Friday, June 4, 2010

Exodus 33

There's a story of old that tells of a people who believed in their God, but many a time they doubted and struggled and wandered aimlessly. They couldn't keep focused and were so easily led astray. I try with all my might to fight against those same tendencies, and have to re-focus so often, to live and be Hebrews 10:23. These people also had leaders who were real, who failed, who believed, and who sometimes made huge mistakes.

But this particular story was not one of them... that leader raised in the palace of Egypt, we all know him, Moses, he felt often so inept. Finally his people were close, they were going to step into their promise, the land flowing with milk and honey that they had waited 40 years for, but not because they had done so well. Only because their God always keeps His promises. So Moses was told to go and get it, everything they had always wanted, but there was a catch. Isn't that always the way? God wasn't going to go with them, He'd had enough of them and their stubborn ways. But in all his wisdom, Moses knew, they needed HIM, the GREAT I AM. They couldn't do it alone, they had tried. And so he turned God down, he refused the deal. He gave up everything so that he and his people could still have God's presence.

"Then Moses said, 'Now show me Your glory." Can you imagine seeing God's glory the way Moses did? I would sometimes like to more fully know that He's here - I mean REALLY here, when there are so many days that feel absent. "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." His hand was on me!

My Bible study girls ~ that I just love~ were discussing the rock and the being hidden by God's hand, and I came across this photo yesterday. How cleft-ish! Cleftomania! (oops I digress, that's a geocache my husband and his brother hid). A little man-made looking, but a perfect hiding spot from seeing God full ON!

GLORY! I want to refuse the deal too!

1 comment:

bigcanadiangirl said...

Interesting! Lots to think about.