Whispers of Grace
Walking with God is filled with mountaintops and valleys. Join passionate yet flawed Jesus-lover and mother of four Julie Colbeth as she delves into the Scriptures with a refreshingly honest perspective that will bring hope and encouragement to your day.
Whispers of Grace
The Presence - Part 1 of 2: The Gift or The Giver?
The Life of Moses- Episode #29 🎁 What does it mean to truly encounter the presence of God? On this episode of "Whispers of Grace," we journey through the compelling narrative of Exodus 33, examining Moses' profound interactions with God. After the Israelites' devastating golden calf incident, Moses emerges as a beacon of divine pursuit, setting up his tent away from the camp to prioritize his relationship with God. His intentionality not only underscores the necessity of cultivating a direct and vibrant connection with the divine but also serves as a powerful model for leadership and spiritual intimacy that inspires future leaders like Joshua, who chose to dwell continually in God's presence.
This episode invites you to reflect on the depth of your personal relationship with God, encouraging an introspective look at whether you seek the Giver more than His gifts. We delve into the transformative power of God's indwelling presence via the Holy Spirit, offering practical steps to nurture this intimacy. By drawing inspiration from Brother Lawrence's practice of God's presence, we explore ways to integrate a continual awareness of the divine into your daily life, amidst both blessings and distractions. Our conversation emphasizes the importance of active engagement with God through worship, nature, and the embrace of silence and stillness.
In a world brimming with distractions, finding moments of silence and stillness becomes essential for deepening your spiritual awareness. Through personal anecdotes, such as moments of stillness found in unexpected places, we highlight the importance of creating mental space to connect more profoundly with God. Embracing this quietude allows for a richer experience of God's enduring presence and love, as reflected in the timeless verses of Psalm 90. Join us as we encourage a lifestyle that fosters spiritual intimacy, guiding you to experience the fruits of the spirit more fully and enriching your unique spiritual journey.
Kia ora, and welcome to Whispers of Grace, a place for women to be encouraged by God's holy word. I'm your host, julie Colbeth, and I am overjoyed to dig into the Bible with you today. Kia ora, friends, today we are going to be back in the life of Moses, picking up in Exodus, chapter 33. Cs Lewis once wrote we may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with him. He walks everywhere incognito, and the incognito is not always hard to penetrate. The real labor is to attend, in fact to come awake and still more to remain awake. Are we awake to the presence of God? He is with us, he is in us and around us every minute of every day. And how does this truth actually penetrate our realities? This episode is going to start diving deeply into the presence of God as Moses encounters him in one of the most revealing passages in the Old Testament. We will see how the relationship between Israel and God is mended after the unfaithfulness of the golden calf incident, and we're going to unpack God's own definition of himself in this two part series. So buckle up, my friends. Good things to come and lots and lots of good heart work to be done. So we are jumping into Exodus 33, right after many people were punished for the golden calf idolatry, and this is where the text picks up. Then the Lord said to Moses depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, isaac and Jacob, saying to your descendants I will give it and I will send my angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, for I will not go up in your midst lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people. And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned and no one put on his ornaments, for the Lord had said to Moses Say to the children of Israel you are a stiff-necked people, I could come into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now, therefore, take off your ornaments that I may know what to do to you. So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
Julie:So we see in this text that Israel and Moses, they needed to know what would happen now that they had broken God's law, because this was the first time that Israel was experiencing the punishment of God. They were breaking new ground in dealing with sin and they needed to be told what to do next. Would God destroy them or abandon them? Did their disobedience change his promises or the plans that he had for them? Would they still have his protection and provision? And we read that God, of course, kept his promises, solely based on his grace and his faithfulness, and not on the faithfulness of Israel. The covenant with Abraham, isaac and Jacob was kept by God, through God and for God's glory. But things didn't just continue on as though nothing had happened. Instead of Israel being led by God, now we read that an angel is sent to go before them. God tells them that he couldn't dwell with such a sinful people, and Israel mourns this incredible loss of God's presence, something that they had and now was being taken from them.
Julie:Verse five says God wanted Moses to tell the children of Israel you are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now, therefore, take off your ornaments that I may know what to do to you. God wanted Israel to know that he knew them better than they knew themselves. They were stiff-necked, which means prideful and unwilling to yield their wills to their deliverer. They were crooked and corrupt and they hated reformation. And God knew their very minds and their unwilling hearts and it caused him to retract from them. So they would retain his promises, but they lost the presence of God because he could not abide their stubborn hearts. David Guzik says this about God denying his presence to Israel. This was a challenge to Moses and the nation as a whole. God told them that they could have the promised land still, but he would not remain with them in a close and personal way If they were satisfied with that arrangement. It would prove that they only loved God's blessings and not God himself. If they challenged God, pleaded with him for his presence and not only his blessings, it would show a genuine heart for God himself. This was the first step towards spiritual restoration and revival in Israel. Israel had the gifts of God, but without the intimacy of the giver.
Julie:As I was reading through this, I realized that I actually experienced something very similar to this in my own life. So about nine years ago, 10 years ago now, we first moved to New Zealand and lived in Rotorua. But God actually called us out quite quickly after only 18 months, back to the States, and we really really struggled with this because we thought we were going to make our home permanently in New Zealand. We felt so called to this place but yet God was pulling us out back into the States for something that we were very excited about. But it was a really, really hard ask because our hearts fell in love with this country and we loved the ministry that we were doing, we loved the place we lived, we loved the people we were serving with and we just didn't want to leave.
Julie:And as I struggled through this, I woke up really early one morning when the sun was rising and I walked all the way to the top of this hill and I just watched the sunrise and was kind of sorting through all of this with the Lord and I felt like he spoke to me so clearly on that hilltop Like yes, I've given you this beautiful place to live in. You live in Narnia, you live in Lord of the Rings. You know you live in this beautiful, beautiful place with this amazing culture and these people. But what is Narnia without Aslan? And it just struck me, so many things in our life seemed to be going exactly as we wanted and the Lord had given us so many blessings, but without his presence, without following it, I realized that I would never be satisfied.
Julie:I would never be satisfied with stories about God or the tales that other people would tell of the faithfulness of him in their own lives. Even if I had everything that I prayed for and dreamt for, it was hollow and empty without him. It was like one of those cheap chocolate Easter bunnies that's shiny on the outside but completely empty on the inside. God was so good and kind to speak this to my heart in a way that hit me deeply and helped me to understand, and it's so similar for us Friends. I know that I speak for so many of us when I say that we want to live in his light every day, touching him, talking with him and walking through life hand in hand.
Julie:A storybook Jesus just isn't enough for us. We need the fresh wind and fire the fresh filling, and we don't want to go forward without him. And fire the fresh filling and we don't want to go forward without him. And Israel, in our text here, realizes her loss and they mourned for it. It says that they took off their jewelry and their finery because they realized that it was not the time to draw attention to the external, but it was time to bring humble hearts before God and realize what their sin had cost them. Hearts before God and realize what their sin had cost them they had lost the presence of God amongst them.
Julie:So let's continue reading in Exodus, chapter 33, verses 7 through 11, to see what happens. It says Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting, which was outside the camp. So it was whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle that all the people rose and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud would descend and stood at the door of the tabernacle and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door and all the people rose and worshipped, each man in his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend and he would return to the camp. But his servant, joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart the tabernacle.
Julie:When Moses was on Mount Sinai, god had given him detailed instructions for building the tabernacle, but the work hadn't happened yet. There was no proper tabernacle for worship. But this didn't stop Moses from seeking God. So his response to the loss of the presence of God among Israel is to pitch his own tent outside the camp so he could be with God. If God's presence couldn't dwell in the camp, then neither would Moses. And this separation. It meant that anyone who wanted to seek God would need to be intentional. They would need to leave the camp to be with God.
Julie:And when Moses went to worship and spend time with God, the whole nation also worshiped from their tents. His obedience flowed right into the nation. And what a beautiful example for us to pitch our tent exactly where God's presence is. And when we choose to worship God and seek him in a real way, it affects the people around us. When we are drawn into worship of God, it can help others to worship him also. And God confirmed his presence with Moses with that pillar of cloud which would descend at these moments and it says that the Lord came and spoke to Moses face to face, just like a man speaks with his friend.
Julie:So Bible scholars aren't positive what this means. When the text says that Moses spoke to God face to face, we know from John chapter 1 that no one has seen God in his fullness because we would just be undone, it would be too much for our mortal bodies. But God did appear and speak to Abraham back in Genesis 18, and he revealed pieces of himself to Moses. So most likely this phrase face to face speaks of an open fellowship and a simple language. Similarly, remember when Jesus was walking on the earth and he spoke to the crowds. It was usually in a parable, but when he spoke to his disciples it was much more plain and he would explain the things that he meant.
Julie:I'm sure that this special relationship kept Moses sane and steady as he took on the momentous task of leading these stubborn people through enemy-infested desert into a land that was promised to them. Moses's relationship with God also deeply affected Joshua, who would be Israel's next leader, because we read in the text that it says Joshua never left this place of meeting. He stayed at Moses's tent continually and he didn't return back to the camp. Joshua saw the glory of the Lord descend on the tent of Moses and he chose to stay in his presence. He chose not to leave the place that God was. He was satisfied and content to remain in the place that God appeared. Now I think this is probably the best leadership training that we could ever hope for or receive to stay close to the presence of God, to hear his voice and to remain with him. I'm going to continue on.
Julie:In verse 12. It says See, you say to me, bring up this people, but you haven't let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said I know you by name and you have also found grace in my sight. Now, therefore, I pray if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way that I may know you and that I may find grace in your sight and consider that this nation is your people. And he said my presence will go with you and I will give you rest. Then Moses said to him if your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here, for how then will it be known that your people and I have found grace in your sight, except if you go with us. So we shall be separate, your people and I, from all the people who are on the face of this earth.
Julie:So the Lord said to Moses I will also do this thing that you have spoken for.
Julie:You have found grace in my sight and I know you by name.
Julie:And he said Please show me your glory name. And he said Please show me your glory. And then God said I will make all of my goodness pass before you and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But he said you cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live. And the Lord said here is a place by me that you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with my hand while I pass by. Then I will take away my hand and you shall see my back, but you shall not see my face. Take away my hand and you shall see my back, but you shall not see my face.
Julie:So this incredible interaction between Moses and God. We see Moses approaching God with a heart that leads to revival and it restores Israel's broken relationship with God, because Moses is not content to just have an angel to lead them into the promised land. He will only be satisfied with God himself. And it's incredible to realize that Moses, the man who is talking to God face to face, is not satisfied with this level of intimacy. He asks for more. He wants more of God. He wants more direction and more knowledge and more understanding. Moses is asking for a deeper experience and knowledge of god. Even though he gets to meet with god, it's not enough. Moses had been intimately communicating with God, like one friend to another, and he is not satisfied. God is so good, so grand and intricate that Moses pleads for more. He is like the deer that is panting for the water. His soul is thirsty for the unfathomable depths of fellowship with God. It's important to note that Moses doesn't plead for this deeper revelation of God based on his own incredible obedience, which is pretty astounding at this point, or his past deeds, which is also incredible. Moses pleads for more of God based on God's grace, his unmerited favor, the riches that have been extended to him, simply because Jehovah is good. He pleads for more because God is gracious in giving good gifts and the best gift of all is himself.
Julie:Moses knew that he needed equipping and steadying and encouragement and clarity, and all these things are found in the presence of God. In verse 14, god responds to Moses' request by saying my presence will go with you and I will give you rest. God gifts Moses with all that he needs to continue to lead the stubborn people through the desert his presence and his rest. Now, this rest is unlike any regular human rest that Moses could obtain. The rest that Moses is promised comes with a deep knowledge that God is present, god is good and God will act on behalf of his people. Moses knew that even if he tried his hardest and gave his best effort, it wouldn't be enough. He needed to rest in the presence of God and quietly remain there to be empowered and equipped and encouraged for this massive task that God set before him. Moses understood how dependent he was and how fragile the nation was. So he tells God in verse 15 and 16, if your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here, for how then will it be known that your people and I have found grace in your sight, except you go with us. Moses didn't just want the blessings of the promised land or the protection and provision of God. He knew that only the very presence of God would set Israel apart as a nation and satisfy their hearts. God's presence among them would separate them as a unique and holy nation as nothing else could.
Julie:In the book of Philippians, paul records a very similar heart when he wrote Yet, indeed, I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God, by faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. Paul understood that nothing compared with knowing Christ, nothing could compare with remaining in his presence and being conformed into his image. Now, this is one of my favorite Greek words. The word translated no here in Greek is the word ginosko, which actually means an experiential knowledge, a firsthand, relational acquaintance, and it carries with it the idea that says I don't want to just hear about God in his word or from pastors and friends, but I want a deep personal relationship, a face-to-face relationship that constantly draws me deeper. This word means intimacy and experience, and this is just what Moses is pleading for. He doesn't want to move unless the Lord moves with them. He doesn't want the other nations simply to hear about the amazing things that God had done, but he wanted them to physically see the fire and the cloud, to see the tangible presence of God remaining amongst his chosen ones.
Julie:Now, in verse 17, the bold intercession of Moses restores Israel's relationship with God. Not only are they forgiven, but they are restored to an intimate relationship with God. The Lord said to Moses I will do this thing that you've spoken for. You have found grace in my sight and I know you by name. Moses hears this from God and then he becomes emboldened to ask to see the Lord's glory. The word glory here is interesting. It means weight or heaviness, the glory of God, and it's usually translated glory or honor. But the implication is that Moses was asking to understand the depth of God, his splendor, his honor and dignity, to see his weight and mass. Moses boldly asks to understand the depths of God. And in part two of this message, I'm going to delve into the depths of this experience as described in chapter 34. Because here in 33, god tells Moses what he's going to do, and then we read about the actual experience in chapter 34. So in the next part of the series we'll dive into that, but for now I want to focus on what has already been laid out before us in this passage, because there are so many good and beautiful things for us to eat.
Julie:Moses was not after the gifts and blessings of God. He was after deep fellowship and intimacy with God himself. In fact, he rejected the gifts of God without the personal relationship. This is a fantastic thing for us to consider. Do we more commonly seek the gifts of God or do we seek the giver himself? Do we choose to pitch our tent in the world? Do we choose to pitch our tent in the world or do we choose to pitch our tent in the presence of God? Now, this presence, it's not a location, because God is not just found in his word, although this is the primary way that he speaks to us. His presence is not restrained to his word. His presence is not just that church or a small group or a Bible study. The presence of God is not something that you have to leave at the doors of your religious activities. The presence of God is something that we need to learn to cultivate in our own hearts. Now don't get me wrong. He is always present and alive and active.
Julie:In Psalm 139, david aptly writes when can I go from your spirit, where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will guide me and your right hand shall hold me fast. There, your hand will guide me and your right hand shall hold me fast. So God's presence is something that we can't escape and something beautiful to think about is.
Julie:As New Testament believers, we have access to God. Like Moses only dreamed of, jesus made himself a sacrifice to heal our relationship with God through his death and resurrection. And now, if you've received salvation, we literally have God indwelling us every moment of every day, every breath, every heartbeat. He is with us. The Holy Spirit comes to abide with us, to remain, to remain. But the question is are you present with him? Are you listening and waiting and enjoying him? Are we tasting and feeling the reality of God more authentically, more intimately and more satisfyingly? Is our awareness of the reality of God's presence heightened? Is our awareness of the reality of God's presence heightened? Are we paying attention? James 4.8 tells us that if we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. That's a promise. Psalm 145.18 says the Lord is near to all who call on him. He is here, my friends. He's present in this very moment. Whatever you're doing, he is with you. Are we entering into the sweetness of his reality? Are we cultivating our awareness of God's presence? Because it takes practice and intentionality.
Julie:A monk from the 1600s called Brother Lawrence wrote a book called the Practice of the Presence of God. If you haven't read it, I would suggest. It is an easy, short read. But it's so encouraging to read his personal letters that he wrote to friends that describe his life, and in it he talks about his honed, minute by minute, sensitivity to the nearness of God. He was just a simple servant that cooked in the kitchens and he looked after the shoes of the monks in the monastery, but he is remembered today for his intimacy with God. He's remembered as a cheerful and genuine man that learned the value of remaining connected with God while he was going about his daily activities, and this practice needs to be intentionally cultivated.
Julie:So a good way to begin might be to take some time to ask yourself a few questions. Think about what helps you to hear God and what hinders you from acknowledging his presence. Now, this is a fantastic time for those of you that make lists, because you can easily have two columns here the things that help to draw me into the presence of God and the things that hinder this. I think just writing this list will be an incredible way to start, but there are many, many ways to cultivate this practice. Singing praise is a good way to remind ourselves of the truth and nearness of God. Being outside in nature is a fantastic way to connect with God, but God has made us each differently. He speaks to us through different things because we're different, and he is such a good, loving God. It's kind of like as a parent. You don't discipline each of your kids the same. You don't help them with their homework the same. They're different. They learn differently. They have different strengths and weaknesses. Now God knows this and he wants to work with you Now.
Julie:This year for me has been a good one of asking this question what helps me to hear God and what hinders me from acknowledging his presence? For me, I've realized that, especially since we moved to New Zealand and live on the opposite side of the world to many of our family and friends, I can easily be distracted by social media because it's easy to just flick it open when I have a free moment and see what my friends and family are up to, which is harmless enough, there's nothing wrong with that but it doesn't leave me with lots of open moments for silence and contemplation. So I've had seasons of deleting my social media apps and taking rests, and I really try to limit my exposure when I'm using them, simply because it takes up space in my mind and the overcrowding it makes it hard for me to hear from God. It's funny because I really came to a very strong awareness of this when I was sitting In New Zealand. Sometimes they'll shut down the whole road when there's construction. I literally sat for 45 minutes guys sitting waiting to go forward and it was like did they forget about me, that I'm sitting waiting to go forward, and it was like, did they forget about me? That I'm still sitting here waiting to move? But as I was sitting in that moment, the Lord spoke so clearly to me that this 45 minutes of being still and waiting was the most I had had in quite a while, and I realized how much mental space I was letting so many trivial things take up.
Julie:And this is why I'm always encouraging my listeners to get alone in nature, undisturbed and undistracted. Hopefully it's not sitting in traffic, because stuff starts to happen inside of you when we're quiet. And for me, often when I spend quiet time out in the bush or near a river or whatever, I'm kind of flooded with a whole bunch of emotions and I recount events of my day or conversations that have affected me, and I need time to process through all of those things with the Lord. I need to get cleansed of all of my thoughts and experiences, and then I can always better hear from God. Now, of course, he speaks to us in our chaos. He is a good and kind God, but to be more present we need to be more empty.
Julie:So this is something that we can be working on as we roll into the new year here, or anytime on as we roll into the new year here or anytime, cultivating an understanding that God really is there, he really is enough, he really does love you with a never stopping, never giving up, forever kind of love.
Julie:And that kind of love can ground you and give you joy and peace and patience and kindness, and all the beautiful fruits of the spirit can pour out of you when you learn to abide in that presence, just like Moses and just like Joshua, who was not willing to leave the presence of God. I want to leave you with the first line of Psalm 90, which was penned by Moses. He says this Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations, before the mountains were brought forth or ever. You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting. You are God. You are God now. I pray that the truth of that would burrow deep down into your soul, that you would know God as your dwelling place, the place that you remain. Thank you.
