Approaching God
Exodus 3:5
And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Oftentimes when reading different accounts in the Bible of things that happened I try to imagine at least a little of what it might’ve been like. Obviously I can’t grasp it truly, but it is interesting to think about at times. Think about the account here we have of Moses. I’ve seen plenty of fires in my lifetime. Never have I seen a bush on fire and it not be consumed. I think I would be like Moses in verse 3 and want to see why the bush was not consumed:
Exodus 3:3
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
We know the Lord then called out to Moses which brings us to our text verse in verse 5. We see that God told Moses to not draw any closer and then to take off his shoes for he was on holy ground. Do not misunderstand what I’m about to say. I’m not suggesting that we remove our shoes each time we come to worship, but I do desire that we think about something. Have you ever walked into someone’s house and either ask if you should remove your shoes or just automatically take them off? We do this just out of respect for them and their house. Moses did what the Lord had told him out of reverence and respect for the Lord. Why then have we gotten to a point of approaching the Lord so frivolously? We serve a sovereign God who the BELIEVER seems to no longer approach with the same sincerity that we would walking into another’s house. We no longer walk into the house of the Lord with the same reverence we once did. How often do we just casually walk into church just like we do our place of employment or a place we go shop? What has happened to the reverence and respect we once had for the house of God? I remember growing up even the lost wouldn’t dare do certain things on church property. That has long gone by the wayside. Could it be that’s because even the believer no longer treats our place of worship the way it should be treated? How casually are you approaching God’s House each time you go?
God bless
Bro. Josh Richardson