The Burning Bush
Passage: Exodus 3:1-15
Moses had fled Egypt and spent forty years as a shepherd in Midian (Acts 7:30).
Overview
God spoke from a burning bush, called Moses to rescue Israel, and revealed his name: I AM THAT I AM.
Going deeper
God sees, hears and knows his people's suffering (v7). Moses' objections are answered with God's presence: 'Certainly I will be with thee.'
Key verses (KJV)
- Exodus 3:5 Put off thy shoes... the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
- Exodus 3:12 Certainly I will be with thee.
- Exodus 3:14 I AM THAT I AM.
From the commentaries
5. put off thy shoes—The direction was in conformity with a usage which was well known to Moses, for the Egyptian priests observed it in their temples, and it is observed in all Eastern countries where the people take off their shoes or sandals, as we do our hats. But the Eastern idea is not precisely the same as the Western. With us, the removal of the hat is an expression of reverence for the place we enter, or rather of Him who is worshipped there. With them the removal of the shoes is a confession of personal defilement and conscious unworthiness to stand in the presence of unspotted holiness.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
Verse 5 Put off thy shoes - It is likely that from this circumstance all the eastern nations have agreed to perform all the acts of their religious worship barefooted. All the Mohammedans, Brahmins, and Parsees do so still. The Jews were remarked for this in the time of Juvenal; hence he speaks of their performing their sacred rites barefooted; Sat. vi., ver. 158: Observant ubi festa mero pede sabbata reges. The ancient Greeks did the same. Jamblichus, in the life of Pythagoras, tells us that this was one of his maxims, Ανυποδητος θυε και προσκυνει, Offer sacrifice and worship with your shoes off. And Solinus asserts that no person was permitted to enter into the temple of Diana, in Crete, t
Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke's Commentary (1810-1826)
Application
- What does God's name teach you?
- What excuses do you give God?
- Where is 'holy ground' in your life?