gment against sin, He calls Abraham to be the father of a
chosen people. And as the foundation of all His dealings with that
people, He teaches him and his seed first of all the lesson of
_childlike trust_--trust in Him as the Almighty, with whom nothing is
too wonderful, and trust in Him as the Faithful One, whose oath could
not be broken. With the growth of Israel to a people we see the
revelation advancing to a new stage. The simplicity of childhood gives
way to the waywardness of youth, and God must now interfere with the
discipline and restriction of law. Having gained a right to a place in
their confidence as the God of their fathers, He prepares them for a
further revelation. Of the God of Abraham the chief attribute was that
He was the Almighty One; of the God of Israel, Jehovah, that He is the
Holy One.

And what is to be the special mark of the new period that is now about
to be inaugurated, and which is introduced by the word holy? God tells
Moses that He is now about to reveal Himself in a new character. He had
been known to Abraham as God Almighty, the God of Promise (Ex. vi. 3).
He would now manifest Himself as Jehovah, the God of Fulfilment,
especially in the redemption and deliverance of His people from the
oppression He had foretold to Abraham. God Almighty is the God of
Creation: Abraham believed in God, 'who quickeneth the dead, and calleth
the things that are not as though they were.' Jehovah is the God of
Redemption and of Holiness. With Abraham there was not a word of sin or
guilt, and therefore not of redemption or holiness. To Israel the law is
to be given, to convince of sin and prepare the way for holiness; it is
Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, the Redeemer, who now appears. And it
is the presence of this Holy One that makes the holy ground.

2. And how does this Presence reveal itself? In the burning bush God
makes Himself known as dwelling in the midst of the fire. Elsewhere in
Holy Scripture the connection between fire and the Holiness of God is
clearly expressed: 'The light of Israel shall be for a fire, and the
Holy One for a flame.' The nature of fire may be either beneficent or
destructive. The sun, the great central fire, may give life and
fruitfulness, or may scorch to death. All depends upon occupying the
right position, upon the relation in which we stand to it. And so
wherever God the Holy One reveals Himself, we shall find the two sides
together: God's Holiness as judgment agains