On Account of Grace (Exodus 33:12–14)

“Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight” (Ex. 33:13a).

The sin of Israel did not disrupt the relationship Moses had with God. The Lord still spoke to him face to face, treating him like a dearly loved friend. He did not remove Moses’ call as leader and governor of the people, or his duty to lead them to the Promised Land. But this was not enough for Moses. He wanted the Lord’s presence to be with all the people, not just with him. He wanted the Lord Himself to dwell in their midst, not just the Angel of the Lord (a manifestation of God’s presence) to lead them along the way. So Moses inquired of the Lord, asking Him, “If you still want me to lead this stiff-necked people to Canaan, who will go with me? Who is sufficient except for You?” Moses wanted more for his people than salvation from the curse of Egyptian bondage; he wanted the blessing of God’s presence. When we are saved, we are not only delivered from ruin, but we become entitled to everlasting happiness in the presence of God. This was what Moses wanted for his people, and he wasn’t going to stop interceding for them until he got what he wanted.

Moses interceded on the basis of God’s grace and kindness toward him. God called him by name and showed him much love. He didn’t bother to appeal on the basis of God’s kindness toward Israel because they had estranged themselves so thoroughly from the Lord. Instead, he laid the stress of his plea on what God had said to him, as if he were saying, “Lord, if ever You will do anything for me, do this for Your people. Do it for my sake because You are well-pleased with me.” This was how Jesus presented Himself to His Father on our behalf, as the one in whom God is always well-pleased. It is because of the Father’s favor toward the Son that those with whom He is displeased obtain mercy. We are accepted because we are in Christ.

It is not by our own merit or our own “rags of righteousness” that we are reconciled to God and given everlasting life. It is only through the merit of Christ. Our Savior appealed to the Father on the basis of His being well-pleased with the Son, not simply because He is the Logos, the eternal Son whom the Father has always loved, but also because He lived a sinless life. Christ lived a life that was well-pleasing to the Father because it honored His Law and fulfilled His righteousness, and the Father graciously accepts us because of what the Son has done.

Do you ever fall into the trap of thinking that you need to earn God’s favor, that you can’t go to Him in prayer or worship until you earn the right to do so through good works of some kind? What good works do you trust in to make God love you more? Trust in Christ’s righteousness today and find peace with God.

Speaking to a Friend (Exodus 33:9-11)

"All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped" (Ex. 33:10a).

Though the Lord would not dwell among the people of Israel and bless them with intimate communion, He would meet with Moses. Exodus 33:9–11 reveals the special relationship God had with this most humble servant. It was one of intimacy, grace, and friendship. No doubt, this relationship gave the Israelites much encouragement as they watched Moses enter the tabernacle, a place where they could not go. Though God had removed Himself from them, He had not removed Himself from Moses, and this filled them with hope and inspired them to worship. No longer did they worship idols made of their own hands, but they worshiped the Lord as He condescended to speak to Moses. All had not been lost. Israel still had a mediator, one who was highly favored by God. So with this hope in their hearts, they stood at their tents and worshiped the Lord of glory.

The text says that “the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” God initiated the meeting out of His abundant grace, speaking to Moses face to face. God revealed Himself to Moses, not only with clarity, but also with greater expressions of kindness, grace, and love. He spoke, not as a king to his subject, but as a man to his friend—as to a beloved one, in whom He took pleasure. This reminds us of Jesus’ words to His disciples when He said that they were no longer servants but friends. This is what grace is all about—God and man joining in close communion, not with the distance between a king and his subject, or a master and his slave (though these concepts certainly apply, and we should never fail to recognize them), but with the intimacy of two friends.

Because of our mediator Jesus Christ, whom God loves and adores, we can come into the presence of the Lord without fear. We can come into His presence and enjoy communion with Him in an intimate way, as a friend with a friend, as a son with a father. Think of how glorious this is! This is what the Scripture means when it says that love drives away fear (1 John 4:18). It is not our love, but God’s love for us that does this. When we stand before our Creator in the name of Jesus Christ, whom He loves, we do not need to be afraid, for He loves us. He wants us close to Him, walking with Him as Adam walked beside Him in the garden, face to face, in the love of friendship.

One way of showing someone grace is being warm, kind, and loving. Grace doesn’t mean that we show someone the bare minimum of respect—a cold, detached acknowledgment. We are to treat others the way God treats us. How do you treat others? Coldly, dispassionately, reservedly? Or lovingly and kindly, like Jesus treats His people?

Tabernacle of Meeting (Exodus 33:7-8)

"Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting" (Ex. 33:7a).

To add to Israel’s humiliation, Moses took his tent, not his personal tent, but the tent where he enquired of God, and pitched it far from the camp. This signified that the Israelites had rendered themselves unworthy of it, and that, unless peace was made between them and God, it would return to them no more. God would make known that Jehovah is far from the wicked. While the Lord is sovereign over all creation, over the evil and the good, He does not bless the wicked with His presence, with His fatherly love. This love is reserved for the righteous, for those He has chosen to be His own and has adopted into His family. But those whose hearts are far from Him, who remain in sin and rebellion, cannot ascend His holy hill and commune with Him.

We do not know exactly what this tent looked like. Perhaps it was a plan, or a model, of the tabernacle that was afterwards to be erected, a simple pattern of what Moses saw on the mount. This was set up at a distance so the people would grieve over the loss of the glorious tabernacle that was to be erected among them. They would have enjoyed the blessings of the ordinances and the joy of going before the Lord if only they had resisted their lusts and forsaken their vanities.

But notice that encouragement still could be found during this dark time in Israel’s history. Though the tabernacle was removed, everyone who wanted to seek the Lord was welcome to follow Moses outside the camp. Private persons, as well as Moses, were invited and encouraged to appeal to God. A place was appointed for them to go outside the camp and to solicit God’s return to them. Every Israelite who sincerely sought the Lord was welcome to this tabernacle.

The same is true for us today. If we humble ourselves and confess our sins, the Lord is faithful to forgive us and to remember our sins no more. Speaking to His disciples, Jesus assured them that those who enquired of the Lord would be heard: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matt. 7:7–8). Though distance has come between you and the Lord because of your sin, do not delay in going to Him in a posture of sincerity and humility.

How many people do you know who are estranged from the Lord, who used to follow His ways but are now unrepentant? Pray for those people today. Ask God to draw them to Himself, to convict them of their need of reconciliation, and to bring them to the Cross with sincere and humble hearts so they can find forgiveness in Christ.

Mourning Over Sin (Exodus 33:4-6)

"And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments" (Ex. 33:4).

The reaction of Israel to God’s decision not to go into their midst was one of mourning and grief. Though they would go to Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey, they could never enjoy its bounties without the presence of the Lord. Matthew Henry comments, “Of all the bitter fruits and consequences of sin, that which true penitents most lament and dread most is God’s departure from them. God had promised that, notwithstanding their sin, He would give them the land flowing with milk and honey. But they could have small joy of that if they had not God’s presence with them.” Though we have good friends, wealth, health, and prosperity, these cannot be truly enjoyed if we do not have close communion with God. God’s presence is what gives meaning to our lives, it’s what fills the emptiness in our souls. Not to have His face shine upon us every day is a bitter trial indeed.

Of course, there are times when God is close to us, but when we still don’t realize it because our faith is weak, or because we are consumed with ourselves and our own trials and tribulations. But, in the case of Israel (as is often the case with those who experience the loss of God’s presence), it was because of sin that God departed. If God had come into their presence in their unrepentant state, He would have consumed them because of His justice. The same is true for professing Christians. If they remain unrepentant, they cannot assume that their profession is genuine, and eventually, if they continue in their stiff-necked ways, they will be consumed by God’s judgment (just as many in Israel were destroyed before they reached the Promised Land).

But as they stood before Sinai, Israel mourned the loss of God’s presence. They took off their ornaments because of their grief, but they also removed their decorations because God commanded them to do it as a sign of repentance. We might assume that, stripped of their ornaments, some of them prayed as the sons of Korah in Psalm 44, “Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever. Why do You hide Your face, and forget our affliction and our oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our body clings to the ground. Arise for our help, and redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.” May this be our prayer as we repent of our sin and cry for the return of God’s blessing.

Do you have sin over which you need to mourn? Do you have confessions that need to be made? If you have difficulty enjoying life’s pleasures, it might be because your relationship with the Lord is disrupted by unrepented sin. Repent today and know the assurance and peace that comes from believing the Gospel.

Loss of God’s Presence (Exodus 33:1-3)

“For I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people” (Ex. 33:3b).

Though God promised to make good His covenant with Abraham by giving Israel Canaan, He denied them the extraordinary tokens of His presence, and left them under the common guidance of Moses and His Angel. Refusing to call Israel “My people,” He turned them over to Moses, calling them the people whom “you have brought out of the land of Egypt.” God declared that He would not go with them and graciously dwell in their midst. Instead, He would dwell outside the camp, separated from the impenitent and stiff-necked nation. Because of this distance between God and the people, Israel could depart immediately without building the tabernacle, for what good was a dwelling place for the Lord if He refused to dwell there? From then on, He would meet only with Moses at the tent of meeting outside the camp.

The Israelites had enjoyed a great privilege in having the Shechinah, or an awesome manifestation of God’s presence, in their midst. They should have been more grateful, more cautious, and more obedient, but they were stiff-necked and stubborn. They could no longer enjoy the light of God’s face among them. Justice demanded that they be cut off and consumed, but God showed them mercy by keeping His covenant. Still, they needed to learn to mortify their sin, and until they humbled themselves and obeyed God’s will, they would be deprived of His blessed presence. To be so deprived is to be exposed to the fears and doubts of this world without the encouraging presence of the Lord. Whenever Christians remain stubborn and impenitent, the peace, the comfort, and the assurance that come from God’s presence are absent. King David knew what it was like to have the Lord hide His face, and he knew that the only way to have peace again was to humble himself (Ps. 51).

In the same way, if we want to enjoy the extraordinary tokens of God’s presence, we must not be stiff-necked in our sin. As long as we refuse to repent, to deal with the root of our rebellion, we will be missing a great part of the Christian life—the assurance that comes from close communion with God. Objectively, we remain His children. Subjectively, communion with Him has been disrupted. The only way to restore it is to humble ourselves and repent of our sin.

Do you have any unrepented sin in your life that is keeping you from enjoying the blessings of God’s presence? Do you lack peace in your life? Could this be attributed to unconfessed sin? Spend some time reflecting on your life. Confess any sin to the Lord. Humble yourself and follow God’s ways of handling sin instead of your own.