Crisis in the Camp

Crisis in the Camp Exodus 33:1-17 Background • God’s Promised Presence: “I will be with you” (3:12) “You shall be my treasured possession” (19:5) “I will come to you and bless you”(20:24) “That I may dwell in their midst” (25:8) “There I will meet with you … I will speak with you” (25:22) - “I will dwell among the people of Israel” (29:45) - • Israel’s Abandonment – “these are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (32:4) An Identity Crisis (33:1-11) • God’s Verdict: - Command to Depart (v. 1); Promise to Help (v. 2; see 23:20) God’s ‘disastrous’ message – evil, bad, distressing (v.3-4) - Presence was particularly meaningful to ancient cultures and what Israel attempted to create artificially Divine command (v. 5); hopeful obedience (v. 6) • Israel’s Mourning: - • Moses’s Hope: - Although verses 7-11 seem to interrupt the story, they’re explanatory of why Moses had not yet lost hope. Could be understood as one-time or perpetual Either way, intercession just might change God’s verdict Moses’s Persistence (33:12-17) • Interaction #1: - Emphatic “You” statements from Moses - “Whom you will send with me” - the central question of this passage, Who is the Whom? - (my preference) Refers to the people – (1) He already knows the identity of the angel (2) Moses is persistent in his desire for God’s nationwide presence - Moses’s requests – (1) Show me your ways and (2) Consider that I’m asking for all the nation - God’s reply – My presence will go with you (singular) Moses’s Persistence (33:12-17) • Interaction #2: - Moses Complex Argument – “From my perspective, you cannot limit your presence just to me. How could I be distinguished from the people? If I’m going to be your leader and if the people are truly going to be distinct, you have to go with us all!” - God’s Reply – “I will go with all the people because you (singular) have found favor in my eyes” [God’s presence went with the entire nation because one man found favor with Him] New Covenant Promises • God Promises Perpetual Fellowship “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5) • God Promises Internal Permanence “According to the riches of His glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:16-17) • God Promises Established Union “You are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28)