Is God's presence really with you?

In Exodus 33, Moses pleads for the one thing that matters most: God's own presence. Dr. Toby Holt shows why nearness to God is the believer's greatest treasure. After the golden calf, God says He will give Israel the land but warns His presence will not go in their midst, lest He consume a stubborn people. Moses refuses to go without God, and God relents: "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Then Moses asks to see God's glory, and God hides him in the cleft of a rock.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why did God say His presence would not go with Israel? Because they were a stiff-necked people, and His holy presence among them could consume them. It revealed the seriousness of their sin.

2. Why was Moses so desperate for God's presence? Because His presence is what set Israel apart from every other nation. Without it, the Promised Land meant nothing.

3. What did the cleft in the rock picture? A safe hiding place where a sinner could glimpse God's glory and live — pointing to the refuge we have in Christ.

"My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." — Exodus 33:14 (NKJV)

Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more verse-by-verse Bible teaching at newgeneva.org; support this ministry at newgeneva.org/give.

In Exodus 33, Moses wanted to see God, but it wasn't that simple, was it?

2

Sinful man cannot look upon God and live, which is what God reminded Moses.

3

But what about when we're in heaven?

4

Will we be able to look upon Him then?

5

We'll consider that question and more in today's study.

6

You know, there's a question I ask when counseling believers,

7

and I'll ask it almost every single time.

8

The question is this.

9

what is God doing in your life? What's God doing in your life? Now, most people don't have an

10

answer, at least not off the tip of their tongue. And the reason they don't have an answer is

11

because they're not used to thinking things through that way. What's God doing in your life?

12

If I ask you that right now, what's the answer? What is God doing in our lives? Again, most of the

13

time we don't have an answer. And the reason is because we don't think of our relationship with

14

God that way. You see, most of us know God's there. I can look out of that tree and know that God's

15

there. I can look at this hand and see the bones and sinew and know that God made it. I can look

16

at the babies in our midst and know that they were formed by someone greater than their mothers and

17

greater than themselves. I know that there is a God. However, the tendency that I have and you

18

have and everyone has, the tendency is to see that God is somewhere out there in the ether,

19

somewhere in orbit of us, we recognize, even theologically, we recognize God's attributes.

20

We say, all right, what's God's attributes? Can someone give me one right now? What's one? Jordan,

21

what's an attribute of God? Holiness. All right. I want one more. One more attribute of God. Gardner,

22

what's another attribute? What was that? Faithful. That's right. These old ears here. Faithful. He's

23

faithful. He's holy. He's good. He's patient. He's kind. He's loving. Now, most of us know those

24

things to the point where we can quote them. We know that God has these attributes. The problem

25

is we don't know how those attributes apply to us. You see, I can know that the king of Siam

26

exists. I can know that he reigns. I can know of his authority. I can know the king of Siam's

27

power. However, here's the thing. I have no relationship with the king of Siam, and so even

28

though I know he may have these things, I don't care because they don't affect me. So that's what

29

we do. We recognize God's there like we recognize the King of Siam is there. We recognize there is

30

one above us that transcends us and he's holy and all these different wonderful sounding things.

31

But honestly, we just don't know how that affects me. You're in Gulfport, Mississippi.

32

How does that affect me? What is God doing in your life? Most people disassociate God from their life

33

to the degree that they just don't know. And so when I ask it, it seems like it just comes out of

34

the blue. It's just not something they're used to processing. What's God doing in your life?

35

I can assure you this. He is doing something. And they're probably somewhat obvious if you take the

36

time to look. In fact, you're in this building this morning. There's probably some sign of God

37

through his providential decree doing something in your life. And the fact you're here looks like

38

at something good. Now, if you are used to keeping God at arm's length, you won't have an easy time

39

coming to an answer. If you prefer God to be in orbit of you, if you prefer God at arm's length,

40

then you're going to have both an inability to answer this question and maybe an unwillingness

41

to as well. The people of Israel, that's what it was. You see, the people of Israel, they liked God

42

at a distance. They liked having God at a distance. They liked the fact he was there,

43

And they liked the fact that he could come along and stomp on Pharaoh.

44

They liked the fact he could free them from bondage.

45

They liked the fact that he could feed them with the manna that came from heaven.

46

They liked all that sort of stuff about God.

47

And yet they wanted to keep him at a distance.

48

And we know they wanted to keep him at a distance because of the things they said.

49

Do you remember the time God spoke to them in Exodus 20?

50

Just audibly, to the whole lot of them.

51

They're all gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai.

52

The voice of God booms forth.

53

He delivers them the Ten Commandments.

54

And what's their reaction?

55

What do they tell Moses?

56

they tell Moses, dear God, don't let that happen again. You go talk to him. You, Moses, you. You

57

go deal with him. If he talks to us, we won't survive the encounter. That's something, though,

58

they just did habitually. They liked a God who was the miracle guy who could come along from

59

a long distance away, throw a lightning bolt or a hailstone or locust at the enemies and feed the

60

man from heaven. But when he actually got into their face, got into their midst, man, they had

61

some troubles. And so when Moses was gone a little too long, he goes up the mountain,

62

you know, they start looking around and go, all right then, all right, what to do, what to do?

63

And they ask Aaron, they say, Aaron, help us out here. Whip us up some gods. And if you remember,

64

they used the plural, whip us up some gods. We want some gods. And so Aaron, as we talked about

65

last week, he was conflicted in what he did and why he did it. And he was trying to kind of yoke

66

Jehovah to all this, but he gets all the gold and he throws in the fire and fashions and forms this

67

thing and has this golden calf is the result. And the people, what did they do? Well, they undressed,

68

they partied, they drank, they danced, they made merriment before this gold calf. Now, why did they

69

feel that level of comfort with the gold calf, but they didn't even want to hear God's voice? Why?

70

Because they knew in their hearts the gold calf wasn't going to mess with them. They knew in their

71

hearts the gold calf didn't give them any rules to follow. They knew in their hearts the gold calf

72

would not exercise one ounce of authority

73

over how they chose to live their lives.

74

And guess what God they wanted?

75

The gold calf.

76

And that's what idols are.

77

It's man whittling up on his own accord

78

something that he then worships and bows down to five minutes later.

79

Now that sounds kind of stupid, so why do people do it?

80

They do it because it allows them to worship something.

81

They're inherently religious.

82

They worship something, but it's something that they've made

83

which will never call their actions and their choices into question.

84

People wanted God to be there for them on their terms.

85

With that said, the relationship that they had was to keep God at a distance,

86

but Moses was different.

87

Moses was different.

88

What we see in today's text as we get into it is we're going to see

89

that God's relationship with Moses was one where God spoke to Moses as a friend,

90

face-to-face in the context that they were together.

91

Now, why was Moses worthy of this?

92

Well, no one's worthy of this, but why did God choose to do this with Moses?

93

Well, because Moses habitually, continually sought out God.

94

Scripture tells something that applied to them and applies to us,

95

because it's also in the book of James.

96

It says this, if you draw near to God, God will draw near to you.

97

Moses drew near to God.

98

Moses wasn't one of those people that wanted God at arm's length,

99

that wanted him in orbit, wanted God in his box, wanted God on the shelf.

100

And every now and then, like a genie, an emergency, break glass,

101

and he comes out and saves you.

102

Moses didn't want that.

103

Moses wanted to know God.

104

He even wanted to see God's face.

105

He wanted to know God, and God rewards that.

106

God rewards it when you seek him.

107

What a shame we seldom do.

108

But God rewards us when we seek him out.

109

And in today's text, we're going to see this bifurcation, this difference.

110

We're going to see a people that wants to keep God at arm's length.

111

And we're going to see Moses that is continually running.

112

God says, I want to know you more.

113

All right, let's look at verses 1 through 6, and then we'll move on through our text.

114

Verse 1.

115

So then the Lord said to Moses, Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,

116

unto the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying,

117

To your descendants I will give it.

118

And I will send my angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite,

119

the Perizzite, the Hivite, the Jebusite. All the ites are going to be driven out. Verse 3. Go up

120

to a land flowing with milk and honey, for I will not go up in your midst. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. For I will

121

not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people. Now when

122

the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said

123

to Moses, say to the children of Israel, you are a stiff-necked people. I could come into your midst

124

in a moment and consume you. Therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.

125

So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb, which is

126

synonymous with Sinai. All right, let's stop there. You ever heard the phrase, someone comes to you and

127

says, hey, hey, I've got good news and I've got bad news for you. Well, you know what's coming is

128

going to be bittersweet. Usually the bad news seems to be worse than the good news is good.

129

So oftentimes people say, I've got good news and I've got bad news.

130

Well, that's what we see here in verse 2.

131

God says that even though the people literally had sinned so terribly one chapter earlier,

132

God had given them the laws.

133

He'd given them the commandments.

134

The first commandment said what?

135

Thou shalt have no other gods besides me.

136

What did they do?

137

Gold calf.

138

So they'd sinned egregiously, and he would have been entitled and righteous and even just

139

to just dismiss them in a moment with one breath of his nostrils.

140

even though that's what they had done. Here's the good news. In verse 2, God says, even though you've

141

done this, I made a promise. I made a promise to your ancestors that you would inherit a land

142

flowing with milk and honey. Now, that land is occupied at the moment. However, it's not going

143

to be occupied for long. I will send my angel ahead of you, and out of this land, which I have

144

promised to you, we will drive all of these nations, which by the way, are all stronger than

145

you are. So that's good news. That's a good development here. God's going to clear the path.

146

All right, promised land, here we come. So what's the bad news? Well, the bad news is what we see

147

in verse three. God says, although I'm going to do all this, although the days of milk and honey

148

are on the horizon, here's the thing, you're on your own as you head in there. I'll send the angel

149

ahead of you, and I'll make sure everything happens, but I'm not going to be in their midst.

150

Now, why wouldn't he be in their midst? Why wouldn't God be with him? Why did he say this

151

at this time? Well, here's the thing. Isn't that what they kept telling him that they wanted?

152

You see, through their actions and choices, not only this generation, but almost every other page

153

in the Old Testament, you see God's people routinely kind of telling God that they really

154

don't want him. Why do you think they kept all the high places in Israel? Why do you think all

155

the idols continually filled the landscape. Why did that happen? Well, it's because the people

156

continually fell into this mantra of saying, you know, we don't really want a God who has true

157

oversight and accountability over us. Gold calf, gold this, fish God, bull God, ox God, whatever.

158

God knew their hearts. And this would be a source of unending frustration, although God is unending

159

patient, but tremendous frustration. And here he tells them, he says, you know, you want to keep

160

me at arm's length. Well, guess what? You got it. You guys will go ahead. I'll even clear the road,

161

but I'm not going with you. They wanted a gold calf more than him, and that resonated with him.

162

And so he responded. He responded. He wasn't going to be used and abused by these people in route.

163

Now, when the people heard this, what we saw in these first six verses is the people recognized,

164

uh-oh, uh-oh. So they mourned and they took off their ornaments. All right, let's see what verses

165

7 through 11 say happened next. Verse 7. So Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp.

166

This is not the tabernacle he's pitching. This is just a tent of his. He took a tent, he pitched it

167

outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it a tabernacle of meeting because he was going to

168

meet with God here. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to this

169

tabernacle meeting, which was outside the camp. And so it was that whenever Moses went out to the

170

tabernacle, to this tent, that all the people rose and each man stood at his tent door and they

171

watched Moses. They watched as he went until he'd gone to the tabernacle. Verse 9, and it came to

172

pass when Moses entered the tabernacle that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door

173

of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. And all the people saw this pillar of cloud

174

standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and they worshiped, each man in his

175

tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. And he would

176

return to the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the

177

tabernacle. All right. Has anyone ever been on a safari in Africa? I have not, so I'm going to

178

speculate here. But let's say you go on a safari, and you're in one of those caravan things. You

179

go out to see the wild beasts sweeping majestically across the landscape. Now, let's say that your

180

safari guide says, hey, you know, I've never done this before, but I got this idea. You and you,

181

you guys, you get a closer view, why don't you hop out of the caravan, go wander out there in

182

the middle of those fields, and you're going to get the best view of the mall. Why don't you go

183

and do that? If you were to leave the caravan, how safe do you think you would be? If you were

184

to leave the protection of the people entrusted with your welfare, and you went wandering into

185

the field of the wild beast, how safe would you be? Let me use a more local example. Let's say

186

you're on a swamp tour. You're on a swamp tour, you're in a piro with someone, a guide, and he

187

says, I got this great idea. I'm with you now, but if you want a closer view of the wildlife that you

188

paid money to come see, why don't you swim a lap? Why don't you just swim out to that sandbar over

189

there, and how would that be? Well, again, you're going to have some anxiety about this. Why?

190

Because you know where you are, and you know the dangers that exist there. Now, the Israelites knew

191

that if they were to try to go into Canaan,

192

where the Jebusites, Hittites, Perizzites, Amorites,

193

all these ites are, if they were to go there,

194

they knew it would be like wandering into the lion's den.

195

And when the one who has protected them from Egypt says,

196

I'm going to stay behind,

197

they rightfully knew, well, this isn't going to work.

198

I mean, I don't want God to tell me how to live my life,

199

but I sure want him to feed me and protect me.

200

And so they knew this wasn't a great plan.

201

Now, here's the thing.

202

Even Moses is like, what?

203

what's the plan here? How's this going to work? And so in verse 7, he knows he needs to go and

204

talk to God about this matter. And so he takes his tent and he goes and he sets it up far from

205

the camp. God, don't lock me in with these guys over here. He goes and sets it up far from the

206

camp. And as the people watched from a distance, God comes and meets with Moses here. Verse 9 says

207

this pillar cloud descends at which point God met with Moses face to face. And again, God gave Moses

208

this great privilege, this great privilege because Moses habitually, consistently throughout his

209

walk sought out God. It was second nature for Moses to live his life abiding the word will

210

and presence of his creator. And so God meets with him here in these verses. All right, let's see,

211

let's see what Moses asked God then. Moses is now meeting with God. Let's see, what does he tell God

212

after God has now said, I'm not going to be with the people as they go. Let's look at verses 12

213

through 17. Then Moses said to the Lord, you say to me, bring up this people, but you have not let

214

me know whom you will send with me. Yet you've said, I know you by name and you found grace in

215

my sight. Now, therefore, I pray if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way that I

216

may know you and that I may find grace in your sight. And consider that this nation is your

217

people. Moses intercedes for them. Again, Moses is a type of Christ who is the great intercessor

218

for all sinners. Well, God regularly put Moses' intercession to the test and put him in a position

219

where he had to intercede, and that's what's going on here. And Moses comes through. These people

220

have disliked God, but they've hated Moses even worse. They've tried to kill him on numerous

221

occasions. Read scripture and you'll see that the people regularly just loathed Moses. Right now,

222

they honor him in present-day Jewish orthodoxy. His own contemporaries did not honor him. But even

223

Moses, though they talked badly about him, though they criticized him, though they accused him of

224

leading him out in the wilderness to die of hunger or what have you, though they were always on his

225

back, with that said, he says, hey, these are still your people, God. He intercedes for them there in

226

verse 13. And then verse 14, God responds. God said, my presence will go with you, and I will

227

give you rest. Then he said to him, if your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here,

228

for then how will it be known that your people and I have found grace in your sight, except you go

229

with us? So we shall be separate, your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of

230

the earth. And so the Lord said to Moses, I will do the thing that you have spoken, for you have found

231

grace in my sight and I know you by name. All right, what's going on here? Well, let me stop

232

and submit this to you. What's going on here is a microcosm of what you've done with God

233

numerous times over the course of your walk. You've brought God your questions and you've

234

brought God your doubts and your anxieties and your fears and you've laid them before you

235

and God hears and if you look back at your past you see God responds well in this case

236

verses 12 through 17 even Moses didn't know all of what God was doing even Moses didn't know the

237

whole playbook and so he goes to God as is good and wise and says God I'm confused here how this

238

is supposed to work out God what are you doing in this matter God if you're not with us how can we

239

hope to succeed. God, if you're not with us, and this was the big point he had here, he said, God,

240

if you're not with us, then what is going to make us any different from any other nation on earth?

241

God, if you are not with us, then what truly will separate us from the Canaanites?

242

What made the people holy was that they were set apart, called out by God, but the stamp of that

243

holiness was his own presence in their midst. And Moses said, the very thing we need most is what

244

you just told us you're not going to do. And I don't get it. I don't get it. Remember your people.

245

God, remember your people. And remember that the witness to this whole world around us is the fact

246

you're with us. If you're not with us, we can't do it. And I don't want to take another step.

247

It's kind of bold what Moses is saying here.

248

But it warmed the heart of God

249

because Moses had two things right.

250

He had the glory of God in view

251

and the wealth for the people.

252

Do you see that?

253

Moses had the glory of God in view.

254

He says, God, if you're not with us,

255

if you're not with us,

256

how is the nations going to even know of your power?

257

If you're not protecting us and preserving us,

258

if you go with us,

259

then the whole world will know as we go in,

260

as Jericho falls, as all this happens,

261

the world will know there's a God in heaven.

262

They'll know of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

263

If you don't do that, your glory will be negatively impacted, is what he's saying.

264

Your glory will not be testified in a way that it otherwise would if you're with us.

265

So on the one hand, Moses has God's glory in view.

266

Secondly, Moses has God's people in view.

267

He says, remember these people.

268

You're irritated with them, I'm irritated with them.

269

But here's the thing, they're your people.

270

You made a promise.

271

Let me ask you, is it okay to remind God of his promises?

272

Yes. The psalmist and others did this all the time, and God is perfectly okay with that. In fact,

273

he wants you to do it because it proves that you've been reading this. God absolutely loves

274

when we intercede for others. Pastorally, that's like half the ministry. God loves it when we

275

intercede for others, when we seek out his glory and the well for the people. Moses was dynamite.

276

He did exactly what he ought to do. And what was God's response? God says, you got it, Moses.

277

God says, you have found favor in my sight

278

because you live

279

sacrificially, Moses. You're willing

280

to run yourself down for the benefit of others

281

and you consistently seek out my face

282

and you consistently seek out my glory.

283

Moses, you asked it, you got it.

284

God this week invites

285

you to

286

bring to him your questions

287

and your anxieties about what's going

288

on in your life and your fears

289

about tomorrow.

290

And there will be times, like Moses, where you won't get what's going on.

291

It'll seem counterintuitive to what you think is the right thing for God to do.

292

Well, here's the thing.

293

God's okay with you coming to him in tears,

294

falling down and laying down your baggage,

295

laying down your hurt and asking him to help you sort it out.

296

David, who was a manly man, did this all the time.

297

Just read the Psalms.

298

If ever there was a guy who could have felt some ability to just gird himself up and solve all his problems, it was King David.

299

But one of the reasons David was a man after God's own heart is that David didn't rely on himself to do that.

300

He consistently brought this stuff to God.

301

And David, have you read the books of Samuels and Kings?

302

Have you read what he went through?

303

He rarely knew or rarely liked what went on.

304

He lost his own son in his arms.

305

Another got caught up and hung in a tree by his hair.

306

He had all sorts of things go on that he did not like.

307

And so he brought this stuff to God regularly, and God met with him there.

308

The Bible's filled with times when the prophets and apostles brought their questions, fears, doubts, and anxieties to God.

309

Now, are there times when God's answer is above their pay grade?

310

Yes.

311

God says, my ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts.

312

As far as the heavens are above the earth are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.

313

So here's the thing. You have to have some humility and recognize that what we would

314

prescribe that God should do is done from this many data points, this much knowledge.

315

God has an all-encompassing knowledge, and what he does comes out of the wellspring of what he

316

knows to be good and right. And so when he does what he does, it's all right to be affected by

317

that. It's all right to be emotional about it. But we also have to yield to the fact that some

318

things are above my pay grade, and I am happy that a good and all-powerful and sovereign and loving

319

and God who loves me is in charge of me even when he does the things that I don't like.

320

Are there times when we don't like the answers that God gives us? Yes. But don't mistake,

321

don't mistake his actions being different from your desires as him being aloof or stiff-arming

322

you as he goes down the field. 1 Peter 5, the invitation is to cast our cares before him.

323

whatever they are, and however small they feel.

324

Why?

325

Because 1 Peter 5 says this,

326

because he cares for you.

327

Now, some will say,

328

I've tried that, and it didn't work.

329

I cast my cares before God, and it didn't change anything.

330

If that's you this morning,

331

let me ask you gently, kindly, and as pastoral as I can,

332

Let me ask you a couple of diagnostic questions.

333

First of all, when you've come to God with His request,

334

let me ask you this.

335

Do you come to Him with His request,

336

but having lived your life,

337

really as the Israelites were doing in Exodus 32,

338

as those who approach God as if He's behind the sign

339

that says, in case of emergency, break glass.

340

But most of the rest of your days,

341

you have no need for Him or desire for Him.

342

if you've come to God asking him to resolve something,

343

but the reality is that you have no place and no room

344

and no desire for him 99% of the rest of the time,

345

I would submit to you, as we've seen in today's passage,

346

that that's not the relationship that God calls us to.

347

That's not the way that we're supposed to approach him.

348

Now, others think that God is not listening.

349

He must not have heard me.

350

He must not care because he didn't do what I wanted him to do.

351

He didn't resolve my issue.

352

You see, we pray to God with a prescription.

353

If you analyze your own prayers, much of it, if not the majority of it, is a prescription.

354

We say, God, I love you, I love you, I love you.

355

And by the way, here's my list.

356

Here's the things that are going on, which is good.

357

Again, do that.

358

But sometimes what we do is we give him the list of the things going on,

359

but after we give him the list of things going on, we tell him what he should do about it.

360

God, here is this hurt in my life, and here's how you can fix it.

361

Here's this problem with my boss, and here's how you can fix it.

362

Here's this problem with my child, and here's how you can fix it.

363

Here's my health, and here's how you can fix it.

364

Many, much, most of our prayers involve some aspect of us prescribing to him what he should do,

365

but here's the problem.

366

When an all-knowing, all-powerful God chooses, out of his knowledge and omniscience

367

and all these things, to do something different than what we prescribe,

368

sometimes we take that as a personal affront and say, well, you just don't love me.

369

If you loved me, you would have done what I needed.

370

I told you what I needed you to do.

371

I told you the hurt that was on my heart,

372

and you didn't heal it.

373

I told you the problem with this relationship,

374

it's still broken.

375

You see?

376

We say, God, here's how you should fix things,

377

and when he doesn't fix things the way we expected or wanted,

378

or he doesn't do what we thought he should do

379

in this circumstance,

380

our reaction can be to say, you just don't care.

381

If you cared, you would have done it.

382

There have been a lot of times in my life,

383

even as a pastor, where I prescribe to God what he should do.

384

And I can report to you from the pulpit,

385

God usually does not do things the way I think that he ought to or should.

386

But you know what?

387

I have found through the benefit of retrospect

388

that what he has done instead has been better

389

even if I didn't understand it in the season that he was doing it.

390

Growing older has this benefit.

391

You can look back and see things that you did not realize in the moment.

392

And you can see that wisdom is proven by her children.

393

The things God does that is wise are proven by fruits that you might not see right now when you're hurting.

394

But God has a canvas that is larger than what you have.

395

You and I are myopic.

396

We can see two inches in front of our nose.

397

He can see much more.

398

And the fact he doesn't do things what I want, praise God he doesn't.

399

If God did everything that I had wanted, I can tell you my life would be much different and much

400

worse. Guaranteed taken to the bank. Praise God he doesn't do everything that I think that he should.

401

God has not always filled my prescription, but I can tell you this much, and I mean this sincerely,

402

I have never for a moment doubted his presence. Do you understand the distinction? God has not

403

filled my prescriptive, and there's times I've been hurting. There's times when I'm anxious,

404

I'm at my wits' end.

405

Believe it or not, it happens to pastors.

406

There's times when I don't get what's going on.

407

There's times when God doesn't do what I think he ought to do.

408

And while I have anxiety about those issues,

409

not for a moment, not for a nanosecond,

410

have I doubted God's presence.

411

And that has been a comfort to me,

412

even as things have gone haywire at various times.

413

In today's reading in Exodus 33,

414

Moses didn't understand what God was doing,

415

but he knew God was with him.

416

He knew what was going to happen when he'd go and put up his tent.

417

He knew God would be with him.

418

If you're going through a dark valley right now,

419

if you're going through a dark valley,

420

the spiritual topography might not change for you tomorrow.

421

The things you're facing today that you just hate today

422

might still be with you tomorrow.

423

They might get worse from a human perspective.

424

And there's no promise that they won't in a fallen world.

425

We all end up in the grave.

426

All of our stories end sad somehow.

427

There's no promise that the geography, the topography itself will change.

428

The promise in Scripture, in Psalm 23, the Shepherd's Psalm,

429

is not that your circumstances will conform to the ideal in your mind's eye.

430

The promise instead is this, that yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

431

thou art what?

432

Thou art with me.

433

I may face death and hardship and despair and difficulties tomorrow,

434

maybe on into the future. Look at some of the martyrs. Look at some of the saints. It happens.

435

I may face difficulties the rest of my walk, but I know this much. I will not face them alone.

436

And that gives me comfort even as I'm hurting, even as I'm confused, even as I'm scared. I know

437

I'm not facing this diagnosis. I'm not facing this hardship. I'm not facing poverty. I'm not facing

438

tomorrow by myself. Now you start to see why Moses was so anxious that if God were ever to depart his

439

people, that was the main thing they had going for them was that he was with them. And Moses knew,

440

I can't leave this tent without knowing that you'll be with us. I won't take a step apart from

441

you. And there's good counsel in that. All right, let's look at our last verses, verses 18 through

442

23. And he said, this is Moses speaking to God, please show me your glory. And God said, I will

443

make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will

444

be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

445

But, God said, you cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live. And the Lord said, here's a

446

place by me. You shall stand on the rock, and so it shall be when my glory passes by that I will put

447

you in the cleft of the rock and I will cover you with my hand while I pass by. And then I'll take

448

away my hand and you will see my back, but my face shall not be seen. You know, this chapter could

449

have ended back in verse 17 when Moses asked God to stay with his people. Moses says, dear God,

450

please stay with us as we do it. And God says, all right, Moses, I'm in. It could have ended right

451

there. However, Moses, Moses, he's not done. He has another request, and it's, you can just see

452

it bubbling out of his heart. He says, God, God, I love you, I love you, I love you. Show me,

453

show me your glory. You know, sometimes we pray to God, and what we're really concerned about is

454

just his response, that he does what, you know, we want him to do. And then we go our way, he goes

455

his way. It's like the ten lepers that met Jesus on the hillside. Jesus, Jesus, heal us. Then he

456

does. And then nine are depart, never be heard from again. And only one comes back to praise God.

457

Sometimes our prayers are focused on what we want, not necessarily our adoration of the God

458

who fulfills them or who honors them. Well, here Moses, he's not done. He has other requests. He

459

says, God, show me your glory. Give me a close encounter with yourself. You know, sometimes we

460

want God's breadcrumbs to fall all in our lives, but we really don't want to seek out the divine

461

baker. You get it? Sometimes we want all his breadcrumbs, but we aren't necessarily interested

462

in he who provides them. But Moses says, show me your glory. Now, what was he expecting to have

463

happen? He had already encountered God in the burning bush. He had encountered God in this

464

context in the tent. Evidently, he wanted some revelation that exceeded that which he'd been

465

given, in which he had seen a manifestation of God, but he desires he sought something more.

466

Now, that was both a good impulse and a bad impulse.

467

Now, why was that?

468

Well, on the plus side, all of us should be seeking out greater revelations of God.

469

That's just a good approach.

470

If you don't want a greater revelation of God this morning,

471

and you just want him to do things in your life,

472

then you're just a breadcrumb chaser, a breadcrumb gobbler.

473

And that's all you're going to do is you're going to scurry around

474

picking up your breadcrumbs, never looking up to him.

475

Well, again, this isn't the call.

476

This isn't what Moses did, and it's not what we should do.

477

So he asks for something more.

478

He says, God, I'm not content just with what you've done.

479

I want you.

480

I want to know you.

481

I want you to reveal yourself.

482

I want to see your face.

483

He asks it in the most basic way that he can ask the question.

484

But here's the thing.

485

Here's why it was a bad impulse.

486

Moses didn't know, he didn't understand what he was asking for would cost him his life

487

if God were to give it to him.

488

If we go out, which we will shortly,

489

but if we go out and we stare at the sun,

490

how long can we do that for?

491

Well, I didn't know the answer, but I googled it.

492

The reality is somewhere under like a dozen, 15 seconds

493

before you get such utter discomfort

494

that you simply can't bear it anymore.

495

And if you were to try with your eyes literally propped open,

496

staring right at the sun,

497

within less than two minutes,

498

the impact would be so great,

499

you'd have permanent blindness.

500

It's called solar retinopathy for the doctors in the house,

501

and there's no treatment for it.

502

It costs you your eyes to look at the sun.

503

Well, which is brighter, the sun or the one who made the sun?

504

Well, of course, it's God himself.

505

God's glory is infinitely brighter than the sun itself.

506

So you or Moses or I, if you and I can't bear to go look at the sun that God made

507

for more than a few seconds without it just causing us irreparable damage,

508

then just imagine God revealing his full nature and glory to you,

509

the one who made that son, and a million other sons like it.

510

Again, Moses didn't fully understand what he was asking,

511

and so God says, hey, I'm going to honor your request,

512

but not in the way that you've asked it.

513

See this cleft in the rock?

514

I'm going to tuck you here and keep you safe,

515

and I will pass by, I will honor your request,

516

but in a way that you can survive.

517

In a way that you can survive.

518

And here's the thing.

519

Even though that request was a passing moment

520

of the backside of God,

521

even though it was like that,

522

do you know the impact it had on Moses?

523

Would you remember what happened

524

when he came back down the mountain?

525

His face was shining with a radiance

526

just from that moment.

527

The glory of God is not a trivial thing.

528

now let me ask you this final question as we close here tonight what's what about in heaven

529

when you and i get to heaven are you gonna be able to look at god what do you think you can

530

be able to look at god is he gonna have to in heaven hide you in the cleft of the rock while

531

he runs on past and you get a fleeting look is that the way it's going to be in heaven well

532

no of course not so here's the verses of the close matthew 5 8 says this blessed are the pure in heart

533

for they shall see God.

534

Revelation 22.3, which talks about that side of glory.

535

In heaven there shall be no more curse,

536

but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it,

537

and His servants shall serve them.

538

They shall see His face,

539

and His name shall be on their foreheads.

540

1 Corinthians 3, the Apostle Paul.

541

For now, right now, here now, we see in a mirror dimly,

542

but then we will see face to face.

543

This morning, you and I are sinners impacted by sin.

544

every part of us is tainted by Adam's fall. You and I are sinners, and because of that,

545

we can only see through the glass darkly. But it won't always be that way. It won't always be that

546

way. In God's time, the promise of this passage, and others like it, is this. In God's time,

547

the rock of ages, in whom we are now safely hidden and saved, will welcome us into his eternal

548

presence. And you know what? At that point, you're not just going to be able to look at his face,

549

but you're going to be able to hold him in your arms

550

and he you

551

and he will wipe away the tears that we're crying now

552

that day awaits

553

it's a good day

554

it's just on the horizon

555

come Lord Jesus

556

let's pray