The moment Yahweh called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt may be one of the most spectacular moments in scripture. The obvious reason is that Yahweh spoke to Moses through a burning bush not being consumed. Another reason is that it occurred in the daily routine of Moses’ day, In a moment he went from a fugitive hiding in the desert to a man with a call on his life to do something mighty for the Lord. Yahweh used the burning bush because something spectacular was needed to get Moses’ attention.
Denning (2007) presents the key steps for the language of leadership are getting people’s attention, stimulating desire, and reinforcing with reasons. As Plastow (2015) points out, Exodus 3:2-6 shows how Yahweh grabbed Moses’ attention by using the burning bush, stimulated desire in verses 7-10, and reinforced with reason in verses 11-17.
The burning bush was vital step one, getting people’s attention, in order to break Moses out of his routine. Initially in verse 2 when Moses notices the burning bush, the scripture says he was looking around, as in a general sense, but in verse 3 scripture says he focused or turned aside to pay attention to the sight before him. The sight of a burning bush but not being consumed was a strange sight and was enough to stop Moses from just overlooking it, as he would have given the number of burning bushes he would have likely seen in his forty years in the wilderness (Davies, 2006) It was the unique situation that grabbed Moses’ attention enough to break his routine and allow Yahweh to call him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
How hard it is for Yahweh to get people’s attention today?
References
Davies, O. (2006). Reading the burning bush: voice, world and holiness. Modern Theology, 22(3), 439–448.
Denning, S. (2007). The Secret Language of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire Action Through Narrative (1 edition). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Plastow, J. (2015, July). Dialogue 4A – Plastow. Retrieved from https://regent.blackboard.com/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&forum_id=_878811_1&group_id=_185418_1&nav=group_forum&conf_id=_276008_1&course_id=_128480_1&message_id=_11754067_1#msg__11754067_1Id
