3.6.25 - (Exodus 3:1-6)

Introduction

Hello, this is Kenneth, and welcome to Dwell.

Today is Thursday, March 6th. Thanks for joining us for today's Dwell Kids Daily.

Thanks for joining us for The Melodic Line for Kids.

For the next few minutes, I invite you to join me as we look to our Great King by opening our hearts to hear from Him through the words of the Bible.

Silence

As we begin, let us remember that God calls His people, young and old, to be still and know that He is God. Let's take a few seconds to clear our minds, so that we can hear him better.

Opening Prayer‌ Father, when we spend time in your word and set our hearts on your teaching, we flourish like a lush tree planted by a stream of fresh water. Teach us today and nourish our souls..

Passage

Today our passage is from Exodus chapter 3 verses 1-6 (ESV)

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Exhortation

The book of Exodus is definitely one of my favorite books of the Bible. And chapter 3 is one of my favorite chapters! It begins with the enslavement of the offspring of Abraham in the land of Egypt. There is an evil pharaoh who seeks to stop the multiplication and fruitfulnessof the people by killing the young boys. Tragic. This is when Moses is born. Very dangerous times. But thanks to a group of faithful and kind women, Moses lives. But, when he grows up, he has to flee Egypt. And this is where our passage picks up. Moses is out in the wilderness, tending to his father-in-law's sheep.

Our passage says that he came to the mountain of God – you'll notice that a lot of people encounter God on top of a mountain in the Bible. This is what happens to Moses. He sees a bush that is on fire, but strangely, it is not burning away. But that is not even the strangest part, he sees a figure called the angel of Yahweh, standing in the burning bush!

Now, the angel of Yahweh is actually Yahweh himself (Oh, by the way, God has a name, did you know that? It's Yahweh). God speaks to Moses. He calls to him, “Moses Moses.” He tells Moses not to come near, and to take off his shoes because the ground around the bush is now made holy. This whole site fills Moses with all – which means holy fear – and wonder.

God is holy. He is unique. He is different. His holiness is perfect truth, it is pure beauty, it is pristine goodness, and it is awesome to be behold. Moses is undone, he is standing on holy ground in the Presence of the holy God. He must keep a distance lest the holiness of Yahweh consumes him. Moses is stained by sin. He's unclean and impure. He must hide his face in the presence of perfect Majestic Glory.

Yes, the holy God is dangerous to behold. But the holy God loves his people with a perfect love. This whole encounter between Moses and Yaweh is God telling Moses that he knows his people are suffering in Egypt, and he’s about bring devastating holy judgment on the baby-killing king who has enslaved his people.

Call to Action Let’s take a moment to marvel at God’s great holiness.

Closing Prayer‌ Let’s pray together.

Father, you are holy. You are light and in you there is no darkness at all. Apart from Jesus we would not be able to approach you, but in Jesus we celebrate that we can enter your glorious throne room with boldness. You have proven your perfect love, and we rest in your promises. By your Spirit help us to flee from sin and remain in your Son. We ask this in Jesus' holy name. Amen.

Outro

It's been great to be with you today.

Tomorrow, we'll be in Psalm 18. Until then, go in peace, and let the word of King Jesus dwell in you richly.

Now, go in peace and let the word of King Jesus dwell in you richly.