Moses’ encounter with the Living God in the desert is a Sunday School favourite. It is a beautiful moment of God reaching out to man in a way so memorable, yet so simple, that even a child can understand the wonder of it.

This was the first time God had revealed himself to Moses. In fact, it was the first time God had revealed himself to any human in over 430 years. Yet from this point on, a central theme of Exodus will be the presence of God with his people.

Notice that Moses was commanded to remove his shoes. The custom of removing one’s shoes as a sign of respect was common in the ancient world and is still common in some cultures today. Moses was reminded that God is holy, and God’s presence had made that patch of desert a holy place. The utmost reverence and respect was required. Anything else would have been a dangerous mistake.

Yet, the holiness of God does not mean that he is some distant, impersonal being. In these few verses, God “appeared to” Moses and “called to him”. Our most holy Lord is also our heavenly Father, reaching out to us, drawing us towards him. Moses covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. The Lord may be holy, but he was prepared to meet with Moses face to face.

As we read through Exodus, we will see time and time again how the Lord is both intensely holy and intensely personal in his dealings with his people. He holds the threads of eternity in his hands, and yet he knows the number of hairs on your head.

It truly is incredible that a being so incomparably powerful should choose to create us, to love us, and to sacrifice his own son for us. This is the Lord that we serve. This is the love that we have been given.

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NEWBOLD COMMUNITY CHURCH