Heart Matters: “And the LORD replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for you have found favor with me, and you are my friend.” Exodus 33: 17
THE BEAUTY OF FRIENDSHIP
When my
youngest son was very little (around 3 years old) the LORD gave me a moment
with him that gave me special insight into his personality and how HE made him.
As we exited the van to enter the playground, as he leaped from his seat, my
son said “Mom, let me show you how to make a friend!” I marveled at my little mans’
determination coupled with excitement. I knew then he would always value
relationships in a very special, real, and meaningful way. As a teen when I inquired
about how his first day of school went, he measured the future success of each
class by his assessment of the relatability of the teacher. Today, as a grown
man, everyone who knows and loves him, knows that Quality Time is his number
one Love Language.
Have you ever considered that the concept of friendship was created by God? Man was never meant to do life alone. If you have ever experienced a true friendship, one marked by transparency, honesty, service and sacrifice, you’ve realized you were blessed in a special way by that particular relationship. The same would hold true of your friends’ thoughts towards you. Friendship is a mutual relationship!
It’s
undeniable that God created us for relationship and friendship with one
another. But it’s much deeper than that…God also created us for relationship
AND FRIENDSHIP with Himself! Let that sink in for a minute. Have you ever
considered that God desires to call you “friend?” I’ve been reading through the
book of Exodus and I had to come to a sudden stop when I came to Exodus Chapter
33. When I saw the depth of the consideration the LORD had for Moses because of
His friendship with Him, I was left in awe. Chapter 33 of Exodus indicates the
Lord made allowances for Moses that went against His own inclination…all
because He called him “friend.”
Moses and
the LORD were friends, they still are. When Moses lived on earth, The Creator
God pursued him for a relationship with Him. When Moses believed and responded
in faith, a beautiful relationship began. The LORD allowed him the privilege of
knowing Him and verse 11 of Chapter 33 states “…the LORD used to speak to
Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend…” Now this doesn’t
mean Moses saw the LORD’s face because in verse 20 The Lord said “You
cannot see my face, for no man can see Me and live!” But it does mean
the LORD spoke directly to Moses. The level of intimacy they experienced as
friends was tight! Moses was the LORD’s “main man,” his “ace boo coo,” his “bff.”
Okay if you aren’t familiar with those terms, let me put it the way another
version translates the end of verse 17, The LORD said “…I have known
you by name.”
Since the
Word of God clearly states that the Lord is “no respecter of persons” which
means He has no favorites, we can rightly assume that the level of intimacy
Moses experienced with the LORD is available to all who follow Him as well. Wow!
That’s such exciting news!
The dynamics
of friendship between the LORD and Moses is an incredible one to read about. I
encourage you to take time to read some of the preceding chapters and the
entire chapter of Exodus 33. One cannot possibly understand the level of
credence Moses had with God and the extent to which the LORD was willing to
consider Moses’ heart’s desire, in deciding how HE would move forward with HIS
chosen in light of their recent sin against HIM. I particularly love seeing how patient the
Lord chooses to be with us, even when we’re at our worse. (Remember God is
all knowing-He knew how the children of Israel would rebel when He delivered
them. And He knew how Moses would intercede for them as well).
THE
OBSTINATE REBELLIOUS UNGRATEFUL PEOPLE
In the
previous chapters Moses was up on the mountain spending time with God and receiving
instruction to teach the people (Exodus 24:12). Exodus Chapter 32 begins with
the people entreating Aaron to make them a god. Because of the length of time
Moses was gone, they said they didn’t know what had become of him.
Now it’s
very difficult for me to move quickly pass Aaron because I believe there’s much
to be said about the how’s and why’s of him being so complicit, so quickly. The
Word does give us some insight so I may have to write my next blog post about
this very issue. Suffice it to say Aaron,
Moses’ brother adhered to their request and he himself fashioned a molten,
golden calf…for them to worship.
I can’t help
but wonder why didn’t they just simply ask Aaron to become their new leader.
Moses never claimed to be a god. He was their leader, the one chosen by God. I
guess this is an indication of the level of darkness involved in this rebellion.
The people didn’t simply want a new leader, they wanted a new god.
After the completion
of the golden calf, the children of Israel literally said “This is your god
O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” Exodus 32:4.
For this we
need a moment of silence.
When I read it,
I wept. What betrayal, what an insult to the One, True, Living God! How sinful!
How rebellious!
But before
we (I) ascend too far on our (my) high horse in judgement, we do well to
quickly realize that even as believers, chances are, we too are guilty of this
same type of sin and rebellion. How many times have we decided God’s way
wasn’t working for us? How many times have we chosen to carve out our own
paths? How often have we given the credit that should belong solely to our God,
to other people or other things (like our own gifts and talents)?
Yeah, I
would venture to say, many times we aren’t much different than the
Israelites were in this chapter.
Boy, it’s a
good thing they had Moses to intervene and intercede for them! Because their sin
made the LORD so angry- He had decided to remove His presence from them. (Can
you see it?) Boy, it’s a good thing we have Jesus to intervene and intercede
for us! He took on the wrath of God and paid for the sin of the entire world.
And now because of Him, our Great Mediator, once we believe, we too are covered
from the wrath of God. (Can you see the Gospel being foreshadowed
throughout the Old Testament? I’m in awe!).
Okay, so the
people rebelled and our God was very angry…and rightly so of course. Exodus 32 records
God’s response, Moses’ entreaty, Moses’ anger, along with some serious
correction and punishment. Before the chapter ends The LORD tells Moses to continue
leading the people and that He will send an angel before them. But something’s
changed. It’s not until chapter 33 that we read the LORD is not planning to
join them.
THE BLESSING
OF FRIENDSHIP
In verse 3
of chapter 33, the LORD explains that He’s sending an angel before them because
He is not going to go up in their midst. He said “…because you are an
obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way.” You see,our God is Love, and He is
also a consuming fire. He is not to be mocked or played with! (I’ve said
this before but I love seeing the righteous anger of God! While I don’t ever
want to be the recipient of it, nor will I ever be, I love it because it makes
the balance of the whole of Who He is just so beautiful, yet unfathomable).
When the people
heard the sad news of the LORD not joining them, they mourned. But when Moses
heard it, he made an appeal (see verses 12-16). Moses made an appeal to God
based on his relationship with God and his call from God. (I love that it’s
okay with God for us to speak from our hearts with Him. He can handle our
fears, our displeasure, and even our wrong thinking. He can handle it all!).
Basically,
Moses reminded God of His charge to him regarding His people. Moses challenged
God (so to speak) regarding his understanding of who he knew the Lord to be and
his standing with Him in terms of the favor He’d given him. He reminded the
Lord that this nation was (is) His people.
Moses was in
such a tizzy over the Lord saying He wouldn’t be joining them that when the
Lord responded next that He would-verse 14-“And He said, “My presence
shall go with you , and I will give you rest.”, Moses still couldn’t
let it go!
Moses
responded to the LORD’s conceding by saying “If Your presence does not go
with us, do not lead us up from here.” (verse15) And it continues until
the LORD patiently reassures him in verse 17- the verse quoted at the beginning
of this blog post.
When the LORD said to Moses in verse 17 “…I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.”, it so affected him so greatly that he asked Him to show him His glory! Now don’t miss this. The LORD was so angry with the people for their rebellion He said more than once that He wouldn’t be joining them, because if He did, He might consume them in a moment. But because of His friendship with Moses, He changed His mind. He joined them and He did not destroy them. One man changed how God related to an entire nation. Wow!
Experiencing
the beauty of Who God is and His amazing love which manifests in His consideration,
time and attention for us, should only lead us to desire to know more of Him!
As Moses’ God and as Moses’ Friend, the LORD showed up and showed out for him. When
Moses revealed his heart to the Lord for his people, he also revealed the heart
of the Lord for His people. Deep isn’t it? I believe Moses’ appeal, appeased
God’s anger. Yes! Our All-Knowing, All-Powerful God, knows how to work it all
out! When Moses shared his heart with Him, God listened, loved and led! Moses
continued in his call, he continued on his journey…walking hand in hand with
GOD.
In the words
of Israel Houghton’s song, are you a “Friend of God”? If not, why not? In
the LORD we find all of the best attributes a Best Friend can have!
HEART TO
HEART: TO KNOW HIM AND TO BE KNOWN OF HIM IS THE DESIRE OF GOD’S HEART