Moses
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were the heritage of the chosen nation, and his prayers for Israel
ascended by day and by night. Heavenly angels shed their light around
him. Here, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote the book
of Genesis. The long years spent amid the desert solitudes were rich
in blessing, not alone to Moses and his people, but to the world in all
succeeding ages.
“And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt
died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and
they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant
with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the
children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.” The time for Israel’s
deliverance had come. But God’s purpose was to be accomplished
in a manner to pour contempt on human pride. The deliverer was to
go forth as a humble shepherd, with only a rod in his hand; but God
would make that rod the symbol of His power. Leading his flocks
one day near Horeb, “the mountain of God,” Moses saw a bush in
flames, branches, foliage, and trunk, all burning, yet seeming not to be
consumed. He drew near to view the wonderful sight, when a voice
from out of the flame called him by name. With trembling lips he
answered, “Here am I.” He was warned not to approach irreverently:
“Put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest
is holy ground.... I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the
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God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” It was He who, as the Angel of
the covenant, had revealed Himself to the fathers in ages past. “And
Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”
Humility and reverence should characterize the deportment of all
who come into the presence of God. In the name of Jesus we may come
before Him with confidence, but we must not approach Him with the
boldness of presumption, as though He were on a level with ourselves.
There are those who address the great and all-powerful and holy God,
who dwelleth in light unapproachable, as they would address an equal,
or even an inferior. There are those who conduct themselves in His
house as they would not presume to do in the audience chamber of an
earthly ruler. These should remember that they are in His sight whom
seraphim adore, before whom angels veil their faces. God is greatly to
be reverenced; all who truly realize His presence will bow in humility
before Him, and, like Jacob beholding the vision of God, they will cry