Exo 3:4 | KingComments | STEP | Moses is called by the LORD when he is eighty years old. That is at the end of his natural life. In Psalm 90 he says this himself: “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years” ( ). Before the Lord can use someone, a person must learn to renounce his natural abilities. Moses has learned this. However, it is not enough not to rely on one’s own skills. Now he must learn to trust in God’s power. Moses spent forty years learning the shepherding trade. Now he is with his flock “to the west side of the wilderness”, or “the rear part of the wilderness”. He has, as it were, the wilderness experiences behind him. Many men of God have been shepherds. According to God’s heart, the shepherd represents best how He wants to lead His people. David is a shepherd: “He also chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds; from the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them with his skillful hands” ( ). It is written of the Lord Jesus that He is a Ruler who will “shepherd” the people of God, that is to say, that He would be a Shepherd to them ( ). While Moses shepherds the sheep, he comes to the mountain of God, Horeb. Horeb is another name for Sinai, the mountain where later the law is given (cf. ; ). That is why the mountain is called “the mountain of God”. There the Angel of the LORD appears to him. shows that it is God Himself. The Angel of the LORD is the manifestation of the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament. Wherever God appears to man, He does so through the Lord Jesus. It is the first time after many years that the LORD appears again to someone. Apparitions have never been the order of the day. God appears only at special occasions. God also appears in different ways. To Moses He appears in a burning thorn bush. To Hagar He appeared at a well ( ). He has chosen a ladder with Jacob ( ). The LORD appears to Moses and calls him when he is busy with his daily work. We also see this with the brothers Peter and Andrew and the brothers James and John. When the Lord Jesus calls them to follow Him, Peter and Andrew are busy casting a net into the sea to catch fish; James and John are busy mending their nets ( ). This is how the Lord still works today. He calls people who are faithful in their daily work. Moses notices that the bush burns but is not consumed. The bush represents man by nature, the sinful man. We also see the whole people of Israel in it, being in the burning oven of Egypt. We also see that God is in the fire. Therefore, the bush is not consumed. God uses the fire of trial to purify His people, and us. What is not in agreement with Him is consumed by the fire. As a result, we will increasingly answer to His purpose for us: to become more like the Lord Jesus. He is with us in the trial ( ; ). The LORD sees that Moses is approaching the bush to see the miraculous phenomenon. He sees in what we are interested. He rejoices when we show interest when He reveals Himself. At the same time He maintains His holiness. Where God is, is holiness. Moses must remove his shoes (cf. ). When God has gained Moses’ attention, He makes Himself known as the God of the patriarchs with whom He has made a covenant: with Abraham ( ), with Isaac ( ) and with Jacob ( ). That is the ground on which He will start to act. He is and remains their God, even though they have died, for to Him they remain alive, which will be proved in the resurrection: “But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the [passage about the burning] bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB. Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him” ( ).

‏ Exodus 3:4

Introduction

Moses is called by the LORD when he is eighty years old. That is at the end of his natural life. In Psalm 90 he says this himself: “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years” (Psa 90:1a ; 10a). Before the Lord can use someone, a person must learn to renounce his natural abilities. Moses has learned this. However, it is not enough not to rely on one’s own skills. Now he must learn to trust in God’s power.

The LORD Appears to Moses

Moses spent forty years learning the shepherding trade. Now he is with his flock “to the west side of the wilderness”, or “the rear part of the wilderness”. He has, as it were, the wilderness experiences behind him. Many men of God have been shepherds. According to God’s heart, the shepherd represents best how He wants to lead His people. David is a shepherd: “He also chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds; from the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them with his skillful hands” (Psa 78:70-72). It is written of the Lord Jesus that He is a Ruler who will “shepherd” the people of God, that is to say, that He would be a Shepherd to them (Mt 2:6).

While Moses shepherds the sheep, he comes to the mountain of God, Horeb. Horeb is another name for Sinai, the mountain where later the law is given (cf. Exo 19:11; Deu 4:10a). That is why the mountain is called “the mountain of God”. There the Angel of the LORD appears to him. Exo 3:4 shows that it is God Himself.

The Angel of the LORD is the manifestation of the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament. Wherever God appears to man, He does so through the Lord Jesus. It is the first time after many years that the LORD appears again to someone. Apparitions have never been the order of the day. God appears only at special occasions.

God also appears in different ways. To Moses He appears in a burning thorn bush. To Hagar He appeared at a well (Gen 16:7 ; 13-14). He has chosen a ladder with Jacob (Gen 28:12-13).

The LORD appears to Moses and calls him when he is busy with his daily work. We also see this with the brothers Peter and Andrew and the brothers James and John. When the Lord Jesus calls them to follow Him, Peter and Andrew are busy casting a net into the sea to catch fish; James and John are busy mending their nets (Mt 4:18-22). This is how the Lord still works today. He calls people who are faithful in their daily work.

Moses notices that the bush burns but is not consumed. The bush represents man by nature, the sinful man. We also see the whole people of Israel in it, being in the burning oven of Egypt. We also see that God is in the fire. Therefore, the bush is not consumed. God uses the fire of trial to purify His people, and us. What is not in agreement with Him is consumed by the fire. As a result, we will increasingly answer to His purpose for us: to become more like the Lord Jesus. He is with us in the trial (Isa 63:9; Dan 3:25).

The LORD sees that Moses is approaching the bush to see the miraculous phenomenon. He sees in what we are interested. He rejoices when we show interest when He reveals Himself. At the same time He maintains His holiness. Where God is, is holiness. Moses must remove his shoes (cf. Jos 5:15).

When God has gained Moses’ attention, He makes Himself known as the God of the patriarchs with whom He has made a covenant: with Abraham (Gen 15:13-14 ; 18), with Isaac (Gen 26:3) and with Jacob (Gen 46:3-4). That is the ground on which He will start to act. He is and remains their God, even though they have died, for to Him they remain alive, which will be proved in the resurrection: “But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the [passage about the burning] bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB. Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him” (Lk 20:37-38).