God.”

 

 

My response: The Catholic scholars on Page 61 of this Bible add three explanatory notes of interest to me. This Mount Horeb was sacred ground, indicating there are special places on earth where spiritual goodness congregates, and where evil is centered too. The scholars point out that the appearance of an angel of God before Moses may be an actual angel or a manifestation of God personally, and it is not always made clear which is which. Note that Moses was afraid to look at God because the Hebrews believed that one would die if one saw God. It goes to show that this could be literally so, or is a metaphor for pure exposure to noumenal truth would so shock the perceiver that he may not physically survive the glaring encounter.

 

This approach to Moses by God is very dramatic, direct, and concrete. God needs Moses to go to work for him, and the need is dire, and the time is now so let us get down to business. Moses is sought out by God or God’s angel, but first Moses must tread respectfully on sacred ground, and Moses is shocked and fearful to encounter God directly. I do not think the rest of us ontologically puny humans would fare half as well as Moses did.

 

Let me quote the same verses from the Holy Bible (KJV): “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 a 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. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover, he said, I am the God of thy 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.”

 

 

 

My response: One could encounter God anywhere, but surely the odds of directly encountering God increased manifold when Moses passed right by this sacred site. Note that divine flame did not incinerate a bush in the dry desert of low humidity a near miraculous occurrence that caught Moses’s eye.

 

It reminds me that we need to be respectful when walking on sacred ground, and direct talk with God might be more than we can cope with.