Ex 3:6, He said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 
In this passage, detailing the Lord revealing His plan and purpose to Moses for the release of the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, we are met with a real expression of what happens when we come face-to-face with God. We have this man, Moses, herding his flocks when he saw the burning bush which was not being consumed. In the miraculous display of the fiery presence of God, this man reacted with natural fear and hid his face. When Moses realized with Whom he was communicating, there was the recognition that the holiness and the righteousness of God was too much to bear and that his natural being was in peril of utter destruction. 
This follows back to the very beginning when sin entered into the heart of man and Adam became afraid of walking and talking with God. Gen 3:9+10, Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." From that point on, man has tried to hide himself from God because God’s perfection of love so overwhelms and displays our defiled and awful nature of sin and shame. Throughout the scripture, as we will consider, when mankind is in the presence of God, we see ourselves and know that we deserve only immediate and all-consuming death.
The dreadful consequence of Adam’s sin in the Garden made every interaction with God one that included a true picture of what sin has done to the relationship that God, the Creator, had purposed with His creation. That is why there is fear evidenced in man’s every interaction with God. It is anything but the instant and blessed knowledge of God as the One Who wants to express His love to us and be with us on a one to one basis. It is our dreadful heart, stained with the blackness of who we are that prevents that instant and joy filled knowledge that God wants to spend time with us, not punish us. This will never be put away until we come to Him in the covering of Christ’s righteousness and holiness, as we are now washed white as snow through His atoning sacrifice. 
Throughout the accounts of the scriptures, as God manifested Himself to man, God continually had to soothe the fears of instant annihilation by lovingly pointing to the fact that He was not there to punish their iniquities, but to provide a way of salvation. Only God could and would do this. 
Even when God was dealing with the one who would be called His friend, Abraham, there was that recognition, on the part of Abraham, that it was only by the grace and the mercy and the beneficence of God that Abraham was not instantaneously consumed by his own iniquities. It was His faith in God’s Promise of life and protection that made the way for all that would be brought into place through God’s friendship and lovingkindness. 
Please note, as we read this promise, that Abraham could not stand in the presence of God. He fell to his face before the awesome Lord God Almighty. Turn to Gen 17:1-8 and please follow along. 
Gen 17:1-8, Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly." And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. "No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. "And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." 
	God was declaring all the gloriousness of what He was going to do through the lineage of Abraham, and yet Abraham could not but fall to the ground, keeping his face lowered both in fear and in humility to be in the presence of the Holy and Blessed Lord God Creator of Heaven and Earth. This was long after Abraham had begun his walk with God and moved to the Land of Promise. He was no stranger to God and it was recorded often that he was God’s friend, and yet, even he was not able to stand in the presence of the Most Glorious One. There was still the realization that Abraham was but a man, created for the plan and purpose of the One Who chose to so talk with him and bless him and his descendents forever. 
	We see this again when God told Jacob of this same blessing being put upon him as the grandson of Abraham. Please follow along in Gen 28:13-17. Gen 28:13-17, And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it." And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." 
	Notice the immediate reaction of Jacob upon his awakening. It was not a matter of marvel or blessing or happiness or wonder. It was fear. He was afraid in the fact that He had seen God even though the Lord Himself pronounced His blessing upon Jacob. His instant reaction was one of being afraid that he might die. Then he recognized that he had been blessed and that what the Lord had brought to him was not punishment but the continued declaration of His blessing and promise directly to Jacob’s mind and heart and ears. 
	We see this human fear of death exhibited in the visitation of the Angel of the Lord to Manoah and his wife as they were instructed regarding the birth and the raising of their son, Samson. Please turn in your Bibles to Judges Chapter 13, verses 15-23. 
	Again, this was good news to the couple and to the people of God from the Lord, Himself. Yet, in the reading of it, please note how Manoah’s wife had to convince him that they were not now going to die because they had been directly contacted by God. It is this inherent fear and dread of God that, sadly, so flavored what should have been news of the goodness and the mercy of God to His people.
	Judg 13:15-23, Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a kid for you." And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord." For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "What is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?" But the angel of the Lord said to him, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?" So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. Now the angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah or his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. So Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God." But his wife said to him, "If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time." 
	Even after they had both seen that the Angel of the Lord was not an angel of judgment, but that …He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on, Manoah still thought that they were going to die. There was such a sense of dread at the thought that God would visit Himself upon those who had been so born in sin that shame permeated the whole thinking of the people. It is a very sad indictment of just how foul and twisted mankind is in the grips of unrighteousness and disobedience to God. The inner core of men is so rotted that mankind refuses to acknowledge the grace and the mercy and the love of God, even after He has so fully shown Himself in such marvelous and tremendous ways.
	This was so true that even the great Prophet, Elijah, struggled with this fear in the presence of God. Here was a man of God who had seen and spoken marvelous things of the Lord to all who would listen. He knew the ways of the Lord and judged the peoples with the equity and the mercy of God as per the Lord’s very specific instructions. Yet because Elijah was aware of the deeds and the disobedience and the treachery of the heart of man, he could not bring himself to face the Lord directly, but shielded himself when in the presence of God. 
	Please turn to 1 Kings 19, verses 5-13 as we read together of something very special as we seek after the Lord. We will see that Elijah had to cover his face before God, yet we also want to note how God revealed Himself to Elijah in a gentle and refreshing manner. 
	1 Kings 19:5-13, And he lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, "Arise, eat." Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you." So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then he came there to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" And he said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, torn down Thine altars and killed Thy prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." So He said, "Go forth, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. And it came about when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 
	Notice that the Lord, first of all, sustained Elijah for 40 days and 40 nights on his journey. The food that the Lord provided was sufficient to give the prophet the strength to go to the mountain of the Lord. 
As well, please note that the Lord was passing by the mountain with Elijah in the cave. First there was a fierce wind that battered the mountain and broke apart the rocks on its slopes …but the Lord was not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake that shook the mountain’s foundations …but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Next was the fire on the mountain … but the Lord was not in the fire. Finally, there was the gentle breeze and it was in that tender blowing that the Lord spoke to Elijah. And how did Elijah respond to that mild breeze indicating the presence of the Lord? He wrapped his countenance in his mantle for he could not face the Lord without a humble covering of his own unworthiness and sinful nature.
	This is the case in each one of our lives as those who are the redeemed of the Lord. God comes to us, not in the violence of judgment, but in the gentle encouragement of the Holy Spirit. Admittedly, there are those times of our refusing to obey Him or to listen to Him in which the force of the Spirit seems to be absolutely devastating. The truth, however, always is that because God so loves us, He treats us as His children. His discipline is right and true altogether and works to establish in us the greater, living relationship which has always been His heart for you and for me. Our protective covering, by which we are brought into the very immediate and personal presence of God is the righteousness and the holiness of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Our Beloved Savior. 
	No more should our first instinct be fear in our consideration of seeing God at work in our lives. Rather, there should now be that instant longing to know Him all the more, day by day, with a yearning that wants to spend the time with Him in His Word, in prayer, in fellowship, and in worship unto Him. There should be a need to express our love unto Him because of the fact that He so loved us. We will continue in this vein next time, Lord willing, as we take note of how the presence of God causes us to want to serve Him, rather than to hide from Him. So be it. 
He said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Amen.

	This morning’s benediction is Josh 21:44+45. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass. Amen.