Exodus 35:30-36:1 – It is God who enables us

The tabernacle was not an ordinary building like those the Israelites had built for Pharaoh. For those monumental buildings that they constructed while in Egypt, they did it as slaves. Here in the construction of the Tabernacle of God they did it as free men, drawn by God to Himself. It was unique and specially designed by God to reveal His glory and the way of salvation. The layout of the furnishings also intended to reveal how sinful men could approach the holy God. It was a building given in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, God’s means through whom sinful men could have an everlasting relationship with God. With such a noble purpose, the Tabernacle was built. So, the pattern came from God to Moses. Upon Mount Sinai, he was shown how it was to be built. We now enter into the building phase. First, the people were invited to participate by giving what they had for the building. Both men and women whose hearts were stirred by God gave willingly and cheerfully to the project. Then the right and skillful people were required to do the job. So God specially endowed those skillful artisans for the tasks. Two persons Bezalel and Oholiab were specially mentioned. 

Bezalel was filled “…with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship; to make designs for working in gold and in silver and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings and in the carving of wood, so as to perform in every inventive work.” Together, both Bezalel and Oholiab were given “…skills to perform every work of an engraver and of a designer and of an embroiderer, in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers of every work and makers of designs.”

There are many things said of these two but notice that Bezalel was described to be filled with the Spirit of God. The same Spirit who was at the creation of the world was with him to build God’s Tabernacle. The Holy Spirit is an indispensable person in the building of God’s dwelling. That’s also why we see Him actively present in the building up of the church, the Body of Christ, God’s New Testament dwelling place. To be effective, we need the Holy Spirit. There are many things that could be said of Bezalel and Oholiab, but suffice to say that it was God who gave them their abilities to do what they were called to do. Their lives show us that to be effective to do the ministry God wants us to engage in, we need His Spirit and His given abilities. We also notice that wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and how to apply come from God. Hence this tells us that to be effective, we need to rely on God. So, in whatever ministry we are called to do, let us lean on God, the source of our ability.   

Exodus 35:20-29 – Generously contribute to Kingdom building

One important exercise in the work of God is giving to His work. And when it comes to giving to God, the Bible makes it clear that God wants us to give with the right attitude and perspective. We need to give generously but also cheerfully and willingly. This is what we see here in Exodus 35:20-29. The attitude of the Israelites, as they brought their gifts to God, is worthy of our replication and emulation. They have set for us an example to follow. Moses issued the invitation to contribute to the building project and the people responded. We are told that in Exodus 35:21 that “Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord’s contribution to the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments.”

What made them willing to give to God was their tenderized hearts. Firstly, in giving we need to have the heart to give. People’s receptivity to God is determined by the condition of their hearts. A hardened heart is impervious and unreceptive to God. In Christian living, we need to be both sensitive and receptive to God and it begins with the condition of our hearts. Without that there can be no openness and response. The people heard the call of God through His servant Moses, and they responded. Everyone whose heart was stirred or moved came forward to give. We need to make sure that our hearts are ever ready to respond to God.

How can we tenderize our hearts toward God? One key element is gratitude. We must realize that all that we have come from God and we have nothing to give to God if it is not Him who has first given to us. Whatever the Israelites could give to God was what God gave them first. It was He who told them to demand gold and silver from their captors in Egypt for the years of labor they had rendered in bondage. It was God who made their captors ready to part with their possessions. Giving must begin with the truth that all that we have would never be ours have God not given them to us. It is only out of God’s generosity that we can give to Him. Hence giving to Him is an act of gratitude.

Secondly, in giving, God wants us to be generous and willing. Everyone who heard Moses’ call and was moved came forward to give whatever they had. Both men and women gave. Giving has a way of showing how much we value God. When He is central to our life, giving Him everything becomes easy. People are normally generous toward the person they love. When we love someone, we are usually more generous. God loves us deeply, so deeply that He generously showers upon us richly. He gives us according to His riches in Christ Jesus. Not out of but according to. The same must be said of us. Like the Israelites who were motivated to give to God, we must also be generous with Him. Do not withhold whatever is required for His work.

Thirdly, giving should be a discipline every child of God must participate in. It must be a communal effort. Only with the full cooperation of the whole community that they could raise the material and the funds for the building. If they did not give, they could not build the Tabernacle. So verse 29 tells us that “The Israelites, all the men, and women, whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work, which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill offering to the Lord.”

Fourthly, in giving, God only expects us to give what we have and not we do not have. The people came and gave to the work of God whatever they had. Those with silver gave their silver, those with gold their gold. Some had acacia woods, so they gave their woods. Others had materials so they gave their materials. So, we see that they gave what they had and not what they did not have. We can only give to God what we have. Every one of us must prayerfully consider what we have and then from what we have, we give to God.

Today in building the church, God is calling for the same contribution. We must give generously to God. But we must first give of ourselves to Him fully in whole abandonment, then we give Him of our substance. We must also offer Him our talents. Let us give to Him what we have, generously, willingly and cheerfully. God loves such a giver and such we can be when we have a grateful and tenderized heart toward Him!

Exodus 35:10-19 – Doing our best in our calling

Moses began the project of building the Tabernacle by soliciting for the material. And the people contributed to the building project. Everyone who was able gave willingly. However, to put up the building would require not only the material but the skillful people with the right ability, talents, and gifts to come forward to do the work. So here Moses called for them to come forward. The word “Let” suggests a decision to be made. It is a choice to be made. To give to God is a choice and a decision we must make. God wants us to willingly offer ourselves in service for the building of His Kingdom.       

Exodus 35:10-19 bring us back to the pattern of the Tabernacle. The Tent of meeting was a large tent covered with its layers of curtains. It had two compartments namely, the Holy place and the Holy of holies. The outer compartment, the Holy Place housed three pieces of furnishings: the Table of Showbread, the Golden Lampstand and the Altar of incense. In the inner compartment, the Holy of holies would be the Ark of the Covenant with the cover known as the Mercy Seat. The Tabernacle would be surrounded by a white fence forming a courtyard. The Brazen Altar for sacrifice stood at the area immediately at the entrance of the courtyard. Then there would be the Brazen Laver for cleansing to be placed between the Brazen Altar and the entrance into the Tent of meeting.    

The construction of the Tabernacle was an important task. It required people whom God had uniquely endowed with skills and ability. They must be enlisted. No one person can do all the task required. So, there must be a group of people with a heart for God and willing to yield their talents and gifts to ensure a great dwelling for God. It is true that everyone can contribute but there will only be some who have the capacity.

What this means is that we must be blooming where we are planted. Our primary ministry should be in what we are gifted to do. Our secondary ministry should be where we are needed and we have the time and capacity to do so. Be mindful that not every job is for everyone. It is important that we identify our gift and ability, and know where we are strong in. We are not here to do everything, but we are here to do what we are gifted to do. The orientation we must come to each task is our best effort and attitude. God requires that we faithfully use our gifts and do what we are best at. We contribute best in the areas where we are gifted. We will be like fish out of water when we try to do what we are not made to do. We should not try to fit into a round hole when we know we are a square peg. Let’s be who we are in God, do our best in what we are made to do, to bring about His glory!

Exodus 35:4-9 – Let’s participate in building God’s temple

As we come to Exodus 35-39, we get the sense that they are repeating the content of Exodus 25-31. The reason is that the main subject of these chapters is on the Tabernacle. Exodus 25-31 deal with how God wanted it to be built and Exodus 35-39 deal with the actual building of it. So, as we must come to these chapters, expect to read materials that we have come across in earlier chapters. We also need to know that in between the time God gave the plan and the time the building project began, the people fell into sin. They meandered into another ground and worshiped the golden calf. What we are about to reflect in Exodus 35-39 will be the actual construction of the Tabernacle. 

It is true that all things are created twice: once in the mind and then in reality. The Tabernacle first existed in God’s mind then it was built by the people. We must know that it is one thing to want a great building and another to get it built. Resources will be needed to get a great building constructed. It takes time to prepare, and then the gathering of the material and the recruitment of the manpower before the project could get going. So, much more should be expected in the building of the Tabernacle. We need to know that the Tabernacle was God’s idea. It’s because of His desire to live among His people. For the awesome God to dwell among men, we cannot afford to have something unworthy of His dwelling. So, we see the time and effort required to have it built. God first described in detail how His dwelling place would be like. For a building where God would make His dwelling place, nothing short of the very best, whether in material or effort, must be given to construct it. Besides, this Tabernacle was to be a message of God’s salvation plan to His people. It was intended to portray God and all His awesomeness and what it would take for us to ensure our readiness to approach Him.  

We see in Exodus 35:4-9 the gathering of the material for the construction of God’s dwelling place. Notice that before the building project starts, in Exodus 34:1-3, the subject of the Sabbath was discussed. Sabbath is about entering God’s rest. Having urged the people to honor the Sabbath and enjoy divine rest, Moses then launched into the building project. The campaign began with raising the materials needed for the building of the Tabernacle and the making of the high priest’s garment. As described by verses 5-9, they are, “… gold, silver, and bronze, and blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, and rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breast piece.”   

Notice that the material came from the Israelites. God could have unilaterally caused the Tabernacle to emerge from nothing, but He didn’t. Why? In His grace He allowed His people to participate in His building project. The Tabernacle was a divine initiative, but the people needed to participate and be committed to building it. God is still inviting us to build with Him. The church is God’s presence dwelling in the world. He is still inviting us to participate in making it a great dwelling place for His glory. Remember before they left Egypt, God told them to ask of their Egyptian captors gold and silver, and they were given. He was ensuring that they all had something to contribute when the time came for the construction of the Tabernacle. Verse 5 tells us that the contribution was made from a willing heart. This reminds us that God loves willing and cheerful givers.  In giving to God, we must offer them freely and willingly. This is the best display of a grateful heart.  

From these six verses, we get the sense that God wants each one of us to participate in the building of the fellowship which He has placed us in. He has initiated us into the fellowship, but we must be willing participants in building it. We all have God’s given resources - time, money and gift - and we must bring them willingly and cheerfully to the Lord. Corporately, we are God’s dwelling place, and individually, each of us is a divine brick of that temple. Let’s play our part!

Exodus 35:1-3 – Keeping the Sabbath

For most Christians, observing the Sabbath takes a very low priority. By examining the activities most would engage in on the Sabbath day will reveal how importantly they view the Sabbath. When we know how much God values us in keeping the Sabbath will help us attach more importance to it. Right in the very first book of the Bible God already introduced the concept of the Sabbath rest. The Creation account tells us that God took six days to work on creation but on the seventh day He rested from all His works.

When we look at the number of times God refers to Sabbath observation in the Book of Exodus, we will begin to appreciate the priority God has on this matter. He placed a very high premium on keeping the Sabbath. Let’s enumerate them. In Exodus 20:8-11 in giving the Ten Commandments, God said “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” Prior to giving of the Ten Commandments, we read about His provision of the manna for His people in the wilderness. Exodus 16 reveals that the manna would fall twice as much on the sixth day, for on the seventh day none would fall. God was essentially enforcing a sabbath rest for His people then.  When God instructed Moses on the Book of the Covenant, in Exodus 23:1012, He again brought in the subject of the Sabbath. And again in Exodus 31:12-17, in the instruction on the construction of the Tabernacle the topic of the Sabbath was once again brought up.

What about Exodus 34? When God gave instruction to His people after He forgave them for the golden calf situation, He said in verse 21, “You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest.” What does this imply? God was making sure that the Sabbath would be observed at all times. Whether in the season of sowing or harvesting, the Sabbath must be kept. In fact, if there was a time to take advantage and work harder, it would be when the harvest was blooming. Yet God insisted that they should rest even during harvest time. And now in verses 2-3 of Exodus 35, He again said, “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day.” All these tell us the gravitas God attached to observing the Sabbath.

What does God want when He said, “You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day”? He wants us to rest from mundane duties. We can always find the reason why we should be doing things during the Sabbath rest. There will always be work to catch up, rooms to tidy, and, etc. Yet the Bible tells us the best way to honor the Sabbath is to spend the day honoring God. It is not to get busy but learn to truly rest in the Lord. If we work hard for six days, we will have time to rest in the Lord on the seventh day.  

The reason God insisted that the Israelites keep a day of weekly rest was so that they could spend a day in a week to build on their love for Him. This exercise would keep them from thinking about other matters and hence prevent them from turning to idols. This is the same for us. We should keep that day free and make God our focal point. And in doing so, we will reduce the time to consider earthly matters and make time to meditate on the love of God and His bountiful grace upon our lives. It will also help us to make time to stay in His love and in nurturing our relationship with Him. The point is this: the more time we spend that day to nurture our relationship with God, the more effective we will be the rest of the six days. So, let us learn to rest on the Sabbath and keep it holy as God did!

Exodus 34:29-35 – Glowing for God

Moses had been in the presence of God for 40 days and 4o nights in which he fasted. According to Exodus 34:28, this was an absolute fast. He took neither food nor drink for that duration. Moses could last that long because God supernaturally sustained him.  Verse 29 tells us that he was now making his journey down Mount Sinai with the Two tablets on which God had inscribed the Ten Commandments.  Moses was not aware that his face was radiating an unusual glow of the brilliance of God’s glory. The previous time when he came down from the presence of God, he was greeted with riotous revelling before the golden calf that Aaron had made. This time it was different. The people were afraid to come near him because of the afterglow of God’s glory on his face. In fact, they could be running away from him. Verse 31 tells us that Moses had to call out to them to come to him. It was only then that Aaron and the rulers of the congregation returned to him and he spoke with them.

It must have been hard to describe the glow that was radiating from Moses’ face. What is this shine that Moses so radiantly reflected as he descended from God’s presence? It must be the glory of God. For he had been in the presence of God surrounded by His glory. Though he had been with God before, this was the first time he came away with such radiance. Remember Moses had boldly requested to see the face of God. Though he was not granted that request, God allowed him to see the aftermath of His glory. That brief moment was enough for God’s glory to permeate his face until it would reflect that glory. In that brief moment, God also revealed His name and his compassionate, gracious, patient, faithful, truthful and forgiving nature. And now, Moses was reflecting that splendid nature of God.  So awesome was the manifested glory of God on Moses’ face that the people had to turn away in fear. That glory of God on the face of Moses was so penetrating that even their conscience was impacted.

The is another thing that the glory on Moses’ face did for his ministry. It authenticated that whatever he was telling them came from God.  He was speaking on God’s behalf. The afterglow of God’s glory would attest to Moses as the mediator of the covenant. This radiation of God’s glory would give weight to the words he said.  Another thing also, this glory of God reflected on the face of Moses shows us that transformation can take place when we spend time in God’s presence. He is in the business of changing us so that we too can shine with His glory in life. We must make time to be with the Lord to behold His face and know His grace. He will transform us from glory to glory until we are more and more like Christ.      

Exodus 34:18-28 – Worship God and offer Him only our best

Exodus 34 appears to be a repetition of what God had said earlier. It seems as if God is randomly repeating the instructions that He had already given in Exodus 12, 13 and 23.  Here also He seems to take some parts from the Ten Commandments, the moral laws and some from the ceremonial laws. He seemed to have only extracted excerpts from the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 34:14, He told them not to worship other gods, in verse 17 not to have any graven image and in verse 21 to keep the Sabbath. Here God mentioned the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, the Feast of the Passover and the Feast of the Tabernacle. What was God doing exactly? To understand why God did what He did we need to bear in mind what had just taken place. They had just broken the first commandment by committing a great sin of making a golden calf and worshipping it. God had been merciful and He was giving them another opportunity to start all over again. So, in verse 28, He re-issued the Ten Commandments. Here He was helping them to observe the covenant in the way they had broken it.  All these instructions would help them especially when they entered the promised land.

Earlier in Exodus 34:11-17, He told them not to have any treaty with the Canaanites and to destroy all their religious artefacts so that they would not be enticed into worshipping other deities or make for themselves images of gods. Then in Exodus 34:18-28, God was showing them three things they needed to do. Firstly, in talking about the feasts, God was giving them a pattern of worship. Secondly, in His reference to Sabbath, he was instructing them to enter into His holy rest. And thirdly, in referring to the offering of the giving of the first offspring of their livestock, God was demanding that they give their best to Him. He wanted them to offer their best. They must not appear before God empty-handed.  

The feasts helped them to look back to the way they were redeemed and how they were provided for and sustained in their journey. Wonderfully, God not only saves us but He has also constantly made provision to sustain us in our journey with Him. The instruction on the Sabbath was to have them set aside a day in a week to worship God. It’s the day that they were told to enter God’s rest. There is a need for us to re-orientate our notion of the Sabbath. It should not be a day where we are free to do everything, but a day set apart to stay focused on God and honour Him. The offering of the firstborn and the first fruit of one’s harvest is referring to giving to God only our very best. God deserves our very best. Remember all that we are and have and can potentially become, and can own, are from God. And the appropriate thing to do is to offer Him the very best that He has blessed us with. We are His by design and also by redemption, so we must only offer to Him our very best!   

   

Exodus 34:11-17 – Stay faithful and committed to God

God desired to have a unique relationship with the Israelites. He would be their God and they would be His people. He granted them the privilege of this relationship but they on their part had to act responsibly. God wanted to be the only God they would worship and serve. He would not allow them to play the harlot with the deities of the Canaanites. So, we read in Exodus 34:11-14 “Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. ¹² Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim —for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

The nation of Israel was in a covenant relationship with God. Hence, He would not allow them to enter into a treaty with any other gods. Any treaty with the natives of the land would include an alliance with their deities as well. Therefore, this was to be a big no, no. God had planned to drive out the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. And when they were driven out, they would leave behind their altars and all the artefacts and objects of worship. God demanded that all these be destroyed as well, lest they would become a snare and a temptation to them. God is a jealous God and He wanted an exclusive relationship with them.

The word jealous seems to have a negative connotation. If we fail to properly understand what was God’s intention, we would conclude that He is petty. But we know that He is not and never will be. He wants our sole commitment. He does not want a relationship where our commitment to Him is half-hearted and compromised. God had taken great pain to enter into a covenant with the people and like a marriage covenant, both parties must exercise faithfulness. God on His part will never be unfaithful, but we cannot say the same of the Israelites nor of us. God wanted to eliminate the possibility of any spiritual adultery so He warned in verses 15-17, giving reasons why he wanted the artefacts of worship to be removed. He knew that if they did not do so, they “… might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods. You shall make for yourself no molten gods.”

What God really wants is our total allegiance. And if we truly love God, we will give Him our total allegiance. We reserve our commitment to Him and Him alone. The best way to stay committed and faithful to God is to remove anything that can come in the way of that commitment. For the Israelites, it was the ungodly influences that could come from the natives of the land of Canaan. What about us? Here is what 1 John 2:15-18 tell us we must not do. He said to us, ”Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” Let us love God with all that we are, and stay committed to Him all the days of our life. That’s the surest way to stay blessed!

Exodus 34:10 – To God be the glory

In response to Moses’ intercession, God promised to renew His covenant with them. This, of course, was not something new. This gracious and compassionate God had said right at the onset that they would be His people. Despite their sin, He, the forgiving God, would forgive them. He even claimed them to be His own possession. God would do what He had promised because He had never made a promise that He would not keep. It is in His nature to fulfil all that He says He will do. Remember the first set of stone tablets with the inscriptions of the Ten Commandments were shattered by Moses. It was when he saw how out of control the people were before the golden calf. So, for the covenant to remain effectual, God told him to bring up a new set of stones for Him to rewrite the Ten Commandments. Moses did as he was instructed. So, in Exodus 34:28, we are told that God re-wrote the same Ten Commandments on the two new tablets of stone that Moses brought up to Mount Sinai.   

This must have been very comforting to the people for it showed that God was still committed to the covenant. He was still willing to remain their God so that they could be His people even though they had wickedly sinned against Him. This is the extent of His grace. Here we are given to know the one reason God was doing this. It was for His own glory. So He stated His purpose by saying “Before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.” God not only wanted Israel to see His glory but also wanted all the nations to see how majestic and truly He had been and ever will be. 

In this verse He also spoke about performing miracles. Hasn’t He been working miracles? His encounters with His people, there were countless great miracles He had performed. The burning bush which was not consumed by its fire, the dreadful plagues om the Egyptians, the death of all the firstborns of Egypt, the opening of the Red Sea, the annihilation of Pharaoh’s pursuing army, the miraculous provisions of both food and water in the wilderness, the mysterious leading of the pillars of cloud and fire, and etc. Here He specifically said that He would perform miracles in such a way that the nations would marvel. His would show Himself strong by powerfully working on His people’s behalf. His favour showered on the people He had chosen would be so visible among the nations that His glory would be seen by them too. 

Today God still wants to be glorified among the nations. His one purpose was for the world to see His glory. So, He sent His Son so that His purpose could be accomplished. He is still drawing people out of darkness through the accomplished work of Calvary. He is still building a people to declare the light of His marvellous Kingdom. So that His glory may be manifested throughout the earth. When we the church understands this purpose, we shall be the greatest force on earth. To God be the glory!

Exodus 34:8-9 – The heart of an intercessor

Moses desired so much to see God and he was graciously granted a moment to experience an unusual encounter with Him. No one could see God and yet live. So God improvised a way for him to catch a glimpse of the aftermath of His glory. When the crunch time came, and God was passing by and announcing His majestic name, it was already far too much for Moses to bear. So right there at the top of Mount Sinai, Moses fell on his face. Exodus 34:8 said that “Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.” He assumed the best pose in the magnificent presence of the Almighty. He worshipped in deep reverence, prostrated himself and yielded in total submission. This is the only appropriate response in the presence of an awesome God!

Seizing the opportunity, Moses prayed again. We have seen how he prayed ever so often. This was another time he turned to talk to God. He took his position and stood in the gap between God and His people. Moses interceded. His prayer life is worth our emulation. By now he must have realized that one cannot afford not to pray in ministry. Like him, let us be aware that prayer is an exercise that will keep us on track with God.  

Hear his prayer in verse 9. “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your own possession.” Closer scrutiny of Moses’ prayer reveals that he was very focused. Though he had prayed before, he kept coming back and repeated the request, although God had already stated that He would do that for His people. In prayer we may be requesting for what God has already promised, it is still the right thing to do. We pray with confidence because God has already made those promises. So, when we pray, we need to pray within the promises of God.

What God revealed Himself to Moses became the basis for how he prayed the way he did. God said that He is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; and is the One who keeps lovingkindness and... forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. Knowing that gave Moses the confidence to make his bold request. Notice in the last part of verse 9, he identified with the people. His exact words were, “…pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your own possession.” Isn’t this what Christ had done for us? Though He knew no sin He identified with us. On the cross, He prayed for our forgiveness as He died in our place. What a Saviour! What an Intercessor!

Exodus 34:6-7 – Our great God

Moses requested to see the glory of God and was told he could not take a direct frontal look at God. Why? God is absolute perfection and Moses would have to pay for that look with his life. For no one has and will ever be able to see God and yet live. So, God improvised a way for Moses to see the aftermath of His glory. He had Moses hid in the cleft of the rock, and covered his face. He had passed by, then Moses could take a look at the passing cloud of His glory. As God was passing by in front of Moses, He proclaimed,  “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

What God was doing was defining Himself to Moses as well as to us. Notice He repeated by calling His covenant name, “the Lord” twice. The double mention of His sacred name was an assertion that He Himself, Yahweh, the covenant making and keeping God, was the one speaking to Moses and is still speaking to us. This name was first made known to Moses at the burning bush when he asked whom should he said has sent him. That was when the Lord in Exodus 13:4 told him saying, “I am who I am.” This name is in the present tense telling us that He is the ever-present one. God did not call Himself the “I was” nor the “I will be.” He is the “I Am,” the ever-present, all-sufficient, self-existing one. “The Lord” is not just a title, it’s His name. It’s His essential nature. He Is not just the Almighty Creator but also the Blessed Redeemer. He is not only the One who has created us but also the One who has redeemed us.

Immediately after He announces His name twice, the Lord went on to describe His nature. We see six aspects of His nature. Firstly, He is compassionate. With that compassion, He notices our needs. Secondly, He is gracious so that in spite of our shortfall, He could shower His grace and favour upon us. Thirdly, He is slow to anger, meaning He is patient so that His mercies can endure despite our constant failing. This must not be taken as a cue for us to test His patience. If anything at all His patience should lead us to be more disciplined. Fourthly, He is abounding in loving-kindness. This is better seen as His faithfulness in showing mercy. While His graciousness would grant us what we do not deserve, His mercy will hold back His judgement on what our sin deserves. Fifthly, He is the truth, in God, there is no falsehood. He says what He means and means what He says. He is trustworthy and trustable. And sixthly, He is forgiving. He not only forgives our wickedness but also our rebellion and sin. There had been times when we even find it hard to forgive ourselves, God is greater than our heart. He forgives us when we are willing to repent and change. While He is forgiving, He will not condone our perpetual wrong. He will have to deal with it so that sin will not infect our children and children’s children, lest they too will have to face the consequence of our sin. 

This is the God whom Moses was given a glimpse of and the One Israel worshipped. He had shown Himself to them right from the onset. In compassion, He came down to free them from their slavery. In graciousness, He showered His favour on them over and over again in the journey. In patience, He dealt with their repeated mistakes over and over. In His loving-kindness, He had shown His mercy faithfully and in His forgiving nature, He forgave them repeatedly. And in Christ Jesus, all these qualities of God has been working for our transformation. We truly have a great God, deserving our worship and total adoration. One final point before we leave. His holy nature demands that sin must be dealt with. There is one thing that we must never soft-pedal as we lavish in His goodness. In other words, don’t ever take His goodness for granted!  

Exodus 34:1-5 – God reaching down to us so that we can know Him

Moses requested to see the glory of God but was told that he would not be able to take the full revelation of God head-on. So, He would have to hide him in the cleft of the rock and cover his face with His hand. He would only allow him to catch a glimpse of the glory of His aftermath. But before he could see God, he was told to bring two stone tablets like the ones that he threw and broke, so that God would write again what Moses had shattered. He was told to come up to Mount Sinai in the morning. God also instructed that “No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.” This was to protect the people and livestock. No one would have survived in the holiness of His presence. Only Moses was allowed to come before His presence. What’s encouraging was that God was still willing to let them have His law. This shows that He was willing to mend the relationship and renew the covenant with the people of Israel. This time God wanted Moses to bring the stone tablets so that He could write on them the Ten Commandments again.

Moses did as he was instructed. Early in the morning, he went up to Mount Sinai with the two tablets in his hand.  He was eager to obey God and that’s the kind of attitude you and I should adopt when it comes to obeying God. Like Moses, we must be ever ready to do the will of God. Verse 5 tells us that “the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the Lord.” The truth is this: No matter how near we draw to God, it will still require God to reach out to us. We by ourselves would have difficulty to reach Him. This is all about grace. If God had chosen not to reveal Himself, there would be no way we could see or reach Him. Knowing God requires Him to make Himself known to us. To relate with us God must come down to our level. And that was what He did in Christ Jesus.  

Just as God condescended to meet Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. Christ condescended and took on human form to be among us to meet us. This is grace. This is how Philippians 2:6-10 put it. Christ Jesus “…who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” He stooped to our level so that we can touch Him and know how much God loves and cares for us. The only appropriate response now is to offer all that we are and potentially can become, and yield them as a reasonable act of worship to this wonderful gracious God!  

Exodus 33:18-23 - To see God more clearly and love Him more dearly

God had already responded positively to Moses’ two requests to stay with him and be with him and the people. According to Exodus 33:17, God had already consented to do as he had requested. He should have been satisfied but he was not. So, in verse 18, Moses begged God, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” It reveals the yearning of his heart. Moses would not have anything less. He was yearning to see the magnificence and brilliance of God. What he was requesting was for a personal encounter with God. He wanted to see a full revelation of God in all His stupendous glory, a perceptible demonstration of Himself.

God’s response to Moses was “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man, can see Me and live!” God was willing to let Moses see the display of splendour but not a direct view of His being. Moses could not take a direct and complete manifestation of God’s brilliance, not in all of God’s absolute perfection. It would overwhelm and decimate him instantly. He was still a sinful creature and to see such a glorious God would cost him his life. In His mercy, God made a special provision for Moses. God said to him, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” God would allow Moses to see the aftermath of His glory. God was making a provision for Moses to see Him without being destroyed. We must not take this as if God had some deficiency. We must accept the truth that God is absolutely perfect and His glory is more than what any man could bear.

Today we can see God through the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the manifestation of God. According to Paul in his letter to the Colossians, in Christ Jesus, our Lord, the fullness of Deity dwells bodily and we are complete in Him. In John 1:14, we are told that Jesus Christ is the eternal Word that “…became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” To know Christ is to know God. So, Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me.” This cannot be made any clearer. He is saying that He is the same as God. The more we know Christ, the more we will know God. Experiencing Christ is experiencing God. Let us seek to know Him more intimately, see Him more clearly, follow Him more nearly so that we can love Him more dearly. All glory to God! Hallelujah!

Exodus 33:12–23 – We need God in life’s journey

Remember in Exodus 33:3, God said He won’t be going with the Israelites. His travelling with them would pose a great danger to them. For they were an obstinate pe0ple and God in His holiness could destroy them before they entered the promised land. That news brought tears to the people’s eyes and they wept and were prepared to repent, tearing off the ornaments. As they were regretting their sin, Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with God and mediated for them.

Now in this second half of Exodus 33, we catch a glimpse of the mediation. These verses reveal what transpired between God and Moses in the tent of meeting. Both of them were locked in an intimate encounter and Moses was frankly unveiling his heart and thoughts to God. What a precious moment. Don’t we wish for a moment when we can lock heart to heart with God and reveal our admiration and love for Him? Moses was more than thinking about himself, he was thinking of the people. So, in Exodus 33:12-13, he made a request for God to stay with him. That would be the first step. Then in verses 15-17, he progressed into asking God to go with them. Of course, Moses identified himself with the people and requested God by saying, “go with us.”  

Moses began by saying to God in verses 12-13a saying, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up these people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favour in My sight.’ Now, therefore, I pray You, if I have found favour in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favour in Your sight….” He was pointing to God that while the calling to lead the people out still stands, he was unsure of the resources available to him. God had promised to send an angel but who was this angel? Moses made it very clear that he wouldn’t settle for anything less than God’s own presence. He didn’t want an angel. He wanted the Lord Himself. So, he begged God to teach Him His ways so that He might know Him. Moses was fully aware that God knew everything about him and so his one plead was to know God in return. What better way to have an effective life and journey but to know God and His ways?  

At the end of verse 13 he slipped and told God, “Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” He reminded God that Israel belonged to Him. He was referring to the covenant promise He had made with Israel to be their God, and they to be His nation. He wanted God to stay with him but he also wanted God to go with him and the nation. God’s response was “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Sadly, the pronoun “you” is in the singular. God meant that He would be with Moses but not the people. Notice God said, “I will go with you”, but Moses replied to God “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” He had changed the “with you” to “with us.” He included the people. He went on further in verses 15-16 and gave God two rationales why He must go with them. Firstly, to show that he and his people had found favour with God. Secondly, so that His presence would distinguish them from all other people of the earth. Like them, we are such a privileged lot. The feature that makes us different from all others in the world is that God’s presence is with us. So, God accepted Moses argument and told him, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favour in My sight and I have known you by name.” 

Moses shows us how good an intercessor he was. He first had God’s interest at heart. Then he never forgot the purpose God had set. To top it all he also had a heart for God’s people. He would deal with them knowing that they belonged to God. His very intention was for them to be at their very best for God. Let’s be that kind of an intercessor and leader.   

Exodus 33:7-11 – Friendship with God

We should not confuse this tent of meeting with the Tabernacle, which is also called the Tent of meeting. Why? For the obvious reason that the Tabernacle had not been built yet at this point. And also, that Moses pitched this tent outside the camp and not at the centre of the community. The Bible made it clear that it was a distance from the Israelites. This was a tent that Moses set up so that He could meet God. It must have been a relief for the people, for though God would not dwell among them, there was a man to whom God would speak.  They should be glad that He had not totally abandoned them.

This tent was a temporary solution. It was a substitute place to meet God.  It is amazing to read that “Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the Lord would speak with Moses.” The people would then respond and arose and stood, each at the entrance of his tent. And there they would gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. The cloud was an indication that God was speaking to Moses. What a privilege to have direct communication with God. What does it mean to say that he spoke face to face with God? This is a figure of speech to convey the fact that God and Moses had very intimate encounters. For later on, we are told that Moses asked to see the face of God. And in Exodus 33:20. God said to Moses, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” God spoke to Moses like bosom pals. What’s heartening was the fact that at least there was an avenue that they could seek God for direction.

Here in this account, we are given a sneak peep into the life of Joshua. Here we see how he hungered after the presence of God. For long after Moses had left the tent of meeting, he would linger near the tent and would not depart. This is one quality that will endear us to God. Didn’t Jesus tell us in the Be-attitude in Matthew 5:6 that “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”? Like Joshua, we must hunger and thirst after God and His righteousness. It’s one of those conditions that will keep us desiring to draw near to God.

Unlike the people of Israel, we have a direct line to God today. We thank Him for the privilege He has given to us in Christ. He calls us His friends. No greater love has any man than His, that He should lay down His life for us. Christ is dwelling in us through the person of the Holy Spirit. We have immediate access to God who has come to dwell in us. That’s why Paul tells us that our bodies are the temples of God. In Christ, God had made the provision for us to have intimate encounters with Him. We can know His will, enjoy His words and bask in His presence. We can come to Him each day and cultivate the intimacy with Him through prayer. Every one of us can cultivate this friendship with God. So, remember to make the time and unhurriedly enjoy His presence!  

Exodus 33:1-6 – Making God the centre of our life

Sin always makes one pays dearly. The Israelites had already paid huge consequences for the great sin of making and worshipping the golden calf. Three thousand men had already paid for the sin with their lives. Moses had demonstrated himself to be a good shepherd and was prepared to lay down his life for them. But God did not take the offer for Moses was not the right person to be the atoning sacrifice. From this incidence, we can see the structure of salvation taking shape. In Exodus 33:1-6, it came time for them to move on towards the promised land.  So, God said to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants, I will give it.’ I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. o up to a land flowing with milk and honey….”

God still remembered His covenant with the patriarchs. He is a covenant keeping God and He remembered His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God intended to make good the promise that He had made. So, He told Moses to lead them into the land that He had already promised to their forefathers to give to them. God was so good that He even swore to take care of their enemies. But He wouldn’t be gong with them to do it. They would only have an angel to go before them to defeat the enemies in the promised land. But that was one big disappointment for them. God wouldn’t be going with them. Why? “Because they were a stiff-necked people.” They had been disobedient and it was something that was hard for them to change. God didn’t want to go with them for their protection. He knew He would have to destroy them if He would go with them. This is not to say that God could not control His anger. It was more a case of Him being a holy God so He would have to respond harshly if they sinned again and He was sure they would. The people had taken God for granted for far too long. If there is one lesson we cannot afford to miss, it is this: we cannot take God for granted. We must never take His kindness to be His willingness to condone our sin. At some point, we will have to pay for the persistent sin we refuse to deal with. Beloved, we must learn to keep a short account with God.  We must constantly ask God to search our heart and try our thoughts. If there be any wicked way in us to lead us back into the way everlasting.

After reminding them of the promise He had made, God revealed the shocking news that He would not be travelling with them. Remember throughout their journey, they had the presence of God guiding them. It was going to be different this time. The instruction Moses received on the construction of the Tabernacle was so that God would dwell in their midst. But now it appeared as if God would not be dwelling among them. We must know that when we prefer to have an idol in the centre of our life, we cannot expect God’s presence to be there. When we make other things the focal point of our life, we will leave no room for God to be there.   

It is hard to conceive a relationship without God at the centre of our life. This passage tells us how important it is to have a personal relationship with God. We can have all the world’s good, but a moment without God would be miserable. The Israelites knew it. The instance that the news got around that God would not be travelling with them, they became downcast. Then they removed all their ornament as expected of the Lord. What is the meaning of this action? Removing the ornament was a way of showing true repentance. They were now ready to get right with God. If we desire the nearness of God, repentance is a critical step we need to take. So, the people showed their repentance for it was said, since that day at Mount Horeb, they no longer had any ornament. They eventually used the gold to build the Tabernacle. What we do with our wealth in our relationship with God matters. For where our treasure is there will our heart be also. Let us keep God at the centre of our heart and life. We must if we want to experience His presence! 

Exodus 32:30-35 - Standing in the gap

God was not through dealing with the people despite the death of 3,000 people. And Moses knew. So, the next day he told the people how great a sin they had committed and that he was going before the Lord to see how he could make atonement for their sin. In these verses, we see the shaping of the doctrine of redemption. God’s wrath had to be appeased. How? By whom could the sin of the people be atoned?

Moses returned to the presence of God and he began to intercede for the people. He acknowledged that the people had committed a great sin by making a god of gold for themselves. He must have begun to realize how redemption could work from all that God had told him about the sacrificial lamb. He must have caught the lesson that for redemption to take effect a substitute must die in the place of the sinners. So, he offered to be the substitute.  Perhaps. he also knew his personal inadequacy. Here in also lies another lesson on intercession. Moses was a praying man. Throughout the journey, we have seen how he would turn to God on behalf of the people. Here he was doing it again. He was asking God to forgive the people and was even prepared to die to take their place. Verse 32 had a dash after he asked God to forgive their sin. A dash signifies a long pause. It is believed that at this point, Moses felt the hurt of God. He could not go further and he broke down and wept. So, that long pause was represented by a dash.

We all know that every nation keeps a national register of her citizens. Every time there is a birth, the name of that baby will be entered into the register. And at death, a person’s name will be taken out of the register. Exodus 32:32-33 make reference to that heavenly register where the name of the people who had trusted God would be recorded. This is the book of life that the Bible talks about. Moses was interceding for God not to cancel out the name of the people and take them out of that book. He offered to be the atoning sacrifice. However, Moses did not have the credential to be that atoning sacrifice God needed. He, like every man, had a sinful propensity. God’s atoning sacrifice had to be perfect. What Moses said here was perhaps forecasting the coming of Jesus Christ, God’s perfect atoning sacrifice.  

Moses made an offer to be the atoning sacrifice for the people. And his offer reminds us of Jesus Christ who laid down his life for us. Jesus could do it because He had the credential to be the atoning sacrifice which Moses lacked. However, God did not take up Moses’ offer. But from his life, we learn how to be a great intercessor and a good shepherd. These verses show two great assets Moses had. Firstly, we can see that he was a true shepherd. He was prepared to lay down his life for his sheep. Secondly, we see in him a great intercessor. He offered to fill up the gap for his people.