The Presence & Glory (Exodus 32-34)

We have been looking at prayers in the Bible. All of these prayers indicate our need for greater spirituality. Spirituality is not what the world around us claims it to be. In our Western culture, we can ask people what it means to be spiritual and find many different explanations. Typically, people claim to be spiritual but not religious, which is encouraged in our society. It’s trendy. More and more people are pulling away from religious traditions and clinging to this idea of individual spirituality, contrary to the scriptures and the nature of the church.

I agree that prayer is a very intimate and individual thing to an extent. In the first lesson, we saw that Abraham spoke boldly to God, believing that he would be merciful to Sodom and Gomorrah if there were ten righteous souls in the city. We also learned that God wanted to include Abraham and hear from him. This seemed to be very individual spirituality, and I’m not saying that individual spirituality isn’t necessary.

In the second sermon, Jacob holds on to God for a blessing. He had faith that, even though God could destroy him with a touch, God would bless him. We also learned that God wanted Jacob to wrestle with and pursue him. Once again, it looks pretty individual. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But now, we see Moses praying. His prayer is both individual and communal. This once again reveals an individual spirituality in Moses, which we must all seek to attain. But there is also a movement in this text from individual to communal spirituality. This is at the heart of why we are studying these prayers. Our goal for this year is to become the body of Christ. We need to connect to God on a deeper level, which will only happen when we grow spiritually together.

Problems Within The Community

In Exodus 32, we learn that there are problems with the community of God. The people God has saved from Egypt are now seeking to replace him. God has shared his will with them on Mount Sinai, and they have agreed to do all that God has commanded, but now Moses is missing for forty days, and they give up on him. They decide to be spiritual apart from God’s revealed will by creating a god to worship and giving him the name of the Lord. Aaron forms a golden calf, and the people worship the calf, bowing down, and then they get up and start playing.

God’s commands were intended to help the people have a deeper relationship with God, but they cast them aside to worship God their way and move on to what they care about. Can you imagine your spouse doing that? Your wife reveals everything she needs and writes it down for you, but you just throw it away? Being spiritual is about developing a deeper relationship with God, but the Israelites have created a false spirituality. They aren’t genuinely interested in a relationship but want all the benefits. Instead of pursuing a deeper understanding of God, they pursue what satisfies their senses. They need a God they can see and touch. Eventually, that attitude spreads to where everyone bows down to worship man’s creation and then gets up to play.

Chapter 32 reveals that God is not pleased with this. He’s ready to destroy all these people and start over with Moses. That sounds like an easy way to handle things. But Moses intercedes for the people. He calls for those who belong to the Lord to step up and kill those at the root of this disobedience. Then Moses goes up to God, saying, “If you will forgive their sins, but if not, please blot me out of your book.” God decides to wipe those who have sinned from the Book of Life. He sends a plague to wipe out the rest of those people who are “spiritual but not religious.”

No Presence

When we come to Chapter 33, God tells Moses, “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Did you catch that? God offers his people a tremendous opportunity. He’s being merciful and letting them have all of the blessings that they were promised without the concern of God destroying them. They can have the power over the foreign nations that live there. They can have the milk and honey. They will be wealthy and powerful. The only thing they won’t have is God going with them.

Exodus 33:4 (ESV) — 4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.

Wait, why are they upset? Look at how the people respond to this news. They are saddened at the thought that God would not be with them. We know that this is a poor basis for a relationship. If our spouse tells us, you can have whatever you want from me, but it will all be superficial or surface level. There is no love here. We would cringe. Wouldn’t we hate that? Who wants to have their needs met by a slave when they could have a deeper, meaningful relationship where the person acts out of love? After that, we have a sad scene.

Exodus 33:7–11 (ESV) — 7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. 10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

‌All the people are upset because they know they will lose that. They know this could be the last time they see the glory of the lord descend on the tent. As the story continues, we learn that Moses speaks to God for the people.

Exodus 33:12–13 (ESV) — 12 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 favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”

You can hear Moses being upset about this in his words. He’s not content. He’s pointing out that God knows Moses, but Moses and the people do not know God. Isn’t that interesting? But God gave them all his rules. He gave the people a list of his likes and dislikes. Isn’t that enough? No. Knowing God is about more than knowing God’s laws. God knows us inside and out. He knows everything about us, but Moses recognizes that he doesn’t know much about God. If God refuses to go with them into the promised land, they will never know him. So Moses asks God to show him who he is. What a bold statement!

Then, he brings his spirituality to the community outside their tents, worshipping God while Moses goes inside the Tabernacle. He points to his people and reminds God that this nation belongs to God, and they don’t know him either. How can God’s people find favor in God’s sight without understanding who God is? He’s calling for God to reveal himself to them and remain with them. Listen to God’s response.

God’s Presence

Exodus 33:14–17 (ESV) — 14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” 17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”

God agrees to go with his people. But he said he would surely kill the people along the way. Will they learn who God is, be good, and keep the covenant? Did something change? No. God going with them will not change anything. But he will give them a chance to change.

Knowing God Leads To Finding Favor

Notice that Moses brings the people into the conversation. He points out that they cannot find favor with God until they know him. God is going because Moses has found favor in his sight, but Moses wants God’s people to find favor in his sight as well. He speaks on the people’s behalf and intercedes for them. They don’t want to go without God, either.

“Distinct”

Next, notice that he says that God going with them is what makes them distinct. Isn’t that interesting? It’s not that they will defeat all the nations in Canaan. It’s not the fact that they will be highly prosperous. Moses recognizes that his and the nation’s glory are tied up in God’s glory. The glory of this world is temporary, but the glory of God’s presence is eternal.

“I and Your People”

I love how Moses includes the people in this. He’s not just wanting to be spiritual alone. He wants everyone to join him, and he believes that understanding God is also the key for them. If God goes with them, he can show himself to his people and teach them his ways.

God’s Glory

At this point, Moses, like his fathers, doesn’t take “yes” for an answer.

Exodus 33:18 (ESV) — 18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”

Moses doesn’t just want the glory of God descending in a cloud. He wants to see God ultimately. He wants to know God as God knows him. This is a bold and passionate prayer. Moses wants more than a superficial, surface-level relationship. He wants to know God. Look at God’s response.

Exodus 33:19–23 (ESV) — 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

‌Notice that God’s response is not just a yes or no. He agrees, but he only agrees to a certain extent. Moses can see him as he passes by. God tells Moses, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” God agrees to show his glory to Moses, but only in passing.

Wait, didn’t Abraham and Jacob see God and live? They saw God in human form, but they didn’t see this. This is God the Father in all his glory. Remember how Jesus went to the Mount of Transfiguration and shone before his disciples? That showed us that he has greater glory inside his body, hidden to prevent men from seeing and dying.

We read about this in Chapter 34

Exodus 34:5–9 (ESV) — 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

Lessons Learned

Okay, so what lessons do we learn from this text? Three lessons: 1. It’s not about me/us. 2. It’s about God’s Presence. 3. God is Glorious

1. Not About Me/Us

First, we see that God’s people must let go of their glory to have God’s glory. They tried to make their own God and bow down to it. Then they got to play. But that God is not the true God. His end is death and destruction. We need to be sure we aren’t lifting some false representation of God to worship. God is not impressed with our sacrifice and bowing down to worship some god we make up. Our allegiance must be to the true God of the Bible. He has shared his list of likes and dislikes with us. We must not ignore the list.

We recognize we aren’t saved because we do all the right things, but having a relationship with God means we care about his likes and dislikes. We must put his will before our own. Especially once we see him for who he is.

The reason why we struggle with obedience is that we fail to see him and recognize all that he has done for us. Instead, we become self-focused. We pursue our glory. I pursue my glory as an individual, and we pursue our glory as a congregation.

How are we going to change? How did Israel change? They suffered some losses. Then, they watched Moses go into the Tabernacle, and they worshipped. They sought his intercession on their behalf. That’s what we need to do.

2. It’s About God’s Presence

The second thing we see in this prayer story is that Moses and the people cared deeply about God’s presence. Having God go with them made them distinct from every nation on earth. Moses and the people knew that God going with them made all the difference. Without God going with them, they are nothing and could do nothing.

Is this an appropriate thing for us to ask for? Should we believe that God will go with us as we battle the enemy and as we conquer the land? Of course, we should. His going with us is the only thing that makes us distinct. If you don’t believe you are a part of the distinct people of God, you are misinformed.

1 Peter 2:9–11 (ESV) — 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

God has chosen you to be his heritage. It’s not about the Jews anymore. We are Israel. So, we need to seek God’s presence. We need to say, like Moses, I don’t want to go if you won’t go with me. We must seek his presence as we go out to conquer the lost souls of Christ. That’s why we are here. We need God’s presence to accomplish this.

3. God Is Glorious

The final lesson for us to look at is the prayer of Moses that God would show him his glory. Do you want to see God’s glory? Do you believe and think about how glorious God truly is? We should think about this. Our hope is tied up in God. Who is he? Do we know him? We cannot devote ourselves to him if we don’t know him.

In this text, we read about the nature of God. He is merciful, faithful, and just. He gives mercy to thousands and thousands but will not clear the guilty. Do you find rest and assurance in knowing God’s goodness? Do you know him?

God’s people failed to know him, which led to his decline. They substitute the glory of God for the glory of temporary things like silver, gold, popularity, and prosperity. If we aren’t careful, we can do the same thing.

Can We Pray This Prayer?

Wouldn’t it be great if we could go, like Moses, to the cleft of the rock and watch God pass us by? In the New Testament, we read that Jesus was sent to earth to reveal the glory of God to us even more thoroughly than what Moses saw. We can know God by knowing Jesus.

John 1:14–18 (ESV) — 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Jesus has made known the grace and truth of God. We have seen his glory.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV) — 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV) — 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The prayer of Moses opens our eyes to the fact that we need to see the glory of God to do hard things. Are you studying to see the glory of God? Will you go to God in prayer, asking for him to reveal his glory to you in the words of the Bible? He’s all in there. Jesus, on the road to Emmaus, started with Moses and expounded on how it was all about him.

Conclusion

If you are not a child of God, or if you are, you should seek the one true God of the Bible. We cannot find rest in a god of our creation. We need the one true God to be with us. Do you pray for God’s Spirit to be with you and work all things together for your good? Also, we need to seek to know God as he knows us. We can be assured that we have found favor in his sight as we open his word and see his glory in the face of Jesus. Behold God face to face and devote your life to him. There is no better life to live.