Are you sure you want God to go with you?
Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex. 33:15, 16).
So many stirring sermons and articles have sprung from this passage. We get encouraged to seek the Presence of God, to be marked by Him, and not be satisfied with anything less.
That's a great message. But it's not the whole story.
The reason Moses had this conversation with God in the first place is found earlier in the chapter.
"Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way....If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you" (vv. 3, 5).
We usually forget that part in the story of Moses knowing and wanting God so much that he persuades him to go with them.
But, "God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind" (Num. 23:19).
What happened to the people of Israel when God went with them?
Yeah.
Now, there were a couple of guys who made it out alive. Caleb and Joshua really honored God and tried to please him, and they got into the land of promise. But most did not.
What's my point? Am I going to tell you not to seek the Presence of God? Of course not. But you must realize the price.
Not everyone with you now will be there 40 years from now. People will grumble and complain, change their minds, and leave. Some will to go back to things they'd sworn they'd left forever. Some will die, spiritually or physically.
You must set your mind that you won't be swayed. You must make a value decision for your own life - how much is God really worth to you? Enough to watch your closest friends give themselves over to death and not be moved from your choice? What if it's your family, your pastor, or even your entire church?
You can love them. Of course. You can share your heart if they ask. But after 40 years, Joshua and Caleb watched even Moses die, and remained in their chosen position - in the Presence of God, headed to the Promised Land.
The really neat thing, though, is that they were not alone. There was an entirely new generation with them wanting to follow and honor God.
What would have happened if Joshua and Caleb had kept looking back at the ones who left? Spent their time and energy pursing those who didn't want to be found? More importantly, what would have happened to the new generation, willing to follow, but ignorant of the ways of God?
We have a choice to make. I don't believe Moses didn't know what he was asking. He simply valued God's Presence over that of anyone else. When we do the same, we can focus our attention on the other eager people among us, teaching them to cherish his Presence, as well.
So many stirring sermons and articles have sprung from this passage. We get encouraged to seek the Presence of God, to be marked by Him, and not be satisfied with anything less.
That's a great message. But it's not the whole story.
The reason Moses had this conversation with God in the first place is found earlier in the chapter.
"Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way....If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you" (vv. 3, 5).
We usually forget that part in the story of Moses knowing and wanting God so much that he persuades him to go with them.
But, "God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind" (Num. 23:19).
What happened to the people of Israel when God went with them?
Yeah.
Now, there were a couple of guys who made it out alive. Caleb and Joshua really honored God and tried to please him, and they got into the land of promise. But most did not.
What's my point? Am I going to tell you not to seek the Presence of God? Of course not. But you must realize the price.
Not everyone with you now will be there 40 years from now. People will grumble and complain, change their minds, and leave. Some will to go back to things they'd sworn they'd left forever. Some will die, spiritually or physically.
You must set your mind that you won't be swayed. You must make a value decision for your own life - how much is God really worth to you? Enough to watch your closest friends give themselves over to death and not be moved from your choice? What if it's your family, your pastor, or even your entire church?
You can love them. Of course. You can share your heart if they ask. But after 40 years, Joshua and Caleb watched even Moses die, and remained in their chosen position - in the Presence of God, headed to the Promised Land.
The really neat thing, though, is that they were not alone. There was an entirely new generation with them wanting to follow and honor God.
What would have happened if Joshua and Caleb had kept looking back at the ones who left? Spent their time and energy pursing those who didn't want to be found? More importantly, what would have happened to the new generation, willing to follow, but ignorant of the ways of God?
We have a choice to make. I don't believe Moses didn't know what he was asking. He simply valued God's Presence over that of anyone else. When we do the same, we can focus our attention on the other eager people among us, teaching them to cherish his Presence, as well.
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