In reference to the story of Moses and the burning bush...?

Question

To start, this is not meant to be a rude question. I am just wondering with stories like this do you not sometimes question the "reality" of such things. I'm not saying it is impossible, because after all, if God and Jesus are real, then a burning bush as a speaker for God's voice would be a cinch. A guy posted a question about taking hallucinogens. I wonder if maybe it has ever been considered that during that time, perhaps people consumed unknown (at the time) mind-altering substances. This sounds rude, but I am not trying to be blasphemous to the Bible. I am honestly curious. Has this been analyzed and discounted? Or perhaps there are other stories of a similar nature which might fall under this category. I'm not ridiculously familiar with the Bible, so does anybody know the entire store with details?

Sorry this was so long.

I just wanted to point out that I do know what metaphors are. However, half the time I am told that the Bible is 100% truth. It can't be truth and metaphors at the same time. And I, by the way, agree that if the stories are likely metaphors.

Answer 1

Good question! I believe the bible is the Word of God. If it says it I believe it. Why? The Bible has the signature of God attached to it in many ways. One of those ways is Bible prophecy. The old testament has 333 prophecies about the first coming of Jesus Christ and 456 specific details about his life(all written between 400 and 2000 years before he was born). The 4 gospels in the new testament(Mathew, Mark, Luke & John) tell the story of jesus. Had those 4 gospel writers chosen to not write their gospels, we could still have re-created the whole life of Christ just from the old testament(all written before he was born). In fact, that is how the christians preached the gospel in the first 20-30 years after the death of Christ. They preached it from the old testament because the new testament had not yet been written. Man sees history like a person sees the Rose Parade sitting in the stands. The floats that have already gone by him are like the past. The floats in front of him are like the present. The floats still coming are like the future. These prophets in the old testament who wrote about Jesus Christ seemed to be able to see history the way you would see the Rose Parade from a helicopter. They seemed to be able to see the end from the beginning. That tells me that though they were writing these things down the info was not ultimately coming from them but from a higher source because man simply doesn't see history that way. Also, the bible has amazing knowledge about many scientific principals long before these principals were discovered. Seventeen times in the old testament the bible says that God is "stretching the heavens". For thousands of years bible scholar struggles with what that could possibly mean. Then in 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe was expanding. The bible told us that long ago.
No other religion or Holy Book has this kind of knowledge. All this tells me that these prophets in both the old and new testament were not nutcases but true prophets of God.
You said yourself when you said "I'm not saying it is impossible, because after all, if God and Jesus are real, then a burning bush as a speaker for God's voice would be a cinch". Anyone who can get past the 1st verse in the bible, namely, "in the beginning God created the heaven and earth"(Gen. 1:1) should have no trouble with the burning bush.
Moses had been out in the desert tending sheep for 40 years. All of a sudden God calls him to go back to Egypt and deliver the isrealites from the most powerful nation on earth at that time. How would He reveal His will to Moses. He could have just brought another one of the shepherds to him and had him tell Moses, "Hey Mo, God told me to tell you that you are to go back to Egypt and deliver the isrealites from Pharoah". I'm sure Moses would have had 2 words for him........get help(the psychiatric kind). God had to speak to him in a way that Moses would know it was from God. The burning bush was one way to do it. Could there have been other ways? Sure! He could have sent an angel. But had God used an angel, the critics would have said the same thing as they say about the burning bush........."that sounds to me like legend or myth". The real problem with most of the critics is they don't believe in God. If there's a God up there, surely He can make a burning bush speak. Sorry this was so long.

Answer 2

There aren't many details. Moses saw a burning bush and went to check it out. What amazed him was that the bush was not consumed. No singe marks. No ashes. That alone shows the mighty power of God over His creation. That was the whole point.

I don't doubt there were drugs in those days. There were medicines. But if you believe, like I do, that the bible is the inspired word of God, then it's all real. No drugs necessary to watch a miracle unfold before your eyes.

Answer 3

The Bible of The True Christian Faith is not intended for those not of The Faith.... only those open to the leading of The Holy Spirit will find in The Bible what God has for them there.... The Faith of The Christian is not in The Bible but in The Fact of God's existance....The indwelling of The Holy Spirit would not occure for one being influenced by mind-altering substaces... One must be in their right mind and capable of conciously and willingly with a free mind, accepting what God offers........every interaction between God and the individual must be by the free will of the individual... one "on" something is not capable of such free will action....... as to The Burning Bush and other such "supernatural events..... God can do any thing He wants with His creation.... He can make, do, be, anything He wants to be.... and he can make anything be anything he wants it to be...and if he wantss to get your attention he can set a bush on fire with a fire that dose not consume if he wants to... no problem for God to do that....

Answer 4

You really ought to read this story right out the Bible for yourself.
I believe that the way it is represented in the Bible is true.
God wanted to get Moses' attention and a burning bush did the trick.
God can do anything He wants--even talk through a burning bush!

Answer 5

Read Exodus, Chapter 3. I understand that you are not trying to be blasphemous, you are just curious and want to learn more. The whole story of Moses is about faith and that's what you have to have. Everything in the Bible might not make sense, but it's about faith.

Do you believe what you hear in the news? Why? Have you seen it? You have faith in what these people are telling you? Have faith in what you read in the Bible? I'm not telling you what to believe in. I don't know your faith. But if you do believe in God, believe and have faith that his word (the bible) is true.

Remember to "trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understand". Proverbs 3:5. Read that also and be careful of what thought you allow to manifest.

Answer 6

The Bible said if you have even a dot of sin in you , you cannot enter the presence of God.

Until we are believers in Christ or in the Old Testament have faith and believe in God, you cannot see God. Therefore , God had to speak through the thunder, burning bush etc.

But in the New Testament Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ because they have been glorified - sinless bodies where Christ appeared as God (which was who He is).

Answer 7

Moses was instructed by God’s angel not to approach the burning bush and was ordered to remove his sandals because of standing on “holy ground.” (Ex 3:5) As God’s appointed representative in the nation of Israel, Moses had unique access to Jehovah’s presence during his life, as Jehovah spoke “mouth to mouth” with him. (Nu 12:6-13; Ex 24:1, 2, 12-18; 34:30-35) Moses, like Melchizedek, served as a prophetic type of Christ Jesus.—De 18:15; Ac 3:20-23.

A place is made holy by the presence of Jehovah. (When appearing to men, he manifested his presence by means of angels representing him; Ga 3:19.) Moses was on holy ground as he stood observing the burning bush from which an angel representing Jehovah spoke to him. (Ex 3:2-5)

Today, Jehovah is not speaking to his people by means of an angel, as he did to Moses at the burning bush. God has spoken by means of his Son. (Hebrews 1:1, 2) What God said by means of him, He had recorded in the Bible, which has been translated into the languages of people around the world.

Answer 8

If this was true(taking hallucinogens), why would the Bible speak so coherently about this subject(burning bush)? If I tried writing something while I was on LSD, what kinds of stuff would I be able to put on paper?

Answer 9

God talked to Moses from a burning bush which was not consumed. This is not too difficult to believe compared to black holes and sub-atomic particles. Don't get me wrong, I believe in black holes it's just I think they are a lot weirder than a burning bush which doesn't get consumed.

Answer 10

the bible is A book of faith. You either believe that is the true word of God, or you don't. God gave you that right. A word of caution though. Choose wisely. This life here won't last forever but the one to come will.