PUT OFF THY SHOES FROM OFF THY FEET

It is so often the case that the Lord appears in a special way to those who are faithfully engaged in the busy, mundane, routine of daily life. It is a principle that, ‘He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much’, Luke 16. 10, and it was so with the call of Moses. He was tending the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law and had led them to the backside of the desert near to Sinai. Jehovah needed a man with a shepherd heart and a patient character and both of these virtues He could discern in the man who had crossed the desert with the flock and was guarding the sheep in the hot and dusty pasture land of Sinai.

In these circumstances God appeared to Moses. A wilderness shrub was burning. A flame of fire leaped from the bush but, as Moses watched, the bush was not being consumed. It was a phenomenon, a miracle, and he determined to go nearer and observe. It was then he heard the voice, ‘Moses, Moses’. He responded immediately, ‘Here am I’. Then came the prohibition and the command. ‘Draw not nigh hither’ and ‘put off thy shoes from off thy feet’. The reason was simple enough; the ground on which the man stood was holy ground. If it be objected that the ground upon which he stood was but the soil of Sinai, the presence of God had made it holy. The fire was a symbolic repre­sentation of the nature of Jehovah, and those who at any time would draw near to that awesome Presence must come unshod in humble acknowledgement of His holiness.

So ought we to approach the Divine Presence, whether drawing near in worship, in thanksgiving, or in intercession. We are ever welcome to come near, but it must always be with due reverence and godly fear, careful of our demeanour, our lan­guage, and even our dress.

With unshod feet and bowed head Moses heard the voice of God, who had seen and heard the suffering and the groaning of His oppressed people in Egypt. He would deliver them, and Moses would be the chosen vessel to lead the people out from their bondage to freedom.

Let us be faithful and true in the little things of life and it may well be that Jehovah will trust us with greater things.