Respect

"Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father in law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert; and came to Horeb - the Mountain of God. 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 had 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.' " Exodus 3:1 - 5 NKJV.

Horeb or Sinai as it can be called, was the Mountain of God. It was set in what is called, the back of the desert, because it is a wilderness, dry and dusty. It as no accident that Moses approached the Mountain of God. God had planned it that way. When we approach God, things begin to happen and change! And things were certainly going to change - big time, for Moses.
Moses saw a bush burning near to him. Now this was nothing unusual in such a hot and dry place. However, this was different because the bush was not burning up and it also began to talk. Moses realised that it must be God. Can you imagine such a thing happening to you? Wow, what would you have thought?

The Hebrew term for such a happening as this is called a Theophany - This is an appearance of God or god, to a human being. A divine manifestation. Theo indicates God. In this case it was the Angel of the Lord, possibly the preincarnate Christ The flame of fire was the Glory of God's presence - the Shekinah, which transformed everything and everyone it touched.

As Moses drew as near as he could, the Angel of the Lord told him to take his sandals off as he was standing on Holy Ground. In the East, removing one's shoes or sandals, is a form of respect.
We should always respect God in all we do and never take His name in vain. Moses here was only allowed to draw so close to God. But James tells us to, 'Draw near to God and He will draw near to you' James 4:8. It would have been too consuming for Moses to get any closer.

As we draw near to God He will draw near to us, especially if we are in a dry state spiritually and feel like we're in the back of the desert. However, we need to submit to Him. Give Him our all. He will then guide us through whatever we are struggling with. He requires our love, our life, our all and total respect.This is not a game we're involved in. We are dealing with the Most High God. The Almighty God. He is on Holy Ground but through our friend, Jesus, we have permission to approach the Throne of Grace boldly. Hebrews 4:16.

Are you feeling dry and rejected, as if you've been left on one side. Take a look at our text in verse 4, it says 'So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called' In other words, when God knows He has your attention He will call to you.
Give Him your attention and see what happens!