Take Off Your Shoes and Go

This week I watched a 1998 interview of Charlton Heston in which Robert Osborne (of Turner Movie Classics) visited with the iconic Mr. Heston about his long movie career. Obviously TMC’s timely repeat of this was due to Mr. Heston’s recent death. He was a gifted actor who portrayed larger than life men such as El Cid, Michelangelo, Judah Ben-Hur, John the Baptist, and Marc Antony. But above all he will be remembered for playing Moses, the great role he undertook at the age of 31.

In this interview Mr. Osborne asked Mr. Heston about his memories regarding the making of The Ten Commandments. Heston talked about the scene where Moses had just spoken with God at the burning bush. If you look, you’ll notice that Moses is barefoot as he comes down the mountain. Heston said that he told the director, Cecil B. DeMille, that Moses should come back down without his sandals. When asked why, Heston explained his understanding of that scene. He said that God told Moses to take off his sandals and then revealed His divine plan for the Israelites. Heston thought Moses was certainly in a state of fear and awe as he obediently removed his sandals and listened to the voice of God. Once Moses finally accepted that he must obey God and go back to Egypt, Moses’ mind was reeling with all the miraculous things God had just said and done. So in this state of awe, he immediately left the bush and went down the mountain to go do exactly what God commanded him to do. Heston thought that the very last thing on Moses’ mind was to stop and pick up his sandals.

I like thinking about Moses that way, and when you read the story (Ex 3:1-4:18) you easily notice that he was not jumping for joy about this assignment. There on that mountain God told Moses the plan, told him to go (several times), and answered his questions. With our modern hindsight of this episode, we can easily judge Moses for arguing with God and bombarding Him with questions. But more likely than not, if we had been standing there with Moses, we would have done the same thing. But Heston’s thought about the sandals makes sense. When you have encountered the living God and finally give in to His call on your life, your focus changes. You may still have some fear of the unknown ahead, but God’s plan becomes the priority and sandals get left behind.

God provides. He provides the plan. He provides the materials necessary to accomplish the plan. He provides the leadership and the encouragement that we need to persevere through the plan. He empowers and equips us to boldly walk forward, by faith. And when it’s time to go out into the world with His gracious message of love, we need to get up and go as we are, even if that means leaving our sandals behind. It’s not the shoes that make the journey possible. It is the spirit of God who guides every step we take.

"Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." (Ex 3:5)

Ex 3:10 “So now, go. I am sending you…”
Ex 3:16 "Go…”
Ex 4:12 “Now go…”

BONUS: Ten Commandments trivia (click here for all the answers)

1. What year did the movie come out?
2. Who played the baby Moses in the basket on the Nile?
3. Who played Rameses?
4. Edward G. Robinson played what part.
5. What actor was the future husband of a “10”?
6. What modern day device does Moses wear while standing on a rock?
7. In the film’s opening, the “Paramount mountain” is replaced by what?
8. Who supplied the voice of God?
9. What was used to represent falling hail?
10. The last line of the movie, "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof" was taken from Leviticus 25:10. What American icon also has this printed on it?