Sept. 19, 2013
Exodus 3-Part 3
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and , behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. and Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. and he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy fee, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Exodus 3:2-5
LET IT GLOW
How do we approach a holy God? What do we do? I take off my sandals when I am praying privately. Moses' experience is an example to us.
Moses is in the desert for 40 years, minding his father in law's sheep and minding his own business, in obscurity as a result of failure, is now 80 years old. Suddenly he sees a burning bush. An angel of the LORD appeared to him in the midst of the flame of fire in the burning bush. (Moses is commissioned by God to return to Egypt and deliver the Hebrews, Israelites.)
Moses still did not know that the Lord was the One who was speaking to him. What he heard was an unfamiliar, authoritative-sounding voice. (Swindoll)
Moses saw that the bush did not burn up. He thought to himself, "I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up." (NIV)
When the LORD (Elohim) saw that Moses had gone over to take a closer look, God called to Moses from within the bush, "Moses, Moses!"
David Guzik explains to us:
- God didn't speak to Moses until He has Moses' attention. Often God's Word doesn't touch our heart the way that it might because we don't give it our attention.
- The burning bush was a spectacular phenomenon that captured Moses' attention; but it changed nothing until Moses received the Word of God there.
- God called out to Moses. This is an occasion where Jesus appeared before His incarnation in the Old Testament as the Angel of the LORD. [Gen. 16:7-13 Gen 18:1, Gen. 32:24-30, Judges 2:1-5, Judges 6:11-24, Judges 13:3-22) He appeared to Hagar, Abraham, Jacob, the Israelites, Gideon, and Samson's parents.]
- One of three preincarnate theophanies by the Lord Jesus Christ is in verse 2. This same divine messenger had earlier led Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 14:19). (MacArthur)
- God's first words to Moses was to call him by name. This shows that even though Moses was now an obscure, forgotten shepherd on the backside of the desert, God knew who he was, and Moses was important to God.
God told Moses to do two things:
- to keep a distance (stop coming closer) and
- to show reverence for God's presence. Moses was on his way to up-close examination of the burning bush. It was a holy place because God is holy. There will always be a distance between man and God. [Moses was to take off his shoes in God's presence because he was on holy ground. Jesus is the bridge that brings us to God; He shed blood cleanses us so we may enter the throne room of the Almighty, Holy God.]
Removing sandals showed an appropriate humility, because the poorest and needy have no shoes, and servants usually went barefooted. Moses was in God's "house," a place of His immediate presence.
God revealed Himself to Moses more intimately than He had to any of the patriarchs; yet it begins with God reminding Moses of the bridge of covenant they meet on. God was at work 400 years preserving and multiplying the nation. (Guzik)
God speaks in different ways. Tomorrow, I will share those ways, according to Blackaby and King, authors of Experiencing God.
Has God ever spoken to you? What new thing has He revealed to you lately? Is God speaking to you through His Word?
LET IT GO
Take off my sandals when I come into the presence of Almighty God.
Listen for God to speak to me through His Holy Spirit.
Love, praise, honor, glorify, thank my God for who He is and what He has done for me.
Confess my sins.
Obey what He tells me to do. Look where God is working and join Him.
Daily read His Word.
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