THE BURNING BUSH This chapter deals with: 1- The burning bush 1 - 4 2- Taking the sandals off 5 3- Calling Moses for ministry 6 - 10 4- Moses trying to find excuses 11 - 13 5- God’s name 14 - 17 6- The secret of the three days 18 7- The mighty hand of God 19 - 22 1- The burning bush While Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, “He led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God; and the angel of God appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn’” (Exod. 3.1-3). Here, Moses entered into a new stage, which is to encounter God, the Secret of Strength and the Hidden Shepherd who works for the salvation of the world and the edification of the Church. To what does that burning bush refer? A- The bush in Hebrew means ‘the thorny bush’1. That is why the Jews see in it a symbol of Israel, surrounded by thorns and troubles2. This line of thought has been also adopted by some of the early fathers of the Church. The scholar Tertullian3, as well as St. Hillary Bishop of Poitier4 see in the bush a reference to the Church burning, yet not consumed by the fire of oppression. St. Hippolytus the Roman5 says that God speaks through His saints in the Church, as though in the burning bush. It is as though the prophet Moses saw in the burning bush the militant Church of the Lord Christ surrounded by thorns but it is kindled with the fire of the Spirit of God; therefore, it is not consumed. That was the ministry to which he had been called. B- St. Augustine believes that it refers to the glory of God that dwelt in the Jewish people; yet, it did not abolish the hardness of their hearts filled with thorns6. C- St. Clement of Alexandria7 sees in the bush a revelation of the virgin birth. The Lord Christ indeed has been born from the Virgin; yet, by His birth her virginity was not corrupted. That is also what St. Gregory Bishop of Nyssa meant by saying that the light of Divinity that shone from her on human life through giving birth to the Lord Christ did not consume the burning bush. Therefore, the flower of 1 Philo. Vita Mos. 1.12.65, St. Clem. Alex., Paed 2.9.75. 2 Midrash Rabbah. Exode. 2.5,Philo Vita Mos. 1.12.65. 3 Ad Gnost. 4 Tract. Myst. 1:30. 5 Ben Mos. 6 N.P.N.F., Vol 1, 229 [N]. 7 Adu, Anthropom 26 P.G. 76.1229/A. 31 virginity in her did not wither by her delivery of the divine Child1. Theodorus also adopted the same view2. D- St. Cyril of Alexandria3 believes that the burning bush carried the secret of the Divine incarnation; the Godhead united with humanity without devouring it. The prophet Moses could not have started his salvation mission unless he felt the shadow of the divine incarnation and recognized the incarnate “Divine Word” as a friend of humanity, as one of us, Who lived among us, carried our body and humanity to get us to enter His divine glories. St. Gregory of Nyssa says that the light did not shine from a celestial star but from an earthly bush; nevertheless, it surpassed in splendor all heavenly lights. At the same time, it aimed to let nobody think that it comes from an imaginary object or deny His incarnation4. E- Finally, St. John Chrysostom sees in the burning bush a living image of the resurrection of the Lord Christ, who carried a real body and actually died but was not permanently captured by death5. It is worth mentioning here what St. Jerome wrote to Apiphaeus, the priest of Bactica, Spain, to comfort him for his loss of eyesight asking him not to grieve because of being deprived of bodily eyes that we share with ants, flying insects and reptiles. He also asks him to rejoice for having the kind of eyes mentioned in the Song of Songs, by which he beholds God, referred to by the prophet Moses when he said, “I will now turn aside to see this great sight” (Exod. 3.3) 6 Note that the Book says, “The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush” (Exod. 3.2). The word ‘angel’ here designates a Messenger and refers to the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son sent by God the Father to reveal this work and send the prophet Moses. If it were an angel, not the Second Person, it would not have been said, “God called him from the midst of the bush ... Then said, ‘I am the God of your father - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’, and Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exod. 3.4-6). Some fathers believe that God the Father cannot be seen. It is His Word that was declared in the burning bush, that God Himself would come incarnated at the end of time to “tell” about the Father. 2- Taking the sandals off The Lord said to Moses, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Exod. 3.5). Discussing the holiness of the altar7, we said that till this day we enter into the altar barefooted, according to God’s commandment to the prophet Moses. Taking the shoes off refers to the feeling of our unworthiness, even for standing in this holy place, where the sacrifice, that angels yearn to behold, is offered. This action has, according to the fathers, several and deep other significations, for example: A- In the old days, shoes were made up of dead animal skin. By this commandment, it is as though God requests from us to take off our love for the dead worldly matters, so as to attach ourselves to the eternal heavenly until we encounter 1 Vita Mos2.21. 2 N.P.N.F, Vol 1 229/N. 3 In Exode. 4 Vita Mos. 2:20. 5 1 Cor. Hom. 38. 6 Ep. 76:2. 7 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. The Church, the House of God. 1979. 32 Him. This is a view adopted by the scholar Origen and also by many Church fathers. St. Augustine says that there is no holier ground than the Church of God. Therefore, let us stand in it barefooted, namely, reject the dead works1. Moreover, St. Ambrose says that Moses, as a symbol of the people, was commanded by the Lord to take off his sandals to set the steps of his feet and of his spirit free of the shackles and bonds of the body, to walk in the way of the Spirit2.16 St. Gregory Nazianzen says that whoever approaches the holy ground of God’s sanctuary may take his sandals off, as Moses did so as not to enter there with something dead and would have nothing between him and God. As to him, who intends to flee from Egypt (love of the world, and things related to it), let him put them on for the sake of his safety, lest the numerous serpents and scorpions found there should “bruise his heel” (Gen. 3.15). On the contrary, let him, as commanded, “trample on them” (Luke 10.19) 3.17 B-The skin from which these sandals are made, according to the scholar Origen, is also used to make drums. The reference here is to refrain from using the drums, namely, love of appearances in our worship. However, through the spiritual strife filled with humility, the soul would enter into the divine sanctuaries to encounter God. C- The scholar Origen believes also that taking the sandals off is related to what is written in the Old Testament; that is, if a man refused to take his brother’s widow in marriage, according to God’s commandment, to bare seed for his dead brother, the widow would come to him in the presence of the elders and remove his sandals from his feet. Then, his house shall be called, “The house of him who had his sandals removed” (Deut. 25.5-10). Therefore, by taking his sandals off, Moses declared that he is not the Groom of the Church. Likewise, every time the Bishop, the Priest, or the deacon takes his footwear off, as he enters the altar, he is acknowledging his real status: that he is not the true groom of the Church but he is just the Groom’s friend and servant. St. Ambrose adopts that same view as the scholar Origen of Alexandria, as he says that Moses was not the groom; that is why, he was told to take his sandals off, as did Joshua (Josh. 5.16), so that the similarity of his name to that of ‘Jesus’, would not lead him to think of himself as the groom of the Church. No one is the Groom except the Lord Christ of Whom St. John the Baptist says, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom” (John 3.29). All those people took their sandals off. On the contrary, as for the Lord Christ, His sandals cannot be taken off, “Whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose” (John 1.27) 4. D- St. Gregory Bishop of Nyssa related the taking off of the sandals made of animal skin to the two tunics of skin worn by Adam and Eve (Gen. 3.21), after their fall into rebellion saying that that light (of the burning bush) teaches us, how we should stand before the True Light. However, the feet with sandals on cannot be lifted up to a height, from which they may behold the truth. Therefore, we should take off the dead earthly cover from the feet of our souls, that had been put at the beginning, around our nature, as we were bared through our rebellion against the Divine Will. Then, we may acquire the knowledge of truth that proclaims itself to us, and realize 1 St. Augustine. Sermons on N.T. Lessons, Sermon 52:7. 2 St. Ambrose. Commentary on the Gospel of Luke. Also in his speech about Repentance 2.11, he says that we also should free our souls’ feet from the bonds of the body and purify our steps of the fetters of this world. 3 Greg. Naz. Second Oration on Easten, 19. 4 St. Ambrose. Of the Christian Faith. 3:10. 33 the perfection of knowledge of the existing things (the truth), by purifying our thoughts of the non-existing ones (the evil or untruth) 1. The teaching of St. Gregory on the “tunics of skin”, occupied a prominent place in his writings, as his saying for instance that the circumcision means casting off the dead skin that we got on as we were expelled out of the life of exalted nature after our rebellion2. That is why, Baptism, according to him, is taking off that tunic of skin surrounding our nature; that is to say, casting off the works of the old man, who proclaims our death and our lusts that entered into us, after we had been the image of God3. 3- Calling Moses for ministry Through the burning bush, while standing bare-footed, Moses was called to minister to the people of God. Here it is worth noticing: A- Moses saw that, although the bush was full of thorns, it was not consumed by the flames. He may have seen in this, the fiery work of God, who uses us despite being full of thorns, kindles our hearts and works through us despite all our weaknesses. St. Ambrose says, “Why should we despair? God, who speaks in man, spoke in the burning bush, full of thorns! He did not despise the bush! He shines in my thorns4! He who talks is indeed a “Consuming Fire”; and the call came from the divine fire; thus, it does not harm Moses but supports and kindles him, as the fiery Holy Spirit did to the disciples, burning their weaknesses and granting them the power of the new life of preaching (Matt. 3.11; Acts 2). B- When God called Moses, He did not talk to him about his qualifications and human capabilities. Conversely, He talked about Himself and the Divine means He is granting him, saying, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exod. 3.6). These are words that came out with authority and fiery power to the extent that “Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exod. 3.6). He also talked about taking upon Himself the plan of salvation, as He saw and knew the oppression of His people, knowing that He would come down to save them. As for the secret of Moses’ power, it was God’s promise, “I will certainly be with you” (Exod. 3.12). The same promise He gives to His prophets, apostles, and all those who work in His vine. He says to Joshua, son of Nun, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Josh. 1.5). To the prophet Jeremiah He confirms, “For I am with you to deliver you” (Jer. 1.8); and to His disciples He says, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28.20). 4- Moses trying to find excuses Moses tried to excuse himself from that mission saying, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt” (Exod. 3.11)? The weak nature of Moses, despite being a man of faith, led him to be reluctant to accept the call probably because of his initial failure, as he began his ministry depending only on his human power. He should not have said, “Who am I?” knowing that it was God Himself who was sending him and who was coming down to save. 1 Vita Mos. 2:22. 2 Beat. 8. P.G. 94. 1292 B. 3 The saint wrote much about the tunics of skin in many of his works such as:In Scrip PS 1.7 P.G. 44 2456 C Or. Cat. 8 P.G. 45.33 C, D De Virg. 12, 13 P.G. 46.373 D, 376 B Demel. Epis. P.G. 46.861 B. 4 St. Ambrose. Can. Versions 1.1 In Cant. 11 P.G. 44. 1004 D, 1005 C. 34 Moses persisted on finding excuses, sometimes raising questions and objections, like saying for example, “If they say to me ‘What is his name,’ what shall I say to them” (Exod. 3.13)? When God answered him, he went on to say, “But suppose they will not believe me…” (Exod. 4.1). Then, God responded by granting him the capability to perform signs, miracles, etc. When he tried to raise the problem of his personal weakness saying, “I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” (Exod. 4.10), God confirmed that He is the Creator of the mouth and the tongue, “Go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall say” (Exod. 4.12). Finding no more excuses, he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else you may send” (Exod. 4.13). Then, “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses” (Exod. 4.14), and He gave him his brother Aaron to share with him his ministry. Thus, when God calls us for ministry, He will not let us seek excuses, but will provide us with practical answers to all our questions, support every weakness we may have and complete every lack of our possibilities, as He is the hidden Shepherd of His holy flock. 5- God’s name Moses realized that it is God who speaks to him. When he asked about His name, God answered, “‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you…the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’” (Exod. 3.14-15). God’s answer carried two aspects: [1] That God is incomprehensible, and above any name: “I AM”. [2] He is God, mankind kin, especially a kin to His beloved, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The first name: “I AM WHO I AM: (AHIAH) (Yaweh) Philo, a Jew from Alexandria, believes that this name, “AHIA” (Yaweh), reveals two sides of God. The first is that He alone exists and all next to Him are as non-existing. While the second is that no name can express Him. In this He says to Moses, “Tell them first, that it is I who exists, in order to realize the difference between Him who exists and him who does not. Tell them as well that no name used is worthy of Him, to whom alone existence is referred1.” St. Augustine believes that this expression means that all temporary matters, if compared to God, would become ‘vain’2 or ‘nothing’ and that it proclaims God, being the first, unchanging and most exalted existence3. This expression reveals that God is Everlasting, with no past and no end. He is beyond time; that is to say, He is ‘Omnipresent’. In this ‘omnipresence’, or ‘actual eternity’, we find for ourselves a refuge to which we resort from all the troubles and abide in Him eternally4.26 Therefore, if God is the ‘Omnipresent’, anyone taking an opposing view is heading toward naught5. 1 Philo. Vita Mos. 1.14.75. 2 St. Augustine. On Ps. 144. 3 St. Augustine. The City of God. 12:2; Christian Doctrine. 1.32. Many church fathers interpreted this statement saying that God is far-fetched, and that if the whole creation were compared to Him it would be counted as unexisting (St. Jerome. Ep. 48:14). 4 St. Augustine. On Ps. 90. 5 St. Augustine. On Ps. 39. 35 In a speech for father Methodius on virginity and the greatness of Christian righteousness, he says, “For never has any one seen with his eyes the greatness or the form or the beauty of righteousness itself, or of understanding, or of peace; but there, in Him whose name is I AM, they are seen perfect and clear, as they are1.” The second name: “God of your fathers” In saying, “I am the God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob” (Exod. 3.15), and repeating it three times in His conversation with Moses, the first leader of the people (Exod. 3.6, 15, 16), God has captivated the hearts of the early church fathers. For example, St. Clement of Alexandria saw in these words a sign of the Divine - human friendship. Although God is the God of the whole world, of the heavenly and the earthly He relates Himself to His own friends. He does not wish to be a Lord or Master but a Friend. He talks to Moses “face to face as a man speaks to his friend” (Exod. 33.11) and asks him, “Present yourself to Me there” (Exod. 34.2). St. Aphrahat says, “The names of God are many and are venerable, … The great and honorable name of Godhead He withheld not from His righteous ones; even as, though He is the great King, without grudging He applied the great and honorable name of Kingship to men who are His creatures2.” Moreover, St. Augustine says that through His mercy, He connected His grace to mankind saying, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”, confirming that He is their God and that they are living with Him forever. He states that so that His children would understand that He is committing them by the power of love, to know how to seek His Face eternally, and as much as they can, to comprehend Him who is “I AM WHO I AM” 3. And now, by binding the two names together: “AHIA”, and “God of your fathers”, one can say that God, the Incomprehensible, the Unchangeable, and Who is beyond all time, reveals Himself to be recognize by mankind as their own God, Who fulfills all their needs. Therefore, no prophet has ever spoken of himself as something to be acquired. On the contrary, the Lord Christ is the “Word of God”, who in many occasions presents Himself, “I am”. He presents Himself as the Friend, the Bridegroom, the Firstborn Brother, the Savior, the Bread coming down from heaven, the living Fountain, the Resurrection, the Gate, the Way, the Truth and the Life. Finally, He says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega”, the Fulfiller of our whole life4. Finally, one notices that the Lord Christ used the second name to confirm the resurrection to the Sadducees saying, “The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matt. 22.31-32). Therefore, the living God is related to us, granting us life to stay forever with Him5. 6- The secret of the three days God commanded Moses to request together with the elders from Pharaoh, “Please, let us go three days journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God” (Exod. 3.18). The Lord commanded them to go into a three days journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to Him. While, Pharaoh instructed Moses and Aaron to offer these sacrifices in the land of Egypt. However, Moses responded, “It is 1 Methodius. The Banquet of the Ten Virgins. Disc. 8 Chap. 3. 2 Aphrahat. Demon. XVII of Christ the Son of God. Chap. 5. 3 On Ps. 110. 4 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. St. John Chrysostom. The Church Loves you. 5 St. Augustine. On the Gospel of St. John. Tr. 12:2. 36 not right to do so ... we will go three days journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He will command us” (Exod. 8.26-27). Finally, allowing them to go, he said to them, “You shall not go very far away” (Exod. 8.28). Why did Moses insist on going on the three-day journey? The way through which the people go to sacrifice to God is the Lord Christ Himself, who has risen on the third day, and through His resurrection, every worship and offering from us to the Father is received. There are long speeches about the secret of the three days by the scholar Origen of which we quote the following phrases: We should go out of Egypt and forsake the world, if we intend to serve Him! We should not do that physically but as far as our thoughts are concerned. It is not going by regular material ways but moving by faith. Listen to what St. John says in this concern, “Do not love the world or the things in the world... for all that is in the world -the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2.15-16). What does Moses say? “Let us go three days journey into the desert, and sacrifice to the Lord our God” (Exod. 5.3). What is that way, through which he would go for three days from Egypt to the place where he should sacrifice to the Lord His God? It is the Lord Himself who says, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14.6). Along that way, we should journey three days for “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10.9). These are the three days during which you go to reach the place to sacrifice to the Lord and to offer “The sacrifice of praise”. That is the secret meaning. But the behavioral (or ethical) one, which is more significant, is that we go out of Egypt to journey three days, when we are pure in body and spirit, according to the words of the apostle, “That you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearance” (1 Tim. 6.14). We go out of Egypt and journey for three days when we separate our mind, nature and senses from the things related to this world, to get attached to the commandments of God. We go out of Egypt and journey three days when we purify our actions, words and thoughts; as there are three chances for sin: through actions, words and thoughts1. The devil (Pharaoh) does not want us neither to advance nor to journey for three days (Exod. 8.28) because his intention is to deprive us of the enjoyment of the power of the Lord Christ resurrecting in us. On the other hand, he does not want us to journey in the Lord three days; that is to say, he does not want our actions, words and thoughts to get purified. He wants to have in us a place for him, if not through actions, let it be through the tongue, or at least through thought. The scholar Origen says that he wants to guarantee that they commit sins, if not through action, let it be through words, or at least through thinking. He does not want them to go very far away from him, for three whole days. He wants to have in us a minimum of one day, as he has in certain people two and in others all the three days. Therefore, blessed be he who separates from the devil the three whole days, who has not a single day for him2. By journeying three days, we enter into the knowledge of “Resurrection”, and our insight would be enlightened by the true knowledge. Then, if Pharaoh represents the devil “the ruler of the darkness of this age” (Eph. 6.12), he does not want you to 1 Origen. In Exode. Hom. 3:3. 2 Ibid. 37 leave the circle of this darkness to the light of knowledge. He wants you to remain in the darkness of the grave so as not to enjoy the grace of Resurrection. That is why, in his conversation with Moses, he admits his ignorance, namely, his darkness saying, “I do not know the Lord” (Exod. 5.2). The three days, namely, the resurrection with the Lord Christ, were experienced by Abraham, the father of the patriarchs, who journeyed three days before seeing the sign, then offered his son, a sacrifice of love to God (Gen. 22.4). What is that sign through which Abraham offers his only son Isaac, but that of the resurrection of the Crucified! That is why, the apostle Paul says about him, “accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead” (Heb. 11.19). He saw the resurrection of the Lord Christ; therefore, he offered his son Isaac believing that God is able to raise him from the dead (Heb. 11.19). 7- The mighty hand of God Every now and then, God confirms to Moses His ability to save saying, “I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go” (Exod. 3.20). Moreover, in their exodus, they would not go empty-handed but He would let them find favor in the eyes of the Egyptians “to lend them articles of silver, articles of Gold, and clothing” (Exod. 3.22). As a reference to the power of salvation in the believer’s life, he would not only have his soul sanctified but in his journey to the heavenly Canaan, he would carry with him several spoils: his inner energies, emotions, feelings and motives. He would have all what is inside him, all which was dedicated to evil and a cause for his death, sanctified and blessed. On the other hand, having been robbed and oppressed by the Egyptians, God would let them have favor in their proper eyes to give them by their own free will silver, gold and clothing1. The ultimate goal of this Divine work of salvation is, “I will bring you up... to a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exod. 3.17), where the simple children would find their strength and the adults attain their sustenance. Milk and honey are a reference to the life of fulfillment and spiritual pleasure. That is why those who got baptized in the early Church used to be offered milk to drink and honey to eat during the baptismal rites, as through Baptism, they get the right to enter into the promised heavenly Canaan2. 1 The scholar Tertullian, Against Marcian. 4.24, says that if God orders not to muzzle a laboring ox, He will not then leave the Hebrews deprived of their hire. 2 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. St. Cyril of Jerusalem.
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