“Draw not near: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Ex. 3:5. WOW! Holy Ground! This is the first appearance of the word ‘Holy’ (kodes) in the Scriptures, holy, sacred thing or place, set apart or dedicated to God. A sacred place, consecrated, dedicated, hallowed, holy; its root means to be clean and pure (apartness, holiness, sacredness). God Who is holy calls men to be holy also, I Peter 1:16, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Where is it written? Lev. 11:44-45, “For I am the LORD your God, ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy:”

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) states holiness as, “Man was made in the image of God and capable of reflecting the Divine likeness. And as God reveals Himself as ethically holy, he calls men to holiness resembling His own.” Holiness is something you do not hear much about today from our pulpits because the prophets of old can tell you ‘the fruit of a ministry of holiness is, loneliness.’ It is not a popular subject, ministry or calling today. That is why prophecy conferences have kind of died out or last only one or two days any more and true prophecy speakers, ‘True Prophets of the Word,’ are as rare as hen’s teeth.  Prophecy should always lead us to a life of holiness but you don’t see that happening today, why? Just more prophecy, more end times, more Revelation, but no change in the lives of the listeners. No deeper prayer life, walk with God, worship experience, missionary service, zeal for soul-winning, ‘No Change!’ Just, “When’s the next conference?” I would venture to say that 90-95% of the students I teach never re-study the teaching material I give them. Prophecy conferences should lead right into Revival, Renewal, Renovation of the heart and spirit but they don’t, why?

Maybe we should take off our shoes like the Muslims as we enter the house of worship, after all it is called a “House of Prayer” Isaiah 56:7, is it not? In many Synagogues, on the front wall or on the ‘Aron Ha-Kodesh’ the doors of the holy ark in which the sacred scrolls are kept, are these words in Hebrew, “Dah Lifnay Me Attah Omed.” (Know Before Whom You Stand!). This idea came from the experience of Moses and the ‘Burning Bush’ in Ex. 3:5. This saying reminds us to have a reverent, focused attitude while attending the worship service and to be filled with respectful awe over the presence of God as we approach His Word but do we?  Blaise Pascal said, “There are two kinds of people – saints who know they are sinners and sinners who think they are saints.” Which category do you fall into? Remember, pride is the deadliest of all sins because it distorts reality. Sometimes we come to church to meet ‘Joe’ instead of ‘Jehovah’ and we dress like it too!  We have lost the sense of His holiness in our churches today. Our sanctuaries are more like night clubs, studios, and theaters than holy, sanctified, purified places of worship. They have lost their aura, their ambiance, their atmosphere of worship. He said, “Sanctify, purify yourselves and you shall be holy, for I am holy.” It is not just a good idea to be holy, we are commanded to be holy. So, “put off thy shoes from off thy feet.” Paul tells us to walk ‘circumspectly’ like we are in a mine field, feeling every little blade of grass under our feet, every grain of sand, every twig. In Eph. 5:15 the word ‘circumspectly’ is (akribos) guess what word we get from that word and watch what acrobats put on their feet, or not!

“For the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” The word for ground is (adamah) soil, earth, land, dirt, redness in color. Its root is (adam) to show blood. Gen. 2:7 says, “God formed man out of the dust of the earth.” The substance God used to form man from, He is now standing on and it is ‘Holy!’ Why? Because, God is standing on it! So, “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet.” Do we realize when we enter into prayer or worship that it is ‘Holy Ground’ that we tread upon? Do we? You call upon the name of God The Father, in the name of God The Son through the power of God The Holy Spirit, do you really believe you have an audience with the God of the universe? Of course you do! Then what do you think you are standing on? Dirt, cement, carpet, wood, what? ‘HOLY GROUND!’ Do we take off our dirty shoes from off our feet? Our dirty clothes and stand before a Holy, Perfect, God bare-naked? How can we come to God with any defilement, any dust from the road of life and expect to be accepted? I know the ‘Blood of Yeshua/Jesus‘ washes away all our sins. Just read Isa. 64:6 in the Roman Catholic Bible for a good description of our good deeds and righteous garments, sometime. Jesus washed the disciples feet, Mary washed Jesus’ feet, the widow’s washed the saints feet, I Tim. 5:10, but if Aaron and his sons did not wash their feet before stepping into the Tabernacle they died instantly, Ex. 30:17-21. Why, it was ‘Holy Ground’ that was the purpose of the ‘Laver.’ However, the point here is not, wash your feet Moses, but, “put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”

We can not! We must not! Come before His Holy presence defiled, polluted, desecrated, and impure! Take off your shoes, your hat, your coat, whatever is defiled, you are on ‘Holy Ground’ as you stand before His presence. Joshua, Moses’ successor had the same experience in Joshua 5:15, “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy.” And Joshua did so.”

As we get into the Tabernacle and the priesthood the word ‘Holy’ is stamped on every board, every curtain ring, and every utensil. A veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. If even the High Priest made a mistake in the Tabernacle he was killed instantly, why? He was on ‘Holy Ground!’ But we have permission to enter that ‘Holy of Holies;’ That Divine Presence of God. If we are indeed washed by the precious blood of the ‘Lamb of God,’ Heb. 10:19, “Therefore, brethren having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus…” Think for a moment of the implications of John 13 when the Messiah was washing the defiled, polluted feet of His followers in light of this passage! Oh, the beauty and love of our precious LORD and Savior for us, let us bow and worship Him in the, “Beauty of His Holiness.” Psalm 29:2; 96:9.

Oh, my friend let us too turn aside like Moses and see why the bush burns but is not consumed, but let us take our sandals off our feet as we enter our prayer closets to worship the God of the living. “Be ye Holy for I the LORD your God am Holy.” Lord, thank You for this beautiful passage of Scripture and thought today. May we walk before You bare-footed and bare-hearted. May we seek Your Shekinah Glory and turn aside and to see why the bush burns but is not consumed. LORD, we love You so much, draw us into Your bosom, and never let us go, hold us, lead us, and guide us with Your everlasting eye and teach us what it means to pray and worship on ‘Holy Ground.’ May we, “Dah Lifnay Me Attah Omed – Know Before Whom We Stand!” As we pray, as we worship, as we praise, as we confess, as we adore, as we thank You!  “…Between The Lines…”

I leave you with a verse a young man gave me 40 years ago at an altar, bare-footed after he kicked off his shoes at Lakes Pond Baptist Church in CT, Lev. 6:13, “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” God starts the fire, you stoke the fire, with five things, ‘Bible, Prayer, Worship, Fellowship, Witnessing.’ II Tim. 1:6, Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift of God that was in him, or ‘fan the flame.’ That’s our job; God starts the fire; We stoke the fire and we fan the flame; So it will never go out, NEVER! Got your shoes off? Good, now stand with me, before the bush that burned with fire but was not consumed, v.2 and in it was the “Angel of the LORD” (The YHVH) Who said in v. 14, His name was (Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh) “I Am That I Am;” The One Who causes to be or exist; The One Who causes to breathe or live; The uncaused cause; The I’sing One: It’s not a question of, “Who am I to go?” v.11. It’s a command, “I Am has sent me to you!” v.14. Are you still standing? Where is it, ‘The Great I AM,’ wants you to go? Let’s ask Him right now, “Father, where would You like me to go……….

“Portraits of Prayer in Exodus”  ‘Barefoot Praying – Ex. 3:5’