CHRIST IN THE BURNING BUSH.
By James White
"The Angel of the Lord appeared unto him [Moses] 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, 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. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians." Ex. 3:2-8. The person that appeared in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush is called "the Angel of the Lord," "the Lord," and "God." He declares, "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." These terms can all be applied to Christ without doing violence to the simple language of Scripture, or the truth of God. He who appeared in the burning bush had seen the oppression of his people and had come to their deliverance. Paul speaks of this deliverer under a figure of "that spiritual Rock that went with them, and that Rock was Christ." 1 Cor. 10:4. The holy martyr Stephen in his dying defense of the "Just One" of both the Old and New Testaments, of whom the Jews had been the betrayers and murderers, refers to the circumstances of the burning bush as evidence in the case. He says, "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." Acts 7:35. Stephen, "being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into Heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God," verse 55. The same person seen by Moses in the burning bush, the dying martyr saw on the right hand of God.
J. W.