The Meaning of the Burning Bush - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So [Moses] looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
Exodus 3:2

The Meaning of the Burning Bush
The flame of fire is a symbol of the holiness of God. This is shown in various ways, especially in the fire on the altar, which consumed the sacrifices; and in the Epistle to the Hebrews, we have the express statement that "our God is a consuming fire" (12:29); testing everything according to His holiness, and thus consuming everything which does not answer its requirements.

The bush was meant to be a figure of Israel. There is nothing more easily consumed by fire than a bush; and it was chosen on this very account to represent the nation of Israel—specifically, the nation of Israel in the furnace of Egypt—the fire burning fiercely round about it, and yet not destroying it. It was therefore an assurance to the heart of Moses that his nation would be preserved, however fiercely the fire might burn. In the language of another:

"It was meant to be an image of that which was then presented to the spirit of Moses—a bush in a desert burning but unconsumed. It was no doubt thus that God was about to work in the midst of Israel They too would be the chosen vessel of His power in their weakness, and this forever in His mercy. Their God, as ours, would prove Himself a consuming fire. Solemn but infinite favor! For, on one hand, as surely as He is a consuming fire, so on the other the bush, weak as it is, and ready to vanish away, nevertheless remains to prove that, whatever may be the siftings and judicial dealings of God [He] uses the trial for nothing but good—no doubt for His own glory, but consequently for the very best interests of those that are His" (W. Kelly).

Edward Dennett