Moses - Servant of God - The Meekest Man in All the Earth
11 - Face to Face With God
Throughout this series on the life and work of Moses we have seen that he was a man of outstanding faithfulness. He was a man worthy of trust and he was totally reliable. These qualities are essential and expected of a true man or woman of God. Sadly, this could not be said of many of Moses' compatriots as they continued their journey towards the Promised Land. So often their behaviour dishonoured their God who was so faithful to them. We see an example of this following Moses' audience with God on Mount Sinai. This was the time when he received the Law of God, ten commandments defining his requirements for the people of Israel. They set out what should be their relationship with the Lord and their relationship with one another if they were to live lives pleasing to Him. These commandments are recorded for us in Exodus chapter 20. In chapters 21 to 23 God gives Moses instructions as to how these commands were to be put into practice in their daily lives.
Later Moses is called to another audience with God on the mountain. This time God gives him details as to how the people should worship and what offerings they should bring by way of sacrifice to the Lord. You will find all this in chapters 25 to 31. We are told that on this occasion Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. He was away from the people for a long time.
There followed what was probably the most trying and difficult experience for Moses in all his time as leader of the Israelites. Before Moses had gone up the mountain the second time, he had read the Book of the Covenant to them and the people had responded again as they had previously, "We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey." While on the mountain God warned Moses that in his absence the people had made themselves an idol in the form of a golden calf and they were worshipping and sacrificing to it. This was an act of direct disobedience to the second commandment and a breaking of the vow that they had made only weeks before. In his anger God threatened to destroy the people and make a great nation through Moses himself. But Moses, by now almost heartbroken and thinking more of God's glory than his own renown, successfully pleaded with God not to destroy the rebellious and disobedient people. Nevertheless, a righteous and holy God could not just ignore Israel's sin and the result was that many of them were struck down by a plague.
We have already discovered that Moses was a man of prayer, especially on behalf of the people. Here again we read in Exodus chapter 32 verses 11 to 13 his plea for them:
"0 Lord why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger, relent and do not bring disaster on your people."
Moses asks God to remember the promise He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and to give them the Promised Land. In verses 31 and 32 we see more of Moses' love for the people of God when, having seen for himself what the people have done, he goes back to God and pleads for them saying: "But now please forgive their sin - but if not then blot me out of the book you have written." Because of Moses' intercession we read that the Lord did not bring on the people the disaster He had threatened. I sometimes wonder if we pray as earnestly as we should for those whom we know who are unbelievers and who face the judgement of God in a coming day. The example of Moses is a challenge to us all to have a heart of loving concern for those who are lost in their sin.
In chapter 33 of Exodus we see Moses again pleading with God for the people in response to the Lord's statement that He would not go with them to Canaan. Moses' prayer was answered and he was promised the continuing presence of God. Listen to what the Lord said to his faithful servant: "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." What an encouragement that must have been to this sorely tried man!
In this chapter we also see God revealing his character more and more to his servant Moses. Moses wanted to understand better the nature of God. He clearly wanted to know more about the God he loved and served. We see this in verses 18 to 23 of this chapter as Moses asks the Lord to show him His glory. The response he received teaches us much about the sovereignty, holiness and character of our God. He said to Moses:
"I will cause 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, you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
And we are told that the glory of the Lord passed by as Moses was hidden in a cleft in a rock and he saw only a fleeting view.
Following this, Moses went up again to the mountain to speak with the Lord and to make new stone tablets containing the Law of God. Moses in his distress at the idolatry of the people had broken the original stones. For another forty days and nights Moses speaks with God. He pleads again for the sinful people and again the Lord confirms his promise in these words: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you." You can read about this in Exodus chapter 34.
The result of this further face to face encounter with God was amazing. "When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in is hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and the Israelites saw Moses they were afraid to come near him." The result of this was that Moses had to cover his face with a cloth when he was among the people, but when he went into the presence of the Lord to speak with Him, he removed the covering. What a wonderful picture this is of the effect that close communion with the Lord can have on the life and demeanour of Christian believers. It soon becomes very evident when someone is walking closely with God. It is often seen in their faces and in the way they speak often of their Lord.
Israel's disgraceful behaviour on so many occasions could have had a detrimental effect on Moses and made him wish that he had never been called to lead such a difficult people. It was to his credit that he remained faithful and stuck to his task, all the time relying upon his God. He was never hot-headed or self-assertive. He remained humble, but was also a strong and decisive leader who led by example. Great lessons can be learned by Christian leaders today from these qualities that Moses displayed. Doing any work for God, either great or small, will never be easy because the people we lead differ in all kinds of ways; they will differ in personality, in expectations, in abilities and in motivation.
These were some of the problems that Moses faced as he led a million or more people through the wilderness. He was diligent and faithful because he knew that God would never fail him.
Another great quality of Moses was his courage. It has been rightly said that courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to disregard and overcome it. Moses was no stranger to fear and yet he showed great personal courage before both God and men. It still takes great personal courage to be a true follower of the Lord; and it takes courage to be a faithful and strong leader in Christ's church today. May we all learn these encouraging and challenging lessons from the life of Moses the servant of God.