Staff Writer| The Progress-Index
Question: Why did Moses have to remove his sandals at the Burning Bush?
- Irma Jenkins
Chesterfield, VA
Answer: Exodus 3 records Moses' experience when he saw a bush on the side of Mt. Sinai that appeared to be on fire, but it didn't burn up. He went up on the mountain to investigate this phenomenon. Verse 2 says "The Angel (Messenger) of the Lord" (written with the definite article in Hebrew) spoke to him from the flame. In verse 6 this Messenger identified himself as God. He told Moses to remove his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. There's your answer: Moses was standing on holy ground.
Taking off one's shoes was and still is a sign of reverence, humility, and respect. This same experience was repeated in Joshua 5:15 when the Captain of the Lord's Army told Joshua to take of his sandals. In 6:2 this Captain is identified as the Lord. Anytime Scripture shows God appearing in human form, we understand this to be Jesus. He is the only representation of the Godhead with a physical body. Since he has always existed, in the Old Testament we call him the preincarnate Jesus. He walked with Adam and the Hebrews in the fiery furnace.
Almost all ancient religions specify that shoes are to be taken off and communicants are to be barefooted when offering oblations or worship to their gods. Orientals take off their shoes when entering someone's home. They don't do it because their shoes may be dirty; they do it as a sign of respect. These customs must have originated by God Himself in these 2 scriptures.
Some ancient writers said there may have been a previous temple on Mt. Sinai, and the reference to holy ground was because Moses was standing on those ruins. There's no historical record of a temple there, and Moses would have surely known about it since he'd been grazing his father-in-law's flocks there for 40 years. There certainly was no temple near Jericho when the God's Captain appeared to Joshua. The ground was holy because of the presence of God. God's own presence is what makes any temple holy. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that our bodies are holy because we are temples of God's Spirit if we have given our hearts to be indwelt by Jesus.
Taking off his shoes reminds us that God likes to fellowship with us without any barriers. With his bare feet touching the ground where God stood, Moses surely felt the divine Presence. Matthew 27:51 records God's tearing the veil in the Temple when Jesus died so that nothing need hinder our personal entrance into his presence. He still wants to fellowship with each of us personally if we confess our sins and our need for him and approach him in Jesus' name.
- Dr. Tom Lovorn is pastor of God's Storehouse Baptist Church in Richmond. He writes a weekly column for The Progress-Index. He invites your Bible questions to him in care of this newspaper of via his website at www.tomlovorn.us
