Ninety-Nine And A Half Won’t Do! Part 4 – Moses

12Moses said to the Lord, “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.’ 13If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
14The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
17And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
18Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

Exodus 33:12-18 NIV

Moses is considered by many people to be one of the greatest leaders and men of all time. Jews see him as a liberator of their people, Christians see him as the author of the 10 commandments, and others may see him as a man who worked extraordinary wonders in the past. I’ve written about Moses on several topics before and some of you may be wondering what could this possibly be about, but I believe that Moses in this passage highlighted a principle even greater than the commandments that he delivered to the people under divine instruction form God.

To bring you up to speed on what has occurred to this point: God visited Moses through a burning bush, turned his staff into a snake that consumed Pharaoh’s magicians staffs, performed 10 miracles in Egypt that moved Pharaoh’s heart to release the Israelites, parted the red sea so they could cross on dry land, killed Pharaoh and his army in the red sea, provided manna and quail for them to eat daily, hand wrote the ten commandments on stone tablets, spoke from the mountain, and provided water from a rock. Now all of this would be enough to solidify the faith of most people, and for Moses you would assume that he wouldn’t fear anything given that he had front row seats to each of these miraculous acts of God. However, Moses in the text above shows that he had a greater understanding of God’s fulness and plan than we may realize.

If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here

exodus 33:15

Moses understood that the presence of God is the greatest gift that we can experience during our time on Earth. Blessings, miracles, wealth, wisdom, fruits of the spirit, etc, these things can be evidence of God’s power, but not his presence. Moses understood the difference as represented by his conversation with God in the text. The Israelites had acted with unappreciation, fear, entitlement, disregard for God since he’d sent Moses to deliver them from Egypt. Moses aware of God’s power, mercy, holiness, and his own deficiencies realized that he could do nothing independent of God’s presence and will. In the chapters leading to Exodus 33, the Israelites had complained time and time again against God, and Moses who they saw as God’s representative to them. God had reached a climax with the people in Exodus 32 when they constructed a golden calf and worshiped it as their deliverer from Egypt. God caused the Levites (priests) to “cleanse” the people from their sin in Exodus 32, and declared that he could not go with them to the promised land or he might destroy them along the way because of their disobedience (chapter 33). Moses immediate response was that God’s presence was more important than the destination, or the things experience and/or gained along the way. Moses knew that the children of Israel could have settled for manna, quail, water, and freedom from physical captivity. However this was not God’s plan or purpose for their lives. Moses understood from God’s original conversations that God’s intent was to free them from the bondage of Egypt, AND dwell with them as their God. Moses understood from his experiences with God that God desires to be intimate with his people. Moses is credited as the writer of the first 5 books of the Bible, and I believe that it was during the time that he spend with God gaining insight into the book of Genesis and the events written about within, that he learned and became acquainted with God. It is during that time that he heard God speak of his original intent for creation, how he dwelt in Eden with Adam and Eve before the fall, how Enoch walked with him so closely that he took Enoch to be with him in heaven before he experienced death. It was in the time that Moses spent with God during those 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai where he was in constant uninterrupted fellowship with God that he fully understood the power of God’s presence. It was there I believe that Moses developed a proper perspective serving and following God that foreshadowed a principle that Jesus would highlight during his ministry

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

matthew 6:33 NIV

Moses desired God’s presence, and to serve God truthfully and wholeheartedly. When presented with the decision of continuing on to the promised land without God, Moses promptly turned it down knowing that the true gift is found in having God with you each step of the way.

Reflection Time

Have you experienced the presence of God in your life? What do you value or appreciate most about your relationship with God? I would like for you to spend some alone time and intentionally seek God. Have you been exchanging God’s presence for his gifts?