“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.”
It was a mundane moment for Moses. He was just doing his job; he was leading his sheep. But the mundane was soon interrupted by the miraculous.
“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. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight–why the bush does not burn up.””
Moses was not taken aback by fear. Instead, he rushed forward in ferocious curiosity. He chased the abnormal.
“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.””
The shepherd heard the Shepherd’s voice, and he offered all he had: “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Was it the ground that was inherently holy? Did the rocks and the sand and the grass and the soil burst forth with power and glory? No; this came from the presence of something far greater, the presence of a King.
“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.”
Moses was undone. When he realized that he had entered a place full of God’s presence, he not only obeyed by removing his sandals, but he hid his face. He understood that he was not worthy.
Pause. Let us be reminded about our present situation:
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
~2 Corinthians 5:21
We are not worthy, but we have been MADE worthy through the power of the same King that showed up in a burning bush on the mountain with Moses. The presence that rested on that mountain now lives in us. It burns like a fire in our hearts and it seeps out into our lives. Because of His presence, we walk on holy ground.
But as for Moses, this reality requires reverence. Every place that our foot lands becomes momentary holy ground, and it creates for us a responsibility to live in light of that.
Back to Exodus. God had something to say.
“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. 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. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.””
*cue record scratch*
God just asked one man to save an entire nation.
When we stand on holy ground, we are sent on holy missions.
What if we began living our lives like we walked on holy ground? What if we realized that the PRESENCE OF GOD is stored up in our bodies, surging and desiring to rush forth in all we say and do, in how we dress, and in how we treat others.
This changes everything.
Join me as I begin choosing to live in reverence of the presence in me, and start recognizing how to walk in light of that.
*all quotes unless otherwise stated are from Exodus 3:1-9*