The purpose of this work is to compare the qualities of the burning bush encountered by Moses at mount Horeb, with the seven branched candelabra that once illuminated the temple in Jerusalem. Both the burning bush and the menorah may be symbolic of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden and these similarities will also be examined. So now, let us turn aside and see this great sight of the burning bush and it’s comparison with the temple menorah.
When Moses approached the burning bush, God called out to him from the midst of the bush and instructed Moses to put off the shoes from off his feet, for the place where Moses stood was holy ground (Exodus 3:4-5). The temple too was a sanctified building, and the presence of God in the Holy of Holies also made the temple and the surrounding complex holy ground. Thus it was fitting that the menorah be placed within the holy temple, symbolizing the burning bush which stood and grew on holy ground. The burning bush could also be symbolic of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. Just as the Tree of Life contained within it the properties of immortality, so too was the burning bush engulfed in the presence of the immortal God. The menorah may also possess a similarity to the Tree of Life, as the lighting of the seven lamps illuminated the sanctuary, symbolically giving life to creation. So here we see that in the temple the Tree of Life was represented by the fiery tree: the menorah.
Now the word “menorah” is not mentioned in the Bible, but it’s description is found within the pages of the holy scriptures. For when the tabernacle was being constructed in the wilderness, God also commanded that a candlestick of pure gold be made with a staff in the center and three branches coming out of it on either side (Exodus 25:31-32). When looking into the symbolism of the menorah we find that the seven lamps represented the seven days of creation, with the center light signifying the Sabbath day, the day when God rested from His labors. Going further we see in the book of Revelation that before the throne of God there were seven lamps of fire burning, which are the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 4:5). Amazingly the seven Spirits of God are listed in the Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah. For in Isaiah 11:2 the description of these seven Spirits are as follows: the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of council, the spirit of might, the spirit of knowledge, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord.
Returning to the burning bush, some hold to the belief that the actual bush itself was an almond tree. A clue pointing to this possibility is found in the 17th chapter of the book of Numbers. For during the wanderings of the children of Israel in the wilderness, Korah the son of Izhar, rebelled against Moses’ declaration of the tribe of Levi to be the designated tribe for the priesthood. So, in order to end these complaints, God commanded that each of the Twelve Tribes provide a rod, and that the rod of the tribe chosen to become priests would miraculously blossom overnight. The Bible says that,”…it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds (Numbers 17:8). Additionally in Exodus 25:33, God instructed Moses that the seven lamps or bowls of the menorah be made like unto almonds, another parallel linking the burning bush to be that of an almond tree.
Now when the temple which housed the menorah was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, the menorah may have been taken to Babylon along with other temple treasures. But, when the Jews returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple, there is no mention made in the Bible of the menorah returning, but only of the vessels of the temple (Ezra 1:9-11). However, in the Apocryphal book of I Maccabees we read that the Hellenistic king of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus Epiphanes, went up to the temple, “…and entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden alter, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof.” (I Maccabees 1:21). So here we see evidence that a menorah, or a type of menorah was indeed present within the Second Temple, though it may not have been the original menorah which stood and functioned in the First Temple.
As we revisit Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush, the Bible informs us that it was the angel of the Lord who appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush (Exodus 3:2). Now the word “angel” comes from the Greek word “angelos,” which means messenger. Interestingly, when speaking of the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6, the Greek Septuagint translates one of the names of the future Christ as the “Messenger of great council.” Now as concerning the Messiah it is important to note that the scriptures signify Christ as “the Messenger,” and not a messenger, just as Exodus 3:2 relates that “the angel” of the Lord appeared unto Moses and not an angel. This, I would argue, is crucial in identifying the presence of the Lord God in the burning bush as none other than the per-incarnate Son of God: the Lord Jesus Christ.
Finally I would like to propose another connection to the burning bush with something from the New Testament. In the Gospel of John 8:58, Jesus identifies Himself as the great I AM, Who appeared unto Moses at the burning bush. Just as the bush in the old Testament was filled with the presence of God, but was not consumed, so too in the New Testament did the Virgin Mary carry within her the Son of the living God, but was not similarly consumed. So here we see in the New Testament a typology of events found in the Old Testament. Just as the menorah illumined the temple, so too did the blessed Virgin Mary brighten the sanctuary with her purity and holiness during her years of dedication and upbringing in the temple. Just as Moses turned aside to marvel at the miracle of the bush that burned but was not consumed, so too is it a great miracle that the Virgin Mary possessed the Lord in her flesh, but was not burnt by the majesty of God. What a great marvel and testimony of purity and sanctity that a mortal woman could carry the living God in her womb, but not be overcome by the fire that is God. For as it is written in Hebrews 12:29, “…our God is a consuming fire.”
References:
Barker, M. King of the Jews: Temple Theology in John’s Gospel. (London, England: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2014).
Brenton. The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English. (London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, Ltd., 1851).
Cambridge University Press. The Apocrypha, Authorized King James Version. (Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1992).