Can you imagine what it was like in the camp after the awful events of the last Chapter? So quiet. You emerge from your tent when you hear the people stirring from theirs. Moses is moving to the tent he has set up outside the camp where he can meet with the Lord. He goes inside. A pillar of cloud comes and stays at the entrance to that tent. Moses is speaking with the Lord face to face. 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. v. 10. So quiet.

The people are in mourning for what they have done. The Lord has said He will not go with them but will send an angel to go with them to go to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob…to them their descendants. They have been told they are stiff-necked and I can’t help but wonder what that means to them. Do we ever see our own faults as they truly are? I know I would wonder what were Moses and the Lord talking about in that tent. Would it be okay after all?

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.” v. 12-13. Moses wanted to know the Lord and be taught by Him. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. v. 11. Can you imagine the Lord being your friend? The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” v. 14.

Moses wanted to know God. He wanted to be with Him. His heart longed for Him. And the Lord spoke to him as to a friend. I don’t know if any of the people knew to expect that kind of relationship with God. They knew enough to stand at the entrances of their own tents and worship when they saw the cloud before that tent. I wonder what they would have thought if they had heard the next conversation Moses had with God. Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” That’s remarkably bold! The people keep turning away from opportunities to turn to God and hear, really hear Him. Moses kept drawing nearer. 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. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” v. 19-20. God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. 1 Timothy 15-16. Moses couldn’t see God in all His glory and God knew that. Imagine looking full at the sun in its brightness a few feet from you and how impossible that would be to withstand. So He protected Moses while honoring his desire. 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. v. 21-23.

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:8-10. That sounds like what the people experienced…change your laughter to mourning…humble yourselves. Draw near to God and He will come near to you. The people could only stand and watch Moses draw near to God but He was there. We can learn from the people then and we can learn from Moses. Moses drew near and went boldly to talk with God because he longed for Him. How blessed he was to talk with God as with a friend. He may have made bold requests but his heart was humble before God. He knew who God was. He was talking with Him! He knew God’s love for him first hand and he knew that God knew him by name. He knows your name too. Draw near. He’s here.