Miracles Get Our Attention

¹ Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.””  Exodus 3:1-3 (NIV)

The angel of the Lord appeared, and Moses saw. Both actions are important to the story. This was a miracle to get Moses’ attention. Miracles and evidence of the supernatural are not always for the purpose of meeting a particular need, sometimes God simply wants to get attention.

“Signs and wonders” are two words that often go together in both Old and New Testaments. A “wonder” in the Hebrew is an act of God that “awakens astonishment” in people. Getting our attention may require something “strange.” By being wonders, they are by nature something beyond the normal order of events. A miracle, a sign or wonder, “transcends the ordinary course of nature and so generates awe.” ¹

You and I might see God’s handiwork all around us, but someone else will need a “wonder” to begin to open up their eyes to what God wants them to see. We Christians can get stuck in ruts and routines, and only a wonder will snap us out of our slumber, like an alarm waking us up from our snooze. Strange things get our attention! Moses described the burning bush as a “strange sight” (v. 3). God is not averse to doing something that seems strange to us. 

Signs and Wonders

Revivals are frequently in history characterized by various signs. Wesley emphasized that the manifestations weren’t the most important things happening in his meetings, but they were indications that God was at work! We shouldn’t be ashamed of that today. One of the things that we have seen is people falling when the power of the Holy Spirit hits them, same as in Wesley’s day. Some people who are skeptical have asked, “What’s the point?” The point is that God is getting attention.

The first time I ever saw that happen, it sure got my attention. I was at a little church in Danville, KY. A man who was touched by the Spirit didn’t just tilt back, but his legs flew up in the air! He landed on his back with such force that the little church building shook. 

That might have changed my whole life–I was saved, but this let me know that something supernatural was happening. God needed to get this skeptic’s attention! Healthy skepticism may be fine–I’m super skeptical–but not so much that we refuse to let God grab our attention. There’s more to the purpose of miracles, signs, and wonders: 

Miracles Point to God 

This is the “sign” component of “signs and wonders.” A sign on the highway doesn’t exist just for itself, it points to something else. No one says, “Let’s just put up a bunch of signs along the highway because we want to see more signs.” We have a sign for our church along the highway, not because we love the idea of a sign, but because we are pointing to a place where people can come and meet with God together. In the case of miracles, signs, and wonders, they point to God. 

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” ⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Exodus 3:4-6 

When God saw that the sign got Moses’ attention, he revealed himself further. Miracles give evidence that God is up to something. One time in seminary, I was tired and burnt-out from all my work for God. I went out behind the apartment complex where I lived, and came to a fence overlooking the river. Grabbing the fence, I cried out “God, where are you?!” No sooner than I had done so, I saw, far off, a wall of fog rolling toward me. Very quickly, it came up and overtook me, until I couldn’t even see the buildings about 500 feet behind me. God was right there with me the whole time, and he answered me.

That’s an old story, but life-shaping for me. Shouldn’t I have newer stories? Sure, but I have a question: How many times did Moses see the burning bush? He had many other signs, including meeting God face to face, but he only needed one burning bush experience to change his life trajectory. He knew God was at work. 

Miracles Accredit God’s Message

 The message was that God had seen the misery of his people, and he had heard their cries, and that the time had come for Egypt to let God’s people go.

 ⁷ The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:7-10

The miracle and the message motivated Moses to obey. The miracle said: God is here. The message was: “I have indeed seen… I have heard them crying out… I am concerned about their suffering. So now, go. I am sending you.” So Moses received the message and he obeyed. Not without some resistance, as we see in the next chapter, but he nonetheless obeyed. He had tried and failed on his own. He especially needed assurance that he was hearing God correctly this time. In 2 Kings 20, God made a promise to King Hezekiah that he would heal him from his terminal illness in three days. Hezekiah asked for a sign that it would come to pass, so God made the sun’s shadow move backwards on the sundial instead of forward. That miracle had no other purpose than to accredit a message from God. 

Miracles Accredit God’s Messenger

Even after speaking with God at the burning bush, Moses was lacking in confidence. He had been rejected by the Israelites before–which is why he had been attending sheep for forty years at this point. 

In the next chapter, God gives Moses three signs that he can use to help the Israelites believe that Moses was sent by God. His shepherd’s staff would become a snake, his hand would become leprous when he put it into his cloak, and then would be healed when he did that again, and water from the Nile would be turned into blood. Those weren’t for the Pharaoh, those signs were for the people of God. God is not finished giving signs to his own people. 

⁵ “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.” Exodus 4:5 (NIV)

This is not a universal principle. Even Pharaoh’s magicians copied some of the signs Moses did. The Bible warns of false teachers who will do miracles. Yet, the Apostle Paul doesn’t hesitate to point to signs and wonders as evidence of his call by God to be an apostle. In other words, miracles alone shouldn’t be relied upon as validation of anyone’s ministry. But they can validate the messenger when the messenger’s life and message line up with God. And yes, God is still doing this today. Why? For a response. 

How Should We Respond?

Miracles, signs, and wonders, are intended to produce a response. Proper response to God’s attempt to get our attention: listen and obey. God was a bit angry with Moses for his refusal and his insistence on sending Aaron—but Moses eventually followed through. Don’t expect God to beg you to obey him, though. Don’t keep turning away, walking away from God, and expecting him to run after you and say, “I was just kidding.” The proper response is to believe. 

Miracles in the Bible did not guarantee appropriate responses. Pharaoh is a prime example. Not everyone responded positively to the miracles of Jesus or of Paul. Miracles of Jesus were written so that you might believe, and by believing have eternal life. If you have a point of view that says miracles, signs, and wonders are impossible, then it’s likely that no proof will satisfy you. 

To hear this message and others, visit edcrenshaw.com/podcast.

1. (Keener, Craig S.. Miracles Today (p. 3)) ↩︎