Devotional - May 4, 2022
Exodus 33:22 - 34:8
33:22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
34:1 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”
4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.
I should have included verses twelve through twenty-one in this devotional, because it is there that you see the conversation that leads into what I have listed above. At this point, Moses has led the people out of Egypt and has given them the first set of commands which God crafted for Moses (Ex 31:18). The people never get to see these tablets, or rather, they never get to see them in one piece because Moses breaks them when he throws them to the ground. In a fit of rage Moses shatters them after seeing them committing all kinds of idolatry and immorality while he was away. As justified as he may have felt in doing so, we begin today seeing him chiseling out the second set, whereas God had done the work when he received the first set (Ex 31:18). Makes you wonder if God was teaching him to appreciate what God had given him the first time. But more important was their previous conversation. Moses is insistent with God asking God to tell him who God would send with him. Think of all that God had done for Moses and Israel up to this point. Yet, Moses still wants more assurance, more help. His soul is restless and agitated. He pushes at God saying, "You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ (Ex 33:12). Moses can't seem to settle his heart with God's words. The LORD's response was, "My presence will go with you and I will give you rest." (Ex 33:14). And Moses thought, hhhmmm, nope, not good enough. He wants more and asks for it, "show me Your glory." (Ex 33: 18). Ya now folks, sometimes there is never enough. Moses' heart is so full of anxiety and anger and you name it, that God cannot get through to him, but that does not mean God will not try. God wants Moses to succeed, but Moses continues to resist God. Sadly, it costs him the journey into the promised land (Deut 32:51). It is a hard thing to consider what we have lost due to our own hard-heartedness. When you feel yourself slipping into that rut, let the spirit of Moses tap you on the shoulder and ask, "is it worth it?" In our society, the promise of God's presence may seem to be inconsequential when compared to all that this world has to offer. But, think what is being forfeited ...."rest" (v14). People travel thousands of miles, buy all sorts of things, try all kinds of ideologies and philosophies to attain the gift of God, to attain rest. The formula for it is found in the few sentences above. Moses knows God's name, the LORD (Ex 3:14). Moses knew the Name and had plenty of experiences with God where God backed the name up. We have the entire Bible and our own experiences to use to understand the Name. The second part of the formula is a bit surprising. God knows Moses' name, as well as ours too. God knows Moses, the good, the bad and the ugly. God knows Moses' heart. God knows Moses' desire is to be what God calls for in his people. And above all, God is there for Moses. God is present. When you add it all up, you get ...rest. Moses has all the pieces, but he never quite gets the puzzle put together. It takes faith. Speaking for myself, at times, I fear it is a struggle for me as well. Maybe, at times, for you too.
Take a moment and read what the glory of God is in verse six and seven. Not what we normally think of is it? When we think about glory, we think about grand displays of power and might that leave us in awe. Yet, God's glory is defined in action: compassion, grace, patience, love, faithfulness, forgiveness, justice, and God's name which is more a verb than a noun (I AM). If you are wondering about the punishment of the next generations of the guilty, read Ezekiel 18:20. If you think about it, if you are in the Presence of the LORD, and we are, then we are in the glory of God, we are... We receive all those things each day. Do we appreciate it? Moses never arrived at the point in his life where he fully appreciated his place with God and it left him short. God loved and favored Moses, and, yes, Moses is with God. But, Moses could never fully accept what God had given him. The Spirit of God can teach us a lot through the legacy of Moses. God was present with Moses, but Moses struggled to stay present with God. When our relationship with God is transparent (God knows everything about us, why try to hide?), amazing things can happen. We can rest. And when we are at rest, we have energy and we focus that energy in good ways.
Pray with me, ...Holy God, we thank you for your Name? You are forever with us. You are present. You are our Savior, our Helper and so much more. Continue to work with us, molding our spirit, so we can enjoy all that You have provided for us. Be with our loved ones, bless them in accordance with their needs and bless our church. Bless us, so we can be the blessing You call us to be. In Jesus name, Amen.
God's peace,
Pastor Brian
