The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 1 — Section 101

Jcbel Muse,, 'Desert of the Exodus,' p. 118. 4. At Sinai. Probably in Er Rahah, the wide wady north of Sinai, with the mighty pile of Ras SufsA.foh towerincr on the south. 5. Genernlly~mid mountains: where oft, as on the sea at night, G~d seems so near. His face towards the sun, Sinai in grand altitude of shade before him Moses saw the brightness and beard the word of the Logos, the manifested God. ' IIJ. 'l'HE VISION. Observe here two elements :-1. The subjective. Moses' state of mind. This would be de~rmined by the known circumstances of Israel, and by hi, own : he was away from his people, seemingly out of the covenant, the Divine promise forgotten. 2. The objective. A low~y plant; not a tree. Fire. No consuming; no smoke, no ashes, no waste. In the Fire (ver. 4) the Angel-God of the Old 'l.'estament. Symbol of the Church of all time. Is. xliii. 2, 3. IV. THE FIRST EFFE0T. Intellectual curiosity. "I will now . . . why the bush," etc. This attention was better than indifference, but was probably nothing more than an intelligent curiosity. Still, this was not enough. V. 'l'BE CHECK: vers. 4, 5.-The attitude of the mind should be that of reverent attention, face to face wiih Divine manifestations. "The word of the Lord always went along with the glory of the Lord, for every Divine vision was designed for Divine revelation." This the more necessary because over every revelation there is a' veil. Hab. iii. 4. Distance becomes us. " Draw not nigh hither!" So in Science, Psycho- logy, History, the revelation of the Christ. The aim not to satisfy the curiosity, but to enlighten and empower the conscience, and direct the life. • VI. 'l'HE DB.AV.'ING into covenant.al relations, notwithstanding the momentary check. This by making known-1. The Divine Narne : ver. 6.. The God of thy father; of the i=ortal dead too; therefore thy God. The effect of this tender revelation : "Moses hid his face," etc. 2. The Divine sympathy. "I know." Sense of the Divine Omniscience alone is an awful pressure from above on the soul; but there is a restora- tion to equilibrium, by a ipressure from beneath supporting, i.e. by a sense of Divine sympathy-" their_ sorrows." See Maurice, 'Patriarchs and Lawgivers,' p. 162. 3. .A Divine salvation. "I am come down to deliver." 4. Possibility of Divine service, "Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh:" ver. 10.-R. Ycrs. 13--15.-The proper Name of God. "This is my name for ever," etc.- (Ex. iii. 15.) This incident of the burning bush teems with subjects susceptible of homiletic treatment. We name a few of the more important, which we ourselves do not linger to treat. 1. TBE Th"DESTRUCTIBILITY OF THE CHURCH: ver. 2. 2. THE DOCTRTh"E OF THE .A.NGEL-Gon. Note in vers. 2-4 that " The Angel of Jehovah," "Jehovah," and "God," are one and the same. 3. THE RESTRICTlON OF JUDAISM CONTRASTED WITH THE FREEDOM OF THE GOSPEL : ver. 5. For valuable hints on this, see 'Moses the Lawgiver,' by Dr. Taylor of New York, pp. 46, 47. 4. THE DO0TRINK OF ll1.MORTALITY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: ver. 6, comp. with Matt. :KXii. 31, 32. 5. SHB.Th"KING AT TBE DIVINE CALL. The reluctance of Moses; his four reasons- incompetence, ver. 11 ; ignorance of the proper name of God, ver. 13 ; increduUty of the people, iv. 1; want of speaking power, iv. 10-and how they were severally overcome. 6. Oun LIFE WORK-Preparatwn for it and possible late discovery of it: ver. 10. It is in connectitm with the second disability of Moses that the Deity gives his proper name. Note, that whilst Elohlm and other names are generic, this 'name "Jahveh," or more co=only "Jehovah," is the distinctive proper name of God. See Is. xlii. 8, in Heb. As a foundation it will be needful to exhibit, in a popular way, the connection between the Hebrew form for "I am" and "Jehovah." See exegesis of vers. 14, 15 above, and also the valuable Dissertation on the Divine Name, by Russell Martineau, M.A., in Ewald's 'History of Israel,' Eng. ed. vol. ii. 433. The writer of the hymn, "The God of Abraham praise!" speaking of "Jehovah, great I Am," showed that he had perceived the etymological relation. The fundamental idea in the name is that of "Being," but around that idea plays many a prismatic light, something of which will now be exhibited. There are a&l'OCiated with" I am,"" lam what I am,"" Jahveh,'' the following ideas:- I. EXISTENCE. How calm and solemn is this Divine affirmation in the silence of the Jesert, as in it God protests against being confounded with-1. Idols. Material or intellectual. Over against the teaching of the atheist positivist, pantheist :u:;nostic, OII, Ill, 3-10,] THE BOOK OF EXODUS. 83