MOSES … LESSON 1
Yes, more may be recorded of Moses’ prayer life than any other Old Testament character. He is constantly talking to the Lord! From his initial call to serve (at the Burning Bush) to His pre-announced day of death (at Mount Nebo) … prayer saturated the man’s ministry. In fact, prayer surrounded his very birth!
But for our current study of Moses’ prayer life, two events must be selected. Hopefully two of the most illuminative situations in his whole time on earth, regarding prayer of course.
Moses, one day praying for the ten thousandth time (or would it be the hundredth thousand time?), asked Almighty God:
“Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, SHOW ME NOW THY WAY, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he (God) said, MY PRESENCE SHALL GO WITH THEE, and I will give thee rest. And Moses said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. And the LORD said unto Moses, I WILL DO THIS THING THAT THOU HAST SPOEKN: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I beseech thee, SHOW ME THY GLORY. And he (the Lord) said, I WILL MAKE ALL MY GOODNESS PASS BEFORE THEE. And I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee.” Exodus 33:13-19
What a prayer!
Specifically here Moses beseeches the Lord for two things, or is it just one?
“Show me now Thy Way!”
The verb “to show” is “yada” in Hebrew. It means “to know,” personal intimate cognizance. “MAKE ME TO KNOW THY WAY, O LORD!”
And the noun “way” is “derek,” meaning “road, journey,” (“way” in that sense), but also meaning “one’s manner, habits, character!” Not just knowing “part” of a Person, but the Whole Personality involved!
But look how the prayer is answered, God says:
“My Presence shall go with thee.”
Wow!
The noun “presence” is “paniym,” literally meaning “Face!” (Reminds me of a verse just prior to our Text, Exodus 33:11. “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”)
Thus I deduce, “If I ask for knowledge of God’s Ways … He will come along on the journey and personally demonstrate His Ways!”
This, folks, may be a real “secret” to prayer!
Then Moses prayed (in our Text today) further:
“Lord, show me Thy Glory.”
And the Lord immediately answers again!
“I will show thee My Goodness.”
Which I suggest is the same Tenet of God’s Character. His Glory IS His Goodness! There is no goodness apart from the Glory of God! “Glory” (“kabod” in Hebrew) and “goodness” (“tob” in Hebrew) so blend that they are summary descriptions of the very Essence of God. Even when God judges sin … such action is a function of His Glory and Goodness!
Here’s my point today.
Moses does NOT pray for a new pair of shoes, sandals.
He asks for GOD!
Knowledge of God.
Intimacy with God.
The Presence of God.
No wonder he is then also called the “friend” of God! Remember Exodus 33:11. “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, AS A MAN SPEAKETH UNTO HIS FRIEND.”
Hungry for God!
By the way, Moses did not ask for sandals, literally. But look what God did: “I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.” Deuteronomy 29:5, God gave them long-lasting shoes anyway!
Reminds me of Matthew 6:33. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things (like shoes and clothes, material things) shall be added unto you.”
Knowing God!
The most noble purpose of all our praying!
— Dr. Mike Bagwell