Exodus 3.1-10
God finally speaks. Up to this point, a full two chapters into the book of
Exodus, God has said nothing. But now that changes. And what does God do
with His first comments? God introduces Himself. He introduces Himself to
Moses. He also introduces Himself to those who are listening to this story
of Israel. And that includes us. In our text, God reveals to Moses – and to
us – something about who He is. Now, remember the goal of this series of
sermons. It is not that you might get to know the book of Exodus well. It is
that you might know your God well. So, as a result of this morning’s sermon
there will be some things about your God that you will need to ponder so
that you might get to know Him better.
We have before us the famous passage about the burning bush. God calls Moses
to be His man in Egypt, through whom He will rescue His people. Toward that
end, God describes Himself. Did you notice that description? God describes
Himself in terms of His holiness. ‘Then He said, "Do not come near; take
your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy
ground."’ Now, why did He emphasize this? Why not emphasize His love or
mercy? Why did God present Himself right off as the God who is holy? Some
have said that it’s because holiness is the most basic of God’s attributes.
They would say that God’s holiness is basic to everything else. I’m
sympathetic to their concerns. But it’s not a good idea to try to list God’s
characteristics in some order of priority. The Bible doesn’t. But one thing
that we can show from the Bible is that the starting point for any
relationship with God, at least since the Fall, begins with an appreciation
of His holiness. The Gospel, which is the only means of enjoying such a
relationship with God, makes absolutely no sense unless it is clear that God
is holy, and we are sinners. Things like grace and mercy are meaningless
outside the context of God’s holiness. And what would the cross mean apart
from the holiness of God? God is establishing a relationship with Moses
here. He wants it to be clear to Moses – and to us – that He is a holy God.
Now, before we go any further, we need to be clear about what it means that
God is holy. You’d be surprised how that truth about God has been twisted
and misunderstood. In this context, the key notion is that of moral purity.
So, we have this from the Apostle John. ‘This is the message we have heard
from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness
at all.’ [1 John 1:5] Using the imagery of darkness and light, John declares
God’s complete purity: ‘… in him is no darkness at all.’ This ties in with
another use of this imagery, this time in John’s Gospel. ‘And this is the
judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness
rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does
wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds
should be exposed.’ [John 3:19-20] There is a fundamental antagonism between
the darkness of sin and the light of holiness. Sinners hate the light. They
hate God. And the feeling is mutual. ‘For you are not a God who delights in
wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before
your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the
LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.’ [Psalm 5:4-6] This helps us
to understand what holiness is. God’s holiness is His own perfect moral
purity which requires the destruction of all that is not pure. As you’ve
read your Bible, you’ve seen different times when God’s holiness did, in
fact, result in destruction. In the burning bush, God introduces Himself to
Moses as this kind of God, a holy God.
Did you notice how God communicates this to Moses? There are, of course, God
’s words. But there is also God’s use of the symbolic. What exactly is ‘holy
ground’? Is its chemical make-up different from the rest of the ground?
Moses didn’t actually see God. What did he see? He saw fire, a common symbol
of God’s presence. And what’s this about Moses taking off his sandals? Are
bare feet somehow more acceptable to God, more holy, than those that are
covered? God communicated a sense of His holiness to Moses not just by
words, but also by these symbols and symbolic actions. We see this elsewhere
in the Scriptures, and we assume it in our own actions. Why do you bow your
head when its time to pray? Some kneel during prayer. Why? Some of you make
it a point to raise your heads when I pronounce the benediction. Does that
make any real difference? Symbols and symbolic actions are not limited to
religious things. They occur in secular culture as well. What’s a flag? What
’s that touching of the hand to the cap or forehead that some call a
military salute? Jesus cleared the Temple of the businessmen knowing full
well that everything would return to normal the very next day. What good did
His act accomplish? It was a symbolic act. And what is the Lord's Supper if
not a symbolic act? God used the symbolic to convey something of His
holiness to Moses. The realm of the symbolic is something that we need to
ponder a bit more. By word and by symbol God communicates a knowledge of His
holiness to Moses. And Moses gets it. He responds with an appropriate fear.
He understands something about God’s holiness.
Up to this point, everything that we have looked at screams, ‘I am the holy
God! Stay away!’ And yet, what is this passage about? It is God calling
Moses to come near so that He might send this sinner on a mission for Him.
There is a kind of push/pull going on. It’s as if God were saying, ‘Stay
away and come closer.’ God stresses His holiness and then calls Moses to
Himself. This push/pull is a persistent theme when it comes to God’s
relationship with His people. What’s the Tabernacle about? God is near to
His people. He dwells in a tent in their midst. And yet, the heart of that
tent holds the Holy of Holies where no one dare enter, except the high
priest. God is near and yet His holiness requires His people to keep their
distance. Here are two seeming opposites that are joined together.
So, let’s pull some of this together. What have we got? God introduces
Himself to Moses. In that introduction He stresses His holiness, that
quality of purity that demands purity of others or requires their
destruction. God communicates this sense of holiness to Moses by words and
by symbolic actions. But, even though everything at this point says, ‘Stay
away’, God calls Moses to come near so that He can commission him for a
task. We see before us the delicate balance between keeping a safe distance
from the holy God and coming near to enjoy a relationship with Him. Now,
what do we do with this?
In a few moments we will celebrate the Lord's Supper. As I said earlier, it
is a symbolic act. What does it symbolize? Among so many other things, it
symbolizes this delicate balance we’ve seen in our text. God’s holiness is
clearly presented to us. The focus of the Lord's Supper is, after all, the
death of Jesus. Jesus was destroyed on that cross by the holy requirement of
God because of our sin. Every Sunday, that fact is portrayed before your
eyes as I break the bread, the symbol of the body of Christ. Each time we
celebrate the Lord's Supper we are confronted with the holiness of God. And
yet, at the very same time, this is Communion. We, by the Supper, are being
called into a deeper and richer communion with our God. We are invited to
come near to our holy God. Because of what Jesus did for us, we are children
of the Father. By the Lord's Supper, we are called to enjoy more of what
that means. And so, you see, the Lord's Supper is tied to this delicate
balance. It is a word from God calling you to maintain that delicate balance
in your own life.
That will mean different things for different people. For some of you,
participating in the Supper is God’s call for you to do better at grasping
God’s holiness. Some of you need to do a better job at approaching God as a
holy God. You need to do more to deal with the sin that remains in your
life. You need to work harder at obeying the command, ‘Be holy as I am holy.
’ This needs more attention in the lives of some of you. But then others of
you will need to work on the opposite pole of this balance. Because of
Jesus, God calls you to enjoy a relationship with Him. He calls you to enjoy
being one of His children. What some of you need to see is that you have a
Father in heaven. And just as He loves His ‘natural-born’ child, Jesus, He
also loves you, His adopted child. Some of you need to work harder at
believing that. And that will show in your prayers as you learn to speak to
your Father with the affection and trust of a child. So, for all of you, as
you take of the Lord's Supper, you are renewing your promise to work at this
balance in your own life.
Now, it may be that someone here is thinking that he just won’t take of the
elements, that he won’t participate in the Supper. It may be that this
person has a rather sensitive conscience. ‘I’ve promised before and tried
but I’m still so far from where I should be. How can I promise again?’ You
need to remember that along with being holy, your God is also gracious. He
knows all about your sin – and He has forgiven it. He calls especially to
you that you may receive His promise. Remember that in the Supper He
promises grace to you, the grace that you need to change. So, don’t let an
overly-sensitive conscience get in the way. But it may be that someone here
will not take because he refuses to promise to work on this balance. I
certainly hope that no one is in this category. Such an attitude is nothing
less than rebellion. God calls you to renew your promise by taking of the
Supper. Do not refuse Him.
Let me close with this. In our text we see Moses interacting with his God,
and we see lessons about holiness and sin. But what is Moses doing right
now, as I speak? He is interacting with His God. But there are no longer any
issues of holiness versus sin. Moses is now enjoying his God, having been
made fully holy. There is no balance to worry about. One day, by the grace
of the Gospel, you will be enjoying the same.