The book of Exodus is a favorite of mine (and aren't they all!) The stories of God's mighty arm extended to free His people and lead them through the dessert places are thrilling. Moses...what a mighty man he was! He experienced an intimate relationship with the Lord like none other.
In Chapter 33 of Exodus, God gives a command to His people to leave the Sinai...to go and claim the land of Promise.
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.' And I will send My Angel before you..."What a story! A real story...flesh and blood people with the very real God of the universe! They were 'friends'. Imagine that for a moment...friendship with Him.
Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp....And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses...So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend...
Then Moses said to the Lord, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people.' But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said 'I know you by name, and 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 and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people. And He said, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'"
So the Lord said to Moses, 'I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.' And he said, 'Please, show me Your glory.' Then He said, 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.'
And the Lord said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen." (excerpt from Exodus 33, NKJV)
The cry of my heart...
Oh Lord! Show me your glory! I have experienced you in so many ways. You have shown me your Friendship. Now, Lord, please show me Your Glory!
A prayer from The Pursuit of God, by A. W. Tozer:
O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God told Moses that he could not look on His Face because no man could see Him and live.
What a picture of perfect faith is portrayed in this passage...to not be able to see the face of your closest, dearest Friend...
when you are in the valley...that misty lowland or that savage desert place, wandering, wandering...
Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.
He is there! No, we cannot see His face while we are in the lowlands or the desert places. BUT, we will see His back!
We can know that He was with us all the time as we see Him walking ahead of us to the next place wherein we will need a display of His Glory!
Take joy, dear one! He is there with you, even now as you sit before this keyboard or read this on your phone...wherever you are the Promise is real.
As the angel said:
Matthew 27 v 7He promises to be with us in every situation that we face...revealing His Glory, step by step. We may not see Him, but we have the assurance that He was there, is still there and always will be there...
And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you."
Look! Do you see His back?
Be blessed,
