In Exodus Chapter 19 we see Moses getting specific instructions from God to prepare the people for a encounter with God. He tells them to be prepared. He tells them to even scrub their clothes down so that they will be ready to meet God. Then the third day comes and God appears as he promised. He appeared with power and might. Smoke surrounded the people as God came down as fire. And then Moses gets a special in vitiation to come back up the mountain to come yet again face to face with God. How must that have felt for Moses? A man that had a close personal relationship with the God that created Him. God then went on and gave him the instructions on how the people were to live. What we know as the ten commandments.
After God gives the commandments to Moses he goes on to give specific instructions about worshipping Him. He says every place you go and choose to worship, I will be there and bless you. One of the major points of this promise was the sacrifice that was involved. Today, we don't have to sacrifice as they used to, however God is calling each of us to sacrifice things in our lives to get close to Him. We must be willing to give, to sacrifice, in order to draw near to God.
The thing that the sacrifice did for the people, was that it allowed them to become pure. It allowed the cloudy, dark, muddy things of their lives to be cleaned and filtered by God. When we think about what it means to be purified, we can often think of water. Water in its original form has many things that would make the taste, and even appearance be less than desired. The people were told to reverence God and not to get near the mountain. This was to create reverence towards Him. We also must learn to reverence God. We must strip away all uncleanness, all impurities in order for us to come face to face with God. The creates in us a heart of worship that God desires. It is when we get to this clean, pure state, that we will encounter the God that we seek. We must be like the water filter, we must create a pure heart daily. We must give Him all that is within us, we must scrub our clothes, and always be ready to meet God.
God, I know that I have failed you many times. Too many to count, but I thank you that even through my failures, you have allowed me to still come close to You. All I have to do is purify my heart daily. I must decrease, so that You may increase. Help me and others around me daily prepare ourselves to encounter You. To see the power that You have and also the love you have for each of us. Please help me with scheduling time with You daily. I must be a priority in all that I do. It must become more than just a time with You, let me walk in your steps daily, and keep me in your arms, your wings. Help me continue to draw near to You.
It seems that one of the challenges for us today, as it was with the Israelites then, is what to do when we are presented with the prospect of coming face to face with God. We know that God expects holiness from us. The lives we live too often don't match the life that we know God requires. What do we do when we are faced with that reality? After giving the commandments, the Israelites faced that choice. Their response is telling - "don't make us face God. Moses, just tell us what he said and we'll do it." By choice, the Israelites willingly put a barrier between themselves and God. This barrier was never removed until Jesus removed it with his life, death and resurrection. Because of that we are now given the same choice today - consecrate ourselves and face our God or separate ourselves and have someone seek him for us. I pray that our desire matches our needs. Thanks for reminding me.
ReplyDelete