Worship's Focus is the Light of Life
The Light of Life series
According to the Oxford Dictionary, "Worship is the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity." Nothing is wrong with their definition; it simply does not acknowledge God's law, which says, "You shall have no other gods before Me." There can be no light from worship when the focus of a person's worship is something other than the worship of the one true and only God.
God Saved Moses for Worship
God used Moses' name twice when calling to him. While I can't say why, the first may have been to get his attention, and the second was to place attention upon his name. Moses means drawn out as he was drawn out of the Nile River, where he was placed to save his life from the Pharoah's edict.
Moses' Worship was Reverence before God's Burning Bush
God's following words are these, "Do not come near here;" If you're wondering if the warning was because of the fire, it was not. The following statement explains the reason for the warning; "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." At the time of Moses, and it remains the same today in the East, taking one's shoes off was a sign of reverence, humility, and respect.
God's Worshipful Presence Explained to Moses
The thing that made the ground holy upon which Moses stood was God's presence. Some will think, I thought God was everywhere present. The best explanation I can find in the Bible to explain this phenomenon is in Exodus 33: 7-23. The LORD said to Moses, "I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight, and I have known you by name." Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion." But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" Then the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. "Then I will take My hand away, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen."
God's Worshipful Intimacy with Moses
When God says He has known Moses by name, He means He has placed an intimate love upon him. As Adam knew Eve, she conceived and brought forth a child. For this reason, God continues, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious." There is only one God, who always has the first and the final say. Moses could not see God's face and live because to do so would be to behold God's righteousness, and for a sinful man, that could only mean destruction. When Moses looked at God's back, he saw His grace, mercy, and forgiveness. God's glory became fully present, but not in Moses' eyes.
God's Glory Revealed in Fire for Worship
In Exodus 24:16-17 we read of God's glory and presence in this way, "The glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day, He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountain top."
Once again, God appears as a consuming fire. This time, Moses ascended the mountain at the command of God. God then collects from the people all the material necessary to build the ark of the covenant and everything required for worship. However, the people that God brought out of the bondage of Egypt were not God's children because they did not have Moses's repentance or faith. Therefore, God referred to the people in this way, in Exodus 33:4-5, "For the LORD had said to Moses, "Say to the sons of Israel, 'You are an obstinate people; should I go up in your midst for one moment, I would destroy you." (Exodus 33:4-5).
The Transformation that made Moses Fit for Worship
Moses' worship was such that he was used outwardly as a savior to his people, Israel. Furthermore, he was saved inwardly, so Moses is referred to as the servant of God 129 times in the bible and never as obstinant. God's saving grace always places the person saved "in" the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is that inward reality and outward position that allows God's people to worship in a manner worthy of the Lord.
"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord." Colossians 1:9-10.
Just as Moses worshipped before a bush that burned and was not consumed, so we too are to worship before Jesus Christ, who was burned for our transgressions but was not consumed.
At present, I am walking a tightrope high above the ground. To fall on the one side is to compromise what I have learned concerning the church. If I fall to the other, it means despising God's children whose angels continually behold the Father's face. (Matthew 18:7). Neither is an acceptable option, hence my need for sanctifying faith.
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