Article February 26, 1996 Issue

Is it possible for you and me to see a "burning bush"?

Edmonde L. St. John

An experience of the great Hebrew prophet Moses can provide you and me with the wonderful assurance that it is possible to see God's control and hear His directives right in the midst of our everyday lives. Moses was in the desert, tending his father-in-law's flock of sheep, when, as the Bible tells it, "the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed" (Ex. 3:2).

Now, Moses was not a stranger to the desert, but had spent many years alone in this desolate and harsh environment. No doubt he was well aware that such a place could play tricks on one's senses. But somehow he knew that this was different, and he turned aside to see what the phenomenon meant. His alertness in turning aside helped him, as the narrative continues, to hear God's voice right where he was, and he knew intuitively it was none other than God's voice that said "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (verse 5).

Through God's further revelation and directives, Moses began his mission to take the children of Israel out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and to the land promised by God.

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