The Divine Distinctive

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This is a message based on Exodus 33:16 where Moses asks the Lord, "What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" He asks this question to support his request for God's special divine presence to accompany them as they travel toward Canaan. It is still the distinct presence of the blessed Holy Spirit that distinguishes God's people from all others.

Written Excerpts:

Exodus 33:15-16 ^(NKJV) Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth."

Exodus 33:15-16 ^(NIV) Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

In the NKJV the last phrase in provided in the form of a statement, while the NIV provides the same thought in the form of a question.

(NKJV) “If Your presence goes with us, then Your people and I will be separate from all the [other] people on the face of the earth.”

(NIV) “If Your presence doesn’t go with us, then what will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people of the face of the earth?”

Introduction:

How does a company successfully market a product when the same kind of product is offered by the competition? In order to be successful, a business owner has to find a way to distinguish his product/company from the competitor. It might be the customer service following the sale; it might be the exceptionally courteous staff; it might be the durability of the product; etc. There has to be a way to convince the public that your product/service is far better than that which is offered by other companies.

I think that there is a similar kind of point being made by Moses in this conversation with God in Exodus 33. The descendants of Jacob are on their way back to the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They’ve been miraculously delivered from a 400-year bondage in Egypt and are now traveling through the wilderness/desert. They’ve already exhibited a stubbornness and resistance to the will of God that shows up in worship of the golden calf and in other ways.

God has, in a sense, “backed away” from leading this large group of people any further and He tells Moses that he can lead them from now on. Moses intercedes on behalf of the people and begs God to go with them. 

The verbal exchange between Moses and God was included in the Scripture reading a little earlier in the service. (See Ex. 33:1-17) In this exchange between Moses and God, Moses asks, “If you do not go with us, then how will we be distinguished from all the other people on the earth?”

With the help of the Holy Spirit, I want to speak to you about the divine presence that distinguishes God’s people from the general population.

I.      There already was a sense in which God was with them. (vv. 7-11)

God had been with them and brought them to the present location, but because of their rebellion had separated Himself from them. (see vv. 1-6)

God says in v. 1, “you and the people you have brought out of the land of Egypt.” He essentially says “These are your people, Moses.” Then in verse 13, Moses declares to God, “… this nation is Your people.”

God had ordered the people to remove their ornaments (jewelry). This was a sign of mourning.

In spite of all this, Moses was still in communication with God and experienced the presence of God.

In verse 15, Moses says to God, “If your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from this place.” We are told that there is no Hebrew word for “presence.” The word used here is the same word that is translated as “face” in other places. In this context, the “face of God” is His presence and nearness to His people and the assurance that He is with them.

But, v. 11 tells us that Moses was already talking face to face with God.

(Tyndale OT Commentaries) – [“face to face”] that is to say, not in dreams and visions, but clearly and directly. Moses had the gift of clarity of spiritual insight: he shared the very counsels of God.

 (Keil and Delitzsch Commentary) Out of this cloud Jehovah talked with Moses (vv. 7-10) "face to face, as a man talks with his friend" (v. 11); that is to say, not from the distance of heaven, through any kind of medium whatever, but "mouth to mouth," as it is called in Num. 12:8, as closely and directly as friends talk to one another. …. Although Jehovah showed Himself to Moses in some peculiar form of manifestation, He never appeared in His own essential glory, but only in such a mode as human weakness could bear.

Contrast this description with verse 20, where God tells Moses that no one can see His face and live. It is apparent that Moses had a level of communion and communication with God already, but it was not the same as what can be experienced at a different level.

II.    There apparently is a deeper level of God’s presence available for those who seek it.

There is evidence in the way Moses intercedes for God’s presence (face) that indicates Moses is not satisfied with the current level of intimacy or knowledge, but he wants more. See vv. 12-13

Moses essentially begs God to give more revelation to demonstrate that Moses has truly found grace in God’s sight.

(Keil and Delitzsch Commentary) – "Let me know Thy way (the way which Thou wilt take with me and with this people), that I may know Thee, in order that I may find grace in Thine eyes, and see that this people is Thy people." The meaning is this: If I have found grace in Thy sight, and Thou hast recognized me as Thy servant, and called me to be the leader of this people, do not leave me in uncertainty as to Thine intentions concerning the people, or as to the angel whom Thou wilt give as a guide to me and the nation, that I may know Thee, that is to say, that my finding grace in Thine eyes may become a reality….

Near the end of the chapter, Moses again begs God for a divine revelation of His glory. (See vv. 18-23)

(Tyndale OT Commentaries) – Show me thy glory. God has just granted the petition for his continued presence with Israel. Now Moses’ prayer is to see the kābôd, the manifested glory (literally ‘weight’) of YHWH. This is a prayer to see God as he is: but, in these terms, it is impossible. Mortal man cannot endure to see God (verse 20). In vivid pictorial language, the passage says that man may see only where God has passed by (verses 22, 23) and so know him by his past doings and acts. God as he is, in all his mystery, we cannot know or comprehend.

Moses can’t get enough of the presence of God.

(Dr. Oswalt) We human beings are so made that we can never get the same stimulation again from the same experience. This, of course, is what leads to addiction. 

Look at the contrast between the average people and their leader, Moses. When God first appears to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, there is lightening, smoke and thunder, and the people are fearful. They tell Moses to go talk to God for them and come back to report what God says, then we will do whatever God says.

Those who only have a casual relationship with God are the same ones who usually do not have any passionate desire to know Him better. But, those who have a much more intimate relationship with God, are characterized by their intense passion to know more; to be closer to God. 

This is the way with Moses. Moses already had a much more intimate connection and communication with God, but he’s not satisfied. He wants to know more. And, God’s response to his request to see God’s glory is, “I will cause my goodness to pass before you and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.”

Rather than a fabulous display of glory, God wants Moses to see His character/nature more deeply than ever before.

III.   The intimate presence of God is the Divine Distinctive for the people of God.

vv. 15-16

Moses tells God, “If your presence isn’t going with us, then do not take us up from here.”

(John Oswalt, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary) – He realized that without Yahweh, the Promised Land was worthless. In fact, the Sinai desert with the face of Yahweh was infinitely more desirable than Canaan without his face (33:15-16)… Moses and Israel did not need what God could do for them nearly as much as they needed God Himself.

Then, he tells the Lord, “Your presence is the only thing that will distinguish us from all the other peoples of the earth.” Or, if we put it in the form of a question… “Lord, if your presence is not with us, what else will distinguish us as your people on the face of the earth?”

This is the verse that captured my attention when I read this passage a couple of weeks ago.

I believe that this truth is still valid today – God’s intimate presence is the only thing that will clearly distinguish between the people who truly belong to God and those who don’t. What is it that will distinguish us as God’s people from all other people (churches) in Grove City? IT IS ONLY THE MANIFEST PRESENCE OF GOD THROUGH HIS HOLY SPIRIT.

You’ve heard me say this numerous times: People who attend our services need to leave having experienced the presence of God. They need to know more than anything else that they have been in God’s presence.

What is it that will distinguish me individually as a person of God? It is only the manifest presence of God’s Spirit in my life.

Conclusion:

Have you ever been around a group of people that you could just feel the presence of the Lord in them? You knew just by being with them a short time that they were different, and you longed to be like them?

Have you ever known someone who made you hungry to know God better?

Have you ever known someone who made you think, “I want to be that kind of Christian?”

I have been in church services where the Spirit of the Lord was so real my soul and spirit ached to know God more; to have Him as real in my life as I could feel He was in the lives of the people in that service.

I am so thankful that I can say my own parents were individuals who often made me think as a child, “I want to know God like they do as I get older.” Hear Dad get blessed in the Spirit as he was praying in our time of family devotions.

What are we passing on to our kids and grandkids? There are a lot of things our kids need to learn and we need to teach them… how to work; how to think; how to have a good time and enjoy life; etc. etc. But above everything else we must teach them, we absolutely need to teach them to passionately desire God and insist on having His presence in their lives.

There’s only one way we can do that. We can’t teach what we do not have ourselves. And… we can’t have it ourselves if we do not take the time to seek the most intimate presence of the Holy Spirit in our own lives. Yes, it is possible to devote every aspect of life, family life, work, recreation, etc. to be all for the glory of God. We can do everything with the goal of exalting God. But, those activities will not provide the intimate presence of God that Moses is talking about. That can only be experienced in intimate times of devotion, worship and seeking Him in prayer. 

(Not prayers that are asking for God to solve my problems and provide my desires, but prayer for God to cleanse me from everything that hinders His true presence from being more real; and prayers for Him to fill me afresh.)

Closing Song: Fill Me Now