Moses tended the flocks of his father-in-law in the desert of Midian. He had fled, a fugitive, from Egypt, where he had by human means attempted to aid his oppressed brethren, the children of Israel. In the solitude of that desert Moses doubtlessly meditated upon "the deep things of God" and pondered their meaning. We are told in Exodus that "the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."
We are further told that Moses turned aside to see why the bush was not burnt. He turned aside from material evidence to behold the indestructible things of Spirit. And when the nature of the spiritual vision was understood, he put off his shoes in humility and awe. This vision transformed him. He could no longer remain a shepherd of sheep; he was called by the voice of God to higher duties and responsibilities. He was directed to return to Egypt to deliver his people from bondage.
His vision of divine reality was to inspire Moses and guide the whole course of his life. He was "very meek," and through divine illumination he became the Hebrew Lawgiver, a prophet, a seer. Lightened by the transcendent presence of God, he led his people through the Red Sea; he smote the rock, and water gushed forth; he gave manna to the hungry. He who saw the fire of that burning bush was to see the fire by night and the cloud by day which symbolized God's protection and guidance of the children of Israel throughout their desert wanderings toward the promised land.
