When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
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.
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.”
—Exodus 3:4–8
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“If God were to appear before me right here and now, I’d have a few pointed questions for him.”
Ever heard someone say that or said it yourself? We tend to think that we’re in a position to call God on the carpet for the things that happen in life. The truth is that if God really did appear to us right now we wouldn’t be in the mood to ask him any questions. Rather absolutely terrified, we’d be looking frantically for the nearest exit!
At least that’s how everyone who has ever come near the blazing glory of God has reacted. The divine presence is so radiant with awesome glory and overpowering in holiness that unholy, sinful creatures simply cringe before him in fear and trembling. The prophet Isaiah was the most righteous person in Israel, yet he couldn’t stand God’s withering holiness even for a moment (Is. 6:1–5).
But here’s some very good news about the holiness of God. It may be scary to us, but it’s this aspect of his character that saves us. If God were more like human beings, or like the gods of ancient Greece or Rome, then he’d be far less disturbed by the bad choices we make and the way we treat one another.
It was the holiness of God that was offended by the enslavement and mistreatment of his people in Egypt. It was holiness that called Moses to action, led Israel out of bondage, gave them the Law in the wilderness, drove out the wicked people from the land, and holiness that eventually placed Israel in a good and secure land flowing with milk and honey. And if we find ourselves blessed in any way on earth, it’s due only to his holiness.
If God weren’t good, holy, and just beyond measure, then we’d all be in serious trouble. It’s this that keeps the world on an even keel and prevents it from becoming as bad as it wants to be. It’s the only thing that stands between total chaos and us, and it’s the thing that keeps God from leaving us just as he finds us.
We can have hope for tomorrow and not give in to the despair and pessimism all around us just because God is as holy today as ever before.
So the next time you hear that the world, the economy, the environment, or something else is too far gone to recover, or that only doom and gloom are ahead, then remember this: the nature and character of God are exactly the same as ever before. Therefore evil, decay, death, or destruction will never overcome the good purpose of God.
There can always be a better tomorrow, not because that’s just the way things work out naturally, but because God’s never-ending, never-wavering holiness guarantees it.
