The Story

Moses lived with the Midianites for forty years, and tended the sheep for the priest of Midian. He led the sheep to the green spots among the mountains and came to Horeb, the central group of mountains, and to Mount Sinai. The mountains are very bare and rocky, and the valleys are sandy. There are thorny desert shrubs and trees, thorny acacias with feathery leaves and pretty yellow flowers. One day as Moses led the sheep, he stopped at a strange sight. A fire was burning in a desert bush, but the bush was not burned. When Moses stopped to see, the Lord spoke to him from the bush and told him to take off his shoes for it was holy ground. The Lord told Moses that He would send him to bring his people out of Egypt, where they were so unhappy, to the land of Canaan, which He had promised to Abraham and Jacob. Could Moses do it? His brother Aaron would help him, and the Lord would be with them and give them power. At first Pharaoh would not be willing, but finally he would let them go and the Egyptians would give them presents and be glad to have them leave.

Can you show me on the map the rough mountain region where Moses tended the sheep of Jethro? The mountains of this Sinai Peninsula are very bare and rocky, stained often with bright and dark colors. Between the mountains are valleys with sandy or gravelly bottoms, usually dry, but with torrents of water in the rainy season. Desert plants grow here and there, and thorny shrubs and trees, especially acacias with feathery leaves and yellow flowers. Here and there among the mountains is a spring of water with green grass and waving palms.

The ninetieth Psalm, "A prayer of Moses the man of God," seems to reflect the grand and lonely surroundings of this shepherd life, and suggests how Moses learned among these mountains the great power of God. "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."

In the middle of the mountains was the group called Horeb, and among these Mount Sinai. Moses came to this mountain as he fed the sheep. He saw a flame burning in one of the desert brambles, perhaps a thorny acacia. (A. 6832) Yet it was not a common flame, for the bush was not consumed. The Lord spoke to Moses, and told him to put off his shoes, for it was holy ground. And then the Lord told Moses that he should lead the children of Israel out of Egypt to the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, with plenty of pasture for the cattle and flowers for the bees.

The Canaanites were the lowlanders, living by the sea coast and by the Jordan; the Amorites were the highlanders of the mountain districts. The Hittites were remnants of an ancient people, living in Hebron and in other old towns. The Perizzites and Hivites were villagers of the middle country, and the Jebusites lived in Jebus which was afterward Jerusalem. The land of these people had been promised to Abraham and to Jacob, and it should be given to their children.

It would be a great work to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Do you wonder that Moses was afraid? The Lord encouraged him in several ways. First, He told Moses who He was; the one God who is of Himself and who gives life to all things. This is the meaning of the name I AM, and of the name JEHOVAH, by which the Lord taught the children of Israel to know Him. The people would listen, and in time the Egyptians would let them go, and would be so glad to have them gone that they would give them presents. "Borrow," in verse 22, means to ask as a present.

Still Moses was afraid, and the Lord gave him three signs by which he could show that the Lord's power was with him. Still he hesitated, for he was slow of speech; and the Lord said that Moses’ brother Aaron should be with him, and that Aaron should be the one to speak; he was already on the way to meet Moses. So Moses went, and his shepherd's staff had a new power given it by the Lord; we shall read of the rod many times in the story.

1. To what tribe did Moses and Aaron belong? (Exod. 2:1; 4:14)

2. Whose sheep did Moses keep? Among what mountains did he lead them?

3. How did the Lord appear to Moses as he led the sheep? What did He send him to do?

4. What signs did the Lord give Moses, by which to prove that He had sent him?

5. Who was to be with Moses to help him?

Spiritual Study

Moses will always stand to us for the Divine law, the commandments and in general the Word, which Moses was the instrument of giving to the people from the Lord. Moses at the palace, kindly treated by the Egyptians, represents the Word preserved by worldly people for its natural wisdom and beauty, until it is seen to condemn the evil of their life. (A. 6570)

The Midianites, who had received Joseph from his brethren, represent simple gentile people more kindly and receptive of the Lord than the learned in the church, represented by the brethren. (A. 4756) The Midianites receiving Moses represent again those in simple charity who are more willing to hear and obey the Lord's Word than the learned. The Word strengthens their good affections, as Moses watered and kept the flock. (A. 6773-6781) What we learn of the kind reception of Moses by the Midianites prepares us for their friendliness to Israel on their journey and for the help received by Moses from his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, in his task of leading the people. (Exod. 18; Num. 10:29-32)

It is interesting to think of Moses' shepherd life among the mountains of Sinai as preparation for his leading the people. David was called from leading the flock to be king. (Ps. 78:70-71) The stern strength of the cliffs of Sinai pictured the inevitability of law. We think of this when we hear the commandments spoken from the mountain, the people standing in the plain beneath the cliff. The ninetieth Psalm, "A prayer of Moses, the man of God," seems to reflect the grand and lonely surroundings of this shepherd life, and suggests how Moses learned among these mountains the great power of God. "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."

When did the Lord in the Gospel refer to this story of Moses at the bush? What lesson did He teach from the story?

What is expressed by putting off the shoes from the feet in the Lord's presence? (A. 6844)

Shrubs and little trees of the desert several times in Scripture represent a little knowledge of the Lord which we may have in states of trial, also simple truths of the letter of the Word. This is the meaning of the shrub in the story of Ishmael (Gen. 21:15), and of Elijah (1 Kings 19:4). A fire burning in the bush represents a sense of the Lord's love in the letter of His Word, and in this there is promise of deliverance from all bondage of evil and a promise of the blessings of heaven. (A. 6832)

Read an interesting account of the name Shaddai, translated in our Bible "Almighty." (A. 1992)

Moses' hesitation to go on his mission and to face the king of Egypt pictures well our doubt whether the Divine Word is able to face the evils of the world and to bring deliverance. The power of the Lord is in it to do this work. Aaron, who should be a help in speaking for Moses, represents doctrine interpreting the Lord's message. (A. 6998)

The three signs given to Moses are warnings of three degrees of harm into which we shall come if we will not believe and hear (obey) the Lord's Word. The subtle and insinuating serpent, as in Eden, represents the enjoyments and deceptive appearances of the senses. Cast on the ground unrestrained, the serpent is dangerous; taken firmly in hand, in the strength of the Lord's commandments, the same sensual nature is a support to our higher life. This is a proof of the Lord's presence in His Word which we all may have. The leprous hand with its dead skin represents forms of conduct and worship with nothing living in them. The hand is healed when faith in the Lord and His Word makes the conduct and worship genuinely living. The water made blood represents the utter and hopeless perversion of all that is good and true in the character, if we persist in disbelief and disobedience to the Lord's Word. In this last sign there is no changing back again. (A. 6949, 6963, 6977)

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