by Steve Popovich
"Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Ex. 3:5-6
My not so fond memories of walking barefoot outdoors are bleeding feet from broken glass, being hobbled by discarded bottle caps and yelping like a scalded dog while scurrying across burning pavement. Since I now know that all these hidden evils are in the world, I have become disciplined enough to put my shoes on daily.
God uses symbols to help us understand his truths because a picture is worth a thousand words...even to God. And in God's manifold collection of types and figures, shoes represent a walk of spiritual separation from the cursed world; a manner of walking where we don't succumb to spiritual snares and minefields.
For forty years God led His people through the wilderness. In all that time the shoes of the Israelites never wore out.
"And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot." Deut 29:5
Not only does this passage teach us about God's care in meeting the needs of His people, it tells us in a symbolic picture that those who are led by God are to walk separately from the spiritual wilderness of this world.
Not long before Moses led the Israelites from Egypt
Our daily prayer:
Lord, open our hearts to the Holy Ground of your word. May we have clear eyes and sure feet to walk according to your ways… but in the ways of the world, help us to have laced-up hearts with shoes that don't wear out. Amen
