In the eyes of God,
Moses was
a thornbush
burning with the Triune God;
as individuals,
we all
are today’s Moses,
but we are
also a part of the church
as the corporate thornbush:
When God called Moses,
he saw the great sight
of a burning thornbush;
once
we were
thorns under the curse
in Genesis 3,
but in Exodus 3
we are
a redeemed thornbush;
this burning thornbush
is both the children of Israel
in the Old Testament
and the church
in the New Testament.
In the church
today
there are still “thorns”;
the church
is not yet precious stone;
nevertheless,
we praise the Lord
that we are undergoing
the process of transformation.
In Deuteronomy 33:16
Moses spoke of God
as the One
who dwelt in the thornbush;
this word was uttered
when Moses
was one hundred twenty years of age,
forty years after he
had seen the vision
of the burning thornbush:
Moses never forgot that vision,
even after the tabernacle
had been built
and God
had come to dwell
in it.
How marvelous
that a thornbush
can be God’s dwelling place
on earth today!
God’s ultimate goal
is to obtain
a dwelling place;
this means
that God’s eternal purpose
is to build up
His habitation:
In Genesis
we have the revelation
of the house of God at Bethel,
but we do not have
the actual building
of the house of God.
At the beginning of Exodus
God dwelt in the thornbush,
but at the end of the book
He dwelt in the tabernacle.
The tabernacle with the Ark
thus became the focal point
of the history of the children of Israel;
eventually,
the tabernacle
was enlarged into the temple.
The Lord Jesus
came both as God’s tabernacle (John 1:14)
and as God’s temple (2:19);
the church today
is also the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16);
ultimately,
this temple
will consummate in the New Jerusalem,
which will be
both God’s tabernacle
and God’s temple
in eternity (Rev. 21:3, 22).
In the beginning
God’s dwelling place
was a redeemed thornbush,
but gradually
this thornbush
is being sanctified, transformed,
conformed, and even glorified;
the tabernacle
is an illustration
of transformation:
In the tabernacle
there was
acacia wood
overlaid with gold
and also linen
embroidered with gold thread;
both the acacia wood and the linen
signify humanity,
and the gold
signifies divinity.
In Exodus 3
God’s dwelling
was a thornbush,
but in Exodus 40
His dwelling
was the tabernacle
made of humanity
overlaid by and interwoven with divinity;
such an overlaid and embroidered humanity
is a transformed humanity.
Both the thornbush and the tabernacle
are symbols;
God’s actual dwelling place
was neither the physical thornbush
nor the tabernacle;
it was
His people:
After the children of Israel
had been dealt with by God,
they became acacia wood
overlaid with gold
and also linen
embroidered with gold thread;
the church today
is the fulfillment
of this type.
At present,
the church may be
a redeemed thornbush;
however,
the day is coming
when we shall be
gold, pearl, and precious stone.
Praise the Lord
for this marvelous vision
of God’s dwelling place!
This vision
covers God’s habitation
from the initial stage,
the stage of the thornbush,
to the consummate stage,
the stage of the New Jerusalem.
When Moses was called by God,
he saw the holy fire
burning within the thornbush;
when Paul was called,
he saw the same vision
in principle:
Paul saw the Triune God
burning within His redeemed ones;
through this divine burning,
the holy fire
was one with the thornbush,
and the thornbush
was one with the fire,
which is
the Triune God Himself.
The Lord Jesus
once said
that He came
to cast fire
on the earth (Luke 12:49-50);
on the day of Pentecost
the Spirit
came in the form of
tongues of fire (Acts 2:2-4).
Today
the Lord
is still casting fire
on the earth;
this holy fire,
this divine burning,
has captured us,
and now
we are
part of the thornbush
that is burning
with the Triune God.
The Triune God
is burning
within and upon the church,
which He has chosen and redeemed;
thus,
the church
is the Triune God
burning within a redeemed humanity;
this is
the divine economy.
This economy
was revealed to Paul,
and it is
the focus of the divine revelation;
Moses saw this in symbol,
but Paul saw it in reality.
How we praise the Lord
that His economy
has been unveiled to us!
Every local church
is a thornbush
burning with the Triune God.
In Ephesians 1 and 3
we have the divine economy,
the dispensing of the Triune God
into His redeemed people
so that they
may become His expression;
this dispensing
brings into being
the church
as the burning thornbush today.
Because of God’s redemption,
the excluding flame of Genesis 3
has become
the visiting and indwelling flame
of Exodus 3:
The thorns in Genesis 3
indicate that fallen man
is under a curse.
Sin brought in the curse,
and the curse brought in
the excluding flame of fire.
In Exodus 3
the cursed thorn
becomes the vessel of God,
and the flame of fire
becomes one with the thornbush:
Through redemption,
signified by the lamb
slain and offered to God
for fallen man,
the curse
has been taken away,
and the fire
has become one with the thorn.
Galatians 3:13 and 14
reveal that the redeeming Christ
has taken away the curse
and that the Spirit as the fire
has been given to us.
The very God Himself, the Holy One
whose holiness excludes sinners
from His presence,
can come
to visit us,
stay with us,
and even dwell in us
through the redemption of Christ.
The church
is a corporate thornbush
burning with the God of resurrection:
The children of Israel
were a corporate thornbush;
as such a thornbush,
they were redeemed, sanctified,
transformed, and built up;
this is
a type of the church
as a corporate thornbush.
Do not say
that the church
is poor, low, or dead;
the more you say this,
the more you put yourself
under a curse,
but if you praise the Lord
for the church life
and speak well concerning it,
you will put yourself
under God’s blessing:
“He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob,
/ Nor has He seen trouble in Israel” (Num. 23:21).
“How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
/ Your tabernacles, O Israel!” (Num. 24:5).
“Blessed is everyone
who blesses you, /
And cursed is everyone
who curses you” (Num. 24:9b).
From the time
that Nebuchadnezzar
destroyed the city of Jerusalem
until now,
every nation, people, race, or individual
who has cursed the Jewish people
has received a curse,
and whoever has blessed the Jewish people
has received a blessing;
it is the same with
our attitude toward the church
—if we curse the church,
we will be cursed,
but if we bless the church,
we will be blessed.
In spite of all the division, sin, confusion,
abuse of gifts, and heretical teaching
in the church in Corinth,
the apostle still called it
the church of God
because the divine and spiritual essence
which makes the assembled believers
the church of God
was actually there.
Being a corporate thornbush
as God’s dwelling place today
is a matter
altogether in resurrection:
The church is
“Christly,” “resurrectionly,” and heavenly.
Resurrection is
the life pulse and lifeline
of the divine economy.
Our labor for the Lord
in His resurrection life
with His resurrection power
will never be in vain,
but will result in
the fulfilling of God’s eternal purpose
through the preaching of Christ to sinners,
the ministering of life to the saints,
and the building up of the church
with the experiences of the processed Triune God
as gold, silver, and precious stones.
Individually
we are a thornbush,
and together
we are a corporate thornbush
burning with the God of resurrection;
this is
a picture of the church life today.
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7 replies on “The Corporate Thornbush”
Prophecy note, 3 May 2015
We need to be strong in faith
and declare that we
are in resurrection
because our God
is not the God of the dead
but the God of the living.
In myself,
I am in the flesh
and in the natural life,
but in my God,
I am in resurrection.
In resurrection
He is
the great I Am.
We all
need to say in faith
that we
are in resurrection.
The more we speak this
in faith,
the more it will become
our experience.
What we say
is what we experience.
If we say
that we are in the flesh,
then
we shall be in the flesh.
But if we say
that we are in resurrection,
then
we shall be in resurrection.
Here,
in resurrection,
the thornbush
can be blessed
to be God’s dwelling place.
We realize
that, at best,
we are just a thornbush.
Nevertheless,
the great I Am,
the God of resurrection,
dwells within us,
and we enjoy Him.
Individually
we are a thornbush,
and together
we are a corporate thornbush
burning with the God of resurrection.
This is a picture
of the church life today.
Day 6
From the time
that Nebuchadnezzar
destroyed the city of Jerusalem
until now,
every nation, people, race, or individual
who has cursed the Jewish people
has received a curse,
and whoever has blessed the Jews
has received a blessing.
The church of God!
Not the church
of Cephas, of Apollos, of Paul,
or of any practice or doctrine,
but of God.
In spite of all the division, sin, confusion,
abusing of gifts, and heretical teaching
in the church in Corinth,
the apostle still called it
“the church of God”
because the divine and spiritual essence
which makes the assembled believers
the church of God
was actually there.
Such a spiritual address by the apostle
was based on his spiritual view
in looking upon the church in Christ.
Such a simple address alone
should have eliminated
all the division and confusion
in both practice and doctrine.
The very God in the thornbush,
the One who called Moses,
was the God of resurrection.
This is proved
by the Lord’s word to the Sadducees
in Mark 12:18-27.
As the Sadducees were arguing with Him
concerning resurrection,
the Lord said,
“But concerning the dead,
that they are raised,
have you not read
in the book of Moses,
in the section concerning the bush,
how God spoke to him,
saying,
‘I am
the God of Abraham
and the God of Isaac
and the God of Jacob?’
He is
not the God of the dead,
but of the living.”
Here
the Lord pointed
the unbelieving Sadducees
to the section in the Scriptures
concerning the thornbush.
The title,
“the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob,”
implies the God of resurrection.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
have all died.
If God were
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and there were no resurrection,
then
God would be
the God of the dead.
But God is
not the God of the dead;
He is
the God of the living,
the God of resurrection.
The fact that the God of resurrection
dwelt in the thornbush
indicates that being a corporate thornbush
as God’s dwelling place today
is a matter
altogether in resurrection.
The holy One
can visit us
and dwell among us
because He
is in resurrection.
He is
the God of resurrection,
and we, His people,
are in resurrection.
As those
who are still in the flesh,
it may be difficult
for us
to believe
or to realize
that we
are in resurrection.
If I were to ask you
whether you are
in the natural life
or in the resurrection life,
you would probably say
that, for the most part,
you are
in the natural life.
However,
if you say this,
you do not have faith.
We need to be strong in faith
and declare that we
are in resurrection
because our God
is not the God of the dead
but the God of the living.
In myself,
I am in the flesh
and in the natural life,
but in my God,
I am in resurrection.
In resurrection
He is
the great I Am.
We all need to say in faith
that we
are in resurrection.
The more we speak this
in faith,
the more it will become
our experience.
What we say
is what we experience.
If we say
that we are in the flesh,
then
we shall be in the flesh.
But if we say
that we are in resurrection,
then
we shall be in resurrection.
Because the very God
who indwells us
is the God of resurrection,
we have a basis
for declaring that we
are in resurrection.
Here,
in resurrection,
the thornbush
can be blessed
to be God’s dwelling place.
We realize
that, at best,
we are just a thornbush.
Nevertheless,
the great I Am,
the God of resurrection,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
dwells within us,
and we enjoy Him.
Individually
we are a thornbush,
and together
we are a corporate thornbush
burning with the God of resurrection.
This is a picture
of the church life today.
Day 5
The children of Israel
were a corporate thornbush.
As such a thornbush,
they were redeemed, sanctified,
transformed, and built up.
Perhaps you find it difficult
to believe
that the children of Israel
were transformed.
A prayer meeting in Shanghai
in the early 1940s
helped me to see God’s people
as He sees them.
An experienced sister co-worker,
as she prayed,
sighed and groaned
because of
the poor condition of the church.
When she finished praying,
Brother Nee
broke forth in praise
to the Lord
and gave Him thanks
that the church
is never weak or low
but always high.
The congregation
was shocked.
Then
Brother Nee helped us
to understand
the significance of Balaam’s prophecy
regarding the children of Israel.
Balaam was hired by Balak
to curse the children of Israel.
But instead of cursing God’s people,
Balaam blessed them.
According to Numbers 23:21 and 24:5,
God did not see
iniquity or perverseness in Israel.
Instead,
He saw
only goodness, fairness, and beauty.
The same is true
regarding the church today.
Do not say
that the church is low or dead.
The more you say this,
the more you put yourself
under a curse.
However,
if you praise the Lord
for the church life
and speak well concerning it,
you will put yourself
under God’s blessing.
During all the years
I have been in the church life,
I have not seen one person
who spoke negatively about the church
who was under God’s blessing.
On the contrary,
all who have said
that the church was poor, low, or dead
have been under a curse.
Those who speak positively
about the church,
declaring that the church is lovely
and that it is God’s house,
receive the blessing.
The children of Israel
could be a corporate thornbush
because they had been transformed
and built up.
God believed this,
and we need to agree with Him.
The tabernacle
signified the children of Israel
as God’s dwelling place.
Do not regard the tabernacle
as something apart from
the children of Israel.
Actually,
it was the children of Israel
who were God’s dwelling place.
The tabernacle
was merely a symbol.
After the tabernacle was erected,
it was filled with
the glory of the Lord.
At night,
the cloud of glory
had the appearance of fire.
The fire burning upon the tabernacle
signified that the people of Israel
were a corporate burning thornbush.
When Moses spoke of God
as the One
who dwelt in the thornbush,
it is difficult to tell
whether he was referring
to the actual thornbush
he had seen forty years before
or to himself
and to the children of Israel
respectively as an individual
and a corporate thornbush.
I believe
that his word
includes all this.
On the one hand,
we are still a thornbush;
on the other hand,
through redemption, sanctification,
transformation, and building,
we are
God’s dwelling place.
Hallelujah,
today
God has
a dwelling place
on earth!
Satan might say to God,
“Your people
are merely a thornbush.”
But God would reply,
“Satan,
get behind Me.
Don’t you know
that this people
has been redeemed,
sanctified,
and transformed?
They have also been built up,
and now
they are one.
Therefore,
I am dwelling among them.
You say
that they are
a thornbush,
but I declare
that they are
My dwelling place.”
The church today
is God’s dwelling place.
You may think
that the church is uncomely,
but to God
it is lovely.
You may criticize the church
for its shortcomings,
but God says
that He sees no iniquity
in His people.
Regarding His people,
God says,
“I find no fault in them.
I am in their midst,
and they are
My dwelling place
on earth.”
This is the church
as the corporate thornbush.
Day 4
We need to see
that there is a connection
between Genesis 3 and Exodus 3.
In both chapters
we have
the thorn and the fire.
The thorn in Genesis 3
indicates that man
is under a curse,
and the flame of fire
indicates that man
is excluded from
God as the tree of life.
According to Genesis 3,
thorns came from the curse
due to sin.
Hence,
thorns are
a symbol of fallen man
under the curse.
Immediately after the curse
was pronounced,
a flaming sword
was placed
at the east of the garden
“to guard the way
to the tree of life” (v. 24).
Thus,
sin brought in the curse,
and the curse brought in
the flame of fire.
The function of fire in Genesis 3
is to exclude sinners
from the tree of life,
that is,
from God as the source of life.
If the Bible had ended with Genesis 3:24,
our situation would be forever hopeless.
According to chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis,
we were created
specifically to receive God as life.
The man created by God
was placed in front of the tree of life.
Then in chapter 3
sin came in,
man fell under the curse,
and the fire of God’s holiness
excluded the cursed sinners
from any direct contact with
God as the tree of life.
Man’s situation in Exodus 3
is much different from
that in Genesis 3.
In Exodus 3
the cursed thorn
becomes the vessel of God,
and the flame of fire
becomes one with the thornbush.
Through redemption,
signified by the lamb
slain and offered to God
for fallen man,
the curse
has been taken away,
and the fire
has become one with the thorn.
The reality of this picture
is seen in Galatians 3:13 and 14.
Verse 13 says,
“Christ has redeemed us
out of the curse of the law,
having become a curse
on our behalf.”
This means
that through the death of Christ on the cross
the curse has been taken away.
Verse 14 continues,
“That the blessing of Abraham
might come to the Gentiles
in Christ Jesus,
that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit
through faith.”
Therefore,
according to these verses
the curse
has been taken away,
and the Spirit, the fire,
has been given to us.
Acts 2:3 and 4
indicate that the outpoured Spirit
is symbolized by tongues of fire.
This outpouring of the Spirit as fire
was predicted by the Lord Jesus
in Luke 12:49:
“I have come
to cast fire on the earth,
and how I wish
that it were already kindled!”
On the day of Pentecost
the promised Spirit,
given through the redemption of Christ
which took away the curse,
came upon the disciples
in the form of fire.
This fire
no longer excludes us
from God;
instead,
it is
the flame of God’s visitation.
Considering this
in the light of the picture in Exodus 3,
we see
that the thorn and the flame
are one.
In Genesis 3
fallen man
was under the curse
signified by the thorn.
There
the flame of fire
excluded this fallen man
from God as the tree of life.
In Exodus 3,
however, the thornbush,
which can be considered
a type of vessel,
and the fire
are one.
In Genesis 3
the fire keeps the man
who is under the curse
away from the tree of life,
away from God
as the source of life.
But in Exodus 3
the flame of fire
visits the thornbush
and indwells it.
This indicates
that through the redemption of Christ
the very God Himself, the holy One
whose holiness excludes sinners
from His presence,
can come
to visit us,
to stay with us,
and even to dwell in us.
Hallelujah,
Christ has taken away the curse
and has cast down to earth
the fire of the Holy Spirit!
Now that the curse
has been taken away,
we are
no longer excluded
from God as life.
Praise the Lord
that the excluding flame
of Genesis 3
has become
the visiting and indwelling flame
of Exodus 3!
Now
the once-cursed thorn
can become
God’s dwelling place.
Day 3
Both the thornbush and the tabernacle
are symbols.
God’s actual dwelling place
was neither the physical thornbush
nor the tabernacle;
it was His people.
After the children of Israel
had been dealt with by God,
they became acacia wood
overlaid with gold
and also linen
embroidered with golden thread.
The church today
is the fulfillment of this type.
At present
the church may be
a redeemed thornbush.
However,
the day is coming
when we shall be
gold, pearl, and precious stone.
Praise the Lord
for the marvelous vision
of God’s dwelling place!
This vision
covers God’s habitation
from the initial stage,
the stage of the thornbush,
to the consummate stage,
the stage of the New Jerusalem.
When Moses was called by God,
he saw the holy fire
burning within the thornbush.
When Paul was called,
he saw the same vision,
at least in principle.
He saw the Triune God
burning within His redeemed ones.
Through this divine burning,
the holy fire
was one with the thornbush,
and the thornbush
was one with the fire,
which is
the Triune God Himself.
Today
God the Father in the Son
and the Son as the Spirit
have come down upon us
as fire.
The Lord Jesus
once said
that He came
to cast fire
upon the earth.
On the day of Pentecost
the Spirit came
in the form of
tongues of fire.
Today
the Lord
is still casting fire
upon the earth.
This holy fire, this divine burning,
has captured us,
and now
we are
part of the thornbush
that is burning
with the Triune God.
The Triune God
is burning within and upon the church
He has chosen and redeemed.
Thus,
the church
is the Triune God
burning within a redeemed humanity.
This is
the divine economy.
This economy
was revealed to Paul.
It is, in fact,
the focus of the divine revelation.
Moses saw this
in symbol,
but Paul saw it
in reality.
We boldly proclaim
that we have seen the vision
of the burning thornbush.
Every local church
is a thornbush
burning with the Triune God.
Moses and Paul
could not forget the vision
they had seen.
Paul’s Epistles
reveal that nothing,
including imprisonment and martyrdom,
could turn him
from the vision.
Paul was steadfast
unto the end
because he had been captured
by the heavenly vision.
The death of those
martyred for the Lord
can only cause the thornbush
to burn more than ever.
Thousands of us today
have seen the vision
of the burning bush,
and no one
can change us.
We cannot even change ourselves.
If we try to turn away
from the vision,
the vision
does not let us go.
We have been “wrecked”
by the vision
we have seen.
Many have testified
that they
cannot turn away
from the vision of the church
in God’s economy.
The opposers
should realize
that it is too late
to stand against the Lord’s recovery
because so many
have seen the vision
of the burning thornbush.
Hallelujah for the vision
of the Triune God
burning within the church!
Every aspect
of God’s calling of Moses
can be found
in the writings of Paul.
In Paul’s Epistles
we see the vision
of the burning thornbush.
In Ephesians 1 and 3
we have the divine economy,
the dispensing of the Triune God
into His redeemed people
so that they
may become His expression.
This dispensation
brings into being the church
as the burning thornbush today.
How glad
I am to be
part of this burning bush!
Because we have seen this vision,
we could never go back to religion.
Rather,
the vision
causes us
to press on.
Even many of the young people
can bear witness
that they have seen
the vision of the burning thornbush,
the vision of God’s economy
in today’s church.
Day 2
God’s ultimate goal
is to obtain a dwelling place.
This means
that God’s eternal purpose
is to build up His habitation.
In Genesis
we have the revelation
of the house of God at Bethel,
but we do not have
the actual building
of the house of God.
At the beginning of Exodus
God dwelt in the thornbush,
but at the end of the book
He dwelt in the tabernacle.
The tabernacle with the Ark
thus became the focal point
of the history of the children of Israel.
Eventually,
the tabernacle
was enlarged into the temple.
The Lord Jesus
came both as God’s tabernacle (John 1:14)
and as God’s temple (John 2:19).
The church today
is also the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16).
Ultimately,
this temple
will consummate in the New Jerusalem,
which will be God’s temple in eternity.
In the beginning
God’s dwelling place
was a redeemed thornbush,
but gradually
this thornbush
is being sanctified, transformed,
conformed, and even glorified.
The tabernacle
is an illustration
of transformation.
In the tabernacle
there were
acacia wood
overlaid with gold
and also linen
embroidered with golden thread.
Both the acacia wood and the linen
signify humanity,
and the gold
signifies divinity.
Such an overlaid and embroidered humanity
is a transformed humanity.
In Exodus 3
God’s dwelling
was a thornbush,
but in Exodus 40
His dwelling
was the tabernacle
made of humanity
overlaid by and interwoven with divinity.
If we are like Moses, the man of God,
we shall have
a twofold consciousness.
On the one hand,
we shall be conscious of the fact
that we are thornbushes;
on the other hand,
we shall be conscious of God’s glory
dwelling within us
as a burning flame.
Moses became
a man of God,
but he still considered himself
a thornbush.
In the same principle,
God’s glory
dwelt among the children of Israel
and made them His glorious dwelling place,
but they were
still a thornbush,
even a corporate thornbush.
According to Deuteronomy 33:1,
Moses was
a man of God.
This indicates transformation.
Apart from the process of transformation,
how could Moses, a man
so strong and active
in his natural life,
become a man of God?
Only through transformation
could he become
such a person.
One example of Moses’ transformation
was his experience with the Lord
on the mountaintop.
After Moses had been with the Lord
on the mountain
for forty days,
his face was shining
because the flame of God’s holy fire
had been burned into him.
Moses was like steel
that is thrust into fire
and kept there
until the steel
glows with the fire
that has been burned
into its very essence.
When Moses was on the mountaintop,
God’s glory
was burned into his being.
When he came down from the mountain,
his face was shining.
Was that
not a sign of transformation?
It was a sure indication
that Moses was being transformed.
According to
his training in the palace,
Moses could have become an expert
in all the Egyptian knowledge.
But because he had been redeemed,
called, sanctified, and transformed,
instead he eventually became
a man of God.
In the Lord’s recovery
we do not care for
a large number;
we care for
the genuine experience
of transformation.
I am happy
that we are
under the divine burning,
the burning that transforms us
and makes us dispositionally different
from the worldly people.
Because the element of God
is being burned into our nature,
we are becoming
men of God.
This is
what it means
to be a burning thornbush
in an individual sense.
According to
our nature,
we are
still a thornbush,
but according to
God’s burning within us,
we are transformed people.
On the one hand,
we are a thornbush;
on the other hand,
we are men of God.
Day 1
The thornbush in Exodus 3
is a symbol of Moses
as God’s called one.
No one has
much appreciation for a thornbush.
Although Moses
had been rejected by man,
he was accepted by God,
and the fire of God’s glory
burned within him and upon him.
Therefore,
Moses was a thornbush
burning with the glory of God.
The burning thornbush in Exodus 3, however,
refers not only to Moses
as an individual
but also to the children of Israel
as a corporate entity.
God’s people, the children of Israel,
included
those who were weak
and those who were strong.
Moses was only one
among God’s corporate people.
To the Lord,
the thornbush burning in chapter three
was not only an individual
but also a corporate people.
As individuals,
we all
are today’s Moses.
But we
are also part of the church
as the corporate thornbush.
God’s goal
in dealing with His people, the children of Israel,
was to obtain a proper dwelling place.
Deuteronomy 33:16
speaks of God
as the One
who dwelt in the thornbush.
This word,
written by Moses,
indicates that God
possessed that burning thornbush
as His house, His dwelling place.
Who would ever have thought
that God’s habitation on earth
would be a thornbush?
Moses must have realized
that the burning thornbush
he saw
when God called him
was a symbol of himself.
At the time of Deuteronomy 33,
Moses regarded himself
as a thornbush,
but to God
he was “the man of God” (Deut. 33:1).
In the individual aspect
Moses was a thornbush,
and in the corporate aspect
the children of Israel
were a thornbush.
Nevertheless,
the God of blessing
dwelt in such a bush.
If God does not dwell in us,
we are finished.
Although we may be
cultured ladies and gentlemen
or well-trained professionals,
we still are thornbushes
because our fallen nature
is related to thorns and to the curse.
In referring to God
as the One
who dwelt in the thornbush,
Moses’ heart
must have been full of thanks to God.
During the last forty years of his life,
Moses knew
that he was just a thornbush.
But he knew also
that God was with him.
We all need to have
such a realization.
Whenever we have a proper spirit
before the Lord,
we know
that we are a thornbush.
We know
that even our natural virtues,
such as kindness, humility, and patience,
are “thorns.”
As he
was blessing the children of Israel,
Moses must have had
such a sense about himself.
We have pointed out
that the burning thornbush
refers to God’s redeemed people.
Once we were thorns
under the curse in Genesis 3,
but in Exodus 3
we are a redeemed thornbush.
Now God is burning
within us and upon us.
This burning thornbush
is both the children of Israel
in the Old Testament
and the church
in the New Testament.
In the church
today
there are still “thorns”;
the church
is not yet precious stone.
Nevertheless,
we praise the Lord
that we are undergoing
the process of transformation.
In Deuteronomy 33:16
Moses spoke of God
as the One
who dwelt in the thornbush.
This word was uttered
when Moses
was one hundred twenty years of age,
forty years after he had seen
the vision of the burning thornbush.
Moses never forgot that vision,
even after the tabernacle
had been built
and God
had come
to dwell in it.
In Deuteronomy 33:16
why did not Moses
speak of the good will of “Him
who dwelt in the tabernacle”?
I believe
that for Moses
to speak of God
dwelling in the tabernacle
would not have been
as sweet as it was
for him
to speak of God
dwelling in the thornbush.
I believe
that even when we
are in the New Jerusalem
we shall recall
how we once were a thornbush
indwelt by God.
How marvelous
that a thornbush
can be God’s dwelling place
on earth today!