Word of Encouragement (09/06/2022)
Moses said to the LORD, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people." (Ex. 33:12-13)
What was the occasion of this prayer? The LORD just commanded Israel to depart from Mount Sinai and go to the land He promised to give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v. 1). He promised to send an angel to guide the people of Israel (v. 2). Then, the LORD dropped a bomb on Moses: the reason He was sending an angel was that He would not go among His people. Why? Because they were rebellious, stiff-necked people, He would consume them in His wrath on the way (v. 3). So, Moses responded with this prayer, which consisted of three parts: a complaint; a reminder of God’s promise to him; and a plea.
In the first part of the prayer, Moses brings his grievance to the LORD: “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me.” Here, he is not simply complaining about the difficulty of his job. Throughout this prayer and the next, he will build up his case against the declaration that God has just made about not going up to the promised land among His people.
Let us note that this is a complaint. As we saw before, God allows us to bring our complaints and grievances to Him. How amazing that is! Who are we that we should bring any complaint to God? We are but His creatures. Without Him, we would not exist and have all that we have. On top of that, we are sinners. We don’t deserve anything, except His condemnation and punishment. Yet, we have been given so much beyond what we don’t deserve because God is gracious. How can we complain to God about anything? Yet, we do. We do because we are sinful. We are also finite and limited in our understanding of God’s ways. But because we are sinners, we complain rather than humbly submit to His ways, confessing, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are Your ways higher than our ways and Your thoughts than our thoughts.” Yet, God is merciful, and He knows our weakness. He stoops down low to hear our complaints. So, let us be honest with God and let Him know what is going on in our hearts, even our complaints!
But let us also note that this is a godly complaint. Moses is not simply complaining about some inconveniences or discomfort he is experiencing at the moment. He is complaining because he does not understand how God’s most recent declaration can possibly fit with His promise to him and to His covenant people. According to His promise to the Patriarchs, God will grant the promised land to their descendants. But is that all that He has promised? Can He keep His end of the covenant if He doesn’t go with them to the promised land? What was the promise He gave to Moses when He called him at Mount Sinai and he kept refusing to go? “I will be with you” (Ex. 3:12). And what was His covenant with Israel about? “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God...” (Ex. 6:7). How can He be their God if He refuses to be with them? Moses was protesting because God seems to be breaking His covenant. Of course, God was testing Moses to see whether he understood the heart of His covenant with His people.
What are your complaints? As we saw, even when we bring our “childish” complaints, God is merciful enough to patiently hear them. If you understand the heart of God and bring a legitimate concern to God’s attention, He will not be angry. He will use even our complaints to advance His kingdom and exalt you as His faithful servant! Let us not sulk in silence. That’s an act of giving up on the relationship. Let us be honest and transparent before Him!