July 28, 2015
SPIRITUAL REST
Exodus 33:14; Psalm 95:8-11; 116:7; Matthew 11:28-30
Devotional Reading: Exodus 33 12-23
Exodus 33:12 “And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto
me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt
send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast
also found grace in my sight.” Exodus 33:13 “Now therefore, I pray
thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I
may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that
this nation [is] thy people.”
We see, that before Moses moved a single inch, he wanted to
know how and who would lead them. Moses was taking advantage of this
conversation with God, to get a better understanding of where they were
headed, and if God had completely given up on this, His people, or not.
He even reminded God that he was acting on God’s orders to bring them
out. This just seems, again, to be a wonderful conversation between
two friends. Moses was almost pleading with God to go with them
Himself. He begged for the people’s forgiveness, as well.
Exodus 33:14 “And he said, My presence shall go [with thee], and I
will give thee rest.”
Here, God reassured Moses that He would go with him, and Moses would
have nothing to fear, or be disturbed about. God was giving Moses
perfect rest.
Exodus 33:15 “And he said unto him, If thy presence go not [with
me], carry us not up hence.” Exodus 33:16 “For wherein shall it be
known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? [is
it] not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and
thy people, from all the people that [are] upon the face of the
earth.”
If these people were to be a separated people, then there had to be
some way that the world could tell the difference. The presence of the
Lord needed to be visible. This applies to us, as well. If we are no
different than the rest of the world in our behavior, how can they
tell that we are Christians? Here we see Moses telling God that he
did not want to go forward without His presence. It is important to
God for the world to recognize that God’s people are different,
because He is with them.
Exodus 33:17 “And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing
also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and
I know thee by name.”
Here is a beautiful forgiveness statement by the Lord. This
forgiveness came, because the Lord was Moses’ friend. This was an
answer to Moses’ request, not because these people deserved forgiveness.
Exodus 33:18 “And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.”
Moses had talked with the Lord numerous times, but He had been
hidden in the cloud. Moses wanted to see his friend now, and prayed
“beseech” for just that.
Exodus 33:19 “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before
thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will
be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I
will shew mercy.”
Here the Lord was explaining to Moses that He did not have to
explain why He blessed someone. He could bless anyone He wanted to.
We see that He is about to reveal more of Himself to Moses than He
ever had to anyone else. God’s goodness is beyond man’s comprehension.
God has a hidden name, and perhaps this will be revealed to Moses as
God passed very near. The Lord was not obligated to show Moses
anything. He just did, because Moses had found favor with Him.
Exodus 33:20 “And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there
shall no man see me, and live.”
Whatever this presence is, flesh cannot look upon Him and live.
We do know that God is spoken of as a consuming fire. Whether this is
what is meant here or not, we do not know. We do know that some danger
exists in a mere mortal seeing the face of God. If we are Christians,
we will see Him in heaven.
Exodus 33:21 “And the LORD said, Behold, [there is] a place by me,
and thou shalt stand upon a rock:” Exodus 33:22 “And it shall come to
pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of
the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:” Exodus
33:23 “And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back
parts: but my face shall not be seen.”
All sorts of ideas of what God looks like go racing by in a
person’s imagination. There are a few things we do know about God.
Many times He showed Himself associated with fire such as “the burning
bush”, etc. We know that Jesus said He was the Light of the world. We,
also, know that Jesus told the disciples if they had seen Him, they had
seen the Father. Beyond this, it is not good to speculate. We do know
that the Lord put Moses in a crack in the rock and passed close enough
to him that the Lord covered Moses with His Hand to protect him. When
He removed His hand, Moses saw the reflection of His glory. Anything
besides that, we will have to wait for in heaven. This presence of the
Lord this close to Moses had to cleanse him even further than before.
The cry of all mankind is “Oh, to see God”. There have been songs
written about the “cleft of the rock”. “Hide me, Oh, Lord in the cleft
of the Rock” (Jesus).