Wrap Up Talk For Exodus 3 and 4

The next two chapters of Exodus (3 and 4) are filled with Theological significance and symbols. A major feature of this section is what we call the “Theophany.” We need to spend a little time becoming familiar with this concept because not only does it demonstrate God’s intervention in history but it also shows God’s desire for a relationship with his people – the people he has chosen.
“Theophany” is a Greek word meaning “appearance of God”. It is a supernatural manifestation of God in the natural world. Normally a Theophany is a dramatic display of Divine Glory in a way that is visible (fire, clouds, lightening) or audible (thunder, trumpet blast, divine voice) or otherwise sensible like earthquake, strong winds etc. Much like miracles, theophanies demonstrate God’s power over the order and forces of nature.
Theophanies can take place in the natural environment – in or by trees or bushes, near springs or rivers and above all on mountains. They can also be accompanied by spectacular natural events like earthquakes. Naturally, Theophanies evoke a sense of awe and terror in those who behold them. We can imagine what Moses must have thought when he saw the burning bush!
Theophanies were occasions when God intervened in history to disclose his will, to issue divine decrees and commands, to pass judgment on tribes and nations and most especially to act as Savior for his people. The best known Theophany is the one on Mount Sinai. The CCC explains the Theophany on Mount Sinai within the context of the Ten Commandments and God’s self-revelation as a gift: “The gift of the Commandments is the gift of God himself and his holy will. In making his will known, God reveals himself to his people.” (CCC #2059).
Theophanies in the New Testament share certain features with those of the Old Testament. The main difference is that most theophanies in the NT are ‘Christophanies” – that is, manifestations of the Divine Glory of Jesus Christ; for example, the Transfiguration.
Not only are Theophanies incredible in and of themselves but they are truly unique. Never before in history had God chosen to reveal himself to a people, to show his Divine Nature and express a desire for a relationship. This gives the Hebrew people truly a singular place in Salvation history.
The Theophany of the burning bush is, of course, the one we are dealing with in Exodus Chapter 3. Moses was called by God when he was living as an ‘exile in a foreign land” (2:22) thus anticipating the characteristic fate of his people. “The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a fire rising out a thornbush.” In this great sign, the whole history of our salvation is contained.
The fire is a symbol of God, who is “a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Dt.4:24). The thornbush, in its lowliness and worthlessness, represents the Israelite people and the whole of mankind in this state of fallen nature. The “angel of the Lord” is, in the Old Testament, very often the Son of God. The fire that does not consume the thornbush foreshadows the Incarnation, which leaves intact, the human nature of Christ.
The apparition in the burning bush initiates a new period in the history of salvation. The time has come when God will fulfill the promises he made to the patriarchs. It is the new activity that is indicated in the revelation of a new name of God. As long as the fathers of Israel wandered about in the promised land as strangers and guests, God made himself known as El Shaddai, which translated means “God Almighty” to show that he was able to fulfill his promise (Gen 17:1; 28:3,Ex 6:3). The fulfillment itself when God leads his people into Canaan to take possession of it, stands under the name YHWH, which means “I AM” The name reveals the absolute truthfulness of God, whose promise of salvation will never be revoked. He is the “Yes” and the “Amen” to all of his promises, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and last letters in the alphabet of human history. The name stunned Moses, we can safely assume because it also is a form of the verb “to be”, which means, “I am existence itself”. The name is so holy that it cannot be spoken even today. It is referred to by the Greek pseudonym, “Tetragammatron”. Fast-forward to the New Testament in the Gospel of John. Jesus challenged by his Disciples about Abraham being their Father in faith responds; “Amen, Amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, “I AM” (John 8:58). They then picked up stones to throw at him. They too were stunned and knew that Jesus was claiming to be one and the same as God.
Moses dreads his mission (4:10) as centuries later Jeremiah dreaded his (Jer 1:16). No true Apostle is self-appointed. If he is called by God, however, he participates in his power (Mk 16:17-18). As a symbol of his apostolic power Moses receives the “rod of God” (4:20; 17:9) which he may use to heal or strike. The rod clearly points to the Cross of Christ, the powerful scepter in the hands of the Son of God made Man, which strikes Satan and heals mankind.
Two other events in this connection are of typical importance. The first is that Moses receives Aaron, his brother, to help him (4:14). The Divine apostolate is exercised through two men. Our Lord practices the same system, sending out his apostles “two by two” (Mk 6:7). The greatest of all Apostles, St. Paul, is never alone. Important parts of the Acts of the Apostles are written in the first person plural. The reason for this is evident: the success of any apostolic activity does not depend on the personality of the preacher. He acts in everything as a member of the community of God’s saints.
The other incident reported here and closely connected with Moses’ mission is the strange encounter between him and God when he is with his family on his journey to Egypt (4:24-26). The incident shows that Moses cannot enter upon his mission without having “fulfilled all justice” (Mt 3:15). An apostle is never an anarchist who wants to create something new by first destroying what has been built before. God’s ways with men are marked not by revolution but by continuity through tradition, because God always remains faithful to Himself. For this reason, Moses, the mediator of the covenant of Mount Sinai, has to fulfill the covenant of the Circumcision. Likewise, Jesus, the Founder of the New Testament is circumcised and Baptized. The connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament cannot be denied and only reflect the continuity and Wisdom of God’s Master Plan for Salvation. Exodus connects a lot of these dots!

TA 9/30/09