"Trees" - Lesson 2

Overview

The God Who Draws Near: The Burning Bush

God is not a distant watchmaker who wound up creation and walked away. Deism imagines a God uninvolved with His world, but Scripture reveals the opposite: a God who steps into history to make Himself known. Paul declared in Athens that God arranged the times and places of human life "so that they would search for God… though indeed he is not far from each one of us" Acts 17:26-27. He comes to us through His means of grace—His Word preached and written, Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion—and supremely in His Son. "In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" Colossians 2:9; the Word became flesh and has made the Father known John 1:1-18.

Long before Bethlehem, God revealed Himself at a small tree—a bush. Israel had grown numerous in Egypt, but a new pharaoh enslaved them and ordered the slaughter of their sons Exodus 1. Into this misery God spoke. As Moses tended sheep at Horeb, "the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush" that burned without being consumed Exodus 3:1-7. The text moves seamlessly between "the angel of the LORD" and "God" and "the LORD"—the same pattern we see when the angel of the LORD speaks to Hagar as God Himself Genesis 16:7-13 and when the commander of the LORD's army receives Joshua's worship on holy ground Joshua 5:13-15. These are pre-incarnate appearances of the eternal Son, the Messenger sent from the Father.

Throughout the church's history, the burning bush has been treasured as a picture of the Incarnation. That which was of the earth—a humble bush—was filled with the fire of divinity, yet not destroyed. So also, when the Son of God took our human nature, He did not consume it; He united it to Himself. He "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant," and humbled Himself to death on a cross Philippians 2:5-8. This was no abstract gesture but our redemption: because He shared our flesh and blood, He could destroy through death the one who has the power of death Hebrews 2:14-17, and "he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree" 1 Peter 2:24.

The pastoral comfort is profound. The God who saw Israel's affliction, heard their cry, and came down to deliver them is the same God who has come down for you. He is not aloof. He chooses small and unlikely things—a bush, a manger, bread and wine, ordinary water joined to His Word—to bring His saving presence near. When you feel forgotten in your own Egypt, remember the little tree that burned and was not consumed, and remember the One it foreshadowed, who still says to His people, "I have come down to deliver."

Transcript

Welcome back to this class, simply entitled Trees. This is the second session in this series. 2s

Let's begin with a word of prayer. 10s

Lord Jesus Christ, who in loving kindness came down from heaven to speak to your servant 14s

Moses about your love for your people Israel. Grant that we who have been united to your 20s

flesh in holy baptism may be kept in your love until we reach the heavenly homeland. 27s

For you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit one God now and forever. 34s

Amen. 41s

Our heavenly gardener, God Almighty, plans trees for the good of his people and that's what 44s

we're studying in these weeks together in this class on trees. Some of the trees that 50s

God plans for the good of his people. Last week we studied the two trees in association 57s

with the Garden of Eden. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. 64s

Remember God had said you can eat of any tree of the garden, save one, the tree of the 69s

knowledge of good and evil. So we studied those trees last week and we saw that as Satan 74s

once overcame by a tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he was likewise overcome 82s

by a tree the cross. So let's continue our study today on trees. Many people hold a belief 90s

that's called deism, deism. Deism is a false belief. A comparison is made in the understanding 102s

of deism to a watchmaker and God is compared to a watchmaker who crafts and makes a watch and 111s

then simply lets it go. Let's it run. Stands back and looks distant, uninvolved. That is not 121s

the God that we read about in Holy Scripture. For God is not one who is distant. God is 135s

not one who is aloof and not involved in creation. No, God is indeed interacting with creation. 142s

He wants creation to understand who He is, intimately involved with creation. So the God of Scripture, 153s

God Almighty is the opposite of the understanding of deism. God created the world to interact with it 165s

to make Himself known. Let's turn please to Acts the 17th chapter, Acts chapter 17, and we will 175s

pick up in verse 26, Acts 17, beginning with verse 26. From one ancestor he made all nations to 187s

inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the 200s

places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grow up for Him and 207s

find Him. Though indeed He is not far from each one of us. God makes Himself known through the 214s

means of grace. The word written and preached, holy baptism and holy communion. As we study the word of 226s

God, the word that we hear is God's word. It's God's voice. As the sermon is proclaimed, faithful to 235s

Holy Scripture, what we hear is indeed the truth of God. We're splashed in the promises of the 244s

victory that has been won through the cross and the empty tomb. As God makes His decision about us in 252s

baptism, He calls us His own and says, I'm never, ever letting you go. It's that last judgment in 260s

miniature in holy communion. We receive the very body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ 267s

truly present in the bread and the wine for the forgiveness of sin. God makes Himself known to us in 276s

the means of grace. The ultimate revelation of the Lord of God is Jesus Christ. The ultimate 284s

revelation of God is Jesus. Let's go to Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2 verse 9. 297s

For in Him, speaking of Jesus, for in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. John the first 315s

chapter. John chapter 1, we'll start right with verse 1. In the beginning was the word and the word 331s

was with God and the word was God. The word here in translations is capitalized. It's meaning Jesus. It's 344s

meaning the second member of the Trinity. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the 354s

word was God. Going down out of verse 14. And the word became flesh and lived among us and we have 360s

seen His glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. And then going over 370s

into verse 18. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only son who is close to the father's heart 380s

who has made him known. The ultimate revelation of God is Jesus Christ and on the cross Jesus 390s

revealed Himself in the most profound way. And God revealed Himself on a tree earlier or more 401s

precisely a little tree, a bush to be exact. When we turn to the book of Exodus, Exodus is the 417s

sequel to Genesis. And what it does is it continues the account of the descendants of Jacob in the 430s

land of Egypt. In Egypt, the people were experiencing good because of Joseph. Remember as I mentioned in 439s

my sermon today about Joseph, Jacob had 12 sons. Number 11 was Joseph. The sons were jealous or the 449s

brothers were jealous of Joseph because of the coat that Jacob had given to him and so they throw 459s

him in a pit and lead him to die. He is found by traders. He becomes a slave. He becomes a slave in the 464s

family household of the captain of Pharaoh's guard. He is falsely accused of rape. He is thrown into 473s

prison. There in prison, he interprets the dream of Pharaoh. He comes up with a strategy to deal 482s

with a famine in the land. He is elevated to a prince. Because of Joseph, there was political 488s

protection for the people of God. There was this affirmation of the people of God. But then the 496s

Scripture tells us a king arose who did not know of Joseph. Take a look please. At chapter 1 of 507s

Exodus. Genesis and then Exodus will pick up in verse 8. Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not 518s

know Joseph. He said to his people, look, the Israelites, people are more numerous and more powerful 530s

than we. Come. Let us deal shrewdly with them or they will increase and in the event of war, 538s

join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land. Therefore, they set taskmasters 546s

over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, pithem and ramsis for Pharaoh. 555s

But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians 563s

came to dread the Israelites. The Egyptians became ruthless and imposing tasks on the Israelites 568s

and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. 577s

They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. 585s

You see the new king here feared the Israelites. He feared that they would somehow join in with 593s

enemies and that Egypt would be defeated. What we have then is recorded one of the first 602s

ethnic cleanses, cleansing in world history. It's it's horrid, absolutely horrid. 612s

Verse 15, the king of Egypt said that the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shippra and the 623s

other Pua, when you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birth stool, 630s

if it is a boy, kill him. But if it is a girl, she shall live. 637s

But the midwives feared God. They did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let 643s

the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, why have you done this 649s

and allowed the boys to live? The midwives said to Pharaoh because the Hebrew women are not like 655s

the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them. 662s

So God dealt with the midwives and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the 668s

midwives feared God, he gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, every boy that 675s

is born to the Hebrews, you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live. 685s

The baby boys thrown then into the Nile, but at least one of them survived, kept by the mother 696s

for three months and then put on this little makeshift boat, so to speak, and set a drift in the Nile, 707s

found by Pharaoh's daughter, reared in the palace, wound up being a shepherd, Moses, Moses. 717s

Let's come now to that little tree, that bush in chapter 3. Moses was keeping the flock of his 734s

father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to 745s

Hora, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a 751s

bush. He looked and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, I must turn 759s

aside and look at this great site and see why the bush is not burned up. When the Lord saw that 768s

he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses, and he said, here I am. 776s

Then he said, come no closer. Remove the sandals from your feet for the place on which you are 785s

standing as holy ground. He said further, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God 792s

of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God. 800s

Let's break this down. Verse 2 again, there the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of 811s

fire out of a bush. He looked and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. The Hebrew word for 819s

angel, it simply means messenger. So who is the messenger in the bush? Let's go to verse 4. 828s

When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called him out of the bush, Moses, Moses. 844s

Notice it doesn't say that when the messenger saw it says the Lord, the Lord, then again in verse 4. 854s

When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, 867s

Moses. There's reference to the law and then there's reference to God, 874s

called or reference to the Lord, and then a reference to God called to him out of the bush. 878s

There's the identification once again of God in verses 5 to 6. 889s

Then he said, come no closer, remove the sandals from your feet for the place on which you 895s

are standing as holy ground. He said further, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, 900s

the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God. 906s

The messenger is described and identified as God. God. 917s

Who is the messenger of the Father and also divine with the Father? 929s

It is Christ the messenger of God. In the Old Testament, the Son of God would sometimes assume 940s

a type of visible form, a kind of visible form. Let's see it in Genesis the 16th chapter, verse 7. 953s

Genesis chapter 16, verse 7. 963s

The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to 972s

the shore. He said, hey, Garth, slave girl of Sarah, where have you come from and where are you going? 979s

She said, I am running away from my mistress, Sarah. The angel of the Lord said to her, return to 986s

your mistress and submit to her. The angel of the Lord also said to her, I will so greatly 992s

multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude. And the angel of the Lord 998s

said to her, now you have conceived and shall bear a son, you shall call him Ishmael, for the Lord 1006s

has given heed to your reflection. He shall be a wild ass of a man with his hand against everyone 1012s

and everyone's hand against him, and he shall live at odds with all his kin. 1020s

So she named the Lord who spoke to her, you are Elroy, for she said, have I really seen God 1028s

and remained alive after seeing him? This is the pre-incarnate, Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, 1037s

assuming a visible form in the Old Testament. Same thing over in Joshua. Let's turn there, please, 1051s

Genesis, Exodus, the Vitticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, then Joshua. Joshua, chapter 5, beginning with 1062s

verse 13. Joshua 5, verse 13. Once when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing before 1070s

him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, are you one of us or one of 1082s

our adversaries? He replied neither. But as commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come 1092s

and Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshipped, and he said to him, what do you command 1101s

your servant, my Lord? The commander of the army of the Lord said to Joshua, remove the sandals 1108s

from your feet for the place where you stand is holy and Joshua did. So these are examples 1115s

of the divine son of God, temporary, temporarily appearing in some tangible form to convey the message 1127s

of the Father. Here's the point. Within the fiery bush Moses sees the one who will later be named. 1139s

Jesus, and Jesus appeared to bring an incredible message. Back to Exodus, chapter 3, Exodus, 1159s

chapter 3, verse 7. Then the Lord said, I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt. 1171s

I have heard their cry and account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 1184s

and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a 1191s

good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey to the country of the Canaanites, the 1197s

this incredible message of this future, this incredible message of God's grace. 1213s

That God would choose a simple bush. It may surprise us, but remember, let's go to Isaiah, chapter 55. 1226s

Isaiah, chapter 55, verse 8. 1242s

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. Says the Lord. 1252s

So while God choosing a simple bush here for this incredible manifestation, it may surprise us, 1262s

well, God has his own ways, and his ways are so far beyond our ways. 1267s

Here's the point. Throughout the history of the church, the burning bush has been seen as an 1278s

illustration of the incarnation, the infleshment of the second member of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus. 1289s

Let me say that again. Throughout the history of the church, the burning bush has been seen as an 1297s

illustration of the incarnation. That which was of the earth, human nature, was filled with that which 1305s

is of heaven, divine nature. That which was of the earth, the bush, was filled with that which is 1319s

of heaven, the fiery sun of God, and the fire of divinity did not consume the bush. 1330s

When the sun of God took upon himself our nature, he did not destroy human nature. 1340s

In the burning bush then, we see a look ahead, a peak, a peak toward the incarnation of the 1351s

messenger of God, the sun, the messenger of the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ. 1364s

The incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ is so incredibly important, of course. 1374s

Let's go to Philippians, the second chapter. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Axe, and Romans, 1380s

1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, and then Philippians. Philippians chapter 2 1386s

will pick up in verse 5. But the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in 1394s

the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but emptied himself, 1402s

taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and being found in human form, 1408s

he humbled himself, and became obedient to the point of death, even death, on across. 1417s

Turn, moving please. To 1st Peter, chapter 2, 1st Peter, chapter 2. Good 1428s

way to find 1st Peter, just go to Revelation, start turning your way back toward Matthew, 1435s

you'll cross over the Johns, then you'll land on 1st Peter, chapter 2, verse 24. 1441s

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross so that free from sins, we might live for 1449s

righteousness by his wounds you have been healed. See, it was necessary for the Lord Jesus Christ 1456s

to be divine and human. It was necessary for redemption, for the Lord Jesus Christ, the second 1467s

member of the Trinity, to take on flesh. Because the Lord Jesus Christ is divine, that means he is 1475s

here on earth and that perfect life gets credited to our account because he was human. 1486s

He could then provide the substitutionary death, absolutely necessary, for the Lord Jesus Christ 1494s

to be true God and true man. Let's go to the book of Hebrews, please, chapter 2. Keep turning 1502s

back towards Matthew, you quickly come to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14. 1512s

Since therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things 1523s

so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil. 1532s

And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death for it is clear 1539s

that he did not come to help angels but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, he had to become 1549s

like his brothers and sisters in every respect so that he might be a merciful and faithful high 1557s

priest in the service of God to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 1566s

The revelation of God in that little tree, that bush, it shows us that God is not some type of 1579s

hands-off deity. No, but he acts out of love and compassion, acting out from this simple 1592s

bush with this incredible message. God places his divine nature into something of the earth. 1606s

A bush. And it's a peak, this burning bush all the way back in Exodus. It's a peak into the 1622s

incarnation to come. Such a blessed and wonderful little tree, that bush, and oh, 1634s

what it communicates. We'll continue with our study next week. 1649s