God Gets Moses’ Attention

God Gets Moses’ Attention

Q: What did Moses see burning?

• a. grass
• b. a bush
• c. a house

Moses grew up as an Egyptian prince. His every need was met, and everything was done for him. He was well known throughout the land. Yet that didn’t prepare him for the job God had in mind for him.

After killing an Egyptian, Moses had fled to Midian (see yesterday’s devotion). Now Moses was a lowly shepherd living in the desert. This was his training ground for God’s work of leading the slaves out of Egypt and into the wilderness.

One day Moses was taking care of the flock when he saw a bush that was on fire but never burned up. Moses approached it for a closer look. God called to Moses and told him to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. God told Moses he’d chosen him to deliver the Israelites from slavery. Moses was to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go free.

Moses was reluctant. He didn’t think Pharaoh would listen to him. But God already had that under control. He had special signs for Moses to show that the Lord was with him. God told Moses to throw his shepherd’s staff to the ground. When he did, it became a snake! That got Moses’ attention—he ran from the snake. God told Moses to pick up the snake by the tail, and it became his staff again.

God used a burning bush to get Moses’ attention. This was something unusual he knew Moses would investigate. Then he used Moses’ shepherd’s staff as a sign of God’s power. Both the bush and the shepherd’s staff were ordinary things, but God used them to do something extraordinary.

God often works through the ordinary things in our lives, but with his touch, those things become anything but ordinary.

For You

God can take the everyday things in your life and use them to accomplish amazing things. For Moses it was a bush and a shepherd’s staff. What might God use in your life?

Answer: b

“This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”   Exodus 3:3

(The Whole Story: Exodus 3:1–4:9)