Exodus 33-35

January 28

Exodus 33-35

There are times when I get totally frustrated with my sons. I ask them to do something and expect it to get done. I come back later and they have not done what I asked. I can only imagine God’s frustration with the Israelites. He freed them from slavery in Egypt and all they wanted to do was complain. He meets with Moses on the top of Mt Sinai and the people begin to worship their gold shaped into a calf.

In verse 33:1-3, God told Moses to take the people and go ahead into the land God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God said He would send an angel ahead of them to give them victory, but God was not going with them. He was so fed up with them that He figured if He went, He would end up killing them all.

God was willing to give them what they wanted, but without His presence. Moses interceded again and told God that if He did not go, then the Israelites did not want to go. The distinguishing feature of the Israelites was that God was with them. Moses realized that if God was not with them, they were just like everyone else. A blessing is not a blessing if God is not in it.

Often in our prayer life we ask. God said to ask. There is nothing wrong with asking God to provide or to intervene in our lives. But what do we want more, the thing we are asking for or the presence of God? God can give us the riches of the world, but what good are they if He is not with us. The only thing that separates us from the rest of the world is His presence. The only way we are able to live in obedience to Him is His presence in our lives.

Moses established a place outside the camp, outside the distractions and set up a tent as a place to meet with God. Whenever he went to the tent the people noticed. The people would stand outside their tents and worship  as God’s presence in a pillar of cloud settled over the tent as Moses met with God. After Moses’ meeting with God, he would leave the tent, but we are told that his young aide Joshua did not leave the tent.

Do you rest in the presence of God? Is His presence enough for you? If God offered to give you all you ever wanted, but without His presence, would you, like Moses, tell Him you did not want anything without His presence in your life? Seek God’s presence in your prayer today and ask Him to lead you wherever He may want you to go.