The Bible CourseSample

The wilderness, the bush and the name – the call of Moses

Reflect:

In the film The Lion King, Simba, the son of the king, blames himself for his father’s death and runs away from his failure into the wilderness. But the wilderness becomes his place of reckoning and reformation.

God met with Moses when he was at his lowest point. Moses had done the human thing when fear and shame run wild – he’d run! But in the wilderness, God had Moses exactly where he wanted him. The God of the Bible is into recycling. He takes our screwed-up lives and brings good from them.

God speaks to Moses from a burning bush and calls him to play a lead role in the unfolding drama of the Exodus. Who would have thought it? If you had known Moses in his earlier years, you would have concluded: ‘If God can use him, he can use anyone!’

And that’s the point.

Moses arrived in the wilderness full of fear and shame. He left with God-inspired courage and confidence. What happened to him?

Moses received a revelation that changed everything for him and the people of Israel, forever.

The eternal God, the one who does not combust or rust, the one who has no beginning or end, spoke to him. He revealed himself to Moses in a new way. He told him his name – the great ‘I AM’ was with Moses!

Now remember, the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. And in Hebrew, ‘I AM’ roughly equates to YAHWEH. So if you hear someone refer to Yahweh, or Jehovah, they’re using the divine name that God revealed to Moses at the bush. This name was so sacred that the Jews would not speak it, so they used the word ‘Lord’ (Adonai) instead. Throughout the Old Testament, you will see Lord written in capital letters. Why has someone left the caps-lock on? Because beneath that word, lies this sacred name of God.

So, when the early Christians said ‘Jesus is Lord’, they were consciously using a title that corresponded to the name of the God who spoke to Moses. God had appeared again – not in a bush but in the flesh.

Are you in a wilderness season? Is fear running wild in you?

God can cause the wilderness to be a place of reckoning and reformation. In the wilderness, God brings game-changing revelation. Wherever you are in life, Jesus’ appearance in flesh shows us the great ‘I AM’ – the unchanging and all-powerful God – is for us and not against us. Whatever the task and however big the struggle before us, we can be confident that we’re not alone. He is with us always.

Respond

What difference could this revelation make in your fight with fear today?