What Does The Burning Bush Represent?

by Tony Warren

  "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.   And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." -Exodus 3:2-3

 

    Nearly everyone knows the exodus story of the Lord's appearance to Moses in the midst of the Burning Bush. At first glance, God's use of a burning bush to make His appearance may seem to be unimportant or inconsequential to the deliverance at hand, but we all know that God does nothing capriciously or without a purpose. It was not done simply to get Moses' attention, there is a very important spiritual message in the portrait of the fire. So what does the Burning Bush represent? The Lord purposefully chose to appear to Moses in the midst of a "Burning Bush" for a specific reason. It was to illustrate that there is a deeper spiritual truth in why this revelation came in the midst of this bush that we are told was not consumed by the fire. The Hebrew word translated bush is [ce'nah], and speaks of a thorn bush. It is from a root word meaning to prick, and thus by extension the bush is [ce'nah] or something thorny like a bramble or prickly shrub. We also know that it was a thorn bush by it being spoken of in the New Testament using the Greek word [ba'tos] (see Mark 12:26; Luke 6:44), which also means a thorn bush. So the question is, why did God choose to appear in this particular type of bush when sending Moses to deliver Israel from their bondage in Egypt? Is it because God is using this thorn bush as a type of His dwelling with God's people who are redeemed from the curse of the law? Obviously, the thorn bush symbolizes something, just as the Garden of Eden, the seven golden Candlesticks, or the four living creatures do. Everything that the Bible says the Lord dwells in the "midst" of has Spiritual significance. When we see God appearing in the midst of anything, it is to demonstrate His presence there for a reason, and that reason is not to alert us that God "actually is" that thing.

Proverbs 25:2

• "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter."

God often speaks in dark sentences, parables, proverbs, allegories, symbolisms, and cryptic imagery, in order that the kings (those who reign) might search out the matter and come to a deeper spiritual understanding of His truths. In this instance, I believe the thorn bush is a token or sign to signify that the people of God are under the curse of the law because of the fall. Yet they are not consumed by the fire of God's judgment because of the Angel (Messenger) of the Lord who dwells within the midst of it, that they are not consumed. The curse of God is represented by thorns and thistles, which are prickly or thorny bushes:

Genesis 3:17-18

• "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
• Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Thorns and thistles are not the original and natural fruit of the earth, but were part of the curse of God brought forth by the corruption of sin. Mankind is under this curse of God and is often pictured as the thorn in the flesh (Numbers 33:55; Jeremiah 4:3-4; Matthew 13:7) and bramble bushes that are the adversaries of the children of God. On the day of judgment, they will all be gathered together and burned as stubble. This is the imagery revealed in the vision of the thorn bush being on fire and yet not consumed by the fiery wrath of God. These men are characterized as thorns to illustrate this. Even as the wicked aggelos [aggelos] or messengers of Satan who buffeted and accosted the Apostle Paul were spoken of as thorns in the flesh (2nd Corinthians 12:7), the messengers of Satan sent to beat him. That is what the unsaved man is characterized as, torture to the children of God but ultimately just fuel for the fire.

But in Exodus, the Lord is about to illustrate the Covenant with Israel by freeing His people from bondage in Egypt (Hebrews 8:8-10), which is also a type of the redemptive work of Christ. And this is the perfect opportunity for God to reveal the mystery of how a consuming fire does not consume the thorn bush brought forth by the curse. Moses takes careful note of this God breathed phenomenon, and something particular sparks his curiosity.

Exodus 3:3

• "And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt."

The Burning Bush represents that redemptive process of the Chief Messenger freeing those in bondage because of the curse, through the substitutionary work of Christ in the midst of the flame. It is because He is there that the thorn bush is not being consumed. Note exactly why Moses was curious. It was because the bush was in the midst of the fire, and yet it was not burnt, destroyed, or consumed by the fire. He was so fascinated by this that he had to find out why the thorn bush is not consumed. And it was because of the Messenger of God in the midst of it. In reality, in this revelatory example, God wants us to observe, learn, and understand why the cursed bush was not consumed. And the mystery is revealed that it is because the Messenger of God dwelt within the midst of it. Grace reigns over the bush through the prophesied act of Christ being made a curse for us (Galatians 3:13; 2nd Corinthians 5:17-21). Therefore, though the fire of God blazed around the thorn bush that would normally and naturally be consumed, the phenomenon is seen that it was not consumed. And this is because of the efficacy of the work of Christ in becoming a curse for us. A glorious portrait of the mercies of God in Christ, the Messenger of the Covenant (Malachi 3:1) come to set Israel free from bondage. A miraculous vision of the promise of God fulfilled in the Messenger of God.

Exodus 3:4

• "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."

Moses turned to see this glorious vision, and what he saw was the glory of the gospel outlined in the imagery of the burning bush. And God calls out to him from its midst and explains that He is the Lord God and tells him that he stands on holy ground. Where does this ground receive its holiness? It is obviously from the same place that the burning bush does. From the Holy Messenger of God who dwells within its midst. And He proceeds to tell Moses that He has seen the affliction of His people in bondage, and has come to deliver them. Thus, the imagery of God, the Savior of man, by becoming the curse for His people, is complete. The message that we should take away from this is that, because of this Angel (Messenger) of the covenant (Malachi 3:1) in the midst of this thorn bush, it is not consumed by the fire.

Galatians 3:13

• "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"

Christ has redeemed Israel from the curse brought about by the fall. Because in being made a curse for us, He has ransomed us, having stood in our place (Matthew 20:28; 1st Timothy 2:6) hanging on a tree and taking upon Himself our sins, He suffered the wrath of God redeeming us from that curse. For it is written, cursed is anyone that hangs on a tree (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). And it is this Messenger of God that sends Moses, as an appointed vessel, to deliver this good will toward His people Israel. This Messenger of the thorn Bush is its redemption, the promised glory and good will of God toward men (Luke 2:14), whereby they are not consumed by the consuming fire of God.

Deuteronomy 33:16

• "And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren."

The goodwill of Him who dwelt within the Bush is toward God's people Israel (Matthew 1:21-23) ransomed, to the glory of God. What Moses saw was the miracle of the similitude of the work of Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, making the curse of no effect to His people. In other words, they are not burned up in God's consuming fire because He broke the curse of the law for them. The text of Exodus doesn't say the Bush spoke to Moses; it says God spoke from out of the midst of the bush. And I believe that it is the same portrait as when God speaks from out of the midst of the seven churches (Revelation 2:1), or out of the midst of the Holy Temple or from the midst of His Disciples. The same picture of Christ in the midst of His church.

Daniel 3:24-27 "Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them."

The servants of the Lord had no harm done to them by the fire because they had the Messenger of the Covenant dwell within the midst of them. It was only because the Son of God dwelt in the midst of them that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not consumed by the fire. And just as the Lord appearing in the midst of this fire illustrated that it was by His presence they are not consumed (Daniel 3:28), so our Lord appearing in the midst of the burning bush that was not consumed represents this same security of God's servants. Where Christ is in the midst of them, His people can never truly be harmed.

Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Wherever you find the elect, there you will find the Lord speaking from out of the midst of them. This is where we find the hidden wisdom of kings, those who reign, and have searched out and found (Proverbs 25:2) these hidden treasures. They do not learn that the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar wasn't hot enough to burn Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They glean that it was because in the midst of them dwelt their Lord and Savior. Therefore, they were not consumed by the fire. The same spiritual imagery of Exodus and what the burning bush represents in relation to Moses and the deliverance of Israel.

Some have raised an objection in declaring that the bush simply represented God. But while it is clearly biblical to say that we are likened to a thorn bush that God placed under the curse, is it really biblical to say that God is? Throughout the scriptures, the thorn or bramble is seen as representing wicked man by reason of the curse. Why would God paint a portrait of Himself as a thorn or bramble bush except as He is the redeemer of men from the curse? Comparing scripture with scripture, is God ever seen illustrated as a thorn bush in other places? Not at all. People may believe that the bush has God in view, but that is really not what the text actually says. It says the Angel (or more accurately Messenger) spoke "from the midst" of the burning bush, which was not consumed. And the [malak] or Messenger of God that appeared in the flame is the Lord Jesus, the holy and only reason that this bush was not consumed.

Exodus 15:7

• "And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble."

The fire of God is to consume the wicked as stubble or straw, and yet this thorn bush is not consumed. It would seem that God wants us to know this pertinent information to point us in the right direction so that we know what the burning bush represents. The portrait is imagery of a holy fire upon a thorn bush that is not consumed. As opposed to what would normally happen, a thorn bush utterly consumed as stubble (1st Corinthians 3:11-13). The imagery that Moses beheld is a thorn bush not consumed by fire, because of the work of the Messenger of the Lord that dwelt within its midst.

Exodus 3:2

• "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."

It doesn't say God was the thorn bush, because that would go against a myriad of scriptures that prefigure the thorn bush as that which is from the curse. What struck Moses was the curious fact that though the thorn bush appeared burning, it was not consumed. And that is the lesson that God is teaching. That the bush that God all throughout scripture says represents the curse and the wicked and that must be burned as stubble in the judgment of God, is here with God and is not consumed by the fire. Every image God creates in the Bible has some deeper spiritual truth. And there is a reason that God appears to Moses to send Him as a type of Christ to deliver Israel from bondage. The good reason that the Messenger of God appears in the "midst" of this thorn Bush, and the good reason we are specifically told that the bush is not consumed. The people whom God has redeemed from the curse are therefore immune to the consuming fire of the judgment of God. Which is the fate of the wicked of the world who are represented by thorns, and who are without a redeemer.

Hebrews 6:8

• "But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
• But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak."

All the world is unsaved, and they are pictured as the thorn bush that will burn in the fire, while we are convinced of better things that accompany salvation through Christ. See also the example of Christ equating the unsaved to a thorn bush in the parables he taught.

Luke 6:44-45

• "For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
• A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

Again, God is equating the unsaved man under the curse of God, who brings forth bad fruit or works, to a thorn bush. This is the same type of bush that the Messenger of God spoke from, and yet it wasn't consumed by the fire. And so it would necessarily follow that that bush represented the redeemed of the earth through Christ. And because of this Covenanted work of redemption, they are not consumed by the fire.

Exodus 3:3

• "And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt."

We can't help but consider that this reads very much like the imagery we see in Revelation chapter one, where John turned to see another vision of a great voice that spoke to him from the midst of the Seven Golden Candlesticks (representing the seven churches). When John turned, he also saw our redeemer, Lord, and Savior. He saw the exact same redemption illustrated in very different imagery.

Revelation 1:12-13

• "And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
• And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle."

Like Moses, John turned and saw Christ, the Messenger of the Covenant. And here the imagery is that His eyes were as a flame of fire, and His feet were like fine brass that burned in a furnace. Again, the same symbolism of redemption, the refining of the election in the fire where they are purged from sin and not harmed. When John turned he saw Christ speaking from out of the midst of the Candlesticks (Revelation 1:20). Identical to when Moses turned, and there was the Messenger speaking out of the midst of the burning bush, which represented the church that was not consumed by the fire. Same scenario, same revelation, same portrait of Christ as the Messenger of the Covenant, the only deliverer of the Israel of God. The point is that it is the Messenger of the Covenant, as a refiner's fire, who prevents the church from being consumed.

Malachi 3:1-2

• "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
• But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:"

Christ is the Messenger of the Covenant who is as a refiner's fire to purge the people of sin, deliver them from the curse, that they may dwell in the presence of the Lord and not be consumed. And that is the same "context" that we see in Exodus, of God sending Moses as a type of Christ (Acts 7:37-38) to set Israel free from Egypt. It is the representation of the redemption of His people. This only further serves to support the biblical conclusion, because the redemption of His covenanted people is the whole point of the story of the burning bush.

Exodus 3:8

• "And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites."

The true "Promised" land was spiritual, and was a kingdom wherein its people are protected from the all-consuming fire, which is God's judgment. The Bible is replete with examples of the aspect of God as the all-consuming fire (Exodus 24:17; Deuteronomy 4:24; Deuteronomy 9:3 and Hebrews 12:29). Moses is sent to be the type, the shadow that prefigures what would be fulfilled in Christ, setting the people of Israel free from spiritual bondage brought about by the curse. He did so by becoming sin for His chosen people, suffering the fiery wrath of God in their stead, and being raised again from the dead without seeing corruption, and without being consumed by that fiery judgment of Hell.

Matthew 5:22

• "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."

The final judgment of Hell is pictured as the fire of God's wrath that will burn up the wicked, but that will not burn the elect. Even as when speaking of the Covenant with Israel, God says they are a people whom the fire will not kindle upon nor burn. It will not consume or eat them up.

Isaiah 43:1-3

• "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
• When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
• For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee."

Thus, by His Covenant with Israel, through His righteousness alone, the fire will not consume His people. All those who are under the Covenant of Christ have died in Christ and were raised up with Him, unconsumed and made pure through the fire (Zechariah 13:9; 1st Corinthians 3:15-16). Therefore, the servants of God live with Christ in the midst and are not under the curse of death. Even as Christ told the Sadducees when they asked about the Resurrection:

Mark 12:26-27

• "And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
• He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err."

This language of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob references the Covenant of God with His people. God is practically telling us point-blank that the episode of Moses and the Burning Bush symbolized our redemption in Christ, the Messenger of the Covenant. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not dead; they live, and it is because of the work of Christ that death has no power over them. They are free from the penalty of death, brought forth by the curse. The wages of sin is death, which is symbolized by the all-consuming fire of God. But the gift of God is Christ, who was made the curse for us.

Romans 6:23

• "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Therefore, God spoke to Moses from the bush, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob live because of the Messenger of the Covenant. And as with all God's sons and daughters, they are therefore not consumed by the fire.

Acts 7:35

• "This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush."

The Messenger of God appeared to Moses in that Bush, and by His hand was sent to deliver Israel out of bondage. And in this example, we have a better understanding of how, in the midst of the fire, this bush is not consumed. How this is because of the Messenger of the Covenant who speaks from the midst of them. It is because He is the only one who could have brought them through the fire unharmed, and refined them from the dross of sin even as Gold and Silver is made pure.

In conclusion, we see in this great image how the burning bush symbolizes the glory of God in His goodwill toward men. The sign of the bush is both as mysterious and as awe-inspiring to us today, as it was to God's servant Moses thousands of years ago. A wonderful reminder to God's faithful people that the curse of the law was satisfied for us in the broken body of Christ hanging on that tree at Calvary. How, by being made a curse for us, His paying the wages of it, and His resurrection from the wages of sin, He secured eternal life not only for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but for all God's chosen people. The burning bush is a sign of God's eternal promise and presence within the midst of God's chosen people who are redeemed from the curse of the law. The methodology of God's people being brought into communion with God through this Messenger in the midst of the fire.

May our righteous father grant that we might, as his Prophet Moses, turn to behold the magnificence and glory of God in the similitude of the burning bush. May we stand in Awe of the mercies of the most Holy God, and in gratitude and appreciation for His goodwill, mercy, and pleasure, by which we are not consumed. And may we come to experience the real satisfaction of this intimate relationship between the Messenger of the Covenant and those redeemed by Him. In Christ's name,

Amen!

Peace,

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Copyright ©2012 Tony Warren
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Created 4/06/12 / Last Modified 4/15/12
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