Moses--Day 24

Thursday, September 30

Moses: Called, Challenged, Changed

Day 24—Show Me Your Glory

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” …As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance…The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Exodus 33:7-11

Suggested reading: Exodus 33-34

To continue from yesterday’s post concerning the “golden calf debacle” … God was angry. One reason he was so upset was because he is a Jealous God (34:14). HE wants to be the One to bless his people in the best way because he is fully aware that no other god can bless … at all!

Moses and God had a conversation and it wasn’t going favorably for the Israelites. God said, “Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way” (33:3). Yep, God was exasperated with the children he loved.

Moses interceded on their behalf. (This is a foreshadow of Christ!). He begged the Lord to forgive them, reminded him that these were his people, and asked him to please go with them! And God, in his mercy, responded with these undeserving words towards the Israelites, “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest” (33:14).

After this promise, a sweet and holy interchange took place between Moses and God. Moses cried out with longing to the Lord, “Show me your glory” (v. 18).

Moses wanted more and more of God! So, he hid Moses in the cleft of a rock and revealed all his goodness (v. 19) to him as his glory passed by.

Then God called Moses back up to the mountain for another forty days. Once again God himself wrote out the Ten Commandments on two newly carved stones. And this time, the repentant Israelites waited for Moses and trusted God.

Thoughts:

Exodus 33 is one of my favorite chapters in all of the Bible. It shows the beautiful relationship between a holy God and a made-of-dust person. Moses entered a tent and talked WITH GOD as a friend! I wonder about their conversations. On one of these occasions, did God tell Moses how he created the world? Because after all, Moses divinely wrote the first 5 books of the Bible. I would have liked to be in that tent—where majesty and mercy met together.

Can we grasp that this same God wants to meet with us as well? The good news is that we no longer have to go “’to a tent outside the camp” to meet with him because his Spirit has now made his home IN us, an incredible gift! He never leaves us.

In a physical sense, however, do you have a quiet place where you can meet with God so you can connect with him—no distractions of the world, full attention on his word? If we meet with him on a regular basis, like Moses, our demeanor will change. Scripture says his face was radiant because of his encounters with God (34: 30). Ours can be too. The glory he shines on us is what we then reflect to the world.

One of the most beautiful things in this life is to sit with God who knows you by name.

Will you?

Going deeper and sweeter: Isaiah 43:1; Psalm 34:5; Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:15-16

Dear Lord,

In your word, through your Spirit, “Show us your glory!” Shine on us as we linger in your Light. As a result, may your radiance beam from each of our faces. Amen.