The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Bush That Burns"
Whether in doctrine, history, prophecy, analogy, or metaphor, the Lord Jesus Christ dwells on every page and in every book, chapter, sentence, word, and letter of the Old Testament. Our Savior confirmed this truth of the law and the prophets:
"Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39).
While veiled in name and full display, the Lord Jesus can - and must - be recognized as the holy Subject and theme of the Old Testament, beginning in Genesis 1:1 and proceeding to Malachi 4:6. I was reminded of this in a most special way several days ago when reading the book of Exodus.
"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. 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" (Exodus 3:2-4).
The bush, aflame and yet not incinerated, foretells the far greater New Testament enigma that would one day startle all who would see it with the eyes of faith…
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (I Timothy 3:16).
By any human standard of reason, the Lord Jesus - the God who became man, and the man who remains God - should not exist. Why is this bush not burnt? How can humanity, even born of a virgin overshadowed by the Holy Spirit to conceive the miracle, somehow become the living residence of eternal and infinite deity? Moreover, our Lord became the synthesis of divinity and humanity in such a manner that His own brethren did not know who He was (John 7:5). They saw the bush. But they missed the glorious Fire that burned within because of their unbelief. However, they also failed to see because the miracle of God as man and man as God presented in a manner no one could have fully anticipated. Yes, the I AM of the Old Testament and the Flame of the bush are one and the same with the I AM of the New Testament, and the mystery of "God… manifest in the flesh" (Exodus 3:14; John 8:58).
We open the Book to behold the Mystery, to see the glorious One who will forever astound us by the sublime fact of His existence. Yes, in Heaven and earth, there is no one like the Lord Jesus. He dwells as the miraculous fusion of divinity and humanity, heaven and earth, glory and humility. Be it in Exodus or Ephesians, Matthew or Malachi, Psalms or Philippians, let us determine that of all we seek when we open both Old Testament and New, the bush aflame with Christ must guide our quest of discovery. Eternity will not allow enough opportunity to complete our exploration, but this day can present us with some new glimmer from the bush that burns, but is not consumed. The book of Revelation tells of those who well know this wondrous glory, and we close with the adoration expressed by hundreds of millions of those awed and amazed by the wonder of the One who somehow exists as the Son of God, the son of man...
"And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever."
(Revelation 5:11-14)
Weekly Memory Verse
We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
(Philippians 3:3)
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