MOSES and the Burning Bush
That Did Not Burn
by Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards
Justin's friends gathered around him as he held up a bright, shiny new quarter. “I can make this quarter disappear! You just watch!” he said braggingly. None of the other boys really believed he could make the quarter disappear, but they all wanted to see just what he was going to do.
The group grew silent as Justin took a small handkerchief from his pocket. He called it his magic cloth. Holding the quarter in one hand and the magic cloth in the other, he said to the boys, “I'm going to say some magic words and I want you to repeat after me. Then I will make the quarter disappear.” Some of the boys giggled and some snickered, but they all played along and repeated, “Abracadabra; quarter be gone!”
He opened his hand and the quarter was indeed gone. He then shook the handkerchief to prove that the quarter was not hidden inside it. The boys searched the ground to see if he had dropped the quarter, but they did not find it. They could not believe their eyes! They were totally amazed! It seemed that Justin really had made the quarter disappear! The boys begged him to tell how he did it, but he refused. “A magician never tells his secrets,” he replied. Most of the boys gave up asking and went to play other games, still wondering how Justin did it.
Jason, who was Justin's best friend, wouldn't give up. “Awe, come on! You've got to tell me how you did that,” he begged. “After all, I am your very best friend.”
Finally Justin laughed, and reached into his sleeve, and pulled out the shiny new quarter. "It is right here!" he exclaimed. “You didn't really think I made it disappear, did you? It was just a trick!” The two boys laughed and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon together.
The Bible tells us about a man named Moses who saw something so amazing, he couldn't believe his eyes! But what Moses saw was NOT a trick. It was a REAL miracle! In fact, he saw THREE miracles all in the same day!
Many long years had passed since the Princess of Egypt had pulled the little basket boat out of the water and had taken baby Moses home to live with her in the palace. Moses had grown to be a strong man. He chose to leave the palace, married a beautiful woman, and had children of his own.
Life seemed to be pretty good for Moses and his family. He lived in Midian near his father-in-law, and his job was to take care of the sheep. Every day he would make sure the sheep had plenty of good green grass to eat and fresh water to drink. Every evening he would make a certain call, and the sheep would perk up their ears and come, gather around him. Moses would count his sheep and call them by name. He carefully inspected each one. If there were any injuries or sores, he knew just what to do to help it heal. He was a very good shepherd.
One day while Moses was tending the sheep near Mt. Horeb, he saw a glimmer of light in the distance. “Hmm,” he thought to himself. “That is very strange. Whatever could it be?”
Since a shepherd never wants to be without his rod and staff, he picked up one in each hand and walked nearer to the light. As he looked, he could see that there was a bush that was on fire. Now, that was strange, but stranger still was that there was only fire but no smoke, and although the bush was on fire, it was still green and it was not turning black or burning up. A very puzzled Moses turned and started to walk even closer when all of a sudden, he heard a voice.
The voice was calling his name . . . but the voice was not coming from a person. There were no other people there. The voice was coming from the bush that was on fire . . . but, of course, the bush was not speaking. The voice Moses was hearing was actually the voice of the Lord calling to him, saying, “Moses... Moses.”
Moses then answered back, “Here I am. I am listening.”
The voice of the Lord said, “Stop! Don't come any closer! Take off your shoes! The place you are standing is holy ground.” Moses did what he was told and kept listening. He heard the voice say, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
Upon hearing those words, Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to see God.
The Lord continued talking to Moses, telling him about his plan to bring all of the people of Israel out of Egypt and to give them their own land where they would no longer be slaves. It would be a beautiful land with everything they would need to live a healthy happy life.
It all sounded like a good plan, and it WAS a very good plan because it was God's plan. But when the Lord told Moses he wanted HIM to be the leader of the people and to talk to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, Moses got scared and started making excuses.
After quite a long discussion of the Lord making promises and Moses making excuses, the Lord asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?”
“A rod,” Moses replied.
Then the Lord told Moses, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw his rod to the ground. Startled, he jumped back and started to run away. The ROD had turned into a SNAKE!
The Lord, however, was not going to let Moses run away. He told Moses, “Pick it up by the tail.” Moses cautiously bent over and picked up the tail of the snake. As he did so, the snake turned back into his rod! What a miracle — the SECOND miracle of the day!
But the Lord wasn't finished with Moses yet. He then told Moses to put his hand inside his shirt. Of course, Moses obeyed. When he took his hand back out of his shirt, he was startled again to see that his hand was diseased and had turned white. The Lord told Moses to put his hand inside his shirt again, so he did. This time when he took his hand out of his shirt, he was quite happy to find that it was normal again. This was the THIRD miracle of the day.
The Lord had a purpose for the miracles he was doing. He told Moses that if the people of Israel did not believe that he had been sent by God, he was supposed to throw his rod down and it would be turned into a snake. If they still didn't believe him, he was supposed to put his hand inside his shirt and have it turn diseased, and then have it healed. If they STILL didn't believe, he was to get a cup of water from the river and pour it on the ground, and the water would be turned to blood.
After seeing the burning bush that did not burn, and the rod turned into a snake, and his own hand become diseased and then well again, Moses was still not sure he could do the job that the Lord wanted him to do. He made an excuse to the Lord saying that he wasn't a very good speaker and didn't think he could speak to the king of Egypt. The Lord agreed that he could take his brother, Aaron, along and let him do the speaking.
The conversation with the Lord had come to an end, and Moses returned to his home to talk with his father-in-law. He asked permission to give up his job as a shepherd and return to Egypt. He and his wife packed their belongings, got their animals ready, and, along with their children, started their long trip to Egypt to become part of God's plan to bring the people of Israel out of slavery and give them their own special land.
THINK!
1. What job did Moses do in Midian?
2. What job did the Lord want Moses to do?
3. What were the three miracles that Moses saw?
REMEMBER!
God has a plan for you just as He had a plan for Moses.
A VERSE TO LEARN:
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11).
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Can you think about a few things Moses learned when he was shepherding his father in-laws' sheep? For example, he not only learned to take care of sheep, to notice when they got sick, when they got lost, or where to take them for grazing and water in the desert, but he also learned to earn their trust and to have a lot of patience. He also learned to recognize God's voice and be obedient to Him. Do you think that what he learned helped him lead thousands of Israelites with all their possessions and animals through the desert?
Do you or your family have a pet or other animals? Do you have to help take care of them? Or are there other chores in the house you have to do, like tidying up your room or mowing the lawn, or washing the dishes? How faithful are you in doing your homework?
[After discussion:] God wants you to always be faithful in these little things, so that He can entrust you with bigger and bigger things. He wants us to do all things as if we were doing them for Him.
Let’s take a moment in prayer and ask the Lord to help us be obedient and faithful in everything and to help us trust Him to do even bigger things in our lives, so that we can be faithful witnesses for Him in word and deed.
LET'S PRAY:
****************************************************
Dear Lord, I am glad that You have a good plan
for my life and You know what is best for me.
Help me to learn to listen to You and obey You.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
****************************************************
CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Exodus 3:1-4:20
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