Holy Ground, Part II

Ex 3.5, "Then He said, 'Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.'"
I see three possible explanations:

Possibility 1. This is primarily a negative command, remove your shoes. Moses' sandals are incompatible with the holy ground, somehow. Perhaps there's something symbolically offensive about footwear when its juxtaposed with holy ground.

Possibility 2. This is primarily a positive command, make yourself barefoot. Something about holy ground requires barefeet. So, Moses' sandal is only important insofar as it happens to be the object that forms a barrier between his foot and the ground.

Possibility 3. Both of the above.

Barefoot humility?

Unfinished thoughts and questions on sandals:

1. Sandals and clothing go together--that's pretty intuitive, and also backed up biblically. Furthermore, sandals/clothes are a blessing (2 Chron 28.15, Song of Sol 7.1, Deut 29.5). Presumably, Adam would've worn sandals and robes eventually if he had never sinned.

2. In other words, it seems there's more to shoes than just protecting our feet from cursed ground.

3. Barefeet in the OT usually carry connotations of nakedness or shame (2 Sam 15.30, Isaiah 20.2-4, Micah 1.8).

4. So then, why does God require Moses to take off his sandals as he approaches the holy ground in Ex 3? Is God requiring "symbolic nakedness" of Moses? Why? Are barefeet more humble than shoes, perhaps?

5. How does this affect our understanding of holiness in general in the OT?

6. How might all this change in the NT?

Holy Ground

Question: Why does God command Moses and Joshua to take off their sandals, "for this is holy ground" (Ex 3.5, Josh 5.15)? Some unfinished thoughts:

James Jordan's explanation doesn't seem quite satisfactory. He says that shoes symbolically protect our feet from the cursed ground, and "holy ground" isn't cursed, rendering such protection unneccesary.

My objection: JBJ's theory might explain why Moses could have taken off his shoes, but it doesn't explain why he had to. The most he can say about sandals is that they are unneeded or superfluous on holy ground.

Or, to put it another way, I think holy ground is more than just "uncursed" ground. There's something substantial about holiness that requires barefeet.