An incidence occurred in the Wilderness during the journey of the Israel into the Canaan Land….that will bring up a major Prayer Point for you and me as we journey on this Year beyond the Jordan River.
“LORD, IT IS YOUR GLORIOUS PRESENCE I WANT.”
Moses had gathered Israel in the Camp, below the Mount where he had gone to meet with God for His directions for the people;
By the time he had spent 40 days on the mount, the people had corrupted themselves and carved out a Golden Calf for themselves to worship as their new god. God became angry with the people and as He gave MOSES the Tablets of the Commandments, He declared to him, right there on the Mount..
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Exodus 33:1-3, KJV
[1] And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:
[2] And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
[3] Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
He said He would not go onward with them on the Journey to Canaan Land but would send His Angel to go with them and take them to the land He had promised their fathers to give them. He said they were stiff-necked people, hard-hearted and stubborn.
When they heard this news, they were all sad and they all mourned. God was angry with them and decided not to go with them again, but to send His messenger to lead them to the land. Moses was scared at this. He relocated the Tabernacle from the midst of the camp to outside the Camp, and in His anger, the Lord God came down in a cloudy pillar, and began to speak with Moses. Moses began intercede on behalf of himself and the people. He would not want an angel to follow them…He wanted God to change His mind and follow them and lead them to Canaan Land.
NOW, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE ?
Is there any difference if God said He would not follow you on a journey but send His angel to lead you on the way, won’t you be happy? Won’t you be contented having an assurance of the angel of God escorting you to a place? I had always taught,…I could be satisfied with the presence of an angel of God. But Moses saw differently:
ANGEL IS JUST A MESSENGER OF GOD…HE WOULD HAVE NO POWER TO DO BEYOND THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN TO HIM.
So Moses insisted before God, that He would not go until God follow them in the Journey and lead them Himself. After much intercession and persuasion, God changed His mind and decided to follow them with His Presence and lead them Himself on the Journey.
Exodus 33:14-16
[14] And he said, My presence shall go with thee , and I will give thee rest.
[15] And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me , carry us not up hence.
[16] 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.
NO WONDER THERE WERE SUCH WONDERS AND ASTONISHING MIRACLES ON THE JOURNEY OF THE WILDERNESS….ONLY THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL COULD DO ALL THOSE THINGS.
Do you know why Moses refused the offer of an Angel-Escort? Do you know why he begged that he would not go with the people with an Escort-Angel, but with God’s Presence Himself? He did not forget what God said sometimes earlier when they entered the wilderness:
Exodus 23:20-22 KJV
[20] Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
[21] Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
Moses did not want an Escort-Angel who would not be able to make decision to forgive their trespasses when they erred on the way.
HE WANTED THE PRESENCE OF GOD HIMSELF…..
God had said the Escort-Angel would not pardon…he would not forgive….He would not do anything beyond the instructions given. He was, definitely, a Warrior Angel, instructed to fight the enemies of Israel and lead them safely to Canaan Land, but may not be able to take decisions to be compassionate and show understanding of their weaknesses…unless he had been instructed to …,
ME TOO….I DON’T WANT ANY ANGEL-ESCORT TO GO WITH ME IN THIS JOURNEY….
ANGELS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COPE WITH MY WEAKNESSES AND FAULTS….I WANT GOD’S PRESENCE HIMSELF…
Do you know why Moses insisted on God’s Presence instead of an Escort-Angel..? Because, when God showed him His glory, He heard the names of God:
Exodus 34:6-7 KJV
[6] And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord , The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
[7] Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation .
THE LORD GOD…!
MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS, LONGSUFFERING…
AND ABUNDANT IN GOODNESS AND TRUTH….
KEEPING MERCY FOR THOUSANDS,
FORGIVING INIQUITY AND TRANSGRESSION AND SIN….
For all these Reasons:
LORD…!
I DO NOT WANT AN ESCORT-ANGEL….IT IS YOU I WANT….
IT IS YOUR PRESENCE I DESIRE….OH, LORD!
Yes, the Angels of the Lord camp round about they that fear the Lord, YET IT IS THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD THAT I WANT TO LEAD ME IN THE JOURNEYS OF MY LIFE.
I desire Your glorious presence oh God, all through the journey of my life.
Aphorism CITY 