Exodus 3:2-5
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. 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. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 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. Moses’ call in every sermon we have ever heard was his transition from the land of Egypt to his God-ordained purpose. However, do we ever question, why his call was not as sudden as he left Egypt? Many define the fact that God is always speaking but our inability to hear him due to our constant divided attention to the distractions that surround us, However, would it be fair to contradict this phenomenon? Let us dive into a new perspective to be derived from the encounter of Moses.
As read in the verse above, we can to this point say that rather, God is seeking to get our attention before He speaks. From the beginning of the chapter, the Word makes us understand that Moses was at the mountain of God(verse 1). The definition of Horeb in this context, pertains to the fact that this destination was a place God dwelled. This is an instance also common in the experience of Jacob, at Luz, later Bethel(Genesis 28:10-19). Further, we read that the angel of the Lord appeared unto him a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush that was not consumed. What happens next is an intentional decision of Moses to turn aside to see exactly what was happening, namely why the bush was not burning. It must have been an usual sight, as a matter of fact it is, to see a bush caught up in fire, and what to expect is the bush then metamorphosing into ashes. It was not so, in this occasion,
Live consciously aware of your surrounding, but mostly be sensitive of where you are. Position yourself to know and to hear God.
but rather the bush was not consumed. Moses made the decision to turn around to see what was happening, being an experience he never had. As the verse described, when God saw Moses’ posture, ready to see what was happening, it was then the Almighty called unto Him. It is the glory of God to hide and the glory of kings to seek and find. God makes himself available to them that diligently seek Him, you cannot stumble upon God, you do not mistakenly know Him. This is not a post about perfect men seeking God, but both faithful and sinful seeking to know God’s heart. Remember, Moses had fled Egypt after committing murder, probably he was trying to put everything behind him and start afresh. But God had a greater plan. Ofcourse God, may reveal himself in the most carious of situations, as He met Paul( Acts 9), the Samaritan woman at the well, these men and women who had such encounters with the Most did not take God lightly. Paul as we know and many of the disciples suffered much for His name’s sake based on their encounter with Him. This affirms as the bible says, whoever has known Him does not keep on sinning. A true encounter with God brings a transformation that stays and encourages one to hunger for more of Him.
The condition conducive for the voice of God
Starting this platform, the goal and aim was to let Jesus be seen and heard. As a vessel the burden of carrying the presence and power of God required a level of discipline, to be able to hear the Lord speak. I did not want this platform to be the regular but the extraordinary, many at times as believers we have recognized that we do not carry the level of power as was seen through the disciples. 2Corinthians 6:4-8, Paul gives the accreditation of one bearing the burden of God. He entails forth, we give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings, by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness.
Paul gives an entire list of characters one should uphold carrying on the work of God. These are also required to endure and to build in hosting the presence of God for exploits.
