Exodus 3:2-5 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame
of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush
was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said,
"I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does
not burn." So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God
called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!"
And he said, "Here I am." Then He said, "Do not draw
near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where
you stand is holy ground."
2 Corinthian 12:2-4 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago;
whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not
know, God knows; such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I
know such a man; whether in the body or out of the body I do not know,
God knows; how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible
words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
A thread
that weaves its way through Scripture is that of “Sacred Places,” a
place where a person meets God.
Adam and Eve were given the Garden, the patriarchs were given Bethel and Israel was given the tabernacle. The peculiar thing about sacred places is that God doesn’t need them, they are for us.
And yet, on occasion, when a person violated a sacred place God would punish them – Adam and Eve (Genesis 3) were removed from the Garden, Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-10) were consumed by fire, Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:3-8) was struck dead, Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple (Matthew 21,12-13) and many others.
Even still, men and women continued to seek for the sacred. David said in Psalm 27:4, “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.” But why desire a sacred place when it could cost you your life? Answer, the sacred place is a place of covenant, a place of holy relationship. ”Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” Matthew 5:8. dw