A Lesson on God’s Nearness

Exodus 2:23-4:31

After the king of Egypt died, this passage states that God heard the groans and cries of the children of Israel. He took notice of them. It was time to act.

The Angel of the Lord
The Angel of the Lord appears to Moses in the midst of a bush that was on fire. The bush was burning and yet not being consumed by the flame. This caught the attention of Moses, who turned to see this ‘marvelous sight’ (v.2-3).

Who is the angel of the Lord? He identifies himself as God a few verses later (v.6). The martyr Steven also speaks of this event in Acts 7:30-32, where he also identifies the angel as God. The appearance of God is called a ‘theophany’. It comes from two Greek words meaning God and appearance.

What was His Message?
I am THE GOD! Holy and eternal (v.5-6)
I see the affliction of my people. I hear their cries (v.7, 9).
I am going to do something about it. I will deliver them from the Egyptians (v.8)
I will bring the children of Israel to a good land, flowing with milk and honey (v.8).
I am going to use you, Moses, to do this great thing. And I will be with you as you do it! (v.10-12).

Examples of Theophanies in the Bible
Appearance to Abraham in Genesis 18
Wrestling Jacob in Genesis 32
The burning bush in Exodus 2
The pillars of cloud and fire in Exodus 13:20-22
The tempest in Job 38

What Can We Learn About Theophanies?
1). God made appearances long before Jesus arrived on the scene in the flesh.
2). God’s appearances show us that he shows up in more than one way (tempest vs. still small voice).
3). His appearances show that He is near. He is not distant, as some may supposed, but rather He is intimately involved in the affairs of mankind. God is always with us!

God Calls Himself ‘I Am’

It is a summing up of all that God is. It is all of God’s attributes wrapped up in a short phrase. The study of God’s attributes would be a never-ending, inexhaustible exercise. As fruitful and rewarding as that would be, for purposes in this study, we will look briefly at God’s attributes of self-existence, eternality, immutability, holiness… and the fact that He is very personal to us.

He is Self-Existent
God exists without the help of anyone or anything. He depends on nothing outside of Himself for anything. He is entirely self-suffient. Aseity is the term used for this description of God. “’Aseity’ comes from the Latin aseite, meaning literally “of oneself.” Used by God, it denotes that He exists in and of Himself, independent of anything else. He is self-existent… The biblical basis for God’s aseity is found in the facts that 1) He existed prior to and independent of creation and that 2) He brought into and sustains in existence everything else that is”.¹

The scriptures also describe this attribute of God in Acts 17:24-25: “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything (ESV)”.

He is Eternal
The fact of God as an eternal being is a theme that runs throughout the whole of scripture. God had no beginning and He’ll have no end. There was never a time that God didn’t exist, and there will never be a time when He ceases to exist. He is forever and His kingdom is forever (Hebrews 1:8). His power is eternal (Romans 1:20). His purposes are eternal (Ephesians 3:11). His dominion is eternal (1 Timothy 6:16). From everlasting to everlasting, He is God (Psalm 90:2). In Genesis 21:33, we even see that one of the names of the Lord is ,‘the Everlasting God’. The Bible makes it clear, that even before space, time and matter was created, He existed before that. And He will continue to exist into eternity future. He has an eternal purpose to accomplish, which includes His people, with which He has bestowed an everlasting love!

He is Unchangeable
This is what theologians call immutability. God does not change (Malachi 3:6). Arthur W. Pink says, ‘He cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything outside Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. He is perpetually the same”.²

He is Holy
When we say God is holy, we are saying that He is different. He is not like anything else that we can think of. He is set apart. He is separate and distinct from His creation and humanity. “Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11)

In this burning bush passage, even the ground was considered holy!

The Bible emphasizes God’s holiness, using ‘holy’ repetively in a couple verses: Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8. The trihagion, as it is called, conveys intensity. The three-fold repetition expresses force and passion for the utter holiness of the Lord God.

He is Personal
God would have every right to be uninvolved, indifferent and distant from us. But instead, He is active and personal.

“I am the God of your father…” 3:6
“I have seen the affliction of MY people” 3:7
“…so that you may bring MY people out of Egypt” 3:10
“Certainly I will be with YOU” 3:12
“Say to them, ‘the Lord is indeed concerned about YOU” 3:16
“I will grant this people favor” 3:21
“I will teach you what to say” 4:12
“the anger of the Lord burned against Moses” 4:14 (even anger is a part of a personal intimate relationship)

What about the following verses that describe the personal nature of God:
Psalm 34:17-18 – “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted…”
Isaiah 41:10 – “I am with you… I am your God… I will help you… I will uphold you…”
Isaiah 43:1-3 – “You are mine… I will be with you… I am the Lord your God…”
Isaiah 49:13 – “For the Lord has comforted His people…”

God With Us

In a remarkable account in the New Testament (John 8), Jesus refers to Himself as ‘I Am’ in no uncertain terms as He boldly rebukes the Jewish leaders. Leading up to this exchange, Jesus (God with us!), had been interacting with the people in personal ways: performing miracles (Cana), preaching (Nicodemus), exhorting (woman at the well), healing (royal official’s son, the pool of Bethesda), providing food (the 5,000), forgiving sins (adulterous woman). His personal interactions with people was unmistakable evidence that He was not distant! But when the Pharisees looked for explanations and answers, Jesus told them that they would die in their sins unless they believed that He was God in the flesh (John 8:24). When Jesus declared about Himself, ‘I Am’, He was clearly claiming that He was God.

God did not set the world in motion and then walk away to let it run unattended. Appearances like the one at the burning bush shows that He is connected and involved with His people. When Jesus burst on the scene, it was God’s message that He is with us (Emmanuel)!

Footnotes

1. Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Bethany House, Bloomington, MN, 2003, p.58

2. Arthur W. Pink, The Attributes of God, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 1975, p.37