Holy Ground

The story of Moses' divine call is an outstanding example of establishing life-direction. (It may be instructive to notice that this ordering experience came after a lengthy period of unimpressive preparation!)

Moses had a royal upbringing in the household of Pharaoh's daughter. He learned all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became powerful in words and deeds. Perhaps he thought, as a young man, that he was now equipped to deliver his Hebrew countrymen from their oppressive slavery, but his first attempt at taking charge ended in disaster. To avoid the inevitable murder charge, he ran away and became a sheepherder in a remote part of the Sinai peninsula. From palace to pasture—he had certainly been demoted. For nearly forty years he tended sheep until one day, while going about his daily work, Moses had a startling experience.

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. "This is amazing," Moses said to himself. "Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it."

When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” Moses replied.

“Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:2-6)

Moses probably saw bushes every day. Maybe just yesterday he had seen this very bush, and there was nothing unusual about it. But in the course of an ordinary day, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in that bush. We would marvel at the sight of a flaming bush that did not burn up, and so did Moses. He went out of his way to see why the bush was not being consumed. But that was missing the whole point. God was appearing to him! He was ready to tell Moses something, but all Moses saw was an unusual sight, indeed, a great sight—a bush on fire that was not being burned up.

When God called to him, Moses responded, "I'm here," but he still didn't see what God wanted him to see. Then God explained to Moses where he was standing. "This is holy ground." Now Moses had not known before that the ground was holy. It was the very same ground he had been on yesterday or last week, and there was nothing special about it then.

And then God told him, "This is who I am—I am the God of your forefathers who proved me: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." With that, Moses began to understand, and he responded as was appropriate—he hid his face—not because he was trying to get away from God, but because he was humbled before Him. At first, Moses objected to the plan God outlined for using him to deliver the children of Israel. God reassured him, "Tell them that I AM has sent me to you." That was the turning point in Moses' life: "Just tell them I AM."

God does not destroy the realm in which we live and work. We still eat and sleep and mow our lawns and drive our cars. We still shop for groceries and talk to our neighbors over the backyard fence. In other words, God does not burn up the bush of our ordinary lives. He simply tries to come to us in this human realm. If we will not get too absorbed in our mundane shepherding chores or too taken up with the spectacular fiery bushes we see, we will recognize Him and His plan for us.

God wants to teach us, "This is already holy ground. This is where I am, and this is where I want you. This is where I am calling you to present me just as I am." Nothing in our attitude or actions makes it holy. Nothing in our response to God makes His presence be there. It just is.

MaryMartha

Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.