This weekend I will preach on Exodus 3:2-5; the call of Moses through burning bush.
In the New Revised Standard Version it reads:
2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
I left out verse one on purpose. Feel free to take a look at it for yourself. Since I am doing a series on God’s calling of different people through scripture I am mostly concerned with 1) How did God make the individual aware that God was speaking? 2) The response of the individual and 3) the message.
There are other parts that I always try to consider and incorporate for example are there any timeless nuggets of wisdom for humanity to learn in this narrative? Is there something that we can discern about the character of God through this narrative?
Right now the part that stands out to me is Moses saying, “I must turn aside…”
When you read this text what stands out to you?
Rev. Shawn J. Smith 
Actually, the left out verse is the one that stands out to me. The very last phrase, “and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.” Most of the time, God’s calling comes when we draw near to Him first. When we are in His presence is when we are in a place to hear His call.
Of course, there are exceptions. Paul being the one (that stands out to me) of them who was called when he was trying to shut down/disprove God’s Word as imparted to others. Through seeking to disprove/discredit the Word, he accidentally was close to those God was calling, when Christ revealed Himself to Saul. Gryphon was one of those also.
Of these verses, the phrase that stands out to me is, “Here I am.” I would have been quaking in my boots and probably ran instead of just saying, “Yep, that’s me!”
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Sharalyn! I agree with you that I too cannot say how I would react if I were to see a bush on fire yet not consumed then hear the voice of God say “this is holy ground.”
Of the first verse that you refer to what do you think about the fact that Moses was beyond the wilderness tending his father-in-laws flock. Tending a flock near the wilderness….
That’s where his job was. Shepherds had to seek food for the flocks, and they need a variety of food, so shepherds travelled back then. There were no giant fields of grass for the sheep just beyond the tents.(I learned way more about shepherding in ancient times than I bargained for when I got curious one day)
Why that particular area? Well, could have been for any number of reasons:
~He was drawn there by God
~Things were too crowded right there with other flocks, so he went to find some space
~Depending on time of year, he may have had to go father to find food for them anyway
~His wife was nagging about something (okay, this is in jest, but she seemed not a pleasant women)
~etc.
So he was doing his job. And got near a place known as God’s. And was called. 🙂
That should be “farther to find food”….