Experiencing Intimacy With God

Feature 3 –October 2015 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Experiencing Intimacy With GOD

Before the “burning bush” experience recorded in Exodus 3, Moses had only heard stories about the God of the Hebrews. He did not know Jehovah personally. Yet God had a special mission for Moses and He wanted a relationship with him. Therefore the L ORD initiated their first meeting, after which Moses would never be the same. For the next 40 years both his understanding of God and his intimacy with the L ORD matured. Several months after their first encounter, the L ORD Himself said that He spoke with Moses “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11 NKJV ). However, this could hardly describe their interaction at the burning bush.

Let us consider some of the principles from God’s first meeting with Moses to understand how a lasting friendship can develop between man and his Creator.

A Brief History
At the age of 40, Moses fled Egypt and resided with the Midianites who, like him, were descendants of Abraham. Because they believed there was only one God and held some religious values, Moses felt comfortable enough to dwell with them, marrying Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro. By Egyptian standards Moses had slid to the bottom of the social scale; he forsook the upper crust of Egypt to live among nomadic shepherds – “every shepherd is an abomination [greatly disliked] to the Egyptians” (Gen. 46:34). God would use 40 years of character building on the backside of a desert to prepare Moses for the difficult and strenuous work ahead. Moses learned to care for lambs, to protect helpless sheep from vicious animals and to be satisfied with a simple life. Being a lowly shepherd in a remote wilderness taught Moses sincere humility (Num. 12:3). These and other experiences prepared him for a new commission – he was to be God’s appointed deliverer for Israel.

One day while tending his flock at the foot of Mt. Horeb, Moses noticed a spectacular sight in the mount: A bush appeared to be burning, yet was not consumed by the flames. The Bible says, “The Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush” (Ex. 3:2). God was drawing and Moses was responding, the result of which is always beneficial for man. We understand the appearance of “the Angel of the LORD” to be a “theophany.” A theophany is a pre-incarnate visit of Christ to the earth as His Father’s messenger.

A Humble Approach
God called to Moses by name, and as he neared the bush He commanded him, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (v.5). We are not told why Moses was to remove his sandals while in God’s presence, but we can perceive there were several reasons. Moses’ shoes would have been handmade and would represent the work of his hands. His feet would take him where he wanted to go, picturing his will. Stains on the soles of his shoes would have provided a record of all his past missteps. Furthermore, shoes protect one’s feet and God wanted Moses to understand that He would be Moses’ shield and protection. In God’s presence Moses would be made aware of the uncleanness of the works of his hands, his selfish will and the mistakes in his past while discovering that the Lord would safeguard him in times of trouble.

Prior to this experience Moses had murdered a man with his own hands in Egypt and had escaped justice by fleeing the country on foot. He could not approach the self-existing and unchanging God of the universe on the basis of human effort and be accepted. Nor could Moses acceptably serve God without adopting God’s will for his life, which also meant laying aside the failures and disappointments of the past. By stepping out of his shoes and standing upon holy ground, Moses became available to enter into his divine calling – God’s purpose for his life.

Divine Revelation Given
Apparently after Moses removed his shoes, the Angel of the Lord introduced Himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses responded by turning away and hiding his face. God purposely identifies Himself as the God of the patriarchs; this would cause Moses to ponder the unique manner in which Almighty God made Himself known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Stephen states that “the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham” in Ur (Acts 7:2). Isaac first heard the voice of the LORD on a mount in the land of Moriah just moments before his father was to sacrifice him to God (Gen. 22). Later God visibly appeared to Isaac to provide direction during a distressing famine (Gen. 26:2). Jacob was fleeing for his life to Paddan Aram when, in the seclusion of a solitary place near Bethel, God presented Himself to Jacob during his dream of the ladder to heaven (Gen. 28). Each divine introduction was uncanny and spectacular, and Moses’ first encounter with God would be no less unique. Each time God spoke to the patriarchs it was to affirm His promises. Moses would be aware of these and likewise of His faithfulness to keep them.

The Response Of Obedience
In response to Moses’ humility and obedience, God informed him of the distressing condition of His people in Egypt. God had seen their affliction and heard their cries, and the time had now come for their deliverance. Moses was to be the deliverer (Acts 7:35). Notice that each time Moses responds to the revelation of God there is blessing and further disclosure. Humility before God and reverence for His Word result in blessing and further understanding of God’s will. The Lord Jesus offered this promise to His disciples the night before He was crucified: “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (Jn. 14:21). Love for the Lord Jesus will be communicated to Him by trusting in His Word and obeying it. The outcome of this is the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to show more of Himself to those who obey His Word. Willful ignorance, rebellion or compromise should not be responses to Scripture by those who truly long to know and experience God.

The Identity Crisis
What was Moses’ response to God’s command to “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh” (Ex. 3:10)? He replied, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (Ex. 3:11). Moses had a two-fold identity crisis. First, he was unsure of who he was. And second, he didn’t know who God was: “What is [Your] name?” (Ex. 3:13), or by implication, “Who are you?”

Usually, the first thing a person learns about someone he or she has just met is his or her name, and Moses needed to know the person he was to represent in Egypt. Moses’ request indicated a shift in mental focus from his own lack of ability to God’s power and authority. This is the first step in understanding the purposes of God in our life.

God’s response to Moses’ second question was “I AM WHO I AM” (v.14). In preparation for their deliverance from Egypt and the wilderness experience to follow, God wanted His covenant people to know Him as “I AM” – the self-existing One. Through God’s responses to his questions, Moses would come to understand that doing the will of God did not depend on who he was, but rather on who God is.

God initiates meetings with man to reveal Himself and to declare His will. After introducing Himself to Moses, the Lord made known His resolve: “I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians” (v.8). God had personally come to earth to speak to him, and the only acceptable response for Moses was to immediately draw near to Him. Moses had to be willing to come to God before he would be willing to go for God. This explains his initial objection about going to Egypt, as without knowing the Lord such a venture would be impossible.

Calling Out To Enter In
Salvation from hell and deliverance from the wickedness of the world are not independent realities with God. When God calls man out of something it is in order to enter something else. God’s salvation for man is a complete salvation from sin and thus guarantees a consecrated people, those set apart, to God. Consequently, He warns both Old and New Testament saints: “Be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44; 1 Pet. 1:16). Moses needed to know that God’s plan to deliver the Israelites from bondage and from Egypt also included separating the Israelites from Egypt. Deliverance from the bondage of sin and the worldliness of Egypt leads to a life of divine blessing, the opportunity to please God through service and to enjoy fellowship with Him.

God’s plan was not just to deliver the Jews from slavery and from Egypt, but “to bring them up from that land to a good and large land” (Ex. 3:8). There was nothing in God’s plan about remaining between Egypt (the world) and Canaan (victorious Christian living); journeying to Mt. Sinai was merely a necessary step towards their ultimate destiny in Canaan. Goshen had been God’s provision for sustaining His people during the great famine and the place where He could multiply them and assemble a nation. Yet the time had arrived for His people to come out of Egypt and inherit a full land – a land of “milk and honey” (v.17) and a place where God could commune with His covenant people, unhindered by Egypt.

Enjoying God’s Presence
God’s answer to Moses’ objection was “I will certainly be with you” (v.12). When called by God to action, Moses initially focused on his own inabilities rather than trusting in God’s capabilities. We will find satisfaction in life by accepting and fulfilling our divine calling. Preoccupation with our abilities, inadequacies or personal interests is time-consuming and only hinders our availability to be used by God. Consequently, each of the personal inadequacies Moses identified as an excuse as to why he was not fit to be the deliverer only served to highlight the very reasons God had selected him for the task. Paul explained why God chooses to accomplish His purposes in this manner: “that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:26-29).

Is the Lord summoning you to come and know Him and to learn of His calling for your life? The promise of His abiding presence will safeguard your mind in times of trouble: “‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Heb. 13:5-6). Moses found God’s abiding presence to be a wonderful source of comfort during the many difficulties he faced in the remainder of his life. This provision of peace only resulted from his earlier obedience to the Lord’s command, “Come.”

In Summary
Deeper intimacy with the Lord develops as the believer yields and submits in faith to God’s revealed Word. It is that simple! Each time Moses submitted to God’s Word, God responded by manifesting more of Himself to Moses. The Lord Jesus promises to do the same with every Christian (Jn. 14:21) – obedience and faith draw us nearer to the heart of God. Only in this way can one abide in the secret place of the Most High and enjoy all the wonderful blessings and privileges of sonship (Ps. 91:1).

By Warren Henderson