Really getting To Know God

When Moses made the effort to meet God half way, God revealed things about himself to him in ways no one else had ever experienced, literally showing him a little bit of his glory.  As a result, Exodus 34:8 tells us, “And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.”  The word translated worshipped means literally he fell prostrate on the ground in humility before God.    Like every other person in scripture who got a vision of God, Moses fell on his face, recognizing God’s power and superiority.   Before seeing his vision of God’s glory, In Exodus Ex 33:15, Moses told God, “…If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.”  After seeing the vision, Moses had a different attitude, in Exodus 34:9.  “And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.”  He was no longer demanding God go with them but begging him to accompany them in spite of their stubbornness and rebellion. 

God agreed to go with them and do everything he promised.  In exchange there were certain things he would demand from them.  Exodus 34:10-11 describes what God promised to do for them if they would obey.  “And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.  Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.”

If they were going to experience God’s presence with them, they would have to make a point of avoiding worshipping any other gods, according to Exodus 34:12-17.  “Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.  Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.”  The picture here is of a wife avoiding any appearance of flirting with other men, and in Jeremiah 3:14, God told Israel, “…I am married unto you…”  A husband or wife has every right to be upset if their mate is flirting and making out with someone else. 

Just as a wife is expected to cook and keep house for her husband in exchange for his providing her a place to live and food to eat, Israel was expected to show their appreciation for what God was doing for them by keeping certain sacrifices and celebrations, as we see in Exodus 34:18-27.  “The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.  But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.  Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.  For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.

Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.  The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.  And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.”

Celebrating the Passover was very much like a couple celebrating their anniversary and remembering their marriage.  Celebrating the Sabbath was very much like a couple setting aside a time to put aside everything else and spend time with each other.  Like any family, they needed to take time to sit down at the table and eat together, at each of the various feasts.  When we are too busy with other things to spend the time together, we destroy the marriage relationship, no matter how good or important the things we are doing may be.  It doesn’t matter whether we are cleaning house or earning a degree, working overtime, working out at the gym, or going out with our friends, it weakens the marriage, even though we are doing those things for our mate.    Similarly, we get so caught up in witnessing and doing our devotions or performing a ministry that we don’t take time for God and destroy our spiritual relationship.   If we really want a close relationship with him he have to put him first, even ahead of whatever ministry we may be involved in.    It has to be an ongoing thing, not just a one-time event.