Moses and God's Presence

In Exodus 33:7 we are told that it was “Moses’ practice” to meet the Lord in a Tent where “the pillar of cloud would come down and hover at its entrance” (v. 9, NLT). This verse makes it clear that Moses regularly met with God, for he would never have been able to lead the people of Israel without the strength that only God could provide in His presence. One can only imagine what it must have been like inside that Tent. As Moses waited inside with his hands outstretched, He gradually became aware of the manifest presence of God filling the place where He was standing. Suddenly, it may have seemed as if time stood still and Moses was lifted outside of himself into a realm where only God mattered. In that Tent, Moses was no longer aware of himself, for the light of God’s Presence became all consuming. The Lord became Moses' complete focus of attention.

Therefore, it is important to ask: What did Moses know about God’s Presence that we need to learn today? Well, I think there are at least three things we can see from Exodus 33:7-7:

1. In God’s Presence we learn His ways (v. 13) - Knowing how God works and the ways He uses to accomplish His purpose reveal a depth of relationship that goes beyond simply seeing His acts.

2. In God’s Presence we learn to cease from our striving (v. 14) - In the New American Standard Bible Psalm 46:10 says, “Cease striving (or ‘Let go, relax’) and know that I am God.” As Bishop Desmond Tutu from South Afica has written, “We can hear God’s voice most clearly when we are quiet, uncluttered, undistracted – when we are still."

3. In God’s Presence we learn about our identity (v. 16) - Part of the purpose of the church is to be a home for the presence of God – a place where the Spirit of God is most keenly felt.