Grace

It would be presumptuous for anyone to assume how Moses felt after the Lord
told him He would no longer dwell in the midst of these people. From day one,
Moses had depended on the promise that the Lord would go with him to see this
whole project through. This did not mean only getting Israel out of Egypt,
deliverance at the Red Sea, providing water and food, or protecting them with His
Presence in their midst. He was counting on God's mercy to cover these people
with His love.

Moses must have felt more vulnerable than any infantryman traveling down
'Blood Alley' without a helmet or bullet proof vest. Now what was he going to do?
Here he was in the midst of a wilderness with two million people depending upon
him to see them through impossible situations with the Almighty telling him: ". . .I
will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-
necked people.” What did this mean? Once more Moses was faced with his total
dependency upon G-d for survival.

There was only one thing required: Moses needed the faith required to hold the
Almighty to His promise: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who
are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know
their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the
Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land
flowing with milk and honey,. . . " (Ex. 3:7b-8a) The only reason Moses dared to start
his mission was this promise.

This moment in the life of the Israelites was more than a lesson in repentance. It
was time for Moses to remember he was only the servant of G-d, and he was
totally dependant upon His promises in His word. (This is a lesson from Israel
that every person needs to learn lest he or she begin to think one can manage on
one's own.)

Moses set up his tent, which he called the tabernacle of meeting, outside of camp
so he could have a meeting with the Lord. What a relief it must have been for
Moses to see the Shekhinah (Presence of G-d) standing outside of this
tabernacle. What a comfort for the people to know that their intercessor, Moses,
was talking with the Almighty who had delivered them out of Egypt. At least they
were not totally cut off from The Presence.

Moses demonstrated the true meaning of faith when he dared approach the Lord
with boldness despite the fact that a terrible offense against the Holy One had
been committed. Despite the fact that the Holy One had revealed it would be
dangerous for Him to dwell in their midst less He destroy all of them, Moses knew
that the Holy One was compassionate and merciful to those who repented of
their sins and accepted the grace they did not deserve from a loving G-d. He
counted on this truth when he addressed 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 grace in My sight.’
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. And consider that
this nation is Your people.” (verses 2-13)

There was no arrogant remark, demanding that G-d owed him and these people
the comfort of His presence. He merely dared to hold the Lord to His promise. He
claimed the promise of the Holy One who once had told him that he had found
'grace' in His sight. As one who had G-d's grace, he dared remind the Almighty
(not that He needed reminders: He just wanted to see Moses express faith in His
previous promise) that he spoke as one who had G-d's grace, and thus, he dared
remind the Almighty that these Israelites were His people, His responsibility.

hat joy must have filled the heart of Moses when he was told, "My Presence will
go with you." This alone gives each generation of faithful Israel the same hope:
when they claim G-d's grace, they can count on the Presence of the Almighty
going with them.

There was a lesson that Moses still had to learn. He ought not be so
presumptuous and forget that he was mere man. He dared asked, “Please, show
me Your glory.” How foolish we are in our requests when we forget we are
asking the All-Wise, All-Knowing One for something. The loving Father refused to
give Moses all that he asked: The Lord said, “You cannot see My face; for no
man shall see Me, and live.” (Ex. 33:20) If the Holy One had allowed Moses, a fellow
sinner along with all human beings, to see G-d's glory, Moses would have died.

It was a compassionate, forgiving G-d who allowed Moses to see only His
goodness. The Lord had a solution for this human being: "And the Lord said,
“Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My
glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with
My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My
back; but My face shall not be seen.” (Ex. 33:21-23) There was just enough there to
give Moses the confidence to still claim that special gift of grace, allowing him to
fellowship with G-d, the Creator of all mankind.

It would be foolish for any human being to presume that he or she can stand in
the presence of the Holy One, see His full glory, and live unless one is willing to
learn how to live by G-d's grace. Any person ignoring this reality will learn what
the Holy One meant when He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall
see Me, and live." We are all sinners who fall short of the holiness that is required
for any person to stand in the presence of the Holy One based on his or her own
goodness. What an awesome lesson to learn from Israel.

THE NEED FOR GOD'S MERCY

See Exodus 33