Exodus 33 details the aftermath of the events that took place with God, Moses, and the Israelites on Mount Sinai (God gave them the Ten Commandments and then the Israelites immediately disobeyed, forged a false god and worshiped it). The last thing we heard from God was his rightful admonishment of the Israelites, who despite God’s ultimate care, provision, victory, and MERCY, could not seem to stop blatantly disobeying their LORD!
After all the Israelites had done to grieve God, questioning His authority, goodness, and love for them, and seemingly forgetting all of the mighty works He had performed to save them, you have to wonder: what comes next for these guys?
God’s response to the Israelites is one that reveals exactly what kind of God He is. He tells them to pack their things up and to get going, because He is faithful, and He’s going to give them exactly what He promised. He tells them that He’s sending His angel to go before them, they will be protected, and then they will be delivered to the Promised Land, the paradise promised to their ancestors over 400 years ago. In a moment when God had every right to strike these sinners to the pit of hell, He did the only thing He will ever do: be faithful to His children.
The catch? He’s not gonna go with them. And not in a petty way either. In an “if I go with you, I might have to judge you and destroy you because I am holy.” kinda way. But, this is the true test of their heart posture. Because if the Israelites heard this and were ok with it, God knew His people cared more about what He could give them than who He was to them. Thankfully, they were brokenhearted.
They knew they had messed up big. And I think we know that too, sometimes. We get so caught up in pursuing the “things” of God, that we forget the biggest blessing we could ever wish for is the presence of God Himself. We find ourselves seeking job security or a relationship, health, affirmation, or even “religious” things like leading groups or speaking on a stage, or being a worship leader.
In our Israelite-ish tendencies, somewhere along the way we stop looking to God and start looking past God, at the future we believe He’s promised us. God sees the greediness in our hearts. He can tell when we idolize the very things He created and start to misuse them for selfish gratification. And like we see over and over again in the Bible, God loves you too much to let you proceed into the Promised Land with leftover bondage of sin, idolatry, and distrust.
He’s gonna halt you for a bit and give you time to think about it. He’s gonna bring you to a crossroads, and see if you pick His way or your way. He might even let you run past Him, and you’ll hear Him calling out to you from behind, but God’s presence can’t lead you if you aren’t fully submitted to seeking His presence. And here’s the thing: even if you think you’re gonna make it to the Promised Land without God, you won’t. Because He’s the only one who knows where it is.
And so this moment with the Israelites feels a lot like that. They have seen the miracles of God. They really wanted the blessing of the Promised Land from God. They really liked the protection, provision, and faithfulness of God, when it benefitted them. And they were upset when they heard the presence of God wouldn’t be with them, they really were! But the only ones that chose to seek the face of God in this situation were Moses and Joshua.
I’ve had (billions of) moments when I knew I wasn’t seeking God’s face. I was looking past Him and towards whatever else I thought was most important at the time. And after I realized I was in the wrong, I slowly and sheepishly meandered my way on over to God, scared that things would be awkward. I know I chose the present over the presence. I kept my eyes off of the true prize, and now I sort of feel like God is going to yell at me and ground me.
Can I make a cool correlation to bring this home?
Jesus gives us a very similar illustration of this in Luke 15. A generous, loving father has two sons, and one chooses the present (his inheritance) over the presence (of his father). He comes to the realization of just how far he’d strayed. (If you haven’t caught on yet, God is the father, you and me, and everyone else in history is the prodigal son.)
He realized the blessing of inheritance was worthless compared to the love he found in his father. He musters up enough courage to come back home, expecting his dad to banish him to live with the servants. You want to know his father’s reaction?
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” Luke 11:22-24
Our God is just and jealous, but man is He a ferociously loving Father. He sees where your heart is at and what you idolize, but the second you come to the realization that you don’t want a single thing in this life if it means you can’t have Him, He is running after you down the street!
You were lost, BUT!
God sees that BUT! in the Israelites! He sees their emptiness and recognizes that they are finally starting to get it. He knew we would be sinful and straggling, and there is grace for that. BUT He cannot settle for anything less than your whole heart. It isn’t who He is.
So, to the lost, are you willing to give it up? The relationship you’re desperately clutching? The drinking habit you swear isn’t sinful? The title of “Pastor” because you know you aren’t in any place to be shepherding others right now?
Because your Father is waiting in the street for you! That kind of love isn’t only for the unsaved.
Or will you continue on into the wilderness with God calling out after you? Getting more lost and more lost until you finally realize the same thing He’s been telling you all along - God’s presents are absolutely worthless unless He’s there to enjoy them with you.