Facing God

Someone once said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single footstep. In chapter two of Exodus we read how Moses, being aware of the plight of his people, murders an Egyptian taskmaster for beating a Hebrew slave. Immediately he takes his first steps towards the land of Midian, where he marries into the family of Jethro, the priest of Midian. As Moses travels towards Midian, he was discovering the path that one day, forty years yet future, he would lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt and to the mountain of God. The path Moses took through the Sinai Peninsula is not known for certain. There are many traditions surrounding the exodus, the Red Sea crossing and the mountain where God first appeared to Moses. 

Back in Genesis chapter 15:13 God told Abraham ”Then the Lord said to him, ’Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation that they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.’” All four of these prophecies given to Abraham come true but for now we watch as God is getting ready to commission him. Moses will become one of the greatest, loved and revered shepherd-patriarchs of the entire bible. 

Moses leaves Egypt and begins to make his way across the Sinai Peninsula, around the Gulf of Aqaba to the land of Midian which is located east of the Yam Suph or Red Sea. There, while tending his father-in-law’s sheep, Moses is drawn to a bush that is burning but not being consumed. This unusual sight intrigued Moses so much that he draws closer to the bush to get a closer look. Suddenly, God calls out to him from inside the bush.  In verse five of chapter three, we read as God calls out to Moses “Do not come any closer, God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ 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.”

It’s clear from these verses that mankind is separated from a Holy and Righteous God. In the beginning, back in the Garden of Eden, God only wanted to walk in fellowship with his creation. But because of our tendency towards disobedience, we became separated from our heavenly Father. Now, here on Mount Horeb, God is telling Moses to take off his sandals because He does not want anything to separate us from His presence or fellowship. As God continues His introduction, He explains that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. One fact to remember, is that the Angel of the Lord is none other than the pre-incarnate Christ Jesus who had personally appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just as He is now revealing Himself to Moses.

We see the heart of God here as He requires Moses to take off his sandals while being bathed in His radiant glory. How wonderful it must have been to be there in that place, standing in the presence of God where all the cares of the world just faded and melted away.  I’m convinced that I need to find the quiet place of God. We all need to spend as much time as possible in the presence of God whether in prayer or communion. As I wake up each morning, before my feet hit the floor, I’m thanking God for His provisions. Then, at day’s end, I make time to study and read His words. Soon they begin to wash off all the dirt and grime that the world has deposited on me during the day. 

Since the Messiah has already appeared to the world, it’s easy to look back through the books of the Old Testament and see God working out His final plan of redemption. The only way for God to redeem His creation was to send Himself in the form of Jesus Christ to pay our sin debt for us. The Greek word “ Tetelestai” or Tetelestai means “paid in full” and, interestingly , was the last word to leave the mouth of Jesus before He gave up His spirit while hanging from a Roman cross. The word has been found written across ancient tax documents from the Middle East area as marking them as “Cancelled Debt” or “Paid in Full”. So, Salvation really is a gift from God. Since you can’t earn it, just receive and accept it!