Exodus 33:12-23 Becoming the Family of God. Michelle Drewitz May 15, Riverdale Baptist Church Whitehorse, Yukon

Transcription

1 Exodus 33:12-23 Becoming the Family of God Michelle Drewitz May 15, 2016 Riverdale Baptist Church Whitehorse, Yukon

2 What is your favourite childhood book or book series? As a kid, I was drawn to books where friends and family embarked on adventures of the simple and ordinary things. Winnie the Pooh, Curious George, Toad and Frog, Berenstain Bear. Stories where friendship was born out of curiosity, compassion, acceptance, and playfulness. Stories where friendship sometimes encountered differences, obstacles, and hurt along the way. The characters underwent a change, a growth, a renewal of commitment to one other. And in this process, the friendship matured and deepened so that a lasting friendship was formed! Friendship. Typically when we think about friendship in the Bible, we are drawn to stories like David and Jonathan, Ruth and Naomi, Barnabas and Paul, Elijah and Elisha, or Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Exodus 33:12-23 doesn t usually come to mind when we think about friendship in the Bible. But I think this passage offers us hope and insight into what it means to nurture and discover friendship with God, though at first read it may not be very clear or obvious. I believe that one way Israel becomes the family of God is through Moses friendship reflected most deeply through prayer with God. Last week, Pastor Greg spoke about how the essence of motherhood is partnership with God for the formation of a person. Well this week, I ll explore the formation of Israel as a family of God through Moses friendship with God. First let s put Exodus 33:12-23 in context. Moses and the Israelites are in the wildernerness, journeying towards the Promised Land. They have witnessed God s presence and miracles through the plagues in Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the provision of bread from heaven

3 and water from a rock, and the defeat of the Amalekites. Three months after they left Egypt, they arrive at the Desert of Sinai (Ex 19:1) and stay in front of the mountain. Moses went up Mt Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights (Ex 24:28) and there received from God various instructions for the covenant relationship with Israel (Ex 20-32). The Israelites are impatient with Moses long stay on Mt Sinai and demand that Aaron, Moses brother, make them a god to worship (Ex 32:1). So Aaron makes an image of a calf from the gold jewelry and items from the Israelites and Israel worships this idol. God is fiercely angry at the Israelites for this idolatry and initially tells Moses he will destroy them. Moses pleads on behalf of the people and God relents. Then Moses goes down the mountain and sees the wild, chaotic mess of the Israelites. God then tells Moses to go to the promised land with an angel but God declares I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way. (Ex 33:1-3). In light of Israel s sinfulness and rebellion, the looming question is whether or not God will continue to go with Israel in their journey. Initially, God refuses, I will not go with you. When Israel hears this, they realize the extent of their sinfulness, their idolatry, and show signs of repentance by stripping themselves of their ornaments and mourning. Then Moses enters the tent of meeting, the sacred place where Moses and God meet. This is the place where the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend (Ex 33:11). Exodus 33:12-23 happens here in the tent of meeting in this place of intimacy, of closeness. So we are invited into a conversation, a dialogue, a prayer, between Yahweh and Moses. Now what happens here is critical for the people of God. Will God change his mind and continue to go with His people or will God abandon His people as He has suggested? Most of you already know the ending. For those that don t, I ll spoil it and tell you now that God does change his mind. In Exodus 34, we

4 read about the renewal and restoration of the covenant; we read that God will not abandon His people, as God initially said, but God Himself, not just an angel, will be with them. This is a complete change from God s response in Exodus 32: instead of refusing to go with the people, God extends forgiveness and grace and renews the covenant. So whatever happens in that prayer between Moses and God is the means by which God changes his mind and agrees to journey with the people. So our text is at the centre of the struggle for Israel to belong to Yahweh, for Israel to become the family of God. Up to now, God s presence has always been with His people, and in Exodus 34 God s presence is with his people. Our text comes at a point when God s presence is denied to Israel. So what exactly happens in Exodus 33:12-23 that creates this presence-absence-presence plotline? What gives rise to God s change of decision? I want to suggest to you that the change happened because of the friendship between Moses and God. Their friendship helps to form the people of God because Moses friendship with God spills over into his friendship with Israel, and Israel s friendship with God. This friendship is, first and foremost, expressed in prayer. What does Moses prayer, in verses 12-23, tell us about friendship and about how the family of God is formed? The family of God is formed through the security and stability of Moses friendship with God. This kind of security and stability happens over time and in many circumstances. Moses is called by God at the burning bush to lead God s people out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land. Then Moses obedience to God allows for the ten plagues in Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. Moses cries out to Yahweh when the people begin

5 grumbling from lack of food and Yahweh sends bread from heaven. Then the Israelites quarrel with Moses and demand water. Moses again cries out to God in exasperation and frustration and Yahweh instructs Moses to strike the rock and water comes out. Those months and years walking with God through the joys and difficulties of obeying God s calling help to form a deep friendship between Moses and God. In every situation, we always note that Moses turns to God and seeks Him. So when the people of Israel make a golden calf and begin worshipping it, a lot changes. Perhaps the most important thing that changes is God s willingness to continue to lead His people. God simply refuses to go with His people, but will instead send an angel. What does not change, in this time of uncertainty, anger, repulsion, betrayal, idolatry, is Moses friendship with God. The circumstances change enormously but amid the chaotic, heartbreaking, and painful situation, the friendship remains stable and constant. This doesn t mean that the friendship doesn t address the new situation; doesn t mean that God and Moses ignore what s happening around them and go on living as if nothing around them has changed. Nor does Moses say to God well, I ll just forget about all that you ve revealed to me, all that you ve shown me, all our history together, because of this new problem that popped up. Quite the opposite actually. Moses seeks God. Moses meets with God. Moses and God enter into a very intense and intimate conversation about the difficult circumstances. They have different opinions but in the safety and honesty of their friendship, these differences are brought to light and examined. So in the instability and chaos and change that s all around, the constant is Moses friendship with God. The constant is Moses communion with God. The constant turning to God and the stability of their friendship is perhaps revealed most clearly with the image of the tent of meeting, the sacred place in which our text happens. Let me read

6 Exodus 33:7-11: Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the tent of meeting. Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshipped, each at the entrance to their tent. The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Moses is in fellowship, in conversation, in communion with God. Over and over again. Their friendship is not sudden, but nurtured and developed over time. It is nurtured through the repeated turning to God and meeting God. When Moses meets with God in the tent of meeting, the very first word spoken is the Hebrew word raah which means see or look. This is how Moses addresses God. He begins his prayer as if he were addressing His friend: he says See. Moses talks with God with a familiarity and comfort that is only brought about over time. And it is precisely the stability and security of Moses friendship with God that allows for the family of God to be formed. It is precisely his prayer that teaches the family of God that God will not forget his covenant with them. In the time of uncertainty whether God would continue to go with His people, Moses does what he always does: he meets with God.

7 So Moses and God are in the tent of meeting, a holy place of friendship. Remember, at this point God has said he won t continue on the journey with Israel. But something happens in Moses prayer that changes God s decision. In Moses prayer, he reminds God about two things. First, Moses says to God in verse 12 Yet you have said, I know you by name. In this context, to know someone by name isn t the literal knowing of a person s name. To know someone by name is to know their character, their personhood, the essence of who they are, their identity, to see God face-to-face. God knows our character, our identity. In the same way, Moses has come to know God s character. So friendship with God is formed by being known. Second, Moses goes on to remind God that God has said you (meaning Moses) have also found favor in my (God s) sight. Favor is also translated as grace. Both the Hebrew and Greek words for grace mean the same thing: both refer to God freely extending Himself (His favor and grace), reaching to people because He is disposed to bless (or be near) them. Our relationship with God comes only through grace. This is expressed in Moses prayer most clearly in verse 13 where Moses tells God if I have found favour (also translated as grace) in your sight. The Bible, particularly the Old Testament, is selective when it talks about people finding favour in God s sight so this is a gift. To be in an intimate friendship with God is, truly, a gift of grace. It is God giving of Himself, reaching out to us just because God wants to be near (to bless) us. It is a gift of grace, of God responding to a need where Moses can offer nothing in return to God. Moses needs God and God gives Himself to Moses. Our friendship with God is a gift of grace. We are also reminded of the gift of God s grace when God says to Moses in verse 19 I will be

8 gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy. God chooses to extend grace and mercy to those He chooses. It is God s choice alone to act because His act is an expression of grace towards us, a gift we don t deserve. This verse also has echoes of Exodus 3:14 when God says I am who I am. As we grow in our friendship with God, a gift of grace, it changes how we pray and seek God. Then comes God s response. Remember, the formation of the family of God hinges on whether God will continue to journey with them. Up to now, God has refused. In verse 14 God says My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Ah, this is good news! Now this response is very different in two ways from what God declared moments earlier. The first change has to do with God journeying with the Israelites, has to do with God s presence. Remember, God has previously denied His presence to the Israelites. Moses petitions and pleads for God s presence. Moses desires God s presence precisely because he understands that the heart of being a family of God is being in the presence of God. So that s what he prays for. And God changes his answer and says My presence will go with you. The second thing that changes is God s demeanour towards Moses. In Exodus 32:10 God tells Moses Now let me alone. God doesn t want Moses to be near because his wrath will destroy the people. And now God tells Moses I will give you rest. So God decides that He will continue in his journey with the Israelites and God decides to give Moses rest and to reveal Himself to Moses. This friendship between Moses and God is grounded in an encounter with God, an encounter with the Almighty God, an encounter with Yahweh, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Moses friendship with

9 God began with an encounter at the burning bush and their friendship continues by regularly being with God. Because of Moses friendship with God, there is the necessary foundation to restore the covenant between God and Israel. That covenant is restored in Exodus 34. Bruckner writes friendship was the foundation on which the restoration of sinful Israel is built. The friendship between God and Moses leads to an enduring friendship between God and Israel through the restoration of the covenant and the experience of the goodness of God. Friendship begins with God but moves outwards to others. We need two kinds of friendship: the friendship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and human friendships that support our friendship with God. Moses understood that God s presence with the family of God was the crucial factor. There would be no people of Israel without God s presence. So what does this mean for us? What does it mean to be formed by God through friendship? I want to briefly suggest two things we can learn from this in terms of how God forms the body of Christ. When we look at the bigger story from Exodus 32-34, remember we move from an experience of profound pain: through the sin of Israel, there is the breaking and destruction of the covenant in Exodus 32, to an experience of profound friendship revealed in the prayer between Moses and God in Exodus 33, to a restoration of the covenant in Exodus 34. The prayer of Moses serves as the cornerstone and shifting point that allows for the restoration of the covenant. What sustains and holds the people of God is the friendship between Moses and God. Houston writes that under the leadership of Moses, God s people learned how God would never forget

10 his agreement with them and how those who sought God with all their heart would find him. So Moses friendship with God invites Israel into deeper friendship, deeper communion, deeper intimacy with God. Just as Israel depended on the friendship between Moses and God, sometimes we draw on or need the support, wisdom, and insight of other people s friendship with God to move nearer to God. As we witness other people in friendship with God, it can support us in our friendship with God. Those who are in deeper friendship with God can guide and invite us into a deeper friendship with God. Similarly, sometimes other people draw on our friendship with God to draw closer to God. Sometimes other people need our support and maturity and wisdom. It reminds me that the Christian walk, the journey of maturity, of transformation, of wholeness, is one that is shared. Sometimes we experience formation (growth, maturity) through other people s friendship with God and sometimes we help others experience formation (growth, maturity) through our friendship with God. It means that friendship with God is never an exclusive relationship. Our friendship with God spills over into our friendship with others and impacts others friendship with God. There are times when we must intercede for others. And there are times when we need someone else to intercede, to pray, for us. When I lived in Vancouver, I met regularly with a mentor. We talked and prayed together. It was her friendship with God that supported and deepened my own friendship with God. The second insight from this theme is about prayer (the expression of friendship) or being with God. Houston describes the relationship between prayer and friendship: Prayer is the choice to

11 direct ourselves toward God s friendship. Though there is a lot to talk about prayer, I want to talk about prayer as foundation for the formation of the family of God. I recently read an article which described some remarkable insight about prayer, families, and faith. Studies have shown that the single most important factor which determines whether an adult will pray or not is their experience as a child. Statistics indicate that if a child learns to pray and to be with Jesus, then that child is 93% more likely to pray as an adult and to meet with Jesus. If a child does not pray in their childhood, statistics indicate that the likelihood the child will pray regularly in adulthood is just 6%. I say this not to make you feel guilty or ashamed or like a failure, but I offer this to you to encourage you to pray with your family; to find ways to be with Jesus together. All of the generations here, grandparents, parents, young adults; and all of the family make-ups, nuclear family, single-parent family, couple, single person, have a part to play in the transmission and teaching of prayer to the next generation. That is one reason why we, as the church family, have been teaching the Lord s Prayer to the children during children s moment. Houston reminds us that deep down in all of us there is a need for friendship with God. May God help us to seek and grow in friendship with Him, through prayer and friendship with others. So let us pray together this morning:

12 Eternal God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit We thank you that you know us by name. You have formed us, created us, given us our identity and strengths and weaknesses. You know our desires and wants and needs. In your mysterious ways and timing, you provide all that we need. We thank you for the gift of grace to be in relationship with you. We thank you for Jesus Christ. We thank for you our encounters with you, moments when we can deeply sense your presence. We ask that we would always seeks your presence and your face and to notice your presence in the unlikely moments and places. Forgive us for the times when we turned away from you in crisis instead of towards you. We need your grace to, like Moses, seek you face-to-face when all else is unraveling and messy. Empower us so that we may teach the next generation to pray, to be with you, to encounter you, to turn to you. In Jesus name, Amen.