The God who leads

There was a movie about 10 years ago called Inception. The movie is about a group of people that can enter into the dreams of other people and steal their secrets. With the leader of the group a man named Dom. The job central to the movie has Dom going in a “dream within a dream” where he gets lost between what is reality and what is a dream. The only thing that allows for him to tell the two a part is a spinning top that in a dream will spin indefinitely but while in reality will topple like any other top. And throughout this long and winding journey that they are on you get to the end, where Dom meets with his children and everything seems perfect. Then he spins the top and you see it spinning, and it wobbles but goes back straight and before you are able to see which way it goes it cuts to black. Leaving you to wonder, is he still in a dream or is he in reality?

When we get to the end of Exodus you find a similar ending. It seems like we have a peaceful ending, where we can say “look at this great ending. They have sinned, they have trusted in God, they have followed idols, but then God forgave them. But now it looks like they are ready to trust God fully. God is with His people, they are following Him through the dessert and everything seems perfect.” But this conclusion doesn’t leave us with any confidence that they are going to continue to trust in the Lord. Have the people fully come to trust the Lord? Will they have smooth sailing all the way to the promised land?

Now you may say, “well that sounds like a terrible way to end this book. Why would we want to be left with this bad taste in our mouth?” But this would be misunderstanding what the ending of Exodus reveals to us. Because It less about the people trusting in God and more about God’s faithfulness. That God is faithful to His promises. Not just to one promise, but to every promise that He has made.

God is faithful to His promises.

God will be faithful to lead them through the rest of their journey. They have a long road ahead. In fact, Exodus does not even have the story that will lead the Israelites to be stuck in the wilderness for 40 years. That won’t come until they get to the edge of Canaan and the people begin to fear the giants they see as their enemies in Canaan. So what we have here is not a conclusion as much as it is a precursor for what is to come. That is that God will lead His people with His presence because of His character, not because of theirs. The central point is that God is faithful to His people. That nothing can stop Him from keeping His promises. Not the Egyptians, not the stiff necked ways of the Israelites, not even God’s own anger can keep the Lord from keeping His promises. There are two main ways that the end Exodus reveals to us God is faithful to His promises. That He will lead with glory among them and that He will give them rest.

God will lead with His glory among them

This point of God’s glory being among them is incredibly important for a few reasons. First we have to remember Exodus 33:14-17. This is right after the people had sinned by constructing the Golden Calf, and God is prepared to wipe them out essentially. But Moses goes on behalf of the people and calls for God to forgive the people. God forgives them but them God says that His presence will go with Moses but not with the rest of the people. But Moses says that if God’s presence is not with the people then how will the nations know that He is their God and that He is different then the gods of all the other nations?

Exodus 33:14–17 CSB

And he replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” “If your presence does not go,” Moses responded to him, “don’t make us go up from here. How will it be known that I and your people have found favor with you unless you go with us? I and your people will be distinguished by this from all the other people on the face of the earth.” The Lord answered Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor with me, and I know you by name.”

So God gives a promise that He will go with the people forward.

God’s glory is a reminder of His lovingkindness towards us.

God’s glory invites us into the next stage of Israels journey, where God will lovingly guide them. In fact, the next verse in Leviticus will say “The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting”. In the Marvel movies there are always these end credits scenes, these scenes look forward to the next movie and what will take place. It gives you a little glimpse of what to look forward to. It connects the ending of one movie to the introduction of the next. This conclusion here does something similar, because once you read Lev. 1:1 and you read “The Lord called to Moses from the Tent of Meeting” the reader is called to think “Oh! I remember where we left off! God’s glory prevented Moses from entering the tabernacle! But now he can enter. So it is a reminder of greater things to come to God’s people

But it also important because God’s presence had been on Mt. Sinai with Moses for a long period of time. The Lord had not been among the people, He had been beside them on the mountain. God was waiting for them to complete His house, the tabernacle. They have been obedient to complete the task that He had given them and now He will dwell with them again. So this cloud reminded them that God had forgiven them of all their sins against Him. He was now willing to bring His presence among them and lead them forward rather than to stay far away from them. Because when you read the story of the Golden Calf it says that they build an altar of “their gods” and they praise Him “for leading them out of Egypt”. It is almost like since they don’t see Moses and God’s presence is not with them that they are looking for some security, they are looking for something to worship.

It’s like a child who is scared to sleep on their own, when you aren’t there they act up, they cry, they get out of bed, they crawl in your bed. Because what they want is you in the room as they sleep. Now throughout the day they may have been disobedient, they may have been mean to their sibling, they may have not eaten their vegetables. But without your presence they won’t have rest, they will not have peace. So you go in, you tuck them in, you leave the door a little open, and you tell them that you are just down the hall. It is a sign of your lovingkindness that go and help them rest. God, in His presence with the tabernacle was providing this rest, in fact this cloud may have even provided them shade in this hot and arid desert. God is more ways than one showed through His presence that He cared for their well-being and He wanted to protect them even after everything that had taken place up to this point.

God’s glory is also a reminder of His righteousness

It also reminded them that God was awesome and that He is worthy to be praised, because His presence also struck terror into the people. Think about it, they have Moses who they have regularly seen go into God’s presence on Mt. Sinai and not even Moses can enter into the tabernacle. The wording makes it even seem like Moses has attempted to enter God’s presence but was unsuccessful in doing so. This means that God’s presence in the tabernacle, which He covered by this cloud, was more revealing of His presence then even what Moses saw on the mountain. In fact, the brightness that came at night may have just been part of the Lord’s presence and may have even been bright throughout the day. Just like the people were unable to look upon Moses radiant face they may not have been able to look upon this cloud. This scene of the cloud covering the tabernacle is copied numerous times throughout Scripture, specifically in passages of judgment in Isaiah, and Ezekiel, and Revelation. These passages make clear that no one can stand in His midst and that those who do will be brought before His judgment. These passages make clear that God’s presence was saying at the same time, “My presence should bring you to fear my character” and “I will cover my full glory and reserve passing my righteous judgment upon you”

Have you ever been driving on the highway, maybe here on 17, and there is a police officer right behind you. You may not be speeding, you may be staying perfectly in your lane with your seat-belt on. But the presence of the police car is enough to keep you from trying anything that may get you pulled over. The presence is enough to keep you in line.

His glory is a reminder we need a mediator.

It reminds them that God is no longer speaking at a distance to them, He is no longer up on the mountain top. He is there among His people. But yet they still need a mediator to go on their behalf.

But now we have an even greater hope in Christ. Because as the church we have the indwelling of Christ in us and through us. We are able to repent of our sins and have faith in Christ who is our perfect mediator and perfect representative. We no longer fear the Lord’s presence in the same way the Israelites did. We no longer fear that the Lord’s presence will be taken from us because of the blood of Christ. We no longer need an imperfect mediator to go on our behalf but a perfect mediator.

Have you ever thought about the conversations that Jesus has on our behalf before the Father? Think about the conversations that Moses had with God. “Lord don’t destroy them for their wickedness, Lord keep your presence with, Lord don’t stop providing for their needs.”

What does Jesus say for us?

“Lord I know that they have starting trusting in their own strength rather than yours to supply your needs.” “Lord I know they expect you to protect them yet they barely can put in 10 minutes to speak with you and spend their time on other things.” “Lord I know they have made an idol out of their job, I know they have made an idol out of their sports or activities or vacations, I know they have made an idol out of a political party or candidate” “Lord, I know that they are bickering with one another and holding hatred in their heart” “Lord I know they aren’t caring for the poor and needy, I know they aren’t sharing your news with others”. “But Lord, please spare your wrath, Lord keep your presence with them, Lord take my blood instead, Lord may your wrath be on them rather then them, Lord take your presence from me rather than them.” Jesus humbly, sacrificially, and perfectly has mediated on behalf of us and bore God’s wrath. Because we are no better than the Israelites, we are just as prone to idolatry, to selfishness, to grumbling, to the lie of self-sufficiency. We just like the Israelites can get comfortable once got has provided for our needs. “Well God took care of me this time so I should be all good”. Then we get complacent and we lose focus on God. This ending in Exodus is not “and now the people lived peacefully forever and ever.” Rather it is “God gave them rest, but are they going to be willing to receive it?”

God will lead them to their final rest

As we end Exodus we see that the people are at rest. That God has given them rest. But this is not their final rest, they must wait for that, but they still can learn to trust that God will give them rest. That as they go through this journey the Lord’s presence will give them a reason to rest rather than to worry and to rely on themselves.

It is like Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13.

Philippians 4:11–13 CSB

I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.

See, Paul’s rest is contentment.

We rest because we learn to be content in all circumstances.

It is not because like Paul, that we are done with trials, it is not because there won’t be days where he will be hungry, or he won’t have money, or that he won’t struggle to rely on his own abilities or on what he has been able to supply for himself as well. There will be days ahead where the Israelites will struggle with hunger, they will struggle when they have enemies that seem stronger than them, where there will be conflicts between them. There will be days where they will struggle to remember that God has provided for their needs, that God is the one giving them rest and not themselves. But in all things they must be able to know that God makes them content. That God gives them rest, because it is only in the Lord that we find rest. In fact, listen to what Moses tells the Israelites here.

Deuteronomy 29:2–9 CSB

Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his entire land. You saw with your own eyes the great trials and those great signs and wonders. Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear. I led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes and the sandals on your feet did not wear out; you did not eat food or drink wine or beer—so that you might know that I am the Lord your God. When you reached this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Therefore, observe the words of this covenant and follow them, so that you will succeed in everything you do.

He tells them “I kept your sandals and clothes from being tattered even though you never noticed and took it for granted, you did not have the normal delicacies that people enjoy so that you may know that I can sustain you and you don’t need these other things, I defeated your enemies so that you could enjoy the land that I would give you. So be careful to rest in me so that I may continue to provide for your needs.”

It seems so counterintuitive to us, to have less control and to have everything provided for us. But what gives us confidence is the Lord’s presence with us. To live faithfully as God has called us to and to trust that God will bring us joy, that He will give us what we need but not always what we want, that bring us through challenges. But this is what God calls us to. That is what He tells us when He gives us His Spirit as a down payment. Think about what a down payment is. For those of you who have bought a house, you know there is a down payment, something that provides assurance that you will continue to pay for the mortgage. But when you buy a house you know you need more than just a down payment. The amount of information keeps going and going. You need proof of income, you need proof that you have long-term employment, proof that you have credit (which is really just proof that when you owe someone you are good to pay them back). So it is not just the down payment. You need a lot more than that to be trusted to have a mortgage. And that is just it, your word is not trusted, they need proof.

We rest because our hope is in something to come.

The Israelites wanted proof from God. In Exodus God has saved His people from Egypt, He has provided food and water for them, He has shown time and time again that He will keep His promise even as they disobey and turn to other God’s. And now as God’s final “down payment” His presence hovers over them in the Tabernacle. We need similar “assurances”.

We read in Philippians 4 earlier, the beginning of the chapter in verses 4-7 tells us this

Philippians 4:4–7 CSB

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

and Jesus tells us this in John 14

John 14:26–28 CSB

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful. You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.

What we must remember is that the Lord is near to each one of us who trust in Him, that we should go to the Lord and to not be troubled or fearful, to not worry as the world worries, doing everything in their power to control every aspect of their lives. But to trust the Lord will guard us. To let the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding guide us.