The burning bush

Moses was alone on Mount Horeb, caring for his father-in-law's flock, when a strange vision caught his attention - a bush was on fire. When he approached to see better, God called him from the bush.

"Moses said, I will turn aside to see what is this great vision, and why the bush is not consumed. The LORD saw that he turned aside to see ; and God called him from the midst of the bush" (Exodus 3: 3-4).

God was present in the bush and that is why he burned without being consumed. It was a visual representation of the holiness of God.

The Lord said to Moses : "Do not come near here, take off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground" (Exodus 3: 5). Most of us slip on this verse without understanding the enormous significance of its meaning. And this concerns how we can be holy.

You see, Moses was going to be called to God's eternal purpose for his life - to deliver Israel from slavery. But first, God had to show Moses the ground on which He, the Lord, can be approached. This land must be holy. To sum up, Moses was called to a face-to-face communion with a holy God, and he had to be properly prepared for it.

Moses was frightened when God spoke to him : "Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God" (Exodus 3: 6). Why was he afraid ? Because he had received a revelation of the incredibly holy ground upon which God must be approached !

The New Testament contains a corresponding verse : "That no flesh may boast before God" (1 Corinthians 1:29).

This verse of Paul is not just a New Testament truth. It was also true at the time of Moses. Moses had to know for himself that the work of God is not accomplished through human abilities, but through trust and total dependence on God. Holiness is not something we can reach or work on. It is something we believe in faith that we can attain through faith and trust in the work of Jesus.

David Wilkerson