His Presence
Exodus 33:1-23
We have been created with a need of companionship and guidance. We find very early on in the Bible, in Genesis when God creates, He creates man and gives him all that he needs. But there is something missing in Adams life and God says that it is not good for man to be alone.
We see this in the children of Israel in chapter 32, they are so afraid. They think that Moses is lost or that something has happened to him because he had been gone for a very long time. We know that Moses is on top of Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God. But the children of Israel are a little disturbed. Their confidence level has waned in the time that he has been gone so they begin to create for themselves an idol, something that would demonstrate a God or a deity in their presence because they have seen those things happen in Egypt. They are not that far removed from Egypt yet. God is very displeased with their actions and what they are doing. In fact, God is so displeased in what is going on that He says ‘I’m not going to go with you to the Promised Land because I might do something bad to you’. Looking at Exodus 33 and reading the language in the very beginning, you can see that God is very disturbed with the children of Israel, “I’m not going with you, but I will fulfill my promise” God says. “I’m going to go with you but My presence is not going to be there.” Moses needed assurance. He needed to be sure that God would be there with them.
Moses goes into this tent of meeting, which is the little ‘t’ because it is different than the one in the tabernacle. This is the place that Moses goes to outside the camp to talk to God and he really needs to have a talk with God. Moses confronts God. In this confrontation we learn what Moses knows and how important the presence of God is in his life and how that can help us in our daily living.
The first thing we observe is that Moses understands God’s presence brings salvation. God saves us. Moses says, “we can’t do this without You”. Moses knows that God is the very being, the very person that has brought them to where they are right now. The song Moses sings reveals this truth (Exodus 15:2). This is how it goes “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him”. Moses knew that God was their salvation. He goes to God in the tent and he begs God to go with them because he knows that, without God, they’re lost. They are literally lost. From the profit Isaiah, he begins to sing another song to them about this servant who is going to come and bring them their salvation. “In his distress, meaning God’s distress, the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his mercy, he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old” (Isaiah 63:9). This prophet knew that God was salvation, just like Moses. We know that our salvation is, of course, from God because it was God who sent His Son to die on the cross for us. Jesus is our salvation. Without His presence in our lives there would be no salvation.
Remember when Joseph was having a difficult time with Mary and her situation, the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph and begins to explain what is going on. The angel says to Joseph in Matthew 1:21, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins”. You see the name Jesus means salvation. Peter says this in Acts 4:12. “ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved”. So Jesus is our salvation. When God is present in our lives, when Jesus comes into our lives, we are saved! Of course there is a process to bring Jesus into your life. Jesus tells us that it takes faith, whoever believes is not condemned Mark 16:16), and so we come to Jesus by faith. In that faith, we give our heart to him. Jesus says, “Unless you repent you too will perish,” (Luke 13:3) so we repent. We turn to Him with all of our hearts. We also confess that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9). He is the ruler. He is the one who can direct me and guide me. Not only that, we give our lives totally as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) when we are buried with him in baptism (Romans 6:1-4). Jesus brings salvation into our lives when we respond to him by faith, repentance, confession, and being baptized into Christ. There’s no other name in which we can be saved except by the name of Jesus.
In verses 14 and 15, Moses begins to display his anxiety about God not going with them. God responds to Moses and says, “My presence will go with you, and I will give your rest”. Moses knows that God and His presence can satisfy the needs of those that are His. God says “I will give you rest”. Moses realizes his reward. We get a broader view of this from the writer of Hebrews. He demonstrates who Moses was by faith in that great chapter of Hebrews 11:26, “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward”. Moses knew that God could deliver. So he comes to God and he begs God, “we can’t go up without you”. God responds with “I will give you rest”. Jeremiah, in a time of great disturbance in the land of Israel because they had fallen away from God, delivers a message of doom. God was about to punish them. God was going to bring a pagan nation, the Babylonians, to take them into captivity. But there was also a message of hope, “Stand at the cross roads and look, ask for the ancient path, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find (get this) rest unto your soul” (Jeremiah 6:16).
God, even though there was going to be punishment to Israel, is saying ‘look and my presence will bring peace to you. There will be rest for your soul.’ In the book of Joshua we find God fulfilled the promise He had given Moses. Joshua 21:44-45 says, “The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. (45) Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”
What did God say to Moses in Exodus 33? “I will give you rest.”
When God is present in our lives, there is much we owe Him. Salvation comes through Him. Our needs are satisfied in Him. God says “I will give you rest. Is there trouble in your life? There may be turmoil in your life. But believe me, that with God walking with you, there can be peace. There will be a rest. I can’t explain all of it. I don’t understand all of it. I don’t have all of the answers. But I do know this thing, when God says I will give you rest, He will fulfill His promise. Psalm 16:11 “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” The psalmist knew God and His presence with him could bring the kind of joy that he needed. God can fulfill that promise for you. Jesus says, in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Remember that is the very thing that God said to Moses and God said to the children of Israel, even in their distress. Jesus walking with us and being with us, being present in our lives, He says, “Come to me. Bring all of your burdens to me. And I will give you rest”. What a great promise!
We also see in this dynamic story, with Moses and his confrontation with God, in verse 16, God also brings sanctification. He brings something into our lives, which separates us for the world. “How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?” Look at the question that Moses asked God. “How are they going to know? If you’re not with us, how are they going to know that we find favor in your eyes?” What else will distinguish me and your people from all of the other people on the face of the earth? Having God in your presence should separate you from the world. When Moses received the instructions on Mount Sinai, remember, in Exodus chapter 3, he saw the burning bush that really never burned up. It got his attention. He walks up the mountain and comes into the presence of God. What is it that God says to him? “Take off your sandals for you are on Holy ground.” The presence of God is holy. Moses understood this with his encounter with God on the mountain. He understood the holiness of God. God even said to His people in the commandments in Leviticus 11:44, “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy”. God is a holy God. And for God to come into our presence and for us to live in God means that we are His holy people. In the covenant language of God and Israel in Exodus 19:6, “You will be for me a kingdom of priest and a holy nation”. God not only required His people of that day to be holy, He also requires His people today to be holy. Peter says, 1 Peter 1:16, “For it is written: ‘Be holy for I am holy.” 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are his chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God”. There’s a reason for our holiness. There’s a reason for God to separate us from the world, because the world is in trouble. If you’re living the ways of the world, your life is in trouble. But by bringing God into your life, He takes care you. He separates you from the world’s wicked ways. Moses said, “Teach me your ways. Show me your ways”. Moses knew the importance of God being with him and his people. And being a holy people today, God separates us from this world. He sanctifies us. He makes us His people so that we live different. It goes on to say in 1 Peter 2:9 that we are his people because he has brought us up out for darkness into His wonderful light. God’s presence and His light in your life, changes you. It’s so important for God’s presence to be in our lives so that we can show the world God changes us. In his presence brings salvation, satisfaction, and separation from the world.
Do you sense there is something missing in your life? Maybe it is a sense of missing a relationship. People express so much of needing a relationship. I’m talking about a relationship with another human being. They are in need of a relationship because they have just come out of something that was so terrible. They are hurt and there is this void and need somebody to talk to. What would be your counsel? What would you say to that person? “You need to get out more. You need to go here. You need to go there and do those kinds of things.” That’s ok. But, let me suggest this. What about, for someone that has that void and is missing that kind of relationship, give them time to heal? Develop a relationship with God. Let God be their partner. Bringing Him into your presence will fill that void and heal you of your wounds. Bringing Him into your relationship will be wholesome and healthy. So, when that other person comes into your life guess what? You’ll be so much receptive because of what God has done in your life.” Sometimes we want to jump the gun. When there is something missing in our lives and know we are missing something, we look for it in events or in people, when we should be seeking God, a relationship with Him.
Moses knew God’s presence would bring salvation. “I’m not going if you’re not going” I’m not going if you’re not going because you’re our salvation. God, I know that there is not going to be rest if you are not there.” He knows that God can bring the kind of satisfaction they needed. And Moses knew that if God were present with them then people would know that He was present just because of who they were. It’s the same way with us.
There’s no other name but the name of Jesus that can bring salvation to us. There’s no other person that can bring rest into your life except Jesus. He says, “Bring it on. Bring your burdens to me.” There’s no other person except Jesus who can make us holy that can wash us and cleanse us and make us holy. We need His presence.
