As You Pass By

Exodus 33 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire bible. A little background: In Exodus 32 Moses went up on the Mount Sinai and spent forty days with God. On the mount he received the 10 commandments and then God told Him to go down because the people had built an idol and were in sin. So Moses went down off the mountain, smashed the 10 commandments, burned the calf in the fire, and grinded it to dust.

We pick up the story in Exodus 33v. 2

Exo 33:2-3 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 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."

Keep in mind that until this point God has been leading the people with a pillar of cloud by day and fire at night.

Exo 33:12-16 Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 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?"

Moses recognized that it was God that set them apart from all the other nations. Without God they were no different from anyone else. God was apparently pleased with this realization.

Exo 33:17-23 And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory." And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD (Jehovah), in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

Exo 34:5-8 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, Jehovah. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "Jehovah, Jehovah, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

Takeaways:
First, there’s the notion that without God, we are no different from anyone else on the earth. With God however we are very different. We don’t need to apologize or make excuses for the distinction. God makes us different and people will notice, and they won’t like it but that’s their issue with God, not us. God will fight those battles and win them in His time and in His way.

Second, even though God was about to destroy the Israelites for the sin of idolatry, when Moses asked, God relented and not only didn’t destroy them, but then revealed Himself to Moses in an even more amazing way that He had done to date.

Third, when Moses asked to see God’s glory, God said I will show you my goodness. So God’s glory and His goodness are tied together. The word for goodness can also be translated, beauty or gladness. So God was saying, I’m going to show you everything about me that is good and beautiful, but I can only let you see it from the backside or you would die. Keep in mind here that Moses had just spent 40 days with God on the mountain and yet he wanted more. This is a very bold thing to ask of God, and yet God granted the request. It’s an amazing thing to think about the fact that we are physically incapable of experiencing God in His fullness in our human bodies. That experience would overwhelm our mortal flesh to the point of death. Think about that the next time you enter into worship.

Finally, if you ever wonder what God is really like, these are your verses, because in these verses God describes Himself. As God is passing in front of Moses he essentially worships Himself. In His description of Himself He basically says that He is loving and just. Any description of God that portraits Him as the loving cuddly buddy that does not also include His a description of His justice and punishment of sin is a false representation. Of course the reverse is also true; you cannot have one without the other.

As You Pass By
jagged mountain
surrounded in clouds
shrouding the glory of Your presence
circling round
cover me with Your hand
so I can see the train of Your robe

as You pass by
the rocks come tumbling down
as You pass by
the earth shakes, the skies break
as You pass by
Lord let me see Your beauty
then You come to me in a whisper
(the earth and sky and sea just fade away)
Lord just let me be there to catch a glimpse of You
as You pass by

(by Ed 8/03)

There’s a lot to ponder. I hope you will take some time to think about this amazing God we serve today.