Randy Suits

Take off Your Sandals

My Dear Kochana Ewa,
In Exodus 3:5 we see the call of Moses to the earthly work that the Most High God had spared him for. Pharaoh had commanded that all male children of the enslaved Israelite Nation should be killed at birth by the midwives who delivered the babies. His mother fashioned an arc for him (a small basket with pitch in it so that it would float among the bull rushes in the River Nile). Exodus 2:5-6: ‘When the daughter of Pharaoh went to the river to bathe, she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to retrieve it. When she opened it, she saw the baby. He was crying and she was moved with compassion for him’. After his Hebrew mother weaned him, she took him to Pharaohs daughter and he became her son. Exodus 3:10, ‘She named him Moses saying, “I drew him out of the water”.’ Moses was born to be Gods’ instrument in fulfilling his promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:13: Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs; where they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years.” However, Moses was born 80 years before the promised fulfillment of the promise of God (Yahweh). Moses thought to relieve his people (the enslaved Hebrews) in his might, the strength of his own power as he was taught in Egypt (the world) in the manner of natural man devoid of the spirit of the Most High God. At 40 years of age, he knew about God but he did not know the Most High God. In Exodus chapter 3 we see how God calls the man Moses, identifies himself and commissions the very man who failedin his efforts to deliver Gods people from the bondage of Egypt (sin). Genesis 3:4, ‘When God saw that he had gone over to look, God called to Him from within the burning bush, “Moses! Moses!” Moses replied, “Here I am”.’ Then God warns him. instructs him and introduces himself. Genesis 3: 5 and 6; “Do not come any closer,” God said, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Any place where God is present is holy) Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.’ God then identifies himself with the concerns for the people of Moses and shows how that he shares the grief and pain of the Israelites. Genesis 3: 7 – 8: ‘The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey – the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hives and Jebusites.” Then comes the hard part, God commissions Moses to do the very task at which he failed in his own power 40 years before. Genesis 3: 9 -10: “And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, Go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Then Moses protests in Genesis 3:11: But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Notice that even in our lives just as this interaction with God and Moses, God always sends us back to our failures without Him in order to enable us to overcome those same obstacles with Him, in Him and for Him. Moses complained. He did not understand the plan. (It is not necessary for man to understand God’s plan.) Jesus Christ, the son of God, called the fishermen, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, by saying, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” No explanation! No plan of action was given. Those men left their nets and followed Jesus in faith. The natural man plans, plots and devises strategies to accomplish the goal before he begins. Moses was being taught the way of faith in God, trust in His unfailing Word and obedience to the command/voice (spoken Word) of the Most High God. As a result he spoke directly with God during his 40 years leading the Israelite Nation. It is written: Deuteronomy 34:10, ‘Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.’ Then God reassured Moses. Genesis 3:12: ‘And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be a sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” NOTE: The promised confirmation or sign that God had sent Moses would come after he successfully completed the assignment. With God, there is no upfront payment, proof or sign at the beginning. This is godly faith (faith as a little child) in action but it is absolute foolishness (a stumbling block) to ungodly men of the world!  Only the faithful, obedient, trusting servant of God can receive the reward of eternal life. This is Gods’ way! God was stating that obedience to Him would bring certain success. God intended to include the free Israelite nation in worship on the mountain of the flaming bush. It was to be a grand celebration. It was on this mountain that God gave the Ten Commandments. We can see that God instructed Moses to remove his sandals before God would talk to him, teaching him that he was on holy ground when he was communing with God. We must do the same when we approach God in prayer, thought and meditation. We must put off those earthly cares (sandals) in which we walk in our daily concerns. Sandals, shoes and foot wear in this case represents our walk in life. Our walk is a result of our natural thoughts, apart from God, for our feet are an instrument to act out the carnal inventions of our mind, natural desires of the flesh and intentions of our heart. All impurity must be purged from our being to enter into the presence of our Holy God. In much the same way you, my Kochana, insist that shoes be taken off at the door to keep the house clean. It is a precedent to entering our home. You will not tolerate uncleanness, filth or refuse in our home. (I love you for this and so many other reasons) God also has an order. He will not, cannot accept uncleanness of spirit, mind and thought. We must take off our sandals, mental and spiritual, before we can commune with God. Ours are all the promises of a loving God. Let us always remember to take off our sandals in thought, meditation, prayer and worship so that we may approach the presence of God Most High.

I love you very much and Kocham Cie Bardzo, Kochany