Exodus 33 God's People Defined by God's Presence

William Barnett

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Introduction

Good morning, if you have your Bibles turn to .

Introduce yourself, background, training, etc.

While you are turning there, a little bit about myself:

Will Barnett, from Puxico

I am excited to preach this sermon from Exodus this morning

Exodus is one of my favorite books of the Bible because there is just so much truth about God and man and salvation found in this one book.

And it also contains one of the most pivotal texts in all the OT

Exodus 33:19 LEB

19 And he said, “I myself will cause all my goodness to pass over before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.”

We are going to take a close look at exactly what God meant by that later on, but I want to begin with just a quick introduction to Chapter 33 to help us get our bearings.

Overview of Exodus

We all know the story of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt right? Way back in God told Abraham that his descendents would suffer for 400 years in a foreign land, and they did.

But God sent Moses to lead them out; Pharaoh was hard hearted, but he was the man who God put in place so that his power would be shown.

Long-story short, through many miraculous displays of power, God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and brought them to the wilderness of Sinai where they were to worship him.

It is no accident that the Exodus narrative is like an illustration of salvation: like Israel we find ourselves in a land of affliction in bondage not to taskmasters, but to sin.

We toil and labor with no hope. But God, by his great mercy and compassion reaches out and redeems us, saves us our certain, and well-deserved destruction.

That is what he did for Israel; he said “I will be your God and you will be my people; only you must obey me in all that I command you.”

And he gave them the Law, the 10 commandments its stipulations, and he made a covenant with Israel that he would dwell with them, lead them into the promised land, and that they would enjoy his presence with them forever.

Well, after that, , God told Moses to go back up the mountain and meet with him so that God could give him the specifications for building the Tabernacle, which would be God’s dwelling place with Israel. He also wanted to give Moses the 10 Commandments written on stone tablets.

Moses was on the mountain 40 days and the people got worried, and rather than trust in God, they trusted in their old ways. They made a golden image and worshiped it, which made God burn with anger.

So he sent Moses back down the mountain to deal with the people, and God dealt with them too, but the ordeal is not over. That is where we find ourselves in .

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PRAYER

Father, we seek your grace right now. We seek your presence, your blessed presence with us right now.

Knowing that we are sinners just like the Israelites, underserving of anything good, we praise you for sending your Son to die for us, that we may have life.

Lord, we know that this Word is truth; that it is living, breathing, life-changing, and life-giving.

Bless us this morning by your Word; Jesus may your power rest on this sermon; may it be your words and not mine that are spoken here this morning.

Holy Spirit, stir our minds with the knowledge of the truth, and carry it to our affections that we would love the Lord our God with all our being and that he would be most glorified in us.

In Jesus name, Amen.

There is a lot in this text, more than we can adequately cover this morning, so what I want us to do is look at four main points that give structure to this passage, and the first is this

THERE IS NO BLESSING APART FROM GOD WITH US 33:1-6

Maybe you notice a little play on words there, since Jesus is called “Immanuel,” God with us

we will look at that connection more closely in a moment, but let’s look at what God’s presence means in this text

Despite the fact that Israel willingly, and pointedly turned their backs on God and broke his covenant right after they agreed to it, God doesn’t go back on his promises to take them to the promised land.

We aren’t talking about God with us in some ethereal sense, like we must experience some magnificent

He tells Moses in the first two verses that he still intends to give them the land, and to drive out the inhabitants for them…so whats the big deal? Why does verse 3 call it a “disastrous word” that God will not go up with Israel? And why does Israel mourn the news? After all, they still get the material “blessings”

It is because, despite the wickedness of their hearts, their experience with God and his glorious power has shown them that land, authority, and riches are worth nothing if God is not manifestly with them

But notice God’s reason for declaring that he would not go up with them: “lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” —because church folk were different back then (that was a joke)

God withholding his presence from Israel was without doubt judgment upon them, but the truth is that it was actually a display of mercy...

He knows their disobedience isn’t going to change; he is God! So rather than continue with them and destroy them, he intends to separate from them, showing them mercy by allowing them to live...

This is but a drop in the bucket of the plethora of examples of God’s mercies in the Scriptures

And it is reminiscent of the very first time we see mercy in the Bible, in ; Adam’s sin deserved death, immediate death…but in his mercy, God removed Adam from the garden, giving him temporary asylum so that he may be redeemed… God is a God of mercy

But the people’s reaction is what holds a special significance for us here this morning

Verse 4 says when they heard the news, “they mourned”

When is the last time you mourned your sin? I don’t mean when was the last time you felt a little guilty when you lied, or lost your temper, or felt embarrassed when you were exposed in the wrong.

When was the last time you looked at all the material possessions in your life and said to God, “this is all worthless, meaningless if I have not your blessed presence with me! Take it all, because I deserve none of it, but have mercy on me a sinner!”

Israel gets a tough wrap, and rightly so because they profaned the name of God, but here we see an element of those who know God…repentance

Above all else, true repentance is the evidence of what separates the believer from the non-believer.

Even here this morning, that holds true. Because the natural, or rather supernatural, response of those who know God, is repentance.

To put it in perspective, the Egyptians did not know God personally, and they did not repent…sure they relented of their affliction of the Israelites, but only for practical reasons; they were tired of being afflicted themselves, so it was purely about common-sense self-preservation

But believing Israel still had the promise of preservation in the land of promise, save for the presence of God…and they mourned; let us ask ourselves, “how do we see our sin before God?”

If our heart is not stirred to lamentation and repentance, it very well could be because we do not know God...

Another element of the people’s reaction, in accord with God’s command, is that they “stripped themselves of their ornaments” as part of their repentance

So what were these ornaments? It would have been any variety of jewelry and personal decoration which they brought out from Egypt.

tells us that when Israel was leaving Egypt, they asked the Egyptians for clothing and jewelry and such, and the Egyptians gave it to them it says “because the LORD gave them favor in the site of the Egyptians…thus they plundered the Egyptians.”

You have to remember, the exodus was not only salvation for Israel, but judgment for Egypt…the plundering was part of judgment for Egypt, but blessing in salvation for Israel

And so it was the spoils of this plundering, literally riches of blessing from God, that they had as ornaments on their bodies. No doubt they were vivid reminders of God’s blessing.

So then their removal, like the removal of a wedding ring or engagement band, symbolized the broken relationship between the people and God.

You can imagine it like a criminal who has been indicted on countless charges; he can run away for a time, but he cannot ultimately escape. But he would try, except that his conscience convicts him. He knows his guilt, and he can’t live with it. So he turns himself in.

He puts aside his riches, the possessions of his former life, and lays himself bare before the law, surely hoping for a little bit of mercy, but knowing he deserves whatever punishment is given.

Thats where Israel is at this point; and thats the point where every man, woman, and child must come to before they can ever know salvation...

Where there is no recognition of the severity of sin, there is no repentance, and where there is nor repentance, there is no forgiveness...

God’s presence is everything, and so it is that Jesus says in “For to everyone who has, more will be give, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

Now, as we move on into verse 7, we see another profound truth; repentance is not enough. Our second point is this...

2. WE REQUIRE AN INTERCESSOR WITH GOD 33:7-11

When I was kid, my brother and I would from time to time pull some shenanigans and did things that we probably should have known better than to do.

sometimes said shenanigans would incur the wrath of my mother, but other times we knew that it was going to be our dad who was going to be really mad when he found out.

I remember one time, I don’t recall what we had done, but we knew dad was not going to be happy when he found out. So we begged mom to intercede for us to dad...

to go him first and try to smooth things over, since in that moment he liked her better than he liked us, in fact they loved each other in covenant relationship, so naturally she had a lot more sway with him

It is similar in how we relate to God…the individuals of Israel knew they could not approach God individually and personally.

In fact, after God spoke the 10 commandments directly to the people in , they were terrified and begged for God to only speak directly to Moses, and to allow Moses to be their intercessor, their priest.

tells us that God found their judgment on the matter to be right and good; they needed an intercessor with him, as all men do...

Verse 7 of our text here tells us that Moses would go during this time of turmoil and pitch a tent, or tabernacle, outside the camp...

now this is different from the tabernacle where God comes to dwell in chapter 40; this is a much simpler tent where Moses would go to meet with God

But he pitched it far off from camp as a testament to the broken relationship between God and Israel because of Israel’s sin; God was not with them manifestly, but far from them.

That is the status of all who are in unrepentant sin, who have not put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; God’s blessed presence is far from them, and their destruction awaits...

Verse 10 shows the us the continued reverent attitude of the Israelites, as they would look out to Moses’ tent and see the grand display of God manifesting himself in a pillar of cloud that would descend on the tent...

I want us to imagine for a moment what that must have been like…because as awesome as it must have been, these Israelites must have been overcome with anxiety.

They are like the criminal from our earlier example, having surrendered themselves to the authorities, they are awaiting their fate, worshiping God because of who he is, yet fearing the outcome of his righteous judgement.

Why? Because they know they are guilty…just like you are guilty, and I am guilty, of treason against the most high God.

And so they wait…depending on two things; Moses’ intercession, and God’s mercy and compassion.

Now this is where it gets really good…verse 11 says that God “spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to a friend.”

This was a privilege which no other man enjoyed; intimate, one on one relationship with the creator of the universe...

And Moses was interceding to God on behalf of Israel, which we are fixing to see more of, but I want to point out explicitly the parallels to Christ in the NT.

These parallels are no accident; the author of Hebrews makes many comparisons between Moses and Christ, calling Moses the mediator of the Old Covenant, and Christ the mediator of a better covenant, that is the New Covenant of salvation!

And so we see this picture in Moses of what believers have in Christ, only it is better, because though Moses has favor with God, his fellowship with him is not unhindered.

You notice that God stood outside the tent, while Moses was inside; and this would continue even in the tabernacle and the later temple where the holy of holies, the dwelling place of God was sectioned off by a tall curtain.

this was because of what verse 20 says; no mere man can see the unfiltered presence of God and live

But do you remember what happened after Jesus cried out “it is finished” on the cross? says “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom”

meaning, no longer was there any inhibition to fellowship with God. No longer was relationship with him mediated through a priest, because our high priest is now in heaven interceding face to face with God.

Hebrews 4:14–16 LEB

14 Therefore, because we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is not able to sympathize with our weaknesses, but who has been tempted in all things in the same way, without sin. 16 Therefore let us approach with confidence to the throne of grace, in order that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-

like Moses Jesus intercedes for the people of God, only without hinderance because he is both fully man, and fully God.

That is the confidence of those who believe; that is what distinguishes those who are perishing from those who are being saved

so then we ask, do you trust in Christ as your faithful high priest? Do you look to him and him alone as your only hope for favor with God the Father?

If you do, then keep looking, and never look away… But if you don’t, what are you waiting for? There is only one name under heaven and on earth by which you can be saved, and that is the name of Christ! Repent and look to him!

Now then, we come to see the inner workings of Moses’ intercession, which gets to the overarching point of this sermon...

3. GOD’S PEOPLE ARE DEFINED SOLELY BY GOD’S PRESENCE 33:12-16

Verse 15 captures the essence of this whole passage; if God is not with us, then take us no further.

We already looked at how there is no blessing apart from God’s presence, so I will not belabor this related point here concerning the blessing of God’s presence.

But we must note Moses’ argument here: he kind of lays it all out there—God you have commissioned me to lead this people, you have called me favored, but you have not enlightened me to your full intentions

Moses is not being presumptuous or demonstrating a lack of faith; he’s just trying to lead this people well...

If he is left in the dark about what God intends on doing, then he will easily stumble into all sorts of difficulties. And of course if their leader stumbles, the people will not be far behind.

So Moses pleads with the Lord his duty of caring for the people he had claimed for himself and made a covenant with, “consider too that this nation is your people.”

We see so much here in Moses: his role as priest, mediator for the people. But also his shepherd’s heart, the model of a pastor.

his focus is to lead the people well, and know God. And leading the people is dependent upon him knowing God and his plans.

This is often sorely missed in the church today: one missionary with the IMB was back stateside for the first time in decades, visiting some churches and such.

Someone asked him to share his thoughts on the state of the American Church, and he said “it is amazing how much the Church is able to do without the Holy Spirit.”

That stings; what he was saying is that God’s presence is absent in many Churches; Why?

because God is not known by his Word; the Word is not preached rightly, it is not taught correctly, and he is not sought for who he is.

And we need to be reminded that this whole issue with Israel was not because they decided to worship a completely other god.

No, makes it clear that they thought themselves to be worshiping Yahweh; but they were worshiping a false version of him that they had created! And God burned with anger because of it!

I fear in many places that the same thing is taking place

I fear that in many places the same thing is taking place today

Just like Israel, people decide what they think is best for them and they “worship” accordingly

and this is across the board; for some its contemporary, seeker-sensitive, have church your way stuff

For others it is rigid tradition, “this is how we’ve always done it so this is how we’re always gonna do it” NEITHER ARE BIBLICAL OR GOD-HONORING

The question is, what does God say in his Word about how he ought to be worshiped? Because the single defining attribute of God’s people is not a sign that says “church,” or a Bible at home, or a sinners prayer… the defining factor of God’s people is God himself, his presence with his people.

Moses understood that, and he clung to it, even on behalf of the people.

Verse 14 God uses the singular and promises to go with Moses, but that wasn’t enough, Moses didn’t just want “God with me,” he wanted “God with us,” with all the people

And the inscrutable mercy that we have today, is that God is no longer simply with us, but in us…thats what those in Christ have, is Christ in them

Israel was distinct only by God’s presence with them; so also are Christians distinct from the world in the exact same manner

And so Moses’ bold petitions found favor in God’s sight, and God granted his petitions; in Verse 18 Moses makes the unusual request “Show me your glory.” And God concedes, but what is more is that God defines his glory for us.

Exodus 33:19 LEB

Exodus

our final point is this:

4. GOD’S PRESENCE IS EXPERIENCED NOT BY COMPULSION, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS GRACE AND MERCY

Admittedly, this final point is a bit narrow to summarize the whole last part of the passage, but I think it gets to the heart of how the people of God experience his presence

and we can learn a lot from Moses here; once again we see a clear dividing line between the people of God and the world

the world despises God, hates him. says there is no one who does good, no one righteous, no not even one, all have turned aside to follow the passions of their flesh...

but Moses, the man of God, representing the people of God, desires God

That is a characteristic of all who believe; they desire God. Not just his morals, not just his power, but him…the Christian is amazed by who he is and they long for just a glimpse of him unhindered, so that they may say with Moses “show me your glory!”

and that has implications for how we live out our lives in this world doesn’t it? Jesus made it clear that no one can serve two masters; neither money and God, or the world and God, nor seek their own glory while seeking God’s.

We are a people of singular passion; if our desire is to see God’s glory, then we cannot seek our own. It is a contradiction. May we be able after God’s own heart...

But lets look at “the glory” of God as it is defined here:

the first thing we see is that God equates his glory with his goodness: one theologian put it this way, “God’s glory is simply his holiness on display.”

God’s goodness resides in his holiness, or his otherness, his separateness from all creation; everything good is found in him; he is the single and immovable standard for goodness

simply put, all of his goodness is all of him

Another aspect of his glory is his name: the LORD, Yahweh

in this culture a name defined a person, not merely as a label but as a description

Yahweh, unique, the great I AM; this testified to the fact that God is eternally self-existent, independent, he just IS.

Thus his name testified to his goodness!

And finally, one of the most often repeated verses in the OT, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I show mercy.”

There are two aspects to this: to get to the bottom of it, we have to ask, “why does he say this? what is its significance?”

Well first, look at it in context; he is about to give a huge blessing to Moses, and also to the people for that matter, and it says that Moses found favor in God’s sight.

So we could be lead to interpret that as saying that the people’s repentance, and particularly Moses’ intercession MERITED, or EARNED God’s favor, as if it were owed to them because of their deeds.

But what are all the Israelites and Moses? Sinners. And do sinners deserve grace and mercy? No, they deserve death,

So why then does God include that line? To show that his favor toward Moses and Israel has nothing to do with their works, and that it is only the result of his grace and mercy.

Otherwise they could boast! They could pat themselves on the back and say, “Im so proud of myself for deciding to straighten up and earn God’s favor...”

But that is blasphemy, for no one can boast in anything before the Lord, except in his grace alone.

And that is precisely the point Paul makes when he cites this verse in to defend God’s sovereign choice in salvation

Verse 16 says, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”

The other aspect of why that line is included is this; it is fundamental to his glory.

Consider what else he could have said, “I will be angry with whom I will be angry,” “I will judge whom I will judge.”

Why doesn’t he say those things? Because he is not angry by prerogative. His wrath and judgment is always just and holy. And his wrath and judgment is the default experience of every sinner who ever lived, and so all people who have ever lived, save for the man Jesus Christ.

Punishment for sin is universal, period. However, mercy and grace is given by prerogative. Grace by definition is unmerited favor. If it is unmerited, then according to what parameters can it be given?

Only according to God’s good pleasure, to pour it out on whomever he wills, for the sake of displaying his glory.

Finally, we see what God is going to do for Moses, since man cannot see God’s face and live.

this is figurative language, since God is not a man, but spirit; that is the only way that he is omnipresent. And spirits do not have flesh and faces and legs and so forth.

But also, Moses has met with God’s manifest presence, many times, so how is this going to be different?

Even with all the past experiences, Moses desired more of God and apparently hadn’t yet seen but the smallest portion of God’s glory.

But God’s unhindered and unfiltered face, that is, his presence, cannot be seen by man. His goodness and glory would literally make your head explode were it not veiled in some way.

So God says, “I will take you Moses and hide you in the cleft of the rock, so that when my unhindered presence passes by, you will not be consumed by it, and I will let you have just a glimpse of it, so that you may see my glory yet live...”

This is the gospel…many think that salvation is ultimately deliverance and protection from Satan

No, ultimately, it is protection from God himself…for if we go to meet him face to face in our wickedness, we would be utterly destroyed, yet our anguish would never end.

that is God’s goodness poured out on sinfulness, in the judgment of hell for all time.

and that is every person’s fate, UNLESS they are hidden in the Rock, and the rock is Christ!

says “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

He is the rock of our salvation! The Rock of Ages

I love the line from that old hymn which beautifully summarizes this very passage: Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling, naked come to thee for dress, helpless look to the for grace, foul I to the fountain fly, wash me Savior or I die

God’s people are marked by his presence in all ages; either we are found in him, hidden in the merits of Christ our high priest who intercedes for us; or we are found guilty and condemned.