“And Moses said to Yahweh, ‘See, you said to me, ‘lead this people up.’  But you did not reveal to me who you were going to send with me.  And you said, ‘I have known you with a name and you have found favor in my eyes.’ And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, reveal to me your ways so that I may know you and so that I may find favor in your eyes.  And understand that your people are this nation.’”

(Exodus 33:12-13)

And now, in the spirit of another covenant mediator (Abraham, see Genesis 18:22-33), Moses begins to argue, based on God’s words, seeking to ensure God’s presence with the people.  We must ask the question at this point, was Moses successful in changing God’s mind?  Some would argue, based upon the text, that Moses did change the mind of God.  Yet, this is something we must flatly reject.  God is eternal and the history of creation was written long before God began speaking creation into existence. 

So how should we explain what it is that we see?  God’s interactions with his people involve the people in the process of history.  In other words, God’s foreordination does not necessitate either fatalism or determinism.  We still act and perceive ourselves to be choosing freely, even though our actions are brought about according to God’s perfect plan.  God conforms our will to his own, either through molding and sanctifying our hearts or through hardening.  The fact that we perceive ourselves to be acting freely leaves us accountable, though God has still ordained all things.  It is God’s plan that Moses interact with him in this way, and this kind of testing of Moses’ faith (this is, indeed, a bold action on Moses’ behalf), will better equip him to lead the rebellious people of Israel through the wilderness.  In addition, it testifies once again to the great grace of God, that he would accompany a people who had rejected him by their sinful actions.

Beloved, there is another  difficulty that comes out when we begin to reject God’s absolute sovereignty over history and see God as interacting with us through history, but not really having foreordained the path the world takes.  When you do this, you essentially place your own will as being sovereign over that of God’s.  This is the end result of John Wesley’s position (a form of what is called Arminianism), where he believes that the human will is autonomous when it comes to salvation—Wesley says that it is about “my choice” not God’s election.  This essentially puts you in the shoes of God, and beloved, that is not a place I want to be. 

I find that there is great comfort in trusting in the absolute sovereignty of God.  Does this mean I think of myself as a robot or a marionette under God’s control?  Certainly Not!  I am acting and choosing of my own liberty and am thus responsible for my actions.  Yet I thank God that he has ordered my way and the way of the world, for I know that he has promised blessing to those who love him and are called by his purpose (Romans 8:28).

“And Moses said to Yahweh, ‘See, you said to me, ‘lead this people up.’  But you did not reveal to me who you were going to send with me.  And you said, ‘I have known you with a name and you have found favor in my eyes.’ And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, reveal to me your ways so that I may know you and so that I may find favor in your eyes.  And understand that your people are this nation.’”

(Exodus 33:12-13)

What is this about “you have found favor in my sight”?  We must be careful when we approach this lest we begin to believe for a moment that a human being is able to earn merit in God’s eyes.  Indeed, aDxDm (matsa) not only can be translated as “to find” but also as “to obtain.”  Thus it is important for us to apply this concept from two angles.

First, we can see from the larger context of the Moses story and the larger context of scripture that it is God’s sovereign choice that determines who he will bless and who he will curse.  From birth, God was ordering Moses’ life to prepare him for just this task of leading the people out of Egypt.  Thus the favor that God gave to Moses was in no way something earned; but rather, it was something that it was God’s good pleasure to give.  God reiterates this in verse 19 of the passage—he will bless those he chooses to bless…

There is a second angle that we need to approach this, though.  Scripture also speaks of us bringing pleasure to God through praise (Hebrews 13:15) and through faithful piety (Isaiah 1:16-20, Hebrews 13:1-5, James 1:27).  It brings God pleasure to see his people acting faithfully in their lives.  In fact, when we endeavor on any project, we must learn to mark our success by the way God marks success.  When I began working with the men at the homeless shelter, I had visions of changing the world from the streets up.  After nearly four years of ministry to those men, I have seen only a handful of lives be really changed and turned around through our work. 

Early on, I became discouraged by this—that is until God showed me that I was judging the success of my ministry by the world’s standards.  My success or failure with those men is based on my faithfulness to doing what God has called me to do there, and it is based on nothing else.  Moses’ success or failure as a leader of God’s people was based solely on his faithfulness to God’s call on his life.  This is the standard that must be set before every believer.  The neat thing is that it is God doing the work through us (Philippians 2:13).  And he is also sanctifying us through his Spirit to make us worthy of that which he began in us and to bring about every good work through his people (Colossians 1:10).  What a privilege it is to be called by and to serve this God.

Thus, there is a sense that through our Godly lives and proper service, we not only bring pleasure to our God, but also build up treasure in heaven (see Matthew 19:21).  This treasure is neither saving merit nor is it honor that is deservedly received.  Our works are first forever polluted by sin and we are unable to please God unless so enabled to please him by the work of the Holy Spirit.  Thus the treasures that God bestows in heaven (like many of the blessings offered to those who overcome in Revelation 2 and 3) are a reflection of the superabundant grace of our Lord and God. 

Thus beloved, why has Moses found favor in the eyes of God?  It is because God, in his Grace, chose him.  Why have you or I found favor in the eyes of God?  Once again, he chose to pour out the abundance of his grace and mercy upon our lives.  Oh, what a wonderful God we have been called to serve—showers of blessing, indeed (Ezekiel 34:26).

“There shall be showers of blessing,”

oh, that today they might fall,

now as to God we’re confessing,

now as on Jesus we call!

Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need:

Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.

-Daniel Whittle

“And Moses said to Yahweh, ‘See, you said to me, ‘lead this people up.’  But you did not reveal to me who you were going to send with me.  And you said, ‘I have known you with a name and you have found favor in my eyes.’ And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, reveal to me your ways so that I may know you and so that I may find favor in your eyes.  And understand that your people are this nation.’”

(Exodus 33:12-13)

Oh the wonders of God’s relationship with his people!  This is the God that created all things with but words of his mouth.  This is the God whose being extends beyond all of the stars and all of the galaxies.  Earth is this God’s footstool!  Yet, this God condescends to know us by name—we who are sinful, arrogant, fallen, and proud, choosing sin of the flesh over the truth that He offers—he comes to us in a relational way.  I find this mind-boggling.

Yet, what is even more amazing is the willingness of this God to redeem us from our sin.  Not only does he choose to have a relationship with us, for those whom he has a relationship with, he saves.  Redemption cost him more than we can even begin to imagine, for it cost him the life of his son.  But because of the work of his son, he adopts us into his household as sons and daughters.  And once there, he does something even more remarkable.  For there he does not simply know us by name, he gives us a new name (Revelation 2:17).

Now, there is some discussion around the meaning of God knowing Moses “by name” or “with a name.”  Many translations translate the preposition used here as “by” to imply the idea that God knew Moses by name—personally.  But does God not know all of his children by name?  Some would suggest that the “by name” might refer to God knowing Moses by his reputation, but what can man do to impress a mighty God? 

No, these two solutions simply do not make sense.  The better way to understand this preposition is to understand it as being what is called an instrumental use.  What this means is that the instrument through which God knew Moses in a special way was through a name.  What name is that then?  The name hwhy (Yahweh)—the personal name of God given to God’s people through Moses (Exodus 3:14).  It is through Moses that this name was revealed to God’s people for all time and it is through this personal name that Moses was given the privilege of such personal access to the presence of God.

There is an old saying that goes: “It’s not what you know, but who.”  Oh how that saying speaks the truth about eternal matters.  Our God is a relational God; you may know every fact and figure about the Bible and be able to articulate every doctrine of the Christian church, but unless God knows you by name, it will avail you nothing.  The question that we must ask is what will God say to us when we stand in final judgment.  Will he say, “well done, my good and faithful servant” or will he say, “get away from me, I never knew you”?  Beloved, how you answer this question makes all the difference.

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear!

It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear.

Jesus, my Shepherd, Brother, Friend, my Prophet, Priest, and King,

My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring.

-John Newton

“And Moses said to Yahweh, ‘See, you said to me, ‘lead this people up.’  But you did not reveal to me who you were going to send with me.  And you said, ‘I have known you with a name and you have found favor in my eyes.’ And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, reveal to me your ways so that I may know you and so that I may find favor in your eyes.  And understand that your people are this nation.’”

(Exodus 33:12-13)

This theme of “going up” is an important theme for God’s people, particularly in the Old Testament.  When going into a time of trial, the language reflects their going down (to sheol–Genesis 37:35, to Egypt–Genesis 46:4, etc…) and going up reflects the idea of going up to redeem God’s promise (either through conquest as in going up into the Promised Land or through worship as reflected in the Psalms of Ascent).  God is certainly doing the leading, but as God so often does, he does so through the use of a human agent.  Sometimes Arminians criticize the Calvinistic emphasis on God’s sovereignty, claiming that it leaves no room for human agency.  How wrong that perception is.  The scriptures never leave us any room for doubt that all that transpires in this world is a result of the work of the hand of God.  Yet, what a blessing it is that God allows us to participate in that work–not for our glory, but for his own.

And do understand that Moses is the man for the job.  Sometimes it is hard to connect the events of scripture to those that were going on in the rest of the world at the time.  Assuming the date of 1492 for the Exodus to have begun (there is some debate in modern scholarship as to this date, but I would hold to the earlier, traditional dating of the Exodus), the world was filled with rising empires.  For example, the city of Sparta would be formed two years into the Israelite wilderness wanderings.  In addition, the nations of Athens (1556 BC), Troy (1546 BC), and Thebes (1493 BC) had already been founded at this point.  What would later become the Olympian Games (then called the Panathenaean Games) also had its beginnings during this era (1495 BC).  The Areopagus (the precurser to what would be the Greek, then Roman Senate) was established in 1504 BC, and in 1493 BC Cadmus is credited with bringing the 15 letters of the Phoenician alphabet into Greece, which gradually changed in form to become what we know as the Romans letters that are used predominantly in Europe and America today. 

Though these events may not seem to bear very heavily upon the Biblical text, it is important to note that this era was a time when civilizations were being born and establishing themselves.  Growing up in the Pharaoh’s household, Moses would have been aware, particularly of the politics of these (largely Greek) new nations.  Who better than one trained in such legal codes to receive and teach the Law of God to God’s people?  Who better to organize God’s people into a nation than one who had watched nations form?  Here is the man that God chose to work through as God would lead his people up from the wilderness and to prepare them for nationhood in the promised land.

Friends, God still works the same way today.  It is no accident that God gave you the experiences that you have had—they were designed by God’s almighty hand to prepare and equip you to serve him fully.  Could Moses, as a young man growing up in Pharaoh’s court have understood where God would take him?  Could he have understood why he felt such a tension between what he learned from his mother of his Hebrew heritage and what he was learning as the Pharaoh’s grandson?  The answer to these questions is most certainly no.  What he did have, though, was the discernment to use the experiences that God had given him to serve God’s people.  And is that not what we are all called to do?  It does not matter what happens to be our specific trade or occupation (farmer, mechanic, accountant, Postmaster, or pastor) we are all called to use the positions and the skills that God has given us to glorify his name.  The question we must ask, then, is are we doing that?  Are we working to God’s glory and are we using the time God has given us to build his kingdom?  Oh, the questions that we must weigh upon our hearts.  How better might we serve him who has served our needs so mightily?

“And Moses said to Yahweh, ‘See, you said to me, ‘lead this people up.’  But you did not reveal to me who you were going to send with me.  And you said, ‘I have known you with a name and you have found favor in my eyes.’ And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, reveal to me your ways so that I may know you and so that I may find favor in your eyes.  And understand that your people are this nation.’”

(Exodus 33:12-13)

This in itself is a remarkable way to begin any passage; that a holy and pure God would condescend to interact personally with sinful men—especially in light of what has just happened with the golden calf incident!  Yet this is part of the character of God.  He is willing to condescend to us and to meet our needs, fallen as we are.  By their apostasy, Israel had given up any legitimate claim they could have made to God’s favor (though no sinful man truly deserves God’s favor, but only wrath).  Moses had sought to mediate for them with his own life, but God would not allow it (for the life of the Great Mediator was already committed for his people; Jesus had agreed even before the creation of the world to come in the flesh and to die for the elect).  Yet, while God’s people deserve wrath, God chooses to show mercy upon them.  This setting itself helps us to frame and to understand just what God means in verse 19, when he speaks of his showing compassion on those to whom he wishes to show compassion.

Beloved, do not take this lightly or casually.  All too often we don’t take seriously enough the privilege we have in coming to God in prayer.  Here is a God who is all-together otherworldly; he has no sin; he is infinite; and he is infinitely holy—everything we are not.  Yet, God chose to come in the flesh that might know him and he chooses to listen when his people pray.  Though, sometimes I wonder whether we really believe that when we go to pray.  When you come before the High King of creation upon your knees, do you do so with an understanding that He is listening to you and is indeed present with you as you pray?  Beloved, he is.

Friends, revel in the time you have to pray; never take for granted the access that you have to the throne room of God.  It is a gift of his grace bought at the cost of the life of his Son.  We could never pay the price that this wonderful privilege, but he gives it to those who ask for free.  Oh, what wonderful God we have—who listens when we pray.

While there are many themes that arise throughout Israelite history, one of the themes that plays a major role in redemptive history is that of seeking God’s face and seeking to see His glory.  Certainly God glorifies himself in many ways throughout the scriptures—creation itself reveals the glory of God (Psalm 19).  But ultimately and fully, before the eyes of man, God did reveal his glory in his Son, Jesus Christ; and though that glory was veiled in the flesh for a time, it will be revealed in its fullness when Christ comes to claim his own and to bring judgment upon his enemies.  And, oh, what a glorious day that will be!

Yet, God does not lead his people through the redemptive history of the Old Testament without giving them a taste of what will come.  Many times, God reveals his glories through visions and dreams, but once in a while, God reveals himself and his glory in person.  And this is the request that Moses is making in our passage.  Moses has faithfully let the people out of Egypt and to Mount Sinai where they have received the Law from the very hand of God. 

Yet during the time that Moses is on the mountain receiving the Law, the people fall into sin by making and worshiping a golden calf.  Both God and Moses are furious, but Moses intercedes for his people and God relents of his anger.  Yet, at this same time, God sends the people away from Sinai.  This is the setting of our passage—God has commanded the Israelites to pick up and start moving, but Moses pleads for a sign that God will not forsake the people—and that sign is to see the glory of God.

This is a turning point in the history of God’s people.  As the people leave Sinai there can be no doubt that they would fall into sin once again—and oh how they fall into sin and how many die as a result of their sinful ways.  The question that remained to be answered with that in mind was whether God would continue with His people even when they were doing everything but continuing with Him?  Would God build them into a nation in spite of their rebelliousness?  The answer, of course is a resounding, “yes!”  But let us never forget that the blessings that God shows to his people in spite of their wickedness is due in no part to their merit, but is due entirely to the grace and mercy of our Lord.

How this is true as well with His church in the New Testament age and beyond.  The church, through history, has done anything but live an exemplary model of faithfulness to their God.  We are sinful and we fall on our faces over and over again as a result of that sin.  Yet, God is a faithful God and has preserved a remnant of true believers from within the corrupt church.  And even though we as the church stumble and fall into sin, he not only offers us forgiveness, but one day, when this flesh and blood has passed, we will see the glory of God face to face—not just for a moment and protected by a cleft in the rock, but fully in His presence for all eternity. 

Now, with triumphal palms, they stand before the throne on high,

And serve the God they love, amidst the glories of the sky,

His presence fills each heart with joy, tunes every mouth to sing;

By day, by night, the sacred courts with glad hosannas ring.

-Isaac Watts