God’s Glory for Our Good

Introduction

In January this year, we went through an election. Ugandan elections are often marked by a constant presence of political candidates who will do anything for votes. During the campaign season, some of them, if not most, transform into JW or mormon missionaries, visiting homes they would otherwise never do so at any other time.

Their presence, which at other times seems impossible for the common person to enjoy, suddenly becomes a daily thing that we can't seem to get enough of. They have something they want and the only way to get it is to be present.

But once the elections are over, the gate that was once open to all the village people is suddenly guarded by the VIP protection unit of police, denying entrance to those who were once coveted. Office secretaries suddenly become the most important people in ministries because they can grant access to power. They can suddenly afford to be rude again to those who come to their offices.

The roads cease to belong to the citizens but the VIPs who always seem in a hurry to get wherever they are going, even at 10pm. And if it’s the president moving, you shouldn’t even be on the road. You will be stopped for hours until he has passed. As for the promises they made during the campaigns, you may have to wait for 5 years.

Those who wanted to be present at every event and rally suddenly treasure their privacy.

But in Exodus, we have met someone who desired the presence of His people, not because of anything they could give Him, but for what He could give them.

In Exodus 3:10 he says to Moses, “Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” Again in Exodus 7:16 he says, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” In fact, God will say it five more times to Pharaoh. His desire is to bring His people out of evil servitude to pharaoh and the Egyptians.

Eventually, God brought them to Himself in Exodus 19, and told Moses to build a tent so that He may dwell in their midst in Exoduss24, yet, the last two weeks we have seen how the people rejected him by making a golden calf.

This rejection brought about severe consequences to the people: death to three thousand and a plague to the rest. Yet, in Exodus 33, we see that the God they rejected as the one who brought them out of Egypt and appointed and made other gods to lead them into the Promised Land, instructs Moses to lead them to the Promised Land. He has not abandoned His will for HIs people.

He has not abandoned His people. He has not abandoned His glory. Not only that, but God’s pursuit of his glory is for good of His people. And so today we see

God’s Glory for our Good

God's Presences Is For Our Good

God’s desire for His peoeple throughout the book of Exodus, was to dwell in their midst. He told Moses in Exodus 25:8 to make a sanctuary so that he may dwell in their midst.

He had made a covenant with their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, to give them a land, a permanent dwelling place, and despite what had happened in previosly in chapter 32, God was still committed to fulfilling the promise. So in verse 1-3, he tells them to “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.”

It wasn’t just any land. As verse 3 says, it was a land “…flowing with milk and honey.” It was a rich, fertile, land full of all kinds of fruits and foods that the people would enjoy.

But their sin stood in the way of God fulfilling it. So , in verse 3, God says to them, “…but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Their sin and capacity to sin seemed to be a hindrance to the fulfillment of the promise.

Based on previous circumstances and the consequences that followed, this may have seemed a good deal. They would no lonber be terrified by thick clounds, thunders and lightnings, or face the consequences of their sins.

Yet verse 4 says that “When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.” Despite any fears they may have had, they were not willing to go up if God’s presence did not go with them.

So rather than rejoice, pick up their belongings and go, they stripped themselves of their gold, and mourned. They had lost the sweet communion with God and the Promised Land did not look like a wonderful prospect anymore without God’s presence going with them.

God’s presence was the visible manifestation and experience of God among His people. They saw this in the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, and his pysical protection when the pillar of fire stood between them and the Egyptian army. This presence would no longer go with them. The sweet communion with God would no longer be with them.

Verses 7-11 show how far they had fallen. “Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.”

The very thing they longed for when they made the golden calf, a physical presence of God, is the very thing they had lost. They lost it because they tried to gain it the wrong way.

So God disciplines His people with his distance. They stand a far off and watch as Moses goes in to commune with God in the tent of meeting. This isn’t the Tabernacle for which Moses received instructions to construct on the Mountain. That will be constructed later.

Interestingly, the man who they claimed they didn’t know what had happened to them, now seems to be their way back into the presence. Once again, he becomes the mediator for the people.

Recognising how disastrous God’s decision was for Israel, he intercedes, not only for Himself but also for the children of Israel, making five arguments in the process.

Calling and election. “...you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’” He appeals based on his calling and election, which wasn[t Moses’s choice. In fact, he didn’t want to be the mediator.

Israel’s calling and election. “Consider too that this nation is your people.” Secondly, he intercedes based on God’s calling and electing Israel as His people. They didn’t choose Him. Rather, he chose them.

He appeals to the importance of God’s presence. Exodus 33:15 “And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.”

God’s presence proves God’s favour. Exodus 33:16 “For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? I

God’s presence is the distinguishing mark of His people. He says in verse 16 that God’s presence will distinquish them from all other nations. All the nations had their gods whom they worshipped. They had gods whom they counted on or whom they sought; gods of fertility, of war, or prosperity, etc. Israel wasn’t distinct in that sense. They were distinct because Yahweh was their God. He wasn’t the God of any other nation except Israel.

And in his intercession, he foreshadows Jesus who now does this duty for His people, based on His merit and His works. Hebrews 7:25 “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

It is this same Jesus who we see in John 1:1–2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” He who created all things and is the source of life. He who is the light of men, who shines in a dark world as a light to all that they may turn and follow Him.

This word became flesh and dwelt—or tabernacled—among us. This is a reference to the presence of God in the Tent of Meeting that will later be constructed and God’s glory will decend into it.

God’s desire to dwell in the midst of His people is fulfilled in Jesus Christ who became flesh and dwelt among us. And because of the merit of His finished work, God’s chosen people are being built into a dwelling place for God, 1 Corinthians 6:19.

The Triunie God now dwells in His body, the Church, which is being built up as a dwelling place for God. And all this points to God dwelling with His people as revealed in Revelation 21.

Yet, John 1:10 says, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” They did not desire His presence. They missed His presence.

Application

How much do you value God’s presence?

If God offered you all his blessings, health, wealth, prosperity, fame, power, and a good legacy, and, as John Piper added, heaven with all your friends, family, and all the fun and joy you wanted, just without him, would you take it? Think seriously about that question. Would you take it? Are you seeking God’s presence or his blessings?

It’s sad to say that many, unfortunately, would take it. We have become too accustomed to God’s blessings that we pursue them and desire them more than God’s presence. We have confused God’s blessings for his presence and pursue these blessings with the same fervour the Israelites pursued the golden calf.

God's presence is supposed to show the distinctness of His people, in their conduct, in their worship, and in their devotion. yet, there is often no distinction between professing christians and non-believers. Many Christians pray for the same things as non- believers, pursue the same things, and delight in the same things.

Both the professing Christian and the non-believer delight in The Polygamist and Lucifer, two TV shows a Christian should have no business watching.

Both desire to have their best life now, so both pray the same prayers. In fact, there are churches that are thriving on a theology that promises people their best life now, offering them a quick and sure way to God's blessing. Titus 2:11–14 “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” yet these churches are pursuing health, prosperity and the seven spheres of influence.

It is why people wake up in the middle of the night, apparently when Satan is active, to counter his activities.

It is why people are binding and loosing so that God’s blessings may flow.

It is why every lunch hour, midweek, and Friday nights, people are in churches to break curses that God has given but Satan has withheld.

They do not know God's presence and they don't seek it.

God’s presence with His people is His indwelling, and guidance.

Romans 8:14 ESV

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

It is His care and provision for them, His sanctifying work, His teaching, and his comfort. It is the strength and grace to endure all hardships and temptations. It is the assured confidence of forgiveness through faith in His Son, even when we fall. It is the assurance that we are seated in heavenly places, at the right hand of the Father, and no demon can steal our prayers.

It is His word that comforts us, rebukes us, corrects us, and guides us. It is Jesus Christ who forever lives to intercede for His people. And so, the greatest enjoyment and comfort we can have is the assurance of God’s presence, His concern, His love and His favour, and resting in that, no matter the circumstances.

It is us resting in His goodness, resolving that it is not worth having all the joys and comforts of this life without the Presence of God. It is being able to say with Solomon, Proverbs 15:16 “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.”

And so God gave and continues to give His people His presence, promising never to leave them nor forsake them, because His presence is good for them because it reveals His goodness and His glory.

God’s Glory is For Our Good.

Many people, including many professing Christians, associate God with a megalomaniac—an individual obsessed with power and control who possesses delusions of their own extreme importance, wealth, or ability. To many of them, God is like president Trump or the one here who has made basements famous.

Oprah famously said that she cannot worship a God who is jealous of her, while many have said that they cannot worship a glory who needs their worship for his glory.

Unfortunately, they fail to see what Moses, and even the children of Israel came to understand quickly.

In chapter 32, when God told Moses that He was going to destroy the children of Israel, Moses interceded for them saying in verse, “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.”

Moses makes this request in vew of God’s glory.

In our text today, Moses asks another question, Exodus 33:16 “For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?””

Both questions are looking at the reaction of other nations and how they will view God, and indirectly his people, as a result of His presence with His people. he brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and all the nations will look upon them with fear, as distinctly belonging to Yahweh, their God.

Five times in this chapter mentions favour—or grace. In each case, it concerns God, either Moses reminding God of His promise of favour upon Him and His people, or God promising to favour him and His people.

It culminates in Moses making a request to God in verse 18, “Please show me your glory.”” If God has favoured His people, if God has favoured Moses, then God should show them His glory.

God’s glory refers to his greatness, majesty, splendor, and beauty. It is His unsurpassed greatness and goodness that produces in the beholder a sense of overwhelming pleasure and delight.

God agrees to do so and tells Moses in verse 19, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”

God’s goodness, mercy, and graciousness all serve to reveal His glory.

God’s goodness refers to His infinite or unlimited willing of good for His people and His mercy refers to God’s undeserved kindness and compassion towards His people, often manifested in His saving, forgiving, guiding, and favouring them.

All these serve to reveal His glory, His beauty, His majesty, His splendor, unmatched, in order to produce a sense of overwhelming pleasure and delight.

“I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.” God has already been gracious to Moses and the children of Israel and He continues to be gracious. They did not deserve to be redeemed. They have rebelled, murmured, and complained against God, even after redeeming them from slavery. Yet, He continues to protect them and, despite their rejection, He remains faithful to His covenant promise to their forefathers.

“And will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” God has also been merciful to them. All they have done so far deserves his wrath, yet they are still alive and are about to embark on a journey to go to the Promised Land. In the wilderness of Sin, they rebelled against Moses and Aaron; at Rephidim, they threatened to stone Moses, asking whether the LORD was among them; and now, at Sinai, they made a golden calf and worshipped it against His commandments and covenant.

They deserved to die, yet God had mercy on them.

Yet, even in revealing His glory to His chosen people, in this case Moses, God’s goodness, grace, and mercy shine ever so brightly. His goodness is revealed in not desiring to destroy Moses. He desires good for Moses—and His people—so Moses will not see His face. If he does, He will die.

Verse 11 says that God spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend, yet verse 20 says, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” It is not ao contradiction. Verse 11 is refering to the closeness and intimacy of the communion between God and Moses. It was so close and sweet as though a man talking to his friend face to face. Verse 20 presents a reality that no one can see God’s face and live.

But about 2000 years ago, a man walked this earth for 33 years and his face was seen by multitudes. As we saw earlier, He was God, the creator of all things, who became flesh and dwelt among us.

John says in verse 14, John 1:14 “…we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Hebrews 1:3 says, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,” yet all who saw Him lived to tell the stories that we read in the gospels.

The God who hid his face in Exodus to save Moses from death, revealed Himself in the flesh to save His people from death. What previously could kill them and was graciously kept from Moses, was graciously revealed in Jesus Christ, by grace, for the salvation of His people.

Verse 18 “No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” John 17:3 says, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

God the Son, came in His beauty and spendor, full or God’s unmerited favour and truth, to reveal the Father. God’s glory, which is his goodness, mercy, and grace, and His presence with His people, all serve to reveal the Triune God, so that they people to produces in us a sense of overwhelming pleasure and delight.

Do you delight in the Triune God? Have you found overwhelming pleasure in Him? Or is your pleasure tied to God’s blessings? Can you sing

I have seen my Father’s glory

Revealed in Jesus Christ

And the more I behold Him

The More He satisfies

When I gaze upon His beauty

When I see Him as I should

They my eyes are lifted upward

For His glory and my good?

Does he satisfy the more you behold Him or do you seek satisfaction in what He can give you? Nothing in all creation can satisfy because it was never meant to. God’s blessings only serve to reveal His goodness towards us so that we may grow to delight in Him and in overwhelming pleasure in Him.

God’s glory is for our good because He always seeks our good. We do not glorify God only in the good times but also the tough and difficult moments of our lives, because God’s goodness is present with us in all situations. His goodness is with us because God’s presence is always with His people.

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””

And so we can confidently say in all situations, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. We know this because God’s presence is with us, and His goodness, mercy, and grace are forever with us.

Conclusion

But this is only available to His people. It was not available to all people but the children of Israel. They were distinct from all other people and nations, but they pointed to God’s work in saving a people to Himself.

Christians are God’s peculiar or distinct people to whom these blessings, presence, grace, goodness, and mercy fall. If you are not a Christian, all you have to look forward to is destruction. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.

Good and gracious King