Just a gnarly old bush...

Still with Moses and his bush.

I'm amazed how many varieties of bushes exist in the desert. Dry and hot, rocky or sandy, subject to blistering winds--a bush grows slowly. Most are ragged and twisted, and have a lot of dead stuff along with the living branches. Gnarly old things.

Moses encountered a bush all aflame, and yet not consumed. The "not consumed" part is what made it remarkable. That and the part about the voice of God....

The living bush was not consumed, but I wonder if the dead parts burned up and fell away?

But now, this is what the Lord says--

He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel:

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

Isaiah 43:1-2