Foundation Scriptures: Exodus 2:11-15; Exodus 3:1-22; Exodus 4:1-17

Exodus 2:11-15 tells us that Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite, but when he rebuked one Israelite for beating another, they got mad at him. They did not recognize nor acknowledge his divine call at that point. When Moses realized that everyone knew what he had done, including Pharaoh who now wanted to kill him, he fled and took refuge in the land of Midian. Moses was destined to deliver Israel from their bondage in Egypt, but by God’s power and in God’s time, not by the arm of the flesh.

Exodus 3:1-22 says that one day while Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, on the backside of the wilderness, he led the flock to Mount Sinai. The Angel of the Lord appeared to him there in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush that burned with fire, but was not consumed. As he approached the bush, the Lord began to speak to him, “And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters and oppressors; for I know their sorrows and sufferings and trials. And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand and power of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a land good and large, a land flowing with milk and honey [a land of plenty].” (Exodus 3:7-8a AMP)

Then the Lord said, “Now behold, the cry of the Israelites has come to Me, and I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? God said, I will surely be with you; and this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain [Horeb, or Sinai].” (Exodus 3:9-12 AMP)

Then Moses asked God what he should say to the Israelites when he told them that the God of their fathers had sent him to them and they asked him, “What is His name?” The Lord said, “Tell them I AM!” Then He told Moses that He would give the Israelites favor and they would not leave empty-handed. They would strip the Egyptians of their belongings – jewels, articles of gold and silver, and garments – which were the payment owed to them for their years of slavery.

Rodney Howard Browne explains that Moses still did not think that the Israelites would believe him or obey him, so God first gave him two signs – the rod turning into a snake and back again and the hand turning leprous and then healthy again. Then God gave him a third sign. He said, in Exodus 4:8-9 AMP, “If they will not believe you or heed the voice or the testimony of the first sign, they may believe the voice or the witness of the second sign. But if they will also not believe these two signs or heed your voice, you shall take some water of the river [Nile] and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which you take out of the river [Nile] shall become blood on the dry land.” Moses still argued with God about his inadequacies and inability to fulfill this great mission and the Lord became angry with him, however, God told Moses that Aaron, his brother would go with him and help him to speak to Israel and to Pharaoh.

1.  This story of Moses and the burning bush is a type and shadow of God anointing us for service in His Kingdom.

a.    Moses, in a moment of anger, resorted to the arm of the flesh, killed an Egyptian, fled the land, and ended up looking after sheep on the backside of the desert. Even though God had called Him to deliver His people from bondage and captivity, he felt like a failure.

b.    How many of us, in the past, have been hasty and resorted to the arm of the flesh only to find ourselves out of the plan of God and on the backside of the desert?

c.   All is not lost however – God could still visit you with a “burning bush experience”.

? Moses was empowered at the burning bush

? God anointed him with the power to do signs and wonders

? The signs were the rod, the hand in his bosom, and the water poured out and turned into blood

? God told Moses that He would be with his mouth – He would help him to say what he was commanded to say

d.    God said, if they would not listen to the voice of the first sign or the second sign, there would be a third sign – a sign speaks

2.  It is important for each of us to have a burning bush experience.

a.    If we are to be used by God, we need to first have an encounter with God

b.    I do not have any proof of this, but I believe that when Moses stood in front of Pharaoh, Pharaoh saw the flames of the bush reflected in Moses’ eyes!

c.    When Moses spoke, it was like God speaking: Let my people go!

3.  This week is an opportunity for you to press in and allow the Lord to touch you with His anointing.

a.    How hungry are you?

b.    How thirsty are you?

c.    My testimony – my “burning bush” experience – occurred when I got intensely hungry and thirsty for God in July 1979 and He touched me with His fire

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 KJV