Lesson 68 - Senior
Memory Verse
"My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest" (Exodus 33:14).
Cross References
I God's Refusal to Go with the Israelites to Canaan
1. God directed Moses to lead the Israelites to Canaan that the promise made to the patriarchal fathers might be fulfilled, [EXO:33:1]; [GEN:12:1]; [GEN:15:18-21]; [GEN:17:8]; [GEN:28:13-14]; [PS:105:42].
2. God promised to send an angel before the Israelites, since He could not go because of their sin, [EXO:33:2-3]; [JOS:7:12]; [PS:66:18]; [ISA:59:2].
3. The solemn announcement produced an attitude of contrition among the Israelites, [EXO:33:4-6]; [PS:34:18]; [PS:51:17]; [ISA:66:2].
4. Moses moved the Tabernacle of the congregation (not the Tabernacle where the priests ministered before God, which was built later) outside the camp, and the people resorted thereto, [EXO:33:7-8]; [PS:34:4]; [HEB:10:25].
II Moses' Intercession for the Israelites
1. God's presence at the Tabernacle was sufficient proof that God was directing Moses, [EXO:33:9-11]; [HEB:13:7].
2. Joshua, the servant of Moses, proved again his loyalty to God and to Moses by not departing from the Tabernacle, [EXO:33:11]; [EXO:17:9-10], [EXO:17:13]; [EXO:24:13]; [EXO:32:17].
3. Moses pled for a more complete and intimate knowledge of God and His ways; approaching God in boldness prompted by an unselfish spiritual life, [EXO:33:12-13]; [JER:9:23-24]; [JER:31:34]; [HOS:6:3]; [JHN:7:12].
4. God gave the promise for which Moses asked, [EXO:33:14]; [ISA:63:9-14]; [ISA:54:7-8]; [PS:78:52-55]; [2PE:1:3].
5. Moses claimed the promise, since it was asked for God's glory, the welfare of the Israelites, and for a testimony to the ungodly, [EXO:33:15-16]; [MAK:16:17]; [1KG:8:56].
6. God gave a further reassurance in answer to Moses' reasonable request, [EXO:33:17].
7. Moses, eager for a still closer personal acquaintance with the Almighty, asked the ultimate from God, [EXO:33:18-19].
8. God granted as much of Moses' request as it was possible for him to stand, [EXO:33:20-23]; [JHN:1:18].
Notes
The Unfailing Promise
Back in the very beginning of the Hebrew nation, when Abraham was called out of the land of Ur, God promised that Abraham's seed should eventually possess the land of Canaan. This promise was renewed to Isaac and Jacob in later times, but none of the three ever came into its realisation. They dwelt in tents and spent most of their lives wandering in the land. But God never forgets His promises; and when the Israelites cried because of their burdens the Lord brought them out of Egypt in a miraculous way and started them on their way to Canaan.
The Israelites failed God and fell short of what God would have them attain to, but God's promises to Abraham still stood. God was displeased with the Israelites because of their sins. He would have consumed the Israelites, were it not for the faithful intercession of Moses who prayed for them.-Moses reminded God that His name would not receive honour if the Israelites were destroyed. Had Moses not interceded, a decree similar to that given on the border of the Promised Land " that none would enter Canaan " would surely have been given at Mount Sinai instead.
God repented of the judgment He would have sent upon the Israelites; and after the tribe of Levi had separated themselves from among the other tribes He gave the order that the encampment at Sinai was to be broken up and the long march to Canaan begun. He was remembering the promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was giving the Israelites one more opportunity to prove their sincerity and love for Him. But because of the sin among the people God could no longer dwell in their midst.
Necessity of Holiness
God cannot abide where sin is tolerated or condoned. When Jesus died on Calvary, He took our sins upon Himself and died so we would not have to die, and the presence of our sins upon the Innocent One caused God to turn away from even His own beloved Son. God could not look upon sin when Christ died, nor could He dwell where sin existed in Israel's time. Neither can He now call that person who has sin in his heart a son.
There was a measure of mercy as well as judgment in God's refusal to be in the midst of the Israelites. He was not going to leave them entirely to their own resources, but promised to send an angel to open the way ahead. Because of their sinful tendencies, He personally drew away from them in mercy, least He should destroy them in their sins when they turned from Him as they so often did. They would, in this manner, be sheltered from the sudden power of God's judgment and be given time to repent and turn their hearts to God again.
The Tabernacle of the Congregation
God's departure from their midst was a virtual reversal of their prime and peculiar favour: the fact that God had dwelt in their midst and was their governing power, guide, protector, and salvation. Naturally they mourned and refused to put on their ornaments. In spite of their waywardness, sin, and idolatry they really did not want to be separated from God; and when Moses told them the Lord's words they were deeply distressed. They became more penitent than at any previous time, stripping off their ornaments. God saw their repentance.
Before the permanent Tabernacle was built, the pattern of which was shown to Moses on Mount. Sinai, the Israelites had a place where God met them. This was called the Tabernacle of the congregation and is thought to be the place where Moses lived, or at least where his headquarters was situated. When God's decision was given to Moses he took this Tabernacle and moved it outside the camp and pitched it some distance away, to bring more clearly to the Israelites the fact that God was not dwelling in their midst. Moses also showed here a determination that no matter what was necessary he was going to be in the place where God's presence could be with him.
The Israelites became much more concerned about their spiritual welfare when this took place and would stand in the doors of their tents as Moses went to the Tabernacle. How relieved and comforted they must have been when they saw the cloudy pillar descend upon the Tabernacle, because they knew that God was talking to Moses, assuring them of divine leadership.
Joshua, the Faithful Soldier
Moses was not entirely alone in his stand for God, however. There has always been a remnant of godly men and women who have stood for the faith in the face of apostasy and sinfulness of all kinds.-God has always had some "Samuels" who could still hear the voice of God when the "Elis" could not; "7,000's" who would not bow their knees to idols, even if they were unknown to the "Elijahs"; "Elishas" who poured water on the hands of the "Elijahs"; and "Hebrew children" who have stood behind and with the faithful "Daniels"' and "Joshuas" who, when the Spirit of God was grieved because of the presence of sin, would not leave the Tabernacle.
It was this same Joshua who did not hesitate to muster an army and face great physical danger in a battle with the trained Amalekites while Moses prayed for God's help for the army of the Israelites. It was this same Joshua who went up Mt. Sinai with Moses, perhaps farther than any other man besides Moses. And here, as the faithful minister of Moses, we see him still filling his place of responsibility. God, give us more Joshuas!
Moses' Plea for God's Presence
Moses was not content with the arrangement as thus established. He knew the great responsibility that was upon his shoulders. He knew the tendencies of the people to murmur, grow fainthearted, and depart from the true God. He knew that in his own strength he could never bring them into Canaan. God had promised to send an angel before them but this was not enough for Moses, nor did he feel that God's ways were sufficiently plain. If he was on such intimate terms with God, as God had said, God should be with him in a greater way than ever before. He was not interested in knowing more about man's ways nor of reaching a higher state of intellectual accomplishment. He wanted to know God better. He wanted to know God's will more perfectly. He wanted to find more grace in God's sight.
God honoured Moses' prayer and gave him the reassuring answer: "My presence shall go with thee." Because of Moses' request and prayer God's presence was to be with them at all times instead of only the angel going before them to prepare the way. Moses claimed the promise in his answering words: "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." Moses had found grace in God's sight.
Better to have a death in the wilderness of Mt. Sinai than the prospect of a day's journey without God's presence with them continually! Better the dearth of the desert than the land flowing with milk and honey without God's presence! How were they to be distinguished from all the people of the world if not by the fact that God dwelt among them?-How were they to know that they were following God's will if His presence was not with them? How were they to know for sure that God's angel had gone before them if God was not with them at all times?
Christians today can learn a valuable lesson from the persistence of this godly man, Moses, at this time of his life. How can we know that we are separated and set apart from all the people of the world except the presence of God be with us? How are we to know God's will if God's presence is not with us? How are we to be assured that the angel of the Lord has gone before us if God's presence is not with us? How are we effectually to serve God if His presence is not with us? God's presence, His Holy Spirit, is what we must seek after, contend for, and cherish above everything else when He is ours. Our continuous prayer must be: "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence."
Insatiable Spiritual Hunger Rewarded
Moses was still not content, however. He wanted to receive all that it was possible for a mortal to receive from God. He wanted a more complete revelation of God, and from God, than man had ever received. He was not seeking for temporal blessings or earthly glory. He yearned for a disclosure of God, more full and glorious than he had received at the burning bush, more personal than the devouring fire on the mountain, and more satisfying to his soul than could be had through the thick darkness or cloudy pillar. His desire was to see His glory. The Lord granted the request, mercifully tempering the answer by making His goodness known to Moses instead of His unveiled glory, and by proclaiming the name of the Lord before that godly man.
In our next lesson, we shall see more clearly how Moses was being tested by God through all these events. We shall see how Moses proved that he was a man who could be trusted with this great responsibility of leadership and how his willingness and fitness to be an intercessor for the Israelites was being tried here. We shall see how he emerged triumphant through it all, proving that his ambition was not for earthly glory and the esteem of men but for God's power and blessing upon his life at all times.
How wonderful it must have been to Moses to stand in a cleft of a rock and feel the hand of God there shielding him from the consuming presence of the Almighty! How rapturous it must have been for him to see that which no other mortal eye had ever seen, and to hear the voice of the Lord proclaim the name of the Lord, Jehovah, with its attributes of goodness, graciousness, and mercy!
What a high place this godly man, Moses, attained to in God's battalions of faithful warriors! It was his because he valued the presence of God above everything else in the world. We, too, can attain to a high place in God's economy if we seek "first the kingdom of God"; for it is promised that "the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him" and that "no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."
Questions
1. Upon what occasions had God promised Abraham and Jacob that the land of Canaan would be given to their seed?
2. What change in God's former provisions for the Israelites was apparent in the promise made to send an angel before them?
3. What attitude did the Children of Israel take when they heard God's instructions to Moses?
4. Where had the Tabernacle of the congregation been pitched and to what place did Moses move it?
5. What great lesson is taught us by the Israelites going to the Tabernacle as they did?
6. What did the Israelites do when the glory of the Lord came down upon the Tabernacle of the congregation?
7. How does the Bible describe the relationship of God and Moses?
8. What request did Moses make of God prior to asking to see God's glory? What were his reasons for making that request?
9. Did God grant the request? Should we make requests of this kind when we pray?
10. Why did God not grant Moses' request to see God's glory? What did God do instead?