“When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet,
for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:4-5).
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (1 Kings 8:10-11).
The idea of holy ground and sacred space is found throughout the Bible. From the rock at Bethel where Jacob saw a ladder descend from heaven to the sand surrounding the burning bush to the temple mount in Jerusalem, we see a special reverence for the holy, the sacred, the set apart. Genesis 1 affirms the goodness with which all physical space was created. Even after mankind’s fall and the land’s subjection to futility, we observe the beauty of God’s creation and a continued reverence for certain locations as particularly holy. While holy places and holy shrines have been misunderstood and abused many times throughout history, the reality of revered sites actually proclaims a central truth of Christianity that at certain points of recorded time and space God has acted in history for the sake of saving His people. Going and visiting everything from the Holy Land to the sites in Rome and other historic cities places us in the midst of the locations that continue to tell the story of Christianity and its proclamation of Jesus Christ as Lord. The fact that we can walk in the footsteps of Jesus can actually be a wonderful experience that strengthens our faith and our appreciation of his very incarnation as a man.
In biblical times, the tabernacle and the temple have mirrored this intersection between the divine and the human realms. When the Lord commanded Moses to build the tabernacle, He took great pains to describe in detail the work that was to be done. Again, in the time of Solomon, the Lord took much interest in the work carried out upon the temple. Everything from the dimensions to the rules for
construction to the utensils used in its services was specified in the biblical account. Following the completed construction and consecration of each building, the Lord filled these sacred spaces with the presence of his Spirit. Each was filled with the cloud of God’s glory, so that the priests were rendered incapable of fulfilling their duties. By the services performed within these hallowed halls, the story of God’s salvation was proclaimed, and His forgiveness was delivered to generation after generation.
In this same way our Christian churches today remain blessed buildings, where the Lord comes into contact with His people. It is neither the location nor the building materials nor any special rite of consecration that makes the site sacred and holy, but it is what resides and happens within that space. It is here in Christ’s church that the Holy Spirit dwells richly where two or three are gathered. It is here that the Spirit fills our lives with His cloud of presence (Exodus 13:21, 40:34; 1 Kings 8:10). It is here where we meet God face to face and then are sent back into this world as the chosen people of God who now declare the praise of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:10) and are always prepared to give the reason for the hope that is within us.
In the one holy Christian and apostolic church, the story of salvation is preached and forgiveness is granted. It is here that we stand with Moses on holy ground. It is here that we join together in the sacred place of rest with the many other religious pilgrims walking in the way of the Lord. Throughout time and throughout the world there have been and are many places considerably revered, but it matters not how far or wide one travels when the sacred space of God’s rest lies so close to home. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Our Lord goes with you wherever you go, for you carry the gift of His Spirit with you at all times. May God bless and keep you this day as you continue to Connect with God and others, Learn His Word and will for your life, and Care for others by His grace.
