Gwen Frangs / Corrandulla / 24 May 2022
Many people are put off Christianity because they are afraid that if they let the Holy Spirit in, that He will consume them in such a manner that they will lose their own identity. However, there is a very clear type in the Bible showing that this is not the case. This is the type of the burning bush in Exodus 3. Recently, while I was rereading the account of Moses and the burning bush, God impressed on me that the burning bush is a type of the Christian believer.
The reason why the burning bush can be considered to be a type of a believer is because in the Bible people are often compared to trees. For example, in Psalm 1:3 a righteous person is compared to a tree:
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
Psalm 1:3 NIV
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
In Psalm 52 King David compares himself to an olive tree:
But I am like an olive tree
Psalm 52:8 NIV
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
for ever and ever.
In Isaiah 44 Yahweh says that the descendants of Israel will be like poplar trees:
They will spring up like grass in a meadow,
Isaiah 44:4 NIV
like poplar trees by flowing streams.
In the New Testament Jesus compares prophets to trees:
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Matthew 7:15-20 NIV
The prophet Jeremiah compares a person who trusts in men and turns away from God to a bush in the wastelands:
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
Jeremiah 17:5-6 NIV
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
But, a person who trusts in God is like a tree planted by water:
7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
God compares King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to a tree:
20 The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, 21 with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds— 22 Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
Daniel 4:20-22 NIV
Some further examples of people being compared to trees in the Bible occur in:
- Isaiah 61:3 – believers are called oaks of righteousness
- Hosea 14:5-7 – Israel is called a cedar of Lebanon and an olive tree
- Psalm 92:12 – the righteous person is called a cedar of Lebanon and an olive tree
- Numbers 24:5-7 – Israel is compared to aloes and to cedars
- 2 Kings 14:9 – King Jehoash the King of Israel calls himself a cedar of Lebanon and calls King Amaziah of Judah a thistle
- Song of Songs 2:3 – the man is compared to an apple tree
- Song of Songs 7:7 – the woman is compared to a palm tree
- Romans 11:17 ; 24 – Gentiles and Jews are compared to olive trees
- Matthew 3:10 – John the Baptist compares people to trees
- Psalm 37:35 – David compares a wicked man to a tree
It is very clear that in the Bible trees are used as metaphors and similes for people. Therefore, it is fair to say that the bush in Exodus 3 can also be seen to be representative of a person. In fact, we saw that In Jeremiah 17:6 a person who trusts in man and turns away from God is compared to a bush in the wastelands.
We are told in Exodus 3:2 that the Angel of Yahweh appears to Moses in the flames of fire within the bush. In previous articles I have demonstrated that the Angel of Yahweh, Who was also known as the Angel of Presence, is the Holy Spirit:
Therefore, when it says in Exodus 3:2 that the Angel of Yahweh appeared to Moses in the flames of fire from within a bush, we can know that it is the Holy Spirit Who is in the bush. Because the Holy Spirit is an angel He is able to transform from a figure Who looks like a man into fire. This is not something that is exclusive to Him. All angels seem to be able to do this. We know this because Hebrews 1:7 tells us that God transforms His angels into flames of fire:
7 In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits,
Hebrews 1:7 NIV
and his servants flames of fire.”
We see the Holy Spirit as fire again on the day of Pentecost when He appears as tongues of fire:
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:1-4
In Ezekiel 1 we see the Holy Spirit looking like a man Who is on fire:
26 Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.
Ezekiel 1:26-27 NIV
This is the extraordinary Being Who became incarnate as Jesus Christ and died for us on the cross:
6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:6-8
It is very clear from the above portions of scripture that the physiology of an angel is very different to our own as they are able to change into different forms – fire, wind, human-likenesses.
The fact that the bush represents a person and the Holy Spirit is burning within that ‘person’ when He is burning within the bush, presents a clear picture of how the Holy Spirit indwells the Christian believer. It is appropriate that God uses this picture at the beginning of Moses’ journey because the destination of the Israelites will be the place where the reality of the Holy Spirit indwelling believers will come to fruition. Moses is being shown the mystery that has been hidden:
26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:26-28 NIV
The bush is not consumed
We are told in Exodus 3:3 that the bush was not being consumed by the flames. The Holy Spirit burns brightly within the believer, but they do not stop being themselves. It is not the desire of God to extinguish a person’s unique personality. After all, He gave it to the person in the first place, so why would He want to extinguish it. This picture of the Holy Spirit burning within the bush clearly teaches us that that is not the case.