Our lesson Sunday focused on “Two Moments that Defined the Man,” from Adam Hamilton’s series, “Moses: The Reluctant Prophet.”
After growing up in the royal Egyptian household, Moses spent 40 years tending sheep for his father-in-law in dry, sparsely inhabited Midian. It was here that Moses encountered the burning bush on Mount Horeb, from which God called him to lead the Jews.
Hamilton took us to St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai, which dates from about the Fourth Century. The compound includes a bush that has thrived for many years without water. One story line equates the plant to the burning bush.
Moses is one of several biblical characters who spend time in the wilderness. Stories centered at a well and identifying God with fire are also common.
It is at a well where Moses meets Zipporah, who becomes his wife. She and her family were Midianites, who worshipped several gods, including Yahweh. That may be why, when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, Moses asked, “Which God?”
We discussed Moses’s transition from a royal Egyptian life to being a sheep herder in a land with little water, grass for sheep or other basic needs. We also considered areas of the world today where many live subsistence-level lives, where water and other necessities are difficult to meet.
Hamilton encourages us to look for “burning bushes” in the world today, where God may call us to do His work.
Written by: Marie Price
