Face to Face

Exodus 33:1-17

And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. [Exodus 33:11]

After the transgression of Israel in making the golden calf, Moses again goes to plead with God in behalf of his people… He has learned from experience that in order to have an influence with the people he must first have power with God. The Lord reads the sincerity and unselfish purpose of the heart of His servant and condescends to commune with this feeble mortal, face to face, as a man speaks with a friend. Moses casts himself and all his burdens fully upon God and freely pours out his soul before Him. The Lord does not reprove His servant, but stoops to listen to his supplications…

The answer comes: “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” But Moses does not feel that he can stop here. He has gained much, but he longs to come still nearer to God, to obtain a stronger assurance of His abiding presence. He has carried the burden of Israel; he has borne an overwhelming weight of responsibility; when the people sinned, he suffered keen remorse, as though he himself were guilty; and now there presses upon his soul a sense of the terrible results should God leave Israel to hardness and impenitence of heart… Moses presses his petition with such earnestness and fervency that the answer comes: “I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.”

Now, indeed, we would expect the prophet to cease pleading; but no, emboldened by his success, he ventures to come still nearer to God, with a holy familiarity which is almost beyond our comprehension. He now makes a request which no human being ever made before: “I beseech thee, show me thy glory.” What a petition to come from finite, mortal man! But is he repulsed? Does God reprove him for presumption? No; we hear the gracious words: “I will make all my goodness pass before thee.” …

In the history of Moses we may see what intimate communion with God it is man’s privilege to enjoy.

Similar Posts

  • Deceived!

    [Genesis 3:1] And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

  • In the Spirit of Elijah

    [Luke 1:17],Phillips He will go out before God in the spirit and power of Elijah – to reconcile fathers and children, and bring back the disobedient to the wisdom of good men – and he will make a people fully ready for their Lord.

  • Gentle Rebuke

    [1.Samuel 25:28] I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

  • A Voice in the Wilderness

    [1.Kings 17:1] And Elijah the Tishbite, … said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.