Moses was a man of prayer. He spent a great deal of time conversing with God.
• He knew that without God’s presence he was not worth a cent.
• Can you imagine being responsible for the daily care of two million people; for getting them out of one country and into another - on foot!
It is a mind-boggling task!
• And, if that was not bad enough, most of them spent their time complaining about their lot in life and finding fault with Moses.
• This was an ideal situation for losing your peace; yet God told Moses: ’My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’
Before the whole nation of Israel, Moses was a man of prayer.
• The nation saw him seeking God on Mount Sinai.
• And now in 33:7 “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’”
It’s a designated place where Moses meets God and converse with Him.
• Previously on Mount Sinai, God seemed far and remote.
• The people couldn’t see His presence, and soon turned to other alternatives.
• Don’t stay too far from Him. If you lose sight of Him, if you leave Him out of your mind, if you skip church for too long, be careful. We’re prompt to wander.
Now the Israelites can see Him – in a more literal and visual way.
• And they can seek God just outside the camp.
• 33:8-9 “And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents (as a respect?), watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses.”
• They can see the presence of God literally – with the pillar of cloud descending.
• And within the tent, the conversation between Moses and God takes place.
Today we need to engage our senses too, and come into God’s presence often.
• Some still rely on iconography, symbols (cross, dove, colours…)
• We engage our senses through reading, listening, praying.
• We attend services, seminars (study); listen to worship songs, fellowship with other Christians…
Today we don’t need to go to the ‘tent of meeting’ outside the camp or look for the pillar of cloud – Christ dwells within us.
• We talk to Him wherever we are, but we must engage our senses and come into His presence.
• It is helpful if we have a particular place where we meet God – to have our quiet time, to pray (like a prayer corner).
• It is necessary that we come to worship on Sundays.
In the OT, they have to meet God at the ‘tent of meeting’, later the Tabernacle (centre of the camp), and subsequently in the Temple.
This morning we’ve just read one of the Moses’ conversations with God.
We have the privilege of reading it because Moses himself recorded it for us.
• It consists of three sections (or requests): 12-14, 15-17, and 18-23.
• Each section begins with a petition of Moses in which he requests something from God, and then it ends with God’s response.
Moses’ 1st Petition [Read 33:12-14]
(1) ACKNOWLEDGING GOD’S HELP IS A NECESSITY OF MY LIFE
Moses recognises his need of God’s help.
• Even though he has successfully delivered the entire nation out of Egypt, he has not grown out of his dependence on God.
• It is obvious from the preceding passage that Moses visited the ‘tent of meeting’ often. Seeking God is a regular affair for him.
Moses’ First Petition (33:12-14)
33:12 “Moses said to the LORD, ‘You have been telling me, “Lead these people,”…
• Which is true - God has been giving Moses this command to lead Israel up to Canaan for quite some time.
• It was first given in Exo 3 when God first spoke to Moses through a burning bush.
• God may have spoken to him a couple of more times, which were not recorded.
• Exo 32:34 “Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of…”
Unlike the first call in Exodus 3, Moses was not as troubled by what he has been told.
• He was troubled by what he has not been told – “You did not tell me who is going with me.”
• We are often troubled by what God did not tell us. Pray and ask God for answers.
And then added, “…teach me Your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with You…” (v.13)
• This request was answered later on in 34:4-7.
This first request - for a helper, for guidance - is a serious matter for Moses.
• If he was concerned about facing Pharaoh alone at the beginning, he had even more reasons to be concerned now – because of the many nations they need to overcome before Canaan.
• He has already had a taste of this in the war with the Amalekites in chapter 17, when he has to stand praying on top of the hill, and Aaron and Hur had to be by his side holding his hands up.
• He really needs to know who is going with him. He needed some assurance.
He was more worried now, probably because the person he depended upon – Aaron, has failed him.
• He facilitated the act of making the golden calf. He is probably a liability rather than an asset.
• And the people have been rebellious and uncooperative.
God’s response was prompt – 33:14 “And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest’”.
• This is a tremendous encouragement. God assured Moses that He would be personally present with him as he leads the people.
• Moses may have expected someone (maybe an angel), but God provided Himself.
• God will watch over them and see them through, personally.
And not only that, God said, “I will give you rest.”
• He promised Moses that the end, the Israelites will live safely in Canaan.
• This word ‘rest’ has been used this way in OT – Deut 12:10, Josh 22:4, 23:1.
• Josh 23:1 “Now it came about after many days, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side….”
Almost always in the Bible, “rest” conveys the concept of putting an end to an evil, an enemy, hostility, or adversity.
• When God promised Moses “rest” He assured him that those things which Moses must have feared most would be overcome, and that the task which God has given him to do will be completed.
• The Lord has given us the same promise today - Matt 28:20 “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Someone said, “Our greatest need is to feel and know our need of God every hour.”
THE HYMN: COME THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING
Written by Robert Robinson, 23 years old (a convert of George Whitefield).
Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, mount of thy redeeming love.
Here I raise mine Ebenezer ; hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.
God’s answer leads to Moses’ 2nd Petition [Read 33:15-17]
(2)EXPERIENCING GOD’S PRESENCE IS HALLMARK OF MY LIFE
• He asked God not to lead the nation up if His presence did not accompany them (v.15). He argues the necessity of God’s presence with Israel.
• T. J. Bach: “Safety does not depend on the absence of danger. Safety is found in God’s presence, in the centre of His perfect will.”
Moses needed this assurance because earlier, when the people sinned, God said to them (Exo 33:3): “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, lest I destroy you on the way.”
• The problem is real – How can a holy God be present with a sinful people, and not destroy them?
• So for Israel, the sacrificial systems, the ‘tent of meeting’ (tabernacle), the Ark of the Covenant – these provide a temporary means for the people of Israel to experience God’s presence and solve the problem of sin in their times.
Moses prayed because he needed the assurance of God’s presence
• Not because he is worried that God will be unfaithful and desert them, but that they will be unfaithful and sin, causing God to leave them.
• At the end of the day they will be left high and dry, on their own.
The one thing that distinguishes God’s people from all other peoples of the earth is His presence in their midst.
• The distinct hallmark of a Christian is that others can see God in our lives.
• We must spend time with God.
Bob Gass, a devotional writer says,
Spending time in His presence is like sitting in a room filled with beautiful perfume. If we sit there long enough, we take the fragrance with us when we leave; it is in our clothing, our hair, even our very skin.
• 2 Cor 2:15 “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”
We come regularly into His presence through worship, QT, prayer, or just listening to worship songs. Whatever the means, but develop a discipline.
• This privilege is only for those whose faith is in Jesus Christ.
• God delights in it and we must learn to treasure it.
Our intimacy with God is even greater than that of the people in the OT.
• The veil has been torn into two. We can enter into the Holy of Holies anytime.
• He dwells within my heart. Just say the word and He hears you.
• J. I. Packer says, “…the presence of God can be more intimately ours than it has ever been before. There is, however, a day when the presence of God will be even more intimate and precious. It will commence with the coming of our Lord for His own: “…shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Th 4:17).
• When He comes again, it is to manifest an even more intimate presence, a presence that will surpass any that man has ever known, even Moses.
God answered him – 33:17 “I will do the very thing you have asked…”
You’ll soon notice that all of Moses’ requests were answered.
You see, God answers prayer.
• To say that “He did not answer my prayer” is incorrectly phrased – because God answers all prayers, just that some are in the negative. It’s a NO or a WAIT.
• So we can only say that God did not answer all my prayers according to what I asked.
• God does and will answer all prayers.
And lastly, more of a personal request, Moses said, “Show me your glory.”
• He did not fully get what he requested here.
• In a sense, his prayer was answered on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:30-32) where he shared a vision of the Lord’s glory with Elijah and 3 of Jesus’ disciples.
Why did he make such a request?
• I believe when Moses come to know God in such an intimate way, to see His glory manifesting is the natural outflow of a born-again life, the goal of his life.
• Our desire is to let the whole earth be filled with His glory. (cf. Psa 72:19)
(3) SEEING GOD’S GLORY MANIFESTING IS THE GOAL MY LIFE
Conclusion:
I see the heart of Moses here:
- a man who is humble enough to always acknowledge his need of God’s help
- seek God’s presence above all else
- desiring to see the glory of God manifested.
Pray that God will bless us with such a heart today.
