Why does the bush not burn?

Exodus 3:1-4.

As Moses is taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep, he noticed this bush that was on fire. That would not be unusual, but he noticed that the bush was not burning. That is, it was not being consumed. Now that is unusual. I would like for you to consider with me “why the bush is not burning.”

In Scripture, fire always speaks to us of purification. Gold, for example, is purified by fire. Gold that is taken from the ground is full of impurities and it must go through the fire in order that those impurities be eliminated and pure gold be obtained. There are two areas of purification in our lives as children of God.

The first area is that of sin. The Bible teaches us that “all have sinned” and that every sin must be judged. We see a picture of this in Genesis 6 where God destroyed the world by flood. We see it again when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorra in Genesis 19. But the greatest judgment of God upon sinful man is yet to come. 2 Peter 3:10 tells us, “..the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” There is coming a day when God will split every atom in the universe and all will go up in one gigantic fireball. People do not like to think about this and sadly even Christians do not like to think about this. So God, through fire, will “purify” the earth. In this case the earth is consumed. But we are wanting to know why the bush does not burn. Why is it not consumed.

The answer is Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ on the cross became sin for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “.. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” We said that every sin must be judged. Every sinner that does not accept the sacrifice of Jesus will suffer the eternal fire of Hell. But every person, no matter how terrible his/her sin, that comes to Christ and accepts His sacrifice is forgiven. His sins are washed in the blood of Jesus and God remembers those sins no more. Does that mean that God just overlooked those sins and they got “shoved under the rug.” NO! God judged those sins! Jesus Christ took the judgment so that I became a bush that does not burn! Praise God!

There is another application to this in our lives. As believers on the Lord Jesus Christ we can commit sin. This sin must be judged. We can judge sin ourselves, but if we don’t, God will judge it because every sin must be judged. The Apostle Paul teaches this important lesson in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32. To judge sin in our own lives simply means that we agree with God that this thing in our lives is sin, we confess it and we accept the blood of Jesus for cleansing. Read 1 John 2:1,2 and 1:9

The second area of purification is through trials and is for the purifying, not of sin, but of our lives. Not the purifying of our old nature, but simply our lives. As children of God, God desires to make us like His Son Jesus Christ. In order to accomplish this he uses the fire of purification. There are many things in our lives that are not sin as such, but they displease God.

Jesus told Peter that “.. Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.” What Jesus was saying was that there was to be a trial in the life of Peter. Peter thought that he was strong enough. Often we think that we are strong enough for any trial that might come our way but soon we learn that we are not strong enough. The Apostle Paul learned in his life that when God brought him to a place of complete weakness then the power of God was revealed through his life. 1 Corinthians 10:13

The fire of purification burned in the lives of the three Hebrew men in Daniel 3. They had learned the secret of the bush that does not burn. The trials in our lives are not to “consume” us but to purify us. As you accept your difficulties, trials, etc. as from the hand of God, then the fire burns the impurities, but our lives are not burne praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet 1:6-7

RC