The Burning Bush – Where God Reveals His Name
On the backside of the desert, an eighty-year-old shepherd notices something strange—a bush ablaze yet unconsumed. Moses turns aside to investigate this marvel, and in that turning, everything changes. God speaks from the fire, reveals His covenant name, and commissions the reluctant shepherd to deliver Israel from bondage. The burning bush stands as one of Scripture’s most powerful theophanies, a moment when the eternal intersected with the temporal in ways that illuminate the very nature of God and point unmistakably toward Christ.
The Common Reading
Exodus chapter 3 introduces us to Moses at perhaps his lowest point. Once a prince of Egypt educated in all its wisdom, he had spent forty years tending sheep in Midian after his failed attempt to deliver Israel through his own strength. The deliverer had become a desert dweller, his grand ambitions reduced to guiding flocks across barren terrain.
Yet God had not forgotten His people. When Moses led his flock to Horeb, “the mountain of God,” he encountered the extraordinary sight: “the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). The angel of the LORD appeared in the flame, but when Moses approached, God Himself spoke, warning Moses to remove his sandals because he stood on holy ground.
God identified Himself as “the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6), prompting Moses to hide his face in fear. Then came the divine commission: Moses would return to Egypt to bring God’s people out of bondage. When Moses asked God’s name—seeking the authority to speak for Him—God revealed the sacred name: “I AM THAT I AM… Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:14).
Traditional interpretation focuses on several themes: God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises, His sovereignty in calling unlikely instruments, the holiness that separates God from sinful humanity, and the profound meaning of the divine name that speaks of self-existence and eternal being.
The Limitation of This Reading
But the burning bush demands we press further. Why fire specifically? Why a bush rather than some grander natural phenomenon? Why was the bush not consumed when everything fire touches is normally destroyed? And who exactly was “the angel of the LORD” who appeared in the flames, whom the text immediately identifies as God Himself?
The unconsumed bush presents a theological puzzle. Fire that burns without destroying defies natural law. This is not ordinary fire serving ordinary purposes—it is supernatural fire revealing something about God’s nature and His relationship to creation. What does it mean that God dwells in fire yet the vessel containing His presence is not destroyed?
The divine name “I AM” also points beyond the immediate context. This name would echo throughout Scripture, reaching its most startling repetition in the mouth of One who would stand before hostile crowds and declare, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The burning bush revelation connects to something—Someone—far greater than Moses could have comprehended.
Christ-Centered Unveiling
The New Testament identifies the angel of the LORD in Old Testament theophanies as the pre-incarnate Christ. When Stephen recounted Israel’s history before the Sanhedrin, he described the burning bush encounter: “There appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush” (Acts 7:30). The angel who spoke as God, who received worship, who bore the divine name—this was the eternal Son before His incarnation.
Jesus’ repeated use of the “I AM” declaration explicitly connects Him to the burning bush revelation. “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). “I am the door” (John 10:9). “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25). “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). “I am the true vine” (John 15:1). Each statement claims the sacred name and applies it to Christ’s redemptive work.
The most dramatic claim came during Jesus’ confrontation with the religious leaders. When they challenged His authority, Jesus declared, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The Jews immediately took up stones to kill Him—they understood He was claiming to be the God of the burning bush. The One who spoke to Moses from the unconsumed fire now stood before them in human flesh.
Paul also draws from the burning bush account when he writes, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9). The God whose glory filled the burning bush condescended to take on human nature, dwelling among us in a vessel that, like the bush, contained divine fire without being destroyed by it.
The Fulfillment in Christ
The burning bush finds its fulfillment in Christ in ways that illuminate the mystery of the incarnation. The bush was ordinary—a common desert shrub, nothing special in itself. Yet it became the dwelling place of God’s manifest presence. So too, Christ took on common human nature, appearing in “the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3), yet this ordinary humanity became the vessel of deity. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
The bush burned yet was not consumed. The fire of divine holiness did not destroy the humble vessel. Similarly, the human nature of Christ was not destroyed by being united to His divine nature. For thirty-three years, deity and humanity dwelt together in one Person without the humanity being overwhelmed or annihilated. The incarnation is the ultimate burning bush—God present in human form, the uncreated Light dwelling in created flesh.
The fire in the bush revealed God’s presence without destroying the vessel. Christ reveals the Father fully: “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). Yet sinful humans could approach Him, touch Him, eat with Him—without being consumed by His holiness. Grace made the unapproachable God approachable. The fire that would have destroyed sinners at Sinai became the warmth that drew them to Jesus.
Moses was told to remove his sandals because he stood on holy ground. Yet Jesus touched lepers, allowed a sinful woman to wash His feet with her tears, and welcomed children into His arms. The ground around Christ was holy, but His holiness did not repel—it attracted. The fire that burns also warms. The light that exposes also guides. In Christ, divine holiness becomes redemptive rather than merely threatening.
The divine name revealed at the bush is fully expressed in Christ. “I AM” speaks of self-existence, eternal being, unchanging faithfulness. Christ is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). In Him “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). The name that Moses received as a message for Israel, Christ bears as His own identity.
The Gospel Mystery Revealed
The burning bush calls us to encounter the living God—not as abstract doctrine but as personal presence. Moses “turned aside” to see this great sight, and in that turning, his destiny changed. God still invites us to turn aside from our ordinary preoccupations and encounter Him in Christ. The fire still burns. The voice still speaks. The question is whether we will turn aside to see.
Like Moses, we stand before holy ground when we encounter Christ. Our appropriate response begins with humility—recognizing who God is and who we are. Moses hid his face, afraid to look upon God. Yet through Christ, we may “come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16). The fire that terrified Moses becomes, in Christ, the welcoming warmth of the Father’s house.
The bush that burned without being consumed speaks of God’s desire to dwell with His people without destroying them. Under the old covenant, God’s presence was dangerous—even the ark of the covenant brought death to those who touched it. But Christ has made a way for God to dwell in human hearts through His Spirit. We become, as it were, burning bushes ourselves—ordinary vessels carrying the extraordinary presence of God.
The great I AM who spoke from the desert bush speaks still. He speaks through His Word, through His Spirit, through His church. His name remains “I AM”—not “I was” or “I will be,” but the eternal present tense of divine being. He is present now, available now, ready to meet every need now. Whatever you face today, I AM is sufficient. Whatever you need, I AM provides. Whatever you fear, I AM overcomes.
Moses asked, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh?” God’s answer directed him away from his own inadequacy to divine sufficiency: “Certainly I will be with thee” (Exodus 3:12). Your qualifications matter less than God’s presence. Your weakness becomes the canvas for His strength. The same God who commissioned a reluctant shepherd commissions you—not because of what you are, but because of who He is. I AM sends you. I AM goes with you. I AM will never leave you nor forsake you. Trust the God of the burning bush. Trust Christ.