The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 1 — Section 78

fire:'gods; and BMl, Chemosh, Moloch, Tahiti, Orotal, etc., represented more or less the same idea. Fire is in itself pure and purifying; in its effects mighty ;md terrible, or life-giving and comforting. Viewed as light-its ordinary though not universr1l concomitant-it is bright, glorious, dr1zzling, illuminative, soul-cheerino-. God under the Old Covenant revealed himself in fire, not only upon this occasio~, but at Sinai (eh. xix. 18; xxiv. 17), to Manoah (Judg. xiii. 20), to Solomon (2 Ohr. vii. 1-3), to Ezekiel (Ezek. i. 4---28), to Daniel (Dan. vii. 9, 10); under the New Covenant, he is declared to be "a consuming fire" (Heb. xii. 29), "the Light of the world" (John viii. 12), "the True Light" (ib. i. 9), "the Sun of Righteousness." Of all material things nothing is so suitable to represent God as this wonderful creation of his, so bright, so pure, so terrible, so comforting! To Moses God reveals himself not merely in fire, but in a "burning bush." In this respect the revelation is abnormal-nay, unique, without a parallel. Surely this was done, not merely to rouse his curiosity, but to teach him some lesson or other. lt is well to consider what lesson or lessons may have been intended by it. First, Moses would see that "the ways of God were not as man's ways; " that, instead of coming with as much, he came with as little, display as possible; instead of showing all his glory and lighting up all Sine.i with unendurable radiance, he condescended to appear in a small circumscribed flame, and to rest upon so mean, so poor, so despised an object as a thorn-bush. God "chooseth the weak things of the world to confound the strong;" anything is sufficient for his purpose. He creates worlds with a word, destroys kingdoms with a breath, cures diseases with clay and spittle or the hem of a garment, revolu- tionises the earth by a group of fishermen. Secondly, he would see the spirituality of God. Even when showing himself in the form of fire, he was not fire. Material fire would have burnt up the bush, have withered its fair boughs and blasted its green leaves in a moment of time; this fire did not scathe a single twig, did not injure even the most delicate just-opening bud. 'l'hirdly, he might be led on to recognise God's tenderness. God's mercy is "over all his works," he will not hurt one of them unneces- sarily, or without an object. He" careth for cattle" (Jonah iv.11), clothes the lilies with 12:lory (Matt. vi. 28-30), will not let a sparrow fall to the ground needlessly (ib. x. 29). Lastly, he might learn that the presence of God is "consuming" only of what is evil. Of all else it is preservative. God was present with his people in Egypt, and his presence preserved them in that furnace of affliction. God was present in each devout and humble heart of his true followers, and his presence kept them from the fiery darts of the Wicked One. God would be present through all time with his Church and with his individual worshippers, not as a destroying, but as a sustaining, preserving, glorifying influence. His spiritual fire would rest upon them, envelop them, encircle them, yet would neither injure nor absorb their life, but support it, maintain it, strengthen it. Ver. 3.-The impulse to draw nigh. Moses saw a strange sight; one that he had never seen before; one that stmck him with astonishment. His natural impulse was to inquire into its cause. God has implanted in us all this instinct, and we sh0uld do ill if we were to combat it. Natural phenomena are within reason's sphere; and Moses, who had never yet seen a supernatural sight, could not but suppose, at first beholding it, that the burning bush was a natural phenomenon. That he approached to examine is an indication that he was a man of spirit and intelligence; not a coward who might have feared some snare, not careless and unobservant, as too many country folk are. He drew near to see more clearly, and to use his other senses in discovering what the" great thing" was-acting like a sensible man and one who had had a good education. Vers. 4---6.-The prohibition, and the ground of it. Suddenly the steps of the inquirer are arrested. 'I/Yonder upon wonder! a voice calls to him out of the bush, and calls him by his own name, "Moses, Moses! " Now must have dawned on him the conviction that it wns indeed a "great thing" which he was witnessing; that the ordinary course of nature was broken in upon; that he was about to be the recipient of one of those wonderful communications which God from time to time had vouchsafed to his forefathers, as to Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and  60 THE BOOK OF EXODUS. [cH. tu. 7-10,