“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight — why the bush does not burn up.’” — Exodus 3:1-3 (NIV84)

I have always been amazed by this encounter between God and Moses. It had been 25 years since Moses thought much about Egypt. I mean, he certainly thought about it, but after all these years there was nothing he could do about it. His life in Midian by now had become the norm. On the day of this encounter, he had no clue that he had brought his sheep to the foot of the mountain of God (Horeb — Sinai). But there it was. An unbelievable sight. A flaming bush unaffected by the fire. Moses just had to see what was going on.

So, what was going on? Well, I think this was a prelude, a preamble, an introduction. To what, you ask? In the not-too-distant future, Moses was going to bring the entire nation of Israel to this same mountain, and on that day, the entire top of the mountain would burn with the glory of God and not be consumed. As Moses wrote this section of Exodus, he must have thought the burning bush experience paled in comparison with what he would experience later in life. It’s kind of like, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

Well, the same is true for us. Have you experienced the presence of God in a special way? Know that “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Just as Moses and the people of Israel continued to experience God in new and fresh ways, we, too, will continue to experience more and more of the glory and majesty of God. God has so much more for us to experience as we walk with Him throughout the rest of our lives.

Moses’ walk with God began with the holy fire of God. That holy fire guided him and the people of Israel throughout their wilderness journey. That same holy fire filled the tabernacle and later the temple of the Lord. Finally, that holy fire fell upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, and today, indwells our hearts.

May the fire of God burn warm and bright in your life today and always!

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church