Without the Camp

Exodus 33:1-11

Exodus 33:1–11 NKJV

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 of 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 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.’ ” So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb. 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 descended 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 worshiped, 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 from the tabernacle.

The Children of Israel had just committed a grievous sin by worshiping the golden calf, which was total apostacy. Instead of accepting Yahweh’s invitation to be a special people unto Himself, they had chosen to worship other gods, just like the other nations. Were it not for the intercession of Moses, the LORD might well have destroyed them all. Nevertheless, severe judgment ensued, and three thousand died,

One of the consequences for Israel’s actions can be found in the text we just read from Exodus 33:1-11. The LORD would fulfill His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give their descendants the land of Canaan. But instead of leading them directly, he would instead send an angel. The repeated offenses of Israel continuously provoked the LORD and violated His holiness. He could not dwell any longer in the camp. Originally the Tabernacle was located in the very midst of the camp with three tribes on each side. The LORD made his presence in the midst of the congregation. This is not to say that the LORD is omnipresent. He is indeed everywhere, but His presence was specially among His people. The LORD distanced Himself, lest they be consumed in His wrath.

The people were grieved at the news. They cast off their ornaments as an act of repentance. They had given ornaments of gold to make the golden calf. Moses had the calf burnt and ground to powder. The people had been forced to eat the golden dust. They had to eat their sin. The very gold they plundered from the Egyptians had become a snare. Their sin had been openly portrayed when they danced naked before the golden calf. Their ornamental covering had undone them. They would need to find another covering for their nakedness.

the text tells us that Moses pitched the tabernacle without the camp, as the King James Version puts it. Moses would go there to meet the LORD in His the tent which Moses had pitched to meet the LORD. Everyone who wanted to meet the LORD had to travel without the camp, When Moses would leave the camp to come to the tent of meeting, the people watched from the doors of their tents. They saw Moses enter that tent, and then the pillar of cloud descended upon the place, and the people worshiped the LORD. When Moses had left speaking face to face with the LORD, he would return to the camp and the people. He would bring whatever message the LORD had unto the people.

What is interesting is that Joshua, the son of Nun, would remain in the tent continually, even after Moses left. He would bask in the presence of the LORD. Joshua would later lead the Children of Israel into the conquest of Canaan.

It is too bad that the preaching lectionaries which select passages of Scripture to be preached and taught from week to week skip over this wonderful passage. Yes, the passage on the golden calf is important. And the next text which follows the golden calf for the next week if one preaches from the Old Testament selection for the week is important also. It talks about Moses wanting to see the glory of the LORD. He was told he could not see Yahweh directly, but He would hide Moses in the cleft of the rock with His hand while he passed by. Moses could then see Him from the back. But this passage has a lot to teach us as well, and I feel it would be useful to see the important message this passage brings.

We read in Leviticus about another incident which happened without the camp in Leviticus 16:20-22:

Leviticus 16:20–22 NKJV

“And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

This refers to what is called “Yom Kippur” or the “Day of Atonement” which was celebrated a couple of weeks earlier. It was a day of afflicting the soul and fasting. It was a day in which two goats were presented before the High Priest. One of these goats was sacrificed. The other goat. called the “scapegoat” had the sins of the people confessed over it. These sins were transferred to the goat which was then taken without the camp and released. In this way the sin was removed and expiated from the people.

We now need to look at Hebrews 13:12:

Hebrews 13:12 NKJV

Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

Hebrews tells us that the Old Testament Yom Kippur pointed to a day in which the sins of the people would be eternally dealt with by the shedding of the blood of Jesus, of which both the goats refer. Jesus suffered outside the gate of Jerusalem to deal with our sin. Hebrews also encourages us to meet Jesus there, without the camp.

Coming back to this passage, the text says that whosoever wanted to meet the LORD could go without the camp and meet Him at the Tent of Meeting. This place was not just reserved for Moses and Joshua. All could come there. Yet, it seemed that the vast majority of Israel was content to see it from a distance. They would worship at the doors of their tents, but they did not come. All to often, this is the way it is in many churches today among the members. when they get to heaven, if they indeed get there, they want a cabin in the corner of glory land. They want to escape hell. they want a little religion, but not too much

The very next verse in Hebrews in Hebrews 13:13 says:

Hebrews 13:13 NKJV

Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

The reason that so few want to leave the camp is that there is much reproach in following Jesus. Following Jesus has been called a “scandal” and “foolishness.” (1 Corinthians 1:23) If being a Christian brings respect in this world, they are happy to call themselves “Christian.” But it says we have to meet Jesus without the camp, bearing His reproach. It is not good enough that we send out modern day “Moses’s” to go into the presence of the LORD. It is good that Moses went, so that the Children of Israel would have at least a little light. These can bring the light of God to the people. Joshua sets a good example of one who continually abides in the LORD’s presence. Hebrews tells us of two Joshua’s who always abide in the Presence. The first led Israel into the Promised Land. He died long ago, but He is now present in a better way with the LORD. The second Joshua is the one we call “Jesus,” whose name is “Joshua” when translated from the Hebrew. He always has and ever will abide with the Father and the Spirit, save for one day He suffered on the cross for our sin.

We like the world’s ornaments too much. It blinds us to our true need. When we put on the world’s ornaments, we often are blind to our true need and highest good. The covering we make for ourselves needs to be removed. We, instead, must put on Christ. It was not the fig leaves which covered the nakedness of Adam and Eve. the covering God provided for them required the shedding of blood. In that case it was the skins of animals. Jesus was made naked and put on a cross to cover our sin. This is why we must put on Christ. We need to learn this from Hebrews 7:26:

Hebrews 7:26 NKJV

For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

Jesus came into our camp. He who is Holy and separate from sinners became flesh and tabernacled among us (John 1:14). He suffered for us without the camp. He is now ascended to the right hand of the Father where He makes intercession for us. He calls us to prepare and sanctify ourselves, awaiting His return. We make camp among the sinners, but yet we need to be separate as well. We need to bring the message of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them. We call them to be without the camp of the world and to join us and Jesus without the camp. We also realize that through the Holy Spirit that God camps in us. God is again in the midst of His people. Let us remember that the Spirit of God is rightly called the Holy Spirit. Is the tent for the LORD which we pitch worthy of His abiding presence. Do we follow the example of this first Joshua, and live a life in the presence of God. This we must do in this life or death knowing that we will one day abide for ever with Him in the better Promised Land.