Tag: Understanding the Old Testament

Morning Musing: Exodus 34:1-4

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“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before me on the mountaintop. No one may go up with you; in fact, no one should be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds are not to graze in front of that mountain. Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. He got up early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hand, he climbed Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever had to start over? Sometimes, in order to make forward progress, you have to start over. You have to go back to where you began and treat everything you’ve done before like it never happened. This isn’t easy to do. It takes a lot of both humility and courage. But when things aren’t going the way they should, a good reset can get them back on the right track; the track they should have been on all along. As we get into chapter 34 here, Moses and Israel get to start over. Let’s reflect a bit on how incredible this was, and why what we have in Jesus is better.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 33:18-23

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“Then Moses said, ‘Please, let me see your glory.’ He said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name “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.’ But he added, ‘You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.’ The Lord said, ‘Here is a place near me. You are to stand on the rock, and when my glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but my face will not be seen.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Depending on my audience, I’ll occasionally ask a congregation if they’ve ever read the passage in the Bible where God moons someone. When I do that, adults mostly look bemused and a little awkward. Kids snicker or outright giggle. Then they wait for me to tell them where since I’ve whet their curiosity. It’s right here in this very passage. I’m kidding, of course, but it provides a good opener for talking about what exactly Moses is asking God for here and why God responds the way He does. Let’s explore one of the most important requests of God in the Scriptures, and why it is a good one from us to make as well.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 33:15-17

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“‘If your presence does not go,’ Moses responded to him, ‘don’t make us go up from here. How will it be known that I and your people have found favor with you unless you go with us? I and your people will be distinguished by this from all the other people on the face of the earth.’ The Lord answered Moses, ‘ I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor with me, and I know you by name.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever been deprived of a need? There could have been all sorts of reasons for that. I’m more interested now in the lack itself. You needed it, but you couldn’t get it for some reason. That’s a scary feeling. Depending on exactly what the need is, it could be terrifying. If it was a need you were so used to having fulfilled before, being deprived of it even for a little while may have alerted you to just how much it really is a need. Some things we need and we don’t even realize it because we’ve never gone without. Moses here recognizes one of the things that often falls on this list: God’s presence. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 33:12-14

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***As a housekeeping note, this is the last post until at least Monday. Have a good weekend, and if you are in the path of either of the major hurricanes hitting the Pacific coast of Mexico or the Gulf coast of Florida today, stay safe.

“Moses said to the Lord, ‘Look, you have told me, “Lead this people up,” but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You said, “I know you by name, and you have also found favor with me.” Now if I have indeed found favor with you, please teach me your ways, and I will know you, so that I may find favor with you. Now consider that this nation is your people.’ And he replied, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever listened to someone else pray not primarily to hear what they said, but for how they pray so you can learn from them? That’s a different thing than just listening to pray with them in your heart and mind. Listening to and reading other prayers is a great way to learn how to pray. Fortunately, the Scriptures contain many examples of people praying for us to learn from. In some cases, they even include God’s answer to the prayer. Over the next handful of posts, we are going to look at some prayers Moses prayed as he interacted with God to see what we can learn from him. Let’s listen in closely.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 33:7-11

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“Now Moses took a tent and pitched it outside the camp, at a distance from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone who wanted to consult the Lord would go to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would stand up, each one at the door of his tent, and they would watch Moses until he entered the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance to the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. As all the people saw the pillar of cloud remaining at the entrance to the tent, they would stand up, then bow in worship, each one at the door of his tent. The Lord would speak with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend, then Moses would return to the camp. His assistant, the young man Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the inside of the tent.” (CSB – Read the chapter)‬‬

The best relationships are our closest ones. That’s not the same thing as saying they are the easiest. The easiest ones are the most distant because those require the least of us. The closest relationships are often the hardest because when we get close we can see—and experience—each other’s faults and flaws in ways that cause inconvenience, frustration, and pain. But closer is better. Broken relationships are often distant. In this next part of the story, we see Israel experiencing distance from God. Let’s talk about judgment, relational distance, and why what we have in Jesus is so much better.

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