Scriptures: Exodus 3 v 1 - 6: "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy 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."
When Moses was born Satan knew that a powerful Deliverer, was due to arrive on the scene because God always responded when His chosen people cried out to Him. Satan was not sure exactly when, or even who, would be sent by God to rescue the Jews so he had all the newborn sons of the Israelites killed under Pharoah's command.
To save new born baby Moses' life, his mother floated him down the Nile River in a reed basket where he was discovered by Pharoah's daughter who adopted him and brought him to live with her in the palace. The Lord had now ensured that Pharoah could not touch His powerful Deliverer, who still had to grow into the man who could defeat Pharoah.
As Moses became a man he knew he was a Jew and so did the new Pharoah, whose father had died. Moses aged 40 went among the Jews to reunite with them, but killed an Egyptian who was abusing, whipping, his brethren, and then fled into Midian where he hid for many years.
He was 80 years old when the angel (or spirit) of the Lord appeared to him in a bush that burned with fire yet was not consumed by it. God called to him out of the bush and told him to take off his shoes because he stood on holy ground. He told Moses He was appointing him to deliver the oppressed Jews from the hard bondage of Egypt and Pharoah.
Moses asked God by what name He should be called. And God said tell them I AM has sent you. Tell the elders of Israel that you are sent to deliver them out of the hand of Pharoah into the Promised Land of Israel. He will oppose you but I will do judgments upon him and all Israel will see My power and have faith to trust Me.
In our lives we may not have a Burning Bush experience but we have had our fair share of hard times from Pharoah-like people who oppressed us. We have tried many ways to get out from under by our own strength and found we have only exchanged one taskmaster for a worse one. If we eventually cry out to God He sends the One who appeared to Moses in the Bush to show us the way of salvation. Jesus, the Son of God, is our Deliverer.
He first removes the burden of sin that keeps us indebted to Satan and this world system. When your burden of debt is mounting, sin lies at the door. When you truly repent of your sins Jesus will show you the way out of debt because the root cause, SIN, will be wiped out by His Blood.
The sin of the world and its governments is increasing and so is world debt. They have had umpteen crisis meetings over the economic recession brought about by the Russian war against Ukraine. It has brought about a huge energy crisis causing the price of fuel to rise rapidly. There is also food scarcity to poor African nations because Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports, so that ships laden with wheat are unable to leave.
The one thing government leaders and officials need to do, but will not do, is submit to God our Saviour in true repentance and ask forgiveness for the laws they have made which contradict His Word. He will abundantly pardon and bless those nations which will prosper and be secure from harm. On the other hand, any nation that tries to undo pacts that governments have made with Satan will be stigmatized.
The judges in the USA who recently overturned Roe v Wade abortion laws, are being harassed by angry protesters outside their homes, and even at restaurants. Russia is also warning the West of dire consequences, like nuclear warfare, for helping Ukraine oppose their determination to conquer them. The USA has been criticized for new programs on what to do in a nuclear war!
Individually we can find the strait (meaning disciplined and under self-control) and narrow (meaning truly moral and righteous) way that leads to life. That means following in the footprints of Jesus.
The same Jesus who appeared in the Burning Bush and led millions of Israelites through a wilderness by opening the Red Sea for them and closing it over Pharoah and the Egyptians who were pursuing them.
1 Corinthians 10 v 1 5: "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."
The narrow way is a bit difficult at first as you learn to walk with humility, patience and self-control. As you get deeper in, your faith grows and you find you have much lighter burdens to carry. Your hands are free to do what needs doing for Jesus, the I AM, the Burning Bush, in your life.
Our Promised Land is eternal life in Heaven in the continual presence of the Almighty where there is no sin, sorrow, sickness or death. It takes discipline, obedience and faith to walk through the wilderness of this world, but we are not alone, our Deliverer, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, will never leave us.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, it is my joy to make the knowledge of You spread far and wide so others may know You and be filled with wonder. That they would turn their lives around to follow Jesus the great I AM to the Promised Land of Heaven. In Jesus' name. Amen.