Face To Face: Fellowship Between Friends
"Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” Exodus 33:11 NLT
Growing up, one of my favorite people in the entire universe was Amy Grant. I had every cassette tape ever made—including all 4 covers for the Unguarded album. I collected magazine articles from CCM Magazine, Woman’s Day, Rolling Stone—anything that even had her name mentioned! I could quote obscure facts about thunderstorms and acapella hymns, Harpeth Hall, and Andy Griffith. I knew her Easter recipe for scalloped potatoes. I was a member of the Friends of Amy Fan Club. I wore my hair like Amy, I tried to sing like Amy, I even spent my honeymoon looking for Amy sightings in Franklin, Tennessee! (I have an incredibly supportive and awesome husband! Lol) I had 2 cardboard cutouts of Amy in my bedroom (this was before the honeymoon. He wasn’t that supportive!) I was an expert on all things Amy Grant, but there’s one thing I didn’t have—a relationship with Amy. If we met on the street today, I would know her in a heartbeat, but for all my obsession, she wouldn’t know me from Adam! You can spend all of your time studying and learning about a person, but if you don’t have relationship, then all of your effort is useless.
As I was thinking about this week’s blog post, I landed on the character of Moses in the Bible. There is so much I could say about this guy, but the one thing that hits me hard is this simple statement from the book of Exodus: “Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” How did Moses get to this point? How can we move beyond just knowing about God to truly “knowing” Him?
Moses had a burning bush experience. Before Moses met with God on Mt. Sinai or had face to face conversations in a sacred tent, he was a disgraced Prince of Egypt with a murder rap hiding out in the wilderness with a bunch of sheep. Life didn’t look too promising before Moses decided to take a detour and check out a bush that was on fire but not consumed. If you know anything about Moses, you may remember that he was a Hebrew baby placed in a basket made of bulrushes during a time when baby boys his age were being slaughtered. But God had other plans for Moses. Moses would deliver his people out of slavery. Moses grew up in Pharoah’s household, raised by his Hebrew mother, and educated by the finest Egyptian scholars of the day. Moses’ mother must have told him all about the plight of his people and the goodness of their God. Moses knew all about the God of the Hebrews, but it wasn’t until he “turned aside” to see the bush, that he really got a glimpse of God.
I think it is interesting that God didn’t start speaking until Moses started moving. Exodus 3: 4 says “And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush...” God pursues us and will do amazing things to capture our attention, but the ultimate choice to listen and follow always rests with us. If you want to hear God speak, then come close when He calls. You may wonder, “What does this look like for me? I’ve been looking for God, and I haven’t seen any burning bushes lately.” Your burning bush may be a conversation about Jesus with a friend. Or it may be an invitation to church. Or it may be a song you hear on the radio. Your burning bush may be this feeling deep inside that something is missing, and you wonder if maybe—just maybe—there might be something to this Jesus thing. The beauty about God is the different ways He calls each one of us. It will be unique and designed just for you. And because it is designed just for you, there will be something unmistakable about the call—your burning bush. But when He calls, don’t delay. Do something.
After Moses turned aside, and God called his name, Moses responded. Nothing fancy. Nothing rehearsed. This is Moses first conversation of many with God, and he starts by saying “Here am I.” Sometimes we want to make hearing God much more difficult than it is. Then God invites Moses to speak with Him on sacred, holy ground, and this invitation would follow Moses for the rest of His life. Now we get to the scripture I mentioned in the beginning of the post. “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” How did this Moses at the burning bush—the one who knew about God but didn’t really know God—become the Moses who talked God out of destroying all of the Israelites and starting all over with just him? Here are just a few ways Moses’ relationship with God can lead us to dive deep and drown willingly:
Moses was intentional about spending time with God. If you do a character study of Moses, you will discover that it was a priority; a necessity; a non-negotiable. The passage in Exodus 33 is a perfect example. Just prior to this passage, Moses was on Mt. Sinai conversing with God and receiving the Ten Commandments transcribed by God’s own hand on stone tablets. The Israelites got tired of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, so they begged Aaron to make them a god to lead them. Moses and Joshua returned to camp and discovered that the Israelites had abandoned God and made a golden calf. To make a long story short, God told Moses that he would lead the children of Israel to the promised land, but God’s presence would no longer dwell in the midst of them. What does Moses do? "Now Moses used to take [his own] tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting [of God with His own people]. And everyone who sought the Lord went out to [that temporary] tent of meeting which was outside the camp” (Exodus 33:7 AMPC). Moses said, “If God is not going to meet me here in camp, then I will just go wherever it takes to get in His presence.” Sometimes it takes going “outside of the camp” for us to get into the presence of God. Find a spot, away from distractions, away from the noise, away from the negativity where you can be alone with God. Make it your tent of meeting. I’ve had several spots throughout my lifetime. When I was growing up, it was our bathroom. When I was in middle school, it was the chapel area at our Christian school. I’ve met with God on walks around a lake. I’ve met Him in my car on my way to work. Find your sacred ground, your Mt. Sinai, your tent of meeting and make it a priority to meet God there every day.
Moses had a passion for the presence of God. When God told Moses He would no longer dwell in the midst of them, Moses pleaded with God, “Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding more strongly and clearly] and that I may find favor in Your sight...Lord, if your Presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here!” God didn’t back down on His promise to deliver His people to the Promised Land; He just said that His presence wouldn’t go in the midst of them. Moses is confessing to God that he doesn’t care about the Promised Land...or the milk and honey...all he wants is God’s presence. Do you want to hear from God? Start praying Moses’ prayer for His presence.
Moses knew the difference between God’s voice and the voices around him. There are many voices competing for our attention. We have to learn the difference between the voice of the enemy, the voice of culture, and our own voice. Moses was always having to discern the voice of God, and he didn’t always discern correctly. At one point, he listened to his own desires and disobeyed God by striking a rock for water instead of speaking to it. That may seem like a small thing to us, but God’s voice commands obedience. When Moses failed to listen, it cost him entrance into the Promised Land. It’s easy to listen to the well-meaning advice of others or mistake our voice for the voice of God. We have to practice putting our hearts in neutral, so we can discern what God is truly saying and not be swayed by our thoughts or perspectives. We will dive more deeply into that subject next time.
THIS IS THE CHALLENGE:
Ask God to make you aware of ways that He is calling you—don't miss the burning bush.
When you sense that He is calling you, find a spot to be alone. Go for a walk, jump in your car, go to your bedroom—anyplace where you can be undistracted. Silence the notifications on your phone, and get on holy ground. Sometimes I drop to my knees; sometimes I sit in a corner; sometimes I just walk and still my heart before God.
Simply respond by saying, “Here I am, God. Speak. I’m listening.”
Just be still in His presence. Give Him time to speak to you. God loves to make Himself known in the stillness. You may not hear Him at first. Don’t give up. Be persistent.
Be authentic. God isn’t impressed with your words. He wants your heart.
Pray Moses’ prayer and see what God will do: “If I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding You more strongly and clearly]. Lord, if your Presence does not go with me, do not carry me up from here! All I want is You!”
Until next time...Dive deep and drown willingly and always stay inside the circle.
