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A holy God dwells in unapproachable light

Ron Gonzales
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

I have recently been pondering the story in Exodus 3 of Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush. As the calling of a prophet, it bears similarity to what we find in Isaiah 6 and Jeremiah 1. There is a shattering encounter with God, followed by the giving of a divine assignment. Unfortunately, what is often missed in these accounts of God’s dealings with such larger-than-life characters is the fact that in them, we see God’s ways in the life of every believer. Consider Moses at the burning bush. We see at least three things common to everyone who encounters God. We see God revealing himself in the commonplace of everyday life (Moses was tending sheep when he came upon the bush); we see that such a revelation was personal (the Lord called Moses by name); and we see God drawing Moses to himself across the barrier of his holiness (why Moses removed his sandals). It is this last observation that intrigues me most. At its root, holiness has to do with difference, or otherness. Things that are sanctified, or made holy, in the Bible are things that have been set apart for a different purpose or use. In the ancient Near East, this idea had no moral connotation. For example, the fertility goddess, Astarte, in Egypt was called Qudshu, that is, “the holy one,” and the prostitutes who served at her temple were called “holy ones.”
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