First Encounter with God

 3:1-6; 10/12/2025; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang

 Introduction

Every child of God has had a first encounter with Him, right?  Each person’s first encounter with God may be different, but it is likely to be unforgettable — would you agree?  Moses, according to his national culture, traditional customs, or religious rituals,  already seemed to be one of God’s chosen people and a believer in God.  However, he did not yet have a personal relationship or experience with God.  So then, what was Moses’ first encounter with God really like?  Let’s look at the first point:

Preparation for Shepherding the Flock

The things that seem ordinary to us often carry God’s beautiful intention behind them.  As human beings, we must learn to live out the ordinary in ordinary times.  First, Moses shepherded his father-in-law’s flock.  How was Moses’ shepherding different from Jacob’s,  who also tended his father-in-law’s sheep?  Both served their fathers-in-law, Jacob used deceit and cunning schemes to gain his father-in-law’s sheep, whereas Moses was simple and pure-hearted—each day he simply shepherded, with no hidden agenda.  If we also compare this with David’s experience as a shepherd, it becomes even more interesting.  Returning to Moses, we see that God granted him forty years of shepherding in the wilderness—not only to remove his impulsiveness, but more importantly to instill patience and gentleness in him.  Thus, when Moses later shepherded the people of Israel, he displayed an extraordinary endurance!  Looking back, we cannot help but say that through those ordinary days in the wilderness, God trained Moses to have a calm heart and to live as an ordinary man.

Secondly, Moses spent his ordinary days in the wilderness.  What was in the wilderness?  It seemed like there was nothing!  But this question should be asked the other way around: What was not in the wilderness?  There were no dazzling lights and revelry.  There was no former pomp or grandeur, no worldly prestige, no pursuit of fame and fortune, no schemes or rivalries, no countless temptations.  Moses had once lived the life of an Egyptian prince—perhaps even with ambitions for Pharaoh’s throne.  He could have said, “The empire is my playground; all of Egypt is a stage for my brilliance!”  Yet God placed His chosen servant Moses in the wilderness for forty years, to let him experience loneliness and solitude.  Until, in the midst of that loneliness, Moses learned to walk beyond loneliness—to a heart that was calm, peaceful, and willing to embrace the ordinary.  At that moment, God’s appointed time was fulfilled.

 

Finally, Moses unknowingly came to the mountain of God.  The Bible’s description is remarkably simple—it merely says that one day, Moses came to the mountain of God.  But how many “coincidences” are there in this world?  In fact, Mount Horeb, where Moses arrived, is the same as Mount Sinai.  It was also the very place he had passed by when fleeing from Egypt to the land of Midian.  In other words, without realizing it, Moses had already been led by God to preview the terrain in advance.  How many times in your life and mine have we, without even knowing it, experienced God’s guidance and presence?  Some of these moments we may still not recognize even now—or perhaps we will remain unaware of them our whole lives!  Yet our ignorance does not mean that God is unaware of our struggles, nor that He is indifferent to our needs.  Trust Him—for one day, He will lead us up to His mountain!  Now, let’s look at the second point:

Moses saw a great vision

The bible says, ”And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.”  Was Moses ready? Of course not!  But God had already prepared him.  First, the Angel of the Lord.  Revelation is progressive—it unfolds step by step according to what humans are able to understand.  The name the Lord means “I AM WHO I AM.”  From the Old Testament record, the term “the Angel of the Lord” refers to the Lord Himself.  After Jesus became flesh and entered human history in the New Testament, the phrase “the Angel of the Lord” no longer appears.  Therefore, we have good reason to believe that “the Angel of the Lord” is in fact the second person of the Trinity—the Son, Jesus Christ.  This means that throughout Moses’ life, the Triune God was at work, and especially Jesus Christ—He is our Lord, and He was also Moses’ Lord.  When I hear this truth, my heart is deeply comforted.  It draws us closer to Moses.

 

Secondly, Moses went over to look.  God had already appeared—what, then, was our response?  Are we indifferent, lukewarm, or do we take the initiative to draw near and see?  The Bible says, “The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in flames of fire from within a bush.”  God is always the One who takes the initiative.  He speaks, and it comes to be; He commands, and it stands firm!  God declared that He would create mankind in the image and likeness of the Triune God—male and female He created them.  Now, God appeared to Moses from within the flames of the burning bush.  I can hardly imagine what that scene looked like—a blazing fire, and within it the form of God, He revealed Himself to Moses in a form that was faintly visible—appearing and disappearing in a mysterious way.  Beyond simple curiosity, it took courage and faith for Moses to say, “I will go over and see this great sight.”   And what about you—are you interested in spiritual things?  Would you also go and see?

 

Finally, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.  What exactly did Moses see?  Did he see the fire?  Did he see the bush?  Or did he see a bush that was burning yet not consumed?  And if it were you—what would you see?  This is the same principle that applies to how we respond to God’s grace in our daily lives.  Do we see only the grace that God gives, or do we see God Himself?  Likewise, do we care more about the vision God grants, or about the God who gives the vision?  If we look out of mere curiosity, we see only vision.  But if we look with faith and courage, we will see God Himself.  Only by seeing God can one begin to ponder,  “Why is the bush not burned up?”  Moses may not have understood it at first, but soon the Holy Spirit would reveal to him:  Was this not a picture of Israel—God’s people—being oppressed by the Egyptians, yet not destroyed?  Now, let us look at the third point:

 

He is the God of Abraham

The development of the relationship between God and man inevitably moves toward a personal direction— one that produces the power of faith.  First, there is God’s calling.  God waited for Moses in the fire of the burning bush—waiting for his curiosity to be stirred, waiting for his courage to awaken, and waiting for his faith to rise within his spirit.  And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”  In other words, God has always been speaking with humanity—or rather, He has always been longing to have a conversation with us.  God speaks, and man responds—Just as in this moment: God appeared to Moses, and Moses said, “I will go over and see.”  Then God called to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!”  And Moses heard and answered, “Here I am!”

 

Secondly, the holy ground of God.  When Moses said, “Here I am,” he was already prepared to be called.  Just as the prophet Isaiah would later respond, “Here am I; send me.”  Hearing God’s call, Moses wanted to draw closer—to see more clearly.  At that moment, God spoke: “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  When we believe in the Lord, we all long to draw closer to Him and serve Him more, don’t we?  Yet we come to church carrying our old selves, along with many worldly habits and sins.  If our lives are not cleansed by God, how can He use us?  Our temper, our emotions, our bad habits, our selfish desires and passions, our worries and burdens—none of these please God!

 

Finally, the origin of God.  Moses might have wondered in his heart, “So strict—who is this?”  Of course, God knew exactly what Moses was thinking, so He said:   “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”  In this way, a personal connection was established between God and Moses—the distance between them was gone.  It turned out that the very God who had led Moses’ ancestors from Canaan to Egypt more than four hundred years earlier was the God of our forefathers!  Similarly, Paul encountered God on the road to Damascus, in a great light.  Paul also asked, “Lord, who are You?”  And the Lord Jesus answered, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”  Both Moses and Paul, through the contrasting experiences of their lives, discovered their spiritual roots.  And in that moment, their hearts were assured and steadfast.

 

Conclusion

Thank the Lord!  In Moses’ first encounter with God, everything was confirmed—God’s preparation for him, the vision given to him, and the direction for his future path.  What’s most important is that Moses finally came to understand: Who is the Lord? and who am I?  Isn’t that, after all, the most fundamental question of life?

Let us pray together……

 

1Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

2And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

3And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”

4When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

5Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

6And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.