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| 1 And Moses hath been feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, priest of Midian, and he leadeth the flock behind the wilderness, and cometh in unto the mount of God, to Horeb; |
Now Moses – Now 80 years of age. R5418:3
Perhaps not accidental that Moses' career was divided into two equal periods-40 years of Egyptian training followed by 40 years absence; typical of Israel's double of 1845 years. R2909:6, R1651:6
Kept the flock – His wandering as a shepherd in the wilderness for 40 years made him thoroughly familiar with the terrain; a great advantage to him later as leader of Israel through this wilderness. R5418:6
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| 2 and there appeareth unto him a messenger of Jehovah in a flame of fire, out of the midst of the bush, and he seeth, and lo, the bush is burning with fire, and the bush is not consumed. |
The angel of the LORD – This honored messenger was undoubtedly our Lord Jesus in his pre-human estate. E43
Appeared – There is no reason to suppose that Moses saw the Lord. This is one of the evidences that a spirit being can be present, yet invisible. R155:2*
In a flame of fire – Very little is known of the nature of a spirit body, but the appearing as fire, etc., seems to be their own peculiar glory as they actually are. HG28:4
In an impressive manner to give Moses courage and confidence in his mission. PD32/43
Our Lord might have so appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, but the evidence thus given would have been far from being as convincing as the method he did adopt. B124
Midst of a bush – Supposedly a thorn-bush which sometimes grows to quite a height, known as shittim wood-- the kind of wood used in the construction of the Tabernacle. R3989:5
Behold, the bush – Illustrating the experience of Christ and all of his members. R3989:6
A demonstration of divine power-to establish the faith of his servant. R2910:4, R1652:1
Burned with fire – Representing the fiery trials to which the Lord's people are subject. R3989:6
Bush was not consumed – Spiritual Israel must behold the Lord as the great light, that his justice is as a consuming fire; but that, through Christ, he grants us to see the light without being consumed thereby. R2910:5
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| 3 And Moses saith, 'Let me turn aside, I pray thee, and I see this great appearance; wherefore is the bush not burned ' |
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| 4 and Jehovah seeth that he hath turned aside to see, and God calleth unto him out of the midst of the bush, and saith, 'Moses, Moses;' and he saith, 'Here [am] I.' |
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| 5 And He saith, 'Come not near hither: cast thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place on which thou art standing is holy ground.' |
Put off thy shoes – Even Moses, the "meekest man in all the earth," needed from the Lord as his first instruction a lesson in humility. R3990:1
Is holy ground – "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him." (Psa 89:7) R2002:2
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| 6 He saith also, 'I [am] the God of thy father, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob;' and Moses hideth his face, for he is afraid to look towards God. |
I am the God of – This surely meant that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were to be resurrected. PD32/43; R5611:4
God reminded him of the special covenant which he had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for an everlasting covenant, thus assuring Moses that God had not forgotten the good things which he had promised. R5261:5
Hid his face – Moses covered his face in reverence. R5261:5
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| 7 And Jehovah saith, 'I have certainly seen the affliction of My people who [are] in Egypt, and their cry I have heard, because of its exactors, for I have known its pains; |
Seen the affliction – Just as he has seen the affliction of his people in all ages under the reign of sin. R3990:2
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| 8 and I go down to deliver it out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to cause it to go up out of the land, unto a land good and broad, unto a land flowing with milk and honey unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. |
I am come down – Showing the relationship between the Lord's coming now and the gathering of the Church. R155:3*
To deliver them – The Lord assures us, too, that he is both able and willing to grant deliverance at the appropriate time. R3990:2
The deliverance did not take place immediately, nor did the deliverance of the Church take place immediately after the second advent of Christ. R155:3*
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| 9 'And now, lo, the cry of the sons of Israel hath come in unto Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them, |
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| 10 and now, come, and I send thee unto Pharaoh, and bring thou out My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.' |
Pharaoh – Type of Satan. R5273:2, R5419:5; F458
Out of Egypt – Satan's dominion of sin and death. R5643:1, R5273:1; F458
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| 11 And Moses saith unto God, 'Who [am] I, that I go unto Pharaoh, and that I bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt ' |
Who am I – All the people of God who would be useful and used in his service must learn this lesson: "Without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5) R2910:2
Moses was so distrustful of himself that even when called of the Lord he apologized, pleading his unfitness. He did not realize that he only then became fit. R5261:2
His 40 years in Midian had taught Moses meekness and distrust of his ability. He felt the magnitude of the undertaking and of his own insufficiency. R5418:6, R1652:1, R2910:2
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| 12 and He saith, 'Because I am with thee, and this [is] to thee the sign that I have sent thee: in thy bringing out the people from Egypt ye do serve God on this mount.' |
I will be with thee – The Lord assured Moses that he himself would be responsible. R5419:1, R5262:1
Encouragement for every true servant of the Lord who humbly relies upon his promises while striving to walk in the ways of his appointment. R1652:1
If God be for us, and if God be with us, who can prevail against us? (Rom. 8:31) R2910:1
Like Moses, we must learn that it is not our work but God's work; not our power or ability but the divine power working in and through us. R2909:6
Brought forth the – Moses was a great leader, as well as the meekest of men. SM379:1
Upon this mountain – That very mountain, "the mount of God," to worship him there. R5262:1
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| 13 And Moses saith unto God, 'Lo, I am coming unto the sons of Israel, and have said to them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they have said to me, What [is] His name what do I say unto them ' |
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| 14 And God saith unto Moses, 'I am that which I am;' He saith also, 'Thus dost thou say to the sons of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you.' |
I AM THAT I AM – These words signify the same as the name Jehovah-the self-existent one, the one who always exists. From the same root as "Jehovah." R3990:6, R5262:1, R1052:5*, R5217:3
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| 15 And God saith again unto Moses, 'Thus dost thou say unto the sons of Israel, Jehovah, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this [is] My name to the age, and this My memorial, to generation generation. |
Thus shalt thou say – Moses represented the entire priestly class and the tribe of Levi in his various functions as Mediator between God and the nation. R4390:1
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| 16 'Go, and thou hast gathered the elders of Israel, and hast said unto them: Jehovah, God of your fathers, hath appeareth unto me, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I have certainly inspected you, and that which is done to you in Egypt; |
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| 17 and I say, I bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, unto the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a land flowing [with] milk and honey. |
Bring you up out of – Representing the call of God's children to come out from the world and to engage in his worship. T25
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| 18 'And they have hearkened to thy voice, and thou hast entered, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye have said unto him, Jehovah, God of the Hebrews, hath met with us; and now, let us go, we pray thee, a journey of three days into the wilderness, and we sacrifice to Jehovah our God. |
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| 19 'And I I have known that the king of Egypt doth not permit you to go, unless by a strong hand, |
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| 20 and I have put forth My hand, and have smitten Egypt with all My wonders, which I do in its midst and afterwards he doth send you away. |
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| 21 'And I have given the grace of this people in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it hath come to pass, when ye go, ye go not empty; |
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| 22 and [every] woman hath asked from her neighbour, and from her who is sojourning in her house, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and ye have put [them] on your sons and on your daughters, and have spoiled the Egyptians.' |
Shall borrow – Shaal, asked, requested, begged. R1657:6, R2911:5, R3996:3
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