Vertical News – January 2009

Meeting God

Approximately 3,500 years ago a shepherd guided his flock to an area in the Sinai desert near a multi-peaked mountain called Horeb, where he expected to find grass for his animals. We don't know whether he found much food for his flock, but history tells us that he found something else that was quite unusual—a burning bush that didn't really burn. Little did the man know that he was about to meet God. This shepherd—a man named Moses—decided to investigate this strange sight. After all, it's not every day that one comes across a burning bush that doesn't burn up (Exodus 3:3).

As Moses approached, God called to him from out of the bush and told him to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground (verses 4-5). The ground was holy because of the presence of God, who is holy. God then introduced Himself to Moses saying, "I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Moses' reaction was to immediately hide his face because he was afraid to look at this supernatural Being (verse 6).

God then began explaining to Moses what He wanted him to do—go back to Egypt, rescue the children of Israel from slavery and lead them to the land of Canaan where He was going to give them their own land. God also told him how to explain all this to the elders of Israel and the king of Egypt.

God then briefed Moses on the opposition he would face and promised to back him up with three miracles—changing his shepherd's rod into a snake and then back into a rod, making his hand leprous and then healthy again, and turning water into blood—to prove that He had indeed appeared to Moses and that what Moses was saying was true (Exodus 3:7 through 4:9).

From this unique introduction to God in the Sinai desert, Moses spent the remainder of his life introducing others to and speaking for this same all-powerful Being. Privileged to be in God's presence on numerous occasions, Moses communicated God's words to the king of Egypt, the Israelites and even to us today.

For us to learn who God is, we don't have to search the Sinai desert for a burning bush. Unlike Moses and the people of his day, we have the Bible—God's inspired Word—to help us learn about Him and what He expects of us.

As we come to understand God, we learn that He wants to have a relationship with us and eventually make us part of His eternal family. In this issue we introduce you to this Being with the hope that you, like Moses, will spend the rest of your life strengthening your relationship with Him.

David Treybig
Managing Editor