The Glory Of God Series

The women always wanted to talk, and the men, they were so predictable. On the first day I would stick my head in the door of a man’s room and say hello. We would have some small chit chat and then very soon, I would be ushered out to, “help someone in greater need”. On the second day I would stick my head in the door and I would get the wave, “doing alright son, have a good day”. Then, on the third day things would be different. By this time the men had taken the tests they came in for and had been given “the news” by their doctors, which usually was very bad news.

On the third day I always knew the visit to these men was going to be a long visit. I would stick my head in and say hello and the response was always the same – silence. Usually, they would be looking out the window or looking at nothing at all. I would pull up a chair, and just wait, in a few moments they would start talking.

You know, these men rarely talked about their illness, or even about the treatments ahead. They always talked about life, the things they did, both with great satisfaction and great regret. They would talk about this person and that person and finally….always, I mean always, they would wonder, that in the end, what is it that honestly, really matters?

Finally, God has the Hebrew’s attention. Finally, God has them where He wants them. Now they have to stop and consider: In the end, what is it that honestly, really matters?

Moses tells God his frustration: God has told him to lead the people, but now God will not go with them. In verse 13 we read Moses pray, “Remember that this nation is your people.” A better reading would be: The people as a nation, your very own people – this is a very intimate term and carries a meaning of being close rather than at a distance – that God is a close God, and not a God who holds His distance. Moses is claiming that God is a close God, relationally, and so when Moses asks for the Lord to teach him his ways, He is asking to know the character of God – will God come and go? Will God always stand by them? God’s answer in verse 14 is not translated well in the NIV. It seems to indicate that God is going to give Moses a vacation or such. A more accurate meaning would be that God’s presence will be with Moses so Moses should reduce his anxiety. This is all, relational.

It may appear to you that Moses is changing the mind of God, but in reality, God is walking Moses thorough his anxiety and allowing Moses to work through his fears so that Moses will arrive at a level of….greater faith and trust. God allows Moses and the people to have this fear. God wants the people and Moses to come to the conclusion that they cannot do anything without God. God wants them to struggle to arrive at this conclusion on their own – it is clear that if God tells them that they cannot do this on their own, they will not take it to heart.

Moses and the Hebrews, they fear departing Sinai, for Sinai has been the place where God’s presence has been most real to them. Some of this fear certainly has to do with the pagan idea that gods have a territory, that they have power within certain borders. They in fact fear that the power of God may not be effective in this new land they are about to enter and may be only effective in Egypt and the Sinai desert. So, yes, they want a promise from God that He will go with them, but both Moses and the people do not understand the character of God, and here is what this last section is about.