Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian : and he led the flock to the back side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2. And the Angel of the LORD appeared unto him 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.

3. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

1. His failure to arouse the oppressed Hebrews, who saw in him an Egyptian prince and soldier rather than one ready to help them, was a very bitter draught for Moses to drink. With the best of intentions, he yet knew that he had failed. From a prince he had become a shepherd, and remained in that humble position for nearly 40 years. There were excellent lessons to learn from his shepherd work.

2. "While the outdoor life was confirming that physical vigor which was so marked a characteristic of his old age, he was becoming thoroughly familiar with the regions where for forty years he was to guide his people." He would know every road and path; the kind of grazing, and supplies of food, the water supplies; and the tribes that roamed the desert.

3. During those years in the desert his own character was greatly enriched, his headstrong will was subdued, and he learned that lesson so necessary for all leaders to learn, the lesson of patience.

4. "The years were not a weary night of spiritual desertion, but a time of much divine fellowship. Come into the desert and rest awhile,' were words that Jesus used to address to his disciples. Now he gets the opportunity for calm meditation. All that he had seen in Egypt of the human heart, all that he had gathered from books, all about religion and government, laws and customs, ordinance and worship, would now be subjected to patient reflection, and turned into maxims of sanctified wisdom." Blaikie.

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Illustrations. Just as plants must have their winter rest, so men need times of quiet and meditation, if their minds are to be fruitful. Compare the long periods of preparation and loneliness in the lives of David, Elijah, Paul, John the Baptist, Christ. 5. During the years that Moses had spent in the wilderness the children of Israel had also been undergoing a divine discipline. They needed to be prepared for deliverance as much as Moses needed to be trained as a deliverer." More emphatically than ever they sighed and cried by reason of their bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham.

III. THE BURNING BUSH: THE VISIBLE SYMBOL OF GOD'S PRES

ENCE, Ex. 3: 1-10. One day while Moses was pasturing Jethro's flocks inland from the sea near Horeb (= Sinai) because in the early spring the pastures were becoming green, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, the thorny acacia (Alford) common in the desert.

It is interesting to note that it was while Moses was busy with his common task that the splendid vision of God and duty came to him. "God never goes to the lazy or idle when he needs men for his service. When God wants a worker, he calls a worker. When he has work to be done, he goes to those who are already at work. When God wants a great servant, he calls a busy man. Scripture and history attest this truth Moses was busy with his flocks at Horeb. Gideon was busy threshing out by the wine press. Saul was busy searching for his father's lost beasts. David was busy caring for his father's sheep. Elisha was busy plowing with twelve yoke of oxen. Nehemiah was busy bearing the king's wine cup. Amos was busy following the flock. Peter and Andrew were busy casting a net into the sea. James and John were busy mending their nets. Matthew was busy collecting customs. William Carey was busy mending and making shoes.". The American Church S. S. Magazine. And he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

The Symbol of Fire.

"One towering thorn was wrapped in flame-
Bright without blaze it went and came:

Who would not turn and see.'
"- Keble.

There is no better symbol of God than fire. Fire, shining in light, is mysterious in nature, ineffably bright and glorious, everywhere present,

4. 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.

5. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6. 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.

7. 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;

undefiled and undefilable. Light is the source of life, of warmth, of health, of power. Fire and light are the great disease killers. The Holy Spirit always purifies the soul wherein he dwells. He cleanses the dross from the pure gold.

The Burning Bush is a symbol of God's people in the flames of affliction and persecution. His church is unconsumed, and the flames but attract men to it, and make them feel the presence of God. It is like the three men in the fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, which caused Babylon to see the Son of God there.

4. God called unto him.

Thus showing Moses at once that it was not merely an unusual phenomenon of nature, but a manifestation of the supernatural. God called him by name, - Moses, Moses. And he said. Here am I.

5. Put off thy shoes (sandals) from off thy feet. Orientals remove their shoes on entering a place of worship, or approaching an important personage. Holy ground. Holy, because of the manifested presence of God. "We are not to treat all places alike. When a man loses his sense of religious awe, he has exhausted the supreme fountain of spiritual joy." -Joseph Parker.

"Earth's crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries."

Mrs. Browning.

6. I am the God of thy father. Father is here a collective term, fatherhood," ancestors, expanded in the God of Abraham, etc. This reminder of the covenant made with the patriarchs is an assurance that he is in line with them, and is about to witness the fulfilment of that covenant. And Moses hid his face. In reverence and fear, as did Elijah on the same "Mount of God." Irreverence is said to be a growing sin, and it is sad to see how many, in church and Sunday School, do not even bow their heads in prayer.

Sandals.

"When Moses in the burning bush
First heard Jehovah's name,

He paused to wonder at the sight

The bush was all aflame.

GOD'S FIRE

Oh wondrous thought, oh precious thought,
This truth beyond compare:

The little bush was not consumed

For love divine was there.

"I leave my all in his dear hands,

God Knows What is Taking Place on Earth.

7. I have surely seen the affliction of my people. This is repeated again and again (vs. 7, 8, 9, 16). "He is always

8. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

II. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12. And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

watching and planning. He that keepeth Israel and He lets us sleep. He stays awake and keeps guard. fiercer or hotter than he thinks needful and good. presence in storm and fire." - S. D. Gordon.

-

us neither slumbers nor sleeps. The fire can never get a degree We should practise tracing his

Now the Time had Come for the Hebrews to Take Possession of Their Promised Land, which the Lord had promised again and again to Abraham and his descendants. "I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God" (Gen. 178; see also Gen. 22 17, 18). God had been training Moses for eighty years to fit him to lead the people; and the people also had been trained to fit them for receiving the fulfilment of the promise.

IV. MOSES' DIFFICULTIES OVERCOME, Ex. 3 10-4: 17.

The Voice of God from the Burning Bush: Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, the mightiest monarch in the then known world. And to Egypt, whence he had fled to save his life. It was like the throwing of Daniel into the den of lions at Babylon; and John the Baptist, denouncing Herod to his face, for his relations with Herodias.

And say to Pharaoh," Let my people go!

Moses, objecting: Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh? Moses had become diffident and humble in his own estimation. What could a shepherd of the wilds unattended do to influence a splendid and powerful court?

God. Answers from the Burning Bush: Certainly I will be with thee. That same power before which Moses was hiding his face would go with him to confront his enemies. Those that resisted him must overcome God himself. And this was promised, as Christ promised his disciples, that they should remove mountains by faith in him.

Illustration. I am o, you are o, but God is the figure before the oo, and that makes the 100. (See Gotthold's Emblems.)

Ye shall serve God upon this mountain. This would also be a token. It was a promise that they should escape from Egypt, and here upon this very mountain they should see manifest proofs of God's presence.

Another answer to this difficulty of Moses was that he should take with him the elders of Israel when he went to Pharaoh to ask permission to go out into the wilderness to worship God (v. 18).

Moses Sees another Difficulty: Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? (v. 13).

God Answers Moses' Difficulty; God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you, the selfexistent, invisible, unchangeable, almighty God, who lives in an eternal present; the God of their fathers. What He had promised to their fathers stood sure in the history of the future as sure to stand as the everlasting hills. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Moses: But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice (4 : 1).

The Lord: answers by miracles of divine power. What is that in thine hand? Moses: A rod.

The Lord: Cast it on the ground.

And it became a serpent and Moses fled before it.

The Lord: Take it by the tail.

Moses caught it and it became a rod again.

The Purpose: That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers . .

hath appeared unto thee.

The Lord: Put now thine hand into thy bosom.

And it became leprous, white as snow.

Put thine hand into thy bosom again.

Then, when it was taken out, it returned again to its natural flesh.

If they will not yet believe, another miracle may convince them. Water from the river, poured upon the dry land, will become blood.

Moses had another difficulty in his way: O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue (4:10-17).

The Lord's Answer: Who hath made man's mouth? Have not I? Therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

Moses beseeches the Lord to send anybody rather than himself.

The Lord was indignant with Moses; and he said: Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? He shall be thy spokesman. Thou shalt put words in his mouth and I will be with thy mouth. . . and will teach you what ye shall do. And thou shalt be to him instead of God.

Moses was satisfied, and was willing to go. He had been for so many years a shepherd in the wilderness, without companions, that he had lost confidence in his power of persuasive speaking.

V. MOSES NOW BEGINS HIS GREAT WORK OF LEADERSHIP, Ex. 4 18-31. He asks Jethro for release for a time from his work, which seems to have been readily granted. Taking his wife and two sons, he starts on his journey.

At some time subsequent to this Moses sent his wife and children back to their father, probably for safety, after he saw the misfortunes that were to come upon Egypt through the plagues sent upon the land, because of the refusal of Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go. See Ex. 18: 1-6.

Aaron also heard the call of God, who sent him into the wilderness to meet his brother Moses. They met in the mount of God, and Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. Can we possibly imagine the conversation on the long journey from Sinai to Egypt ? How Moses must have enjoyed the sight of his brother, and how much there must have been of interest to them both in the history of the forty years which had passed since they last met! Moses could learn much of the people of Israel, and their elders; of the best way of meeting them and winning their support; he could learn of how the Lord had led his people during these years of trial; and would doubtless be told all the tribal and family news. Aaron would be deeply interested to learn of the ways of God in the preservation of Moses, of his life in the wilderness, and of his wife and children. And very probably they made many plans which were later to aid them in the work they had been called to undertake.

When they reached Egypt they went first, of course, to the elders of the children of Israel, and told them the words of Jehovah, and showed them the signs of their mission. And the people believed: . . . then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Then began the long duel with Pharaoh, which finally was successful.

Moses was now Prepared to Become One of the Greatest Leaders in the History of the World. His life, unknown to himself, had been planned by God in preparation for just this work which he was to do.

Dr. Bushnell has a sermon on "Every Man's Life a Plan of God," in which he teaches that " Every human soul has a complete and perfect plan cherished for it in the heart of God, a divine biography marked out. This life, rightly unfolded, will be a complete and beautiful whole, an experience led on by God, and unfolded

by his secret nurture as trees and flowers by the secret nurture of the world; a drama cast in the mould of a perfect art; a divine study that shall forever unfold, in wondrous beauty, the love and faithfulness of God; great in its conception, great in the divine skill by which it is shaped; above all, great in the momentous and glorious issues it prepares."

It is the teacher's privilege and duty to impress upon young and old that to find out God's plan, and then to work it out, makes a successful life; not the carrying out of our own plans, but of God's plan; not the gaining of our own wishes, not the realizing of the visions of beauty we have pictured for our future; but to live the life God has planned for us to live, to weave the picture whose pattern God has made for us. Nothing is good, nothing is success, which departs from God's plan.

Illustration. The ordinary great seal of the United States is commonly seen, but the design for the reverse side I have rarely seen, except in the cyclopedia (American Cyclopedia, xvi, p. 118; Harper's Dictionary of American History). The design is an unfinished pyramid; over it is an eye symbolizing God's providence, and the motto, "Annuit cæptis," "He favors what has been begun and underneath the motto, "Novus ordo seculorum,' A new order of the ages.' Moses was entering upon a new order of the ages. God's eye was upon him; what had begun would grow larger and better as the years rolled on.

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Much more may Christ's coming and the gospel of his kingdom be called " a new order of the ages," and with him not only the individual man, but the world be completed.

The emblems on the seal are a vision of better things for the country, and for each individual in it.

United States Seal.

Moses was the Sort of Leader the World Needs To-day. The world is crying out for leaders, - leaders who have the good of the people, of the whole people, at heart. Leaders who shall be ready to sacrifice all that the world holds dear at the call of duty, or of world-patriotism, of the needs of their fellow-men. Leaders who shall purify politics; take graft out of the necessities of life; save the poor from oppression and exploitation; make religion honored; put Christ in the forefront as the Master of the world.

Some are saying that Christianity has failed, that it has been tried and found wanting. It is not true. Real Christianity has not been tried, by the mass of the people of the world. Give it a fair trial and it will never be found wanting. Dilute it with selfishness, hypocrisy, formalism without heart, lack of faith; then apply it carelessly, in expectation of failure; omitting it entirely in most of the great crises of life, what can be expected but failure? But it is not Christianity that has failed. The doctor once prescribed a remedy for a certain trouble; the prescription was filled and taken home; it stood on the mantel shelf, and a dose was occasionally taken without regard to the directions. The trouble was not cured. Whose fault was it? "The times in which we are living call for such Christians as the world has never known; to be always at the post of duty, in the secret places of the soul, in the life of the nation, in the life of the Church is to be in Christ's narrow way which leads to life, the life in which death is but an incident on the way home." Rev. Alexander Mac Coll, D.D.

Ministers and Teachers must lead the Way. "They are to be ever foremost in every good work. An officer cheers his men into action not from behind, but from the front. So the officer of God's army should be in the van of its progress. In zeal for his Master's cause, in unwearied efforts to promote it, in purity of life, in acts of love to the sick and aged, in public spirit, in honor, in truth, in self-command, in selfabnegation, the ordained servant of God should be in the fore-front of the grand army. But the army must follow its leaders." -J. J. Lias. One must preach an ideal beyond what he has attained, but not beyond what he is sincerely trying to reach.