After spending 40 days with God on the top of Mt. Sinai, didn’t Moses already know God? On the mount, Moses didn’t spend time reading theological books, listening to great sermons, or Googling “God.” He was WITH God all that time, yet he came out of it wanting to know God better.
RELATIONSHIP with God
In Exodus 33:12-23, depending upon your translation, forms of the word “know” are used six times in this passage. One would think that Moses at this point knew God well enough that he could just get to the business of herding the Israelites to the Promised Land. God knew Israel and Moses, however, now Moses wants to know God better. Moses wants relationship with God.
MOSES GALLOPS AFTER GOD
In our house we have a cupboard which has snacks. Often, I open the cupboard door, see what’s available, and then either grab something or continue on. Moses is not casually looking through the cupboard for a snack of God. Moses is banging away at the cupboard door and yelling he is not going to leave it until he is fully satisfied. God is a “rewarder of them that diligently seek HIM” (Hebrews 11:6). Moses doesn’t want to be casual Facebook friends with God; he wants a deep and true relationship with Him. Before this, God had sought Moses, but now Moses gallops after God. He knows the only hope for himself, and his people is in his relationship with God.
DESIRE FOR GOD HIMSELF
“We may have been Christians for many years, but have we ever really longed for some personal, direct knowledge and experience of God? Oh, I know, we pray for causes, we pray for the Church, we pray for missionaries, we pray for our own efforts that we organize, yes, but that is not what I am concerned about. We all ask for personal blessings, but how much do we know of this desire for God himself? That is what Moses asked for: ‘Show me thy glory. Take me yet a step nearer.’” (Martin Lloyd-Jones)
GOD’S ESSENCE
And what part of Himself does God choose in taking Moses a step nearer? God’s essence.
God says, I will make all My goodness pass before you. Moses asks to see the glory of God, and God promises to show Moses His goodness. “God’s glory lies in His goodness. When Moses saw the glory of God, His first understanding was that God was good. If we don’t know that God is good, we don’t know much about Him at all” (David Guzik).
HIS GOODNESS
At the core of all these attributes is one common denominator, God’s goodness. Moses asked: Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favor in Your sight. What does God consider essential? For Moses to know the goodness of God.
RELATIONSHIP FOR THE LONG HAUL
This will help carry Moses through 40 years of wandering through the wilderness with a majority of a generation who don’t want to know God or His goodness. This relationship with God is what will carry Moses for the long haul.
RELATIONSHIP GROWING 101
So, the question is, “How is your relationship with God growing?” Ask yourself these questions (taken from “Discipleship Handbook” by Bill Stoner):
- Have your family or friends noticed a difference in you and how you act toward others?
- Do you spend more time reading the Bible than you have in the recent past?
- Are you adding more to discussions when they cross to the spiritual realm?
- Has your awareness of the lost around you compelled you to be more of a disciple than when you first came to know Christ?
- Do you feel you spend enough time in prayer each day?
God is the “Rewarder of them that diligently seek HIM.”
