Courtney Gilmore The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.
Exodus 33:11
What an amazing relationship Moses had with our Lord! Sometimes it is tempting to wish that we could just enter a building & have God’s Presence descend & talk with us. Jesus knew that His disciples would wish for this type of relationship once He was gone, so He said to them,
I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send Him to you.
John 16:7
Even with Jesus, because He was flesh & blood, there were limits. He could not speak one on one with a person without either including everyone around or excluding them. But through the Holy Spirit, we are not limited by person or place as Moses & the disciples were. We all can to talk to God, one on one, anytime & anywhere. As we spend time in His Presence, His spirit speaks to ours.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, & Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self & said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven. All this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants & they shall inherit it forever.
Exodus 32:13
When Moses prayed, he asked God according to His promises. It pleases the Lord when we pray according to His Word. By repeating HIs words back to Him, we show our faith & trust. It demonstrates that we trust His faithfulness & goodness towards us.
You have said, ‘I know you by name & you have also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way that I may know You & find grace in Your sight.
Exodus 33:12-13
Everything had been so difficult with the people & Moses just needed a little reassurance. He logically knew what God said & he believed it, but at the moment, his emotions just weren’t aligned. God had given him some very difficult people to lead!
Sometimes our feelings just don’t line up with the truth that we know. The Bible says we are His children & that He loves & cares for us. But when our life is hard & everything seems bad, it may feel like God doesn’t like us very much. In those times, it is okay to ask Him for reassurance that He sees & hears, that He cares & is with us. It is also good for us to know His word & recall it back to ourselves & our Father.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
1 John 3:1
Ask Him to show you His ways & believe that He has a plan.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart & lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him & He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
God agreed to go with Moses & to give him rest. He knew that the people were a burden & by being with Moses, He would take some of that burden away. Moses needed God so badly that he said,
If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.
Exodus 33:15
Moses knew what Jesus explained to us all.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:4-5
Not only could Moses not move forward without the Lord, but he also knew that His Presence was the only thing that separated them from the other nations.
How then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.
Exodus 33:16
We too are only different from the world because we have the Lord. I am just another sinner. I am no better than any other person created by God, although falling short of His intended purpose continually.
For all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
The only difference between a Christian & an unbeliever is that we are not condemned by our sin. Instead, we are justified to God because of the grace of the cross.
He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:18
We all still sin, but as believers, we are no longer enslaved by our sin.
Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin & a slave does not abide in the house forever. But a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
John 3:34-36
In the end, God gave Moses everything that he asked for because he did find grace in God’s sight & God did know him by name. What a gracious God! Seek to know His word & pray according to His character & works that you too may receive His grace.
Excerpt from Episode 67 “God’s Love and Favor” Exodus 33 on Podcast and YouTube
