Released 25 years ago, The Prince of Egypt remains one of the greatest biblical epics ever created on film. This animated adaptation of the story of Moses and the exodus gets a lot right. Part of what makes The Prince of Egypt powerful is that it employs show-stopping music and compelling visuals to help guide its story. Sunday school flannelgraphs can only go so far in helping us imagine the breadth of God’s power on display in the exodus story.
This article delves into a detailed analysis of the pivotal burning bush scene, examining its artistic and theological implications.
Artistic Brilliance and Visual Storytelling
Great animated films have the ability to visually tell a story in a way that could not have been done in live action. The film is thematically rich, wonderfully retaining the messages and significance of the Exodus story from Scripture. In much the same way, The Prince of Egypt uses artistic inspirations like ancient Egyptian art and the color styling of impressionist Claude Monet to inform the art direction. The results are exquisite backgrounds with blended, muted colors - just realistic enough to be believable.
The animation in this movie is stellar and is considered to be some of Dreamworks best ever. The movie is mostly hand drawn which sadly we don’t see anymore in the 21st century very much anymore sadly. They also experimented with some early CGI and for the time period of when it came out and how early CGI was at this point it looks very good.
The Character of Moses
The film does an excellent job of exploring the character of Moses (voiced by Val Kilmer). In Exodus 3, it’s clear Moses is only an echo of the true Deliverer who would one day come. He’s flawed and obviously not thrilled with what God is calling him to do. When God appears in the burning bush, Moses denies the wisdom of God’s choice three different times, ultimately leading to Aaron’s involvement to speak on his behalf. While the film doesn’t include the call of Aaron, it does make clear that Moses is more concerned with his own strength than with the strength of God on display through him.
Read also: Sweet and Earthy Rooibos
In Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956), Moses isn’t the hesitant and unsure servant who comes to find courage in the power of God. He’s a courageous and wise hero played by the strong-jawed Charlton Heston.
The movie illustrates these incidents because its agenda aims to project a Moshe that is universal and attractive, independent of the viewer’s specific religious commitment or affiliation. Thus, Moshe in The Prince of Egypt is meant to appeal to us as a person.
God Speaks To Moses (Burning Bush) | The Prince of Egypt (1998) | Family Flicks
Moses and the Burning Bush: A Comparative Analysis
Let's compare Prince Of Egypt (POE) Moses’ response to being asked to go to Egypt to liberate God’s people is a very simplified version of Exodus 3:11 and 4:10.
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11 NKJV)
Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Exodus 4:10 NKJV)
Read also: Sunbelt® Rose Guide
However, the matter of speaking to God’s people is not because of what seems to be a speech impairment but of right. How could someone who was once a son of a tyrannical pharaoh convince those oppressed people to follow him out of Egypt? Very ironic. He feels he does not deserve to even be around them. He sees himself as a traitor to his own people. We see this clearly in his story arc.
POE Moses goes so far as to say “You’ve chosen the wrong messenger!” Yikes, but don’t worry, the Bible Moses kind of says it too:
But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” (Exodus 4:13 NKJV)
And this comment was after God said “Who made man’s mouth? Who made the deaf, the mute, the seeing, or the blind?” comment.
Understandably to help balance between the movie and the Scriptures, God was angry towards Moses here instead of later. In the Bible, God was angry with Moses after he tells Him to choose someone else. God suggests his brother Aaron to help him and meet him all the way outside of Egypt.
Read also: Authentic Safari Experience
So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. (Exodus 4:14 NKJV)
For Bible readers, the conversation ends there. However, as I said, the movie mixes around some things. There were still some things left that the Bible did say. Despite the Lord's anger, He still was gentle with Moses and even showed him more of His glory and presence. So much He made him almost float! Some Christians today would confirm that it is just like this. I truly agree. The gentle peace, tranquility, awe, serenity, glory.
God tells Moses that He will be with him when he goes to Egypt and that the pharaoh will not listen to him. Thus, God will smite Egypt with His wonders. This is told in Exodus 3:12, 19-20.
So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:12 NKJV)
But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst, and after that, he will let you go. (Exodus 19-20 NKJV)
Ultimately, God’s presence whether seen or unseen is still with us. Everywhere. That is what POE Moses’ needed, someone by his side to help him do this great task. This was the whole point of God’s character. He is present with us as a compassionate, kind, patient, loving Creator.
Now, speaking of God being with us. Immanuel. The angel of the LORD in the bush. As the angel of the LORD, who was a messenger BUT spoke as a representative of God. Remember when I mentioned that He is who He is? Who could possibly be a messenger who is equal to God? Yep, the angel of the LORD is Jesus Christ. As it says in the Bible, the angel of the LORD was the one who was present in the burning bush. The pre-existent Christ obviously couldn’t completely reveal His form just yet so He used a burning bush. Why?
Now, why won’t God the Father Himself come down as the burning bush? It’s because He is so pure, just, righteous, and glorious that He cannot be in any presence of evil and our human sense would not be able to handle such a pure Being. Moses is human. Any human who would see God the Father in all His glory physically die.
But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Exodus 33:20)
Some have thought they saw God face-to-face, like Jacob/Israel when he wrestled with Him in Peniel (Genesis 32:22-32), or Samson’s parents seeing the angel of the LORD. For Jacob/Israel, it was purely a physical manifestation of God not His fully glorious presence. Samson’s parents had the same experience as Moses. The angel of the LORD is not fully God the Father as He would be in heaven. It may be confusing, but either way. This presence of the LORD was still His presence but in another form. The angel of the Lord and Jesus Christ the Son are the same but in different forms. The angel form of the Christ is more spiritual not physical. Jesus of Nazareth is God but clothed with humanity. (John 14:9)
Thus.Looking in Moses’ eyes is the best clue that this is the angel of the Lord, AKA the spiritual pre-existent Jesus Christ. Consistent with Scripture and how God is shown with the authority He has? Yep. That convinced me. So, now that we know who this is, essentially. Immanuel, עִמָּנוּאֵל, God is with us. His presence of love, light, purity, gentleness, mercy, and grace. This is the core of who He is. Yes, He gets angry. Yes, He gets jealous. However, He also holds gracious love for us so much we can not even fathom how deep, wide, long, or high it is. So, that is why I truly love how the movie decides to show God’s love for Moses. He promises to teach him. He promises He will be with him many times. THIS. Wow. God knew more than anyone that Moses was scared. So He told him what he needed to hear in this tough time. He showed him His glory and power. This later helps him to gain the confidence to show the pharaoh the power God gives him in his staff.
To summarize, the movie gives a wonderful presentation of God’s character. Is it perfect? Of course not. Do we expect it to? Of course not! As a Christian, this movie did a fantastic job. The love of the Lord is what’s most important. He is to be feared, but also to be worshipped. He has many mysteries but through Jesus Christ even before His earthly birth through Mary, He was watching out for His own people. He reveals Himself in many different ways but He is still the same Person.
The Voice of God
Writing this film must have hit a common snag: how can you represent something that can only be imagined? The entire idea of God as worshipped by the Israelites (not to mention the many religions which hold this story as holy) is something that cannot be fully understood, drawn, or shown. The description in the third chapter of Exodus is that of a bush on fire that is never consumed and the voice of God speaking to Moses.
God tells Moses to remove his sandals, as this place is holy ground. But-how do you cast an actor to play the voice of God? The visuals were done with flames that feel representative rather than real, as if the animators could only draw the idea of them, not the flames themselves. The truly remarkable piece, however, is the voice of God. Rather than cast one actor to play God, the whole cast voiced God.
With this method, not only did the filmmakers avoid the inevitable controversy of “is an actor playing God blasphemy?” but they made the moment more believable than anything else they could have done. God’s voice being a sound palette for the world of the film underscores concepts from earlier in the Bible than this story-namely, that humans were created in God’s image. Moses hears that all the voices he knows are directly in God’s image. The effect of using Val Kilmer’s voice above the rest gives the impression that whomever God spoke to might hear their own voice above the rest. Perhaps God has no one voice and is represented by whomever is listening.
Conclusion
The burning bush scene in The Prince of Egypt is a masterclass in visual storytelling and theological interpretation. By carefully balancing artistic license with respect for the source material, the filmmakers created a powerful and moving depiction of one of the most iconic moments in the Bible. The film’s exploration of Moses’ character, combined with its stunning animation and evocative score, makes it a timeless classic that continues to resonate with audiences of all backgrounds.
Popular articles:
tags: #Egypt
