Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight – why the bush does not burn up.” (Exodus 3:3)
“Do not come any closer, “God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)
Moses’ experience of God tells me two things: how God’s word
will affect me and how I should approach God in order to hear him. The bush that does not burn up stands as a
picture of what God intended for Moses and what he intends for me. The voice of God with warning and instruction
shows me how Moses could come to God and not be burned up.
One of the things that captured my imagination when I was
growing up was a scene in the movie Krull. The hero,
Colwyn, has been fighting the
monstrous villain with a special weapon called the Glaive. The Glaive gets stuck in the enemy’s side
during the battle and Colwyn is left defenseless. However, he and the princess he came to
rescue realize that their love gives them a greater weapon, a magic flame. Colwyn then lights his hand in the fire and
does not burn, but rather burns up “The Beast” he has been fighting.
Maybe, it’s not a great movie, but the impression of a fire
that does not burn and is wielded as a weapon stuck with me. Fire shows power. Fire brings light. Fire dances and swirls in the air. I still have a fascination with fire. I build one at our house most mornings in the
winter. I never tire of watching its
light show as I enjoy its warmth.
The bush that does not burn seems to me to be more than just
a miracle to get Moses attention. It is
a picture of God’s purpose for him and for all people. What is the Holy Spirit, but the true fire
that consumes each person while not destroying them? He is the baptism of fire spoken of by John
the Baptist and Jesus. He is the fire of
Pentecost, settling on and in each believer.
The ignition for this fire is God’s word, his voice on the
heart of each person. God word is
described as a fire (Jeremiah 23:29) as well as his very being (Hebrews
12:29). When God’s word comes to me, I
find I am like the disciples walking to Emmaus, who said after they recognized
Jesus, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32) The Lord speaks and within me, his Spirit burns.
Yet the fire of God can destroy those who do not approach him rightly. When I enter the house of a family that asks me to remove my shoes before I enter, I feel some resistance. I have a sense of vulnerability when I leave my shoes behind. My ability to come and go as I please has been hampered.
Also, I have a sense of humiliation. I have been judged to be a bringer of filth into this clean and pure place. (I have only experienced this taking off of shoes for the sake of keeping a house clean of dirt.) Again, there is resistance to being seen as dirty. Isn’t it okay just to wipe my feet?
These two things accompany the worship system of that Moses received. In order to approach God, each person had to deal with their “dirtiness” (uncleanliness) and shed what was common (everyday) for something special (holy). The system was designed to bring about a heart that was clean, that is, contrite and humble, as well as a heart that was holy, that is, focused on what is eternal and spiritual as opposed to what is temporary and external.
For my own approach to God, I am to take off my old self and put on Christ. Like Moses sandals, my old self is dirty with pride and lust. Also like those sandals, my old self is preoccupied with self-life and self-love and cannot be vulnerable and receptive to God and his word and his Spirit. Of course, I cannot, by my own determination take off that old self. However, God will not remove those clothes until I come and spread my arms in humility and let him unclothe me. There is a nakedness, a vulnerability I must have to receive God’s fiery word and not be destroyed by it.
Lord, I light my soul with your word. Let my heart burn with your Spirit. Teach me how to approach your holy ground without pride, without lust, naked and vulnerable before you. Let me be consumed but not burnt up. Amen.
The warning “Do not come any closer” reminds me that approaching God is at his request and at his discretion. I may long for his word, so that I can argue better or so I can experience the joy, peace, or power that accompanies such words. I may long to come “Just As I Am,” not in humility, but with pride and a sense of entitlement. Chris Web reminds me, “Here is the work of today – which is the work the whole life. I’m called daily to open my heart afresh to the living Word of God. . . . So it’s with caution that, in my prayers, I approach the reading of Scripture itself.” (The Fire of the Word, p. 14) Preparation ends up being the first and one of the most important parts of receiving God’s word. I would like to practice such preparation better.
Yet the fire of God can destroy those who do not approach him rightly. When I enter the house of a family that asks me to remove my shoes before I enter, I feel some resistance. I have a sense of vulnerability when I leave my shoes behind. My ability to come and go as I please has been hampered.
Also, I have a sense of humiliation. I have been judged to be a bringer of filth into this clean and pure place. (I have only experienced this taking off of shoes for the sake of keeping a house clean of dirt.) Again, there is resistance to being seen as dirty. Isn’t it okay just to wipe my feet?
These two things accompany the worship system of that Moses received. In order to approach God, each person had to deal with their “dirtiness” (uncleanliness) and shed what was common (everyday) for something special (holy). The system was designed to bring about a heart that was clean, that is, contrite and humble, as well as a heart that was holy, that is, focused on what is eternal and spiritual as opposed to what is temporary and external.
For my own approach to God, I am to take off my old self and put on Christ. Like Moses sandals, my old self is dirty with pride and lust. Also like those sandals, my old self is preoccupied with self-life and self-love and cannot be vulnerable and receptive to God and his word and his Spirit. Of course, I cannot, by my own determination take off that old self. However, God will not remove those clothes until I come and spread my arms in humility and let him unclothe me. There is a nakedness, a vulnerability I must have to receive God’s fiery word and not be destroyed by it.
Lord, I light my soul with your word. Let my heart burn with your Spirit. Teach me how to approach your holy ground without pride, without lust, naked and vulnerable before you. Let me be consumed but not burnt up. Amen.
The warning “Do not come any closer” reminds me that approaching God is at his request and at his discretion. I may long for his word, so that I can argue better or so I can experience the joy, peace, or power that accompanies such words. I may long to come “Just As I Am,” not in humility, but with pride and a sense of entitlement. Chris Web reminds me, “Here is the work of today – which is the work the whole life. I’m called daily to open my heart afresh to the living Word of God. . . . So it’s with caution that, in my prayers, I approach the reading of Scripture itself.” (The Fire of the Word, p. 14) Preparation ends up being the first and one of the most important parts of receiving God’s word. I would like to practice such preparation better.
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