The Call to Stand on Holy Ground

The Exodus Series, Part 1 of 4

1. The Call to Stand on Holy Ground
2. Pathway to Salvation
3. Crossing the Red Sea
4. Angels in the Treetops

September 1, 1996

Exodus 3:1-10

Most of the people you meet each day, good bad or indifferent, live by their wits in this dog-eat-dog world and never think about God at all. If they ever do consciously think of God they probably think in terms of restrictions and oughts and shoulds. But at the same time most of the people we meet each day at some time or other have stopped and asked themselves the question, "Is this what life is all about?" For when we live by our wits or not, life is full of hard places.

If we were to be brutally honest, it isn't just the most of the people we meet that are frustrated with life at times— and who do not think of God most of the time. People LIKE YOU AND ME who should know better, or who may have been taught better, or even people who in earlier times at a youth camp somewhere or a revival meeting or a VBS made a commitment to God find that they can live a whole day a whole week a whole month without ever looking to God, and then one day ask that same question, "Is this what life is all about? Isn't there more than this?"

THIS IS WHERE THE EXODUS STORY COMES IN....

In the most modern, progressive, intelligent civilization the world had known to that time— a nation that had already produced man-made wonders like the great pyramids of Giza that were evidence of knowledge of celestial orbits— in that nation were several hundred thousand men, women and children who were descendants of the Hebrew Patriarchs. Four hundred years earlier Jacob had taken his tribe in a time of famine into Egypt, following his son Joseph who was viceroy of the entire land. They had been honored guests of the Pharaoh. At that time there were a total of 72 Hebrews.

But in the intervening 400 years governments had changed, and generations had passed and now the Egyptians had brutally dominated the Hebrews. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were reduced to living by their wits in the absence of God— or so they thought. But from time to time they raised their heads and hearts and voices and said, "O God! Is this all there is to life?" And so far as they knew — nothing! Nothing happened! Day followed day, and nothing happened.

WHAT A GREAT STORY THIS IS!!

Just as these people were praying almost in despair— several hundred miles to the southeast there was a solitary shepherd on the backside of the desert near a mountain called Horeb. He looked like any other shepherd, perhaps. He was a shepherd with a very interesting life story. He had been a prince. He tried being a hero. He became a fugitive. I have no idea what was going through this man's mind as he stood, a tiny isolated little speck of humanity in a vast dry wasteland south of the Negev. But Moses was about to have an encounter with God.

GOD MEETS ONE LONE MAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BARREN DESERT—

The man, Moses, saw a fire. It was a fire that burned and burned and burned. Moses turned aside to see it. (Significant!) The scripture says (4) "When the LORD saw that (Moses) turned aside..." then Moses was confronted with Almighty God. Moses was drawn, but he was also almost in terror. It was electrifying.

After more than 3,000 years this story has tremendous significance. For it tells in language deeper than words can express, to those who will listen, something about what happens when we come into living contact with God.

THE WONDER OF GOD REACHING TO A HUMAN BEING

[All Moses could do was "draw near"...not generate the experience; also extreme reverence of Jews for this name "YWHW" and LORD in our OT...]

Rudolph Otto, a respected German scholar, used three Latin adjectives to describe encounters with God in the Bible in general, and this Burning Bush story in particular. Those three words are tremendum, and mysterium, and fascinans.

Tremendum: Otto used the word tremendum to express three aspects of a divine-human encounter. First, he said was (1) A sense of awe. It is, in his words, "a quite specific kind of emotional response, wholly distinct from that of being afraid, though it so far resembles it that the analogy of fear may be used to throw light upon its nature." The Scripture says "Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God." Later, when God had brought all the people to this place again they, too, were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance.

But there is more. Tremendum means also (2) an overpowering, a majesty— a majestic distance— realizing the infinite difference between the ineffable God and our mortal humanity. The prophet Habakkuk said: "I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver at the sound. Rottenness enters my bones, and my steps tremble beneath me." Daniel said, "My strength left me, and my complexion grew pale, and I retained no strength." Both these men stated later that they felt greatly beloved and yet they were shaken physically and mentally and spiritually.

Finally tremendum has elements of what can only be described as (3) sheer "energy." The "energy" is sometimes represented in fantastic ways— Ezekiel's wheels within wheels— the four living creatures of Revelation— even the picture of the living Savior in Revelation chapter one— (words like Psalm 29: 5 - 9)

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire, The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voices of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, "Glory!")

"Awe" like Abram in Genesis 15 when "a horror" came over him as God passed between the pieces of the sacrifice "Overpowering" like Habakkuk who says, "I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver at the sound. Rottenness enters my bones, and my steps tremble beneath me." Energy beyond any human-generated excitement!

[THAT IS A LONG WAY FROM BODY SURFING AT A JESUS ROCK CONCERT]

But AWE is not all when God asks us to turn aside: [Another word:]

Mysterium: Encounters with God can never be really described. And they cannot be duplicated or summoned up at will. Ezekiel is never ever willing to say he saw God or even God's glory— but he IS willing to say he saw something LIKE the glory of God:

And above the dome over their heads there was something LIKE a throne, in appearance LIKE a sapphire, and seated above the likeness of the throne was something that SEEMED like a human form..." and so on.

When the Bible tells about people coming into contact with God it never confuses this great I AM THAT I AM with the physical setting nor does it give any glory to the humans involved. God is not in the whirlwinds or the fire or in the burning bush or even in the mountain or the tablets of stone. Moses does not fast and pray until God has to do as Moses says. There is always mystery involved when the great God reaches out to communicate with people.

One might say God has a big problem. How does he get near to us without on the one hand consuming us with his energy, and on the other hand convince us that He really is interested in us if we will listen and respond in humility and faith. There will always be mystery.

[Finally— and wonderfully— there is another aspect:]

Fascinans: The final adjective Rudolph Otto uses to describe encounters with God is fascinans, or the root word for "fascination." There is a tremendous attraction within the human heart for the holiness of God. For God is white hot passionate caring LOVE. To think that someone just simply downright LOVES you is just about the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Love" of some kind or other is the dynamic that drives most of the dramas and novels of the world— the concept of loving and being loved. But no love can compare with the purity and intensity of the LOVE that emanates from an encounter with God.

Awe. Mystery. Great fascination! Moses is awed. He covers his face. He certainly does not understand. But what is this— this I AM THAT I AM finally saying to Moses?

THIS GREAT GOD CARES ABOUT PEOPLE

He is saying, to Moses,

"I have been listening to a bunch of people who are living by their wits, and who haven't really ever thought much of Me, except that I am "absent" from their lives. I have been hearing them ask 'Is this all there is to life?' And I have even heard some of them cry poor, broken prayers like, "O God, if there IS a God— like I have heard about in fairy tales and myths and stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob— why don't you show up here and help me? ' Well, Moses, I AM is going to show up! And GUESS WHO is going to introduce ME and begin the process of answering their prayers??"

God went on to say that the proof that He was really God would be that right here— right at the base of this mountain— one day you will be standing with those very people who are praying to Me right now— and together you will worship. And then, and then only, the fire disappeared. It did not "go out." It simply was gone, and there stood Moses all alone in the vast expanse of desert.

THERE IS A CONNECTION, OF COURSE, BETWEEN THE PEOPLE IN EGYPT ASKING "IS THIS ALL THERE IS TO LIFE?" AND THE BURNING BUSH EXPERIENCE OF MOSES— DO YOU THINK THERE MIGHT BE A CONNECTION OF GENUINE WORSHIP AND GOD'S LOVE FOR PEOPLE "OUT THERE"??

A lot of things happened in the next few months to Moses and to Egypt and the people who were slaves but were to become the people of God. Great miracles took place, and God nearly destroyed Egypt getting the people out and away from their old masters. But the bottom line is this: one man met God— Almighty God— and obeyed Him. When this one man invited the slaves in Egypt to follow God they believed him, they responded to the promises of this God. And one day the living descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob stood at the Mountain of God, and they saw the fire and they experienced tremendum, and they experienced mysterium, and yet at the same time they knew fascinans.

When WE think of the Exodus we think of the details of the journey— the parting of the sea, the manna, the water from the rock— and that is only natural.

But really Exodus is about a God of fire and holiness and mystery who calls people to look up and believe and to walk with Him and trust Him and find they have never been so free and so happy. Exodus is about being drawn out of life that goes around in circles into a life that ascends in spirals that never, ever, ever end. Exodus is about an invitation to fellowship with the eternal God, the I AM THAT I AM.

THE WONDER OF EXODUS IS THAT GOD WANTS TO COME NEAR HIS PEOPLE AND NEVER, NEVER LEAVE THEM AGAIN!

So— who are we? and where is God? Are we saying "Is THIS all?" Can we ever see God inviting us to come nearer to Him? Will we take time to "turn aside"??

THE MESSAGE OF EXODUS IS THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN EXPERIENCE THE TREMENDUM AND THE MYSTERIUM AND CERTAINLY THE FASCINANS OF COMING INTO GOD'S PRESENCE— AND THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN WALK WITH GOD AND NEVER NEED TO LEAVE HIS FELLOWSHIP EVER AGAIN.

Prayer - 133 I Love You Lord — [Alleluia! Alleluia!]