March 9-13

Then Moses said, "If you don't personally go with us,
don't make us leave this place.
Exodus 33:15

This week we will continue to stay camped at Mt. Sinai. We start off the week with quite a flurry. As we stand and watch Moses in the presence of the Lord, we realize how much he has changed since we first met him at the burning bush. Then he was a man unsure of himself who didn’t want to do God’s bidding because of his incapability. He could not understand how he could possibly lead the sons of Israel, when he had failed so miserably forty years earlier. The man that Egypt had made him to be was not enough. Now we see a man who has become completely dependent on this God named YHWH. We see him now pleading with God, telling him that he can’t do it without Him. “If you don’t go, I don’t go!!!”

Moses has seen God’s power; he has spoken to him in the secret place like no one before him or after him ever did. And yet Moses desires more. “Show me your glory!” God tells him that he will allow him to see His form, but not His face. The encounter left Moses with a radiance that remained on him, even when he returned from the mountain to the camp. But why wouldn’t God let him see His face? This is puzzling, especially when you consider that generations later, God tells David, “Seek My face.” God promises the nation that if they humble themselves and “seek His face,” He will forgive them and heal their land. Had Moses not sought God’s face enough? Didn’t he stand in the very presence of God? So, what more should he have done? We are even told that, “God spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.,” and yet God would not allow him to see His face.

The answer to this riddle is really quite simple when we have all the pieces. Moses radiated with the glory of God. It showed on his face when he returned to the people. He became the expression of the glory of God revealed to him and through him, but he did not express the glory of God’s face. That glory was reserved for only One. Let me give you the answer in one verse.

2Cor. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Only in the face of Christ would the knowledge of God’s full glory be revealed! Moses is a type and shadow of the Deliverer who was to come. There are so many aspects of his life that foretell the coming of Christ. But Moses always falls short of the One who was to come. Let’s just compare the life of Moses with Jesus for a moment.

1. Moses was not an Egyptian, but he took on the ways of Egypt
Before Jesus’ birth as a man, he was not man, but took on the ways of man.

2. Moses thought he was ready to be the deliver of his people, but it was premature
Jesus, at the age of 12, thought He was to fulfill His purpose, but it was premature

3. Moses did attesting miracles through his hands
Jesus did attesting miracles through His hands

4. When Moses he started his mission, he was rejected by the Egyptians and the Israelites
When Jesus started His mission, He was rejected by the world and the Israelites

5. Moses was given the law of the Passover Lamb – the lamb of salvation
Jesus became the Passover Lamb – the Lamb of salvation

6. Moses gave the people the commandments that belonged to the Old Covenant
Jesus gave us the commandments that belong to the New Covenant

7. Moses radiated the glory of God’s presence on his face
Jesus radiates the glory of God’s face on His face!

9. Moses was given the pattern of the Tabernacle
Jesus became the living Tabernacle

10. God made a covenant with the people through Moses
God makes His covenant with us through Jesus

There are just ten similarities. There are MANY more, but I’ll let you discover them for yourselves. God is speaking to Moses on this second trek up the mountain. Moses has come with blank tablets in hand, and this time around, God does not just repeat His words from before, He renews the covenant He had made with Moses the last time he was there, the covenant which the people broke before Moses could even reveal it to them. This covenant, often referred to as the Mosaic covenant, is quite different than the one God had made with Abraham. To be sure, it is an extension of God’s work with and in His people, but it definitely has a different dimension.

God’s covenant with Abraham required a newborn to be circumcised. God’s covenant with Moses required an obedient walk. This new covenant is filled with rules for living right before God and before men. The Abrahamic covenant speaks of new birth, while the Mosaic covenant teaches us how to grow up. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul tells us that the Law is our tutor.

Gal. 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

A tutor is what we obtain for a child to aid them in their growth to maturity. Is it any wonder that the Mosaic covenant is filled with so many details about the Tabernacle, the earthly representation of Christ.

There are “four faces” in the Law that have priority in this covenant: The Tabernacle, the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover- Pasach), the Feast of Harvest (Pentecost - Shavuot), and the Feast of Booths (Sukkot). Each face shows another aspect of the work of Christ. Ahhhh, so much to see and learn!!!! But like children, we can’t take it all in at once, so let’s keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open to hear God’s voice and see His face reflected in the face of Christ.

Gal. 3:25-26 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

We have an advantage that those in the wilderness did not; we are able to observe these things through the sacrifice and life of Christ. I pray that we will not only read the words, but also see the One who fulfilled them!

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Trail Stops (formerly known as Questions for the Week)

Monday
1. When God passed by Moses, He declared His name. Who did God say He was?
2. What attributes did God say He possessed?
3. What is an additional name God says He has?

Tuesday
1. How many categories of materials made up the Tabernacle?
(example - gold, silver, bronze = one category which would be "metals")
2. How many elements made up the Tabernacle?
(example - gold, silver, bronze = 3 elements)

Wednesday
What two pieces of furniture did not have specific dimensions given?

Thursday
Four things had to be done to Aaron and his sons to consecrate them as priest. What were they?

Friday
1. What is unusual about the order of the presentation of the sacrifices for the tribes?
2. God gave instructions for three different types of blood sacrifices. What are the sacrifices?