How God & Moses Stayed In Touch

Exodus 33:7-11: Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And it came about, that everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of the tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. And it came about whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the Lord would speak with Moses. When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

How often have you said to someone or had them say to you, “Let’s stay in touch.” and it never happens? As I was studying this portion of Scripture several thoughts came to mind. If God has anything to say to me or any of His followers on a regular basis, I believe it is this – “Let’s stay in touch.” Jesus, Who had spent three years getting to know His twelve apostles intimately, could say to them over and over as He did to Peter, “Feed me sheep.” And He probably wants to say that to us as well, but I get the feeling that in this day and age, He first needs more of us to simply “Stay in touch” with Him. It is us that have not maintained the relationship that we could have with Him. So, He keeps asking, “Stay in touch.”

When the Israelites were in the desert having fled Egypt, God and Moses had a way of staying in touch. Moses would pitch a tent, which he called the ‘tent of meeting’ [for that is where he met with God] outside the main camp (at a good distance). In fact, anyone who wanted to hear from God through their leader Moses, would go out to the vicinity of this ‘tent of meeting’. Commentator Matthew Henry believes that this was not Moses’ own personal tent for his family, but the tent he used for giving audiences to solve disputes, to give advice, and to hear from God. Chuck Smith suggests this was done outside the camp because God would not live among them in their camp, lest He destroy them out of His recent anger towards them.

Whenever Moses went out to the tent (which seems to have been set up at all times while they were in one place), all the people would go and stand outside the entrance of the tent, fully concentrating on Moses until he entered the tent. And then they had learned that something miraculous would happen – the ‘pillar of cloud’ (the symbol of God’s presence) would come and hover over the entrance of the tent, and God would speak with Moses.

David Guzik suggests that this is Moses leading the people in worship and that the tent was the temporary place of worship as the Israelites had not yet built the tabernacle God had given them detailed instructions for. This was to be the ‘meeting place’ for all to worship in. Clearly the rising of the people to worship whenever the cloud came and settled over the tent indicated that indeed this was a time of showing reverence and for some, adoration, towards God.

But at the same time reading in-between the lines we detect there were two groups of people involved – those that still sought God and those that stayed far away, back inside the camp, inside their own personal tents.

Robert Jamieson sees this account as being mostly focused on Moses being the mediator for the people before God. The comfort of having God dwell among them was removed from them because of their sin, but as Henry points out they were still free to take what action was needed to follow God. And this the people did, for they were now a people eager for reconciliation with God. They too wanted to “stay in touch” with Him.

Near the end of this passage we read that the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. David Guzik says this is to be taken figuratively, that is, Moses did not actually see God’s face but He did hear his voice and felt His presence. That is, they spoke freely and openly with each other. Moses, as author of the text, is trying to convey how simple it was to communicate with God. It is God’s desire that we communicate with Him as a true friend, although He is much more than that. The phrase “face to face” is not deemed to be literal for further down in this chapter as we will soon discover, we read that no man can see God, and live. Throughout scripture, there is considerable reference to the ‘face’ of God and how it can be figuratively revealed to us, but that’s a separate study. Suffice it to say that on this occasion Moses and God spoke intimately as two friends.

The passage closes with reference to Moses’ assistant, Joshua, staying close to this tent of meeting while Moses returned to the camp. David Guzik reminds us that Joshua had become a devotee to God because of Moses’ leadership. His remaining at the tent was either because he was asked to by Moses or he wanted to.  In either case, his purpose for doing so would have been to hear anything else that God may have wanted to say to Israel. Hearing from God and staying in touch with Him was so critical to the lives of Joshua and Moses, and whether to the lives of the Israelites as a whole, whether or not they knew it.

So what do you do to “Stay in touch” with God? Where do you go to speak to Him “face to face”? How do you know He has come to meet with you? Every one of us who wants to hear God speak into our lives would do well to consider our specific answers to these questions.

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God's Instructions Include Not Only What, But How

The Mercy Seat and The Two Cherubs

 

Exodus 25:17-21: “And you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. And you shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. And the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I shall give to you.”

To my knowledge there is only one “mercy seat” and thus its definition is singular.  Simply put, the mercy seat is physically the gold lid that sits on top of the Ark of the Covenant or Testimony that God told the Israelites to build. But its intended meaning goes much deeper.

To begin with, it would be part of the two gold winged angelic beings that God’s instructions included – one at each end of the lid, each facing inward and thus each other – and together with the lid itself, all made of one piece of crafted or hammered gold.  Hammered gold results from the process of beating gold into an extremely thin unbroken sheet for use in gilding.  The modern process of gilding involves the application of different decorative techniques with a fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give them a thin coating of gold. It is of note here that when God gives us instructions of what He wants, He also tells us how He wants it done.

In particular, the two cherubim (or angelic beings) were to have their wings spread upward and covering the mercy seat.  Thus we assume that in order for the seat to be covered, the tips of the wings of the cherubim must touch.  The eyes of the cherubim were to be looking or focused on the main part of the mercy seat – the part of the lid in the middle between them.

However, the mercy seat is also where God comes in a formal sense and dwells among His people in the Old Testament.  Later, we learn it becomes critical in the Day of Atonement – it is on the mercy seat that the sacrificial blood is poured.  Put another way, it represents the locale of where our sins are covered, when in fact, later in the New Testament, Christ’s blood is shed for us in the ultimate act of atonement (payment of the penalty) on our behalf.

And then in our current passage, once again, God repeats His instructions of what is to go inside the ark – He wanted the law, the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments to be placed inside (as given to Moses already).  But here we have a bit of a snag in the text for God tells them to “put (in) the testimony which I shall give to you.”  How do we explain the future tense here?

The perplexity is best explained by having a broader definition of ‘testimony’ to include all of God’s laws that He gave and was to continue giving to the Israelites with respect to how they should live and worship.  The testimony in essence becomes God continued “communication” with His people regarding formal instructions that they are to observe and carry out.  Thus, on this day when He was giving these instructions to Moses for the people, while He had already given them the Decalogue or Ten Commandments, He knew there were still more instructions that He would give the people in the near future.  (Verse 22 of this chapter that follows this passage actually speaks of this. And once again, we find that if we sincerely want to allow Scripture to answer the questions that Scripture itself raises, it will.)

I believe that for us today, God’s instructions collectively for His people have been given.  His communication to His Body as a group has been completed. The finished work of Christ when He died for us on the Cross resulted in a completed work of salvation.  That is not to say that He cannot or will not speak to His people again as a group in the future, but I believe that will be after the return of Christ to the earth in what we refer to as “the second coming”.  For now, what remains is for each of us, individually, to heed God’s specific instructions to us – as we pursue our personal relationship with Him.  And in attempting to carry out those particular instructions to each of us, it is of paramount importance that we react the same way as the Israelites were intended to react – following all the specifications with respect to both the what and the how.

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Israel Must Control Its Own Extremists Too

There are no doubt extremists on both sides. Israel has to control hers too. People are clearly frustrated and start being human, taking action and revenge into their own hands. Both sides are guilty of this. Even more reason why the parties need to state their "non-negotiables" clearly and without equivocation. Then we'll all know where things stand. Stop talking in riddles and with hidden meanings. Let your yea be yea and your no be no. Then fight for what you believe. Israel, you may have to do it alone. But if God is for you, who can be against you?

Mosque Set on Fire in Northern Israel - NYTimes.com

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MIddle East: Why Not Try "Yes be Yes and No be No" Approach to Communication?

Clearly, this is what happens when people don't say what they mean. And that goes for the Palestinians, the Israelis, and the so-called quartet of Middle East peacemakers. Everybody is talking and writing with a lot of "wink-winks, we know what that really means but we don't have to say it". Well, yes you do.

And furthermore, I believe it is time for Israel to lay out a multi-point declaration that clearly spells out what it believes and what it will fight for to the end, no ifs, buts, or whys.

Let the Palestinians do likewise. Then the parties know exactly where they stand. And if we need to stop pursuing this fleeting peace (that won't ever be caught) then let's do so, and get on with things. Build whatever walls you need to, but don't pretend you're going to like each other when you're not.

Finally, in this case, I see the quartet as being more detrimental than providing any assistance.

Israel Accepts New Peace Talks, but Impasse Remains on Terms - NYTimes.com

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How Days At the Amusement Park Can Get Ugly . . .

I just don't know what to tell you about this story. It's sad. It's very sad. It takes the fun out of taking your children and family to an amusement park. Take a look at what happened at this one.

And why? It's all over "loose head-gear" and safety. But when that loose headgear is an Islamic woman's head scarf -- things can turn ugly. Then you throw in a bit Islamophobia, some tough cops (or were they?), some sensitive Muslims (perhaps with cause, perhaps not), and maybe some racism (all not good).

Was it also due to poor communication -- outside the park, before people come into the park. Maybe.

But here's what worries me. This is only a sign of more and more such situations to arise all over America and Canada. Not sure I have a solution. But let's start with our governments recognizing the problems and starting to tell people that come to our countries (as they told my parents and me many years ago) -- "we have rules here and you have to obey our rules if you're going to participate in certain things and I don't care what your 'political ideological religion with a cause' says. And we're going to defend our laws fervently.

Take a look and give us your thoughts.

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Muslims, police scuffle at Rye Playland over amusement park’s head scarf ban; 15 arrests made | The New York City Local - Yahoo! News

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