Chapter 33
When I was young, my father taught me how to swim. We would go to the public pool, and while he swam around, I clung to the edge of the pool. Little by little, he taught me to float. He would support me with his hand and lay me gently in the water. He showed me how to kick and paddle, always holding me steady.
Then, one day, the big moment came. We went to the pool, and as usual, he jumped in while I stayed at the edge. This time, he grabbed my hands, stretched them out in front of me, and told me to kick. I felt like Superman flying through the air, with my dad walking backward, guiding us around the pool. We completed one lap together.
After that, he placed me on the edge of the pool, stepped about six feet away, and said, “Okay son, now swim to me.” Nervously, I hesitated. He reassured me, “I’m right here. I won’t let anything happen to you. It’s a short distance; you can do it.” So, I pushed off, stretched my arms as far as I could, and began kicking and paddling with all my might. But as I looked at him, I realized I wasn’t getting any closer to his outstretched arms. I kept kicking and paddling, worried if I could stay afloat. Just before I was about to cry out for help, I finally reached his arms. In reality, it was his arms that reached me. He scooped me up and turned me around. “Look! You swam half the pool all by yourself!” It was then I realized that, all along, my dad had been walking backward with his arms stretched out, guiding me toward him. At the time, I thought it was a cruel joke, but it was his way of showing me that I could swim. He needed me to realize my own ability. Until I took that step of faith, I would never be convinced.
Our Father in Heaven is the ultimate parent. One thing that stood out to me was the Tent of Meeting that Moses built. It wasn’t something God specifically told him to do; Moses simply wanted to draw closer to God. The tent was outside the camp, with its door open to all. But when God’s presence came, the people stood at the doorways of their own tents from a distance, worshiping. They stayed comfortable, watching from the edge of the pool, unwilling to step forward. They didn’t commit to getting closer to God.
How many times have we been in the position to go “all-in” with our Father, but held back? I know I’ve missed the mark many times in my walk with God. But the good news is, He is still here! His arms are still reaching out to you, saying, “I’m right here. You can do it. I won’t let you down.” All you have to do is commit, push off, and keep your eyes on Him.
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3 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.”
4 When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments. [taking off their jewelry was a symbol of modesty and humility, sadness to the point of stripping off anything that might bring joy. When true reality of your depravity hits your soul, trinkets are meaningless.] 5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked [in the sense of a stubborn ox or mule resisting their master. Not just stubborn, but with active resistance.] people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’ ” 6 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.
The Tent of Meeting
7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” [The tabernacle had not yet been built but Moses took the steps of faith to build his own tent of meeting, not in defiance, but rather as a need to still connect with God.] Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. [notice the “safe distance” They again had the opportunity to go forward, just like Joshua did, but they stayed back] 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Moses and the Glory of the Lord
12 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.’ 13 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.”
14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 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?”
17 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.” 18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” [Moses’ desire to be in close relationship with God led him to make this request. However, he was unaware of what he was truly asking for. Similarly, as we walk with Jesus and experience God’s holy presence, we often feel a deep longing to draw closer. Yet, the reality is that our natural bodies cannot withstand the full holiness of God’s presence. Everything in our physical nature would disintegrate, including our fallen form, because nothing imperfect can endure in God’s direct presence. So our Father made it possible to see/dwell/touch him, through our Savior – Jesus.]
21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 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. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; [more literally understood as: “after effects”] but my face must not be seen.”
