The Favor of God

If you have your Bibles, please turn to Exodus chapter 33.

Exodus 33 · chapter mention

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if you have it, Exodus chapter 33.

Exodus 33 · chapter mention

It's the second book in the Bible.

So, we are in, we're gonna go through verses 1 to 23.

And let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father, we ask you this morning,

as Moses asked you many years ago,

show us your glory.

Reveal your goodness.

How gracious you are.

How merciful you are.

So that as we sinners gather before your throne,

we might be assured because of what Jesus has done on the cross,

of your favor,

of our acceptance,

our status within your household.

assure us of that this morning from your word.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If you are willing and able,

please stand for the reading of God's word from Exodus 33.

The Lord said to Moses,

depart,

go up from here,

you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt,

to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

saying,

to your offspring I will give it.

I will send an angel before you,

and I will drive out the Canaanites,

the Amorites,

the Hittites,

the Perizzites,

the Hivites,

and the Jebusites.

Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey,

but I will not go up among you,

lest I consume you on the way,

for you are a stiff-necked people.

When the people heard this disastrous word,

they mourned,

and no one put on his ornaments,

for the Lord had said to Moses,

say to the people of Israel,

you are a stiff-necked people.

If for a single moment I should go up among you,

I would consume you.

So now take off your ornaments,

that I may know what to do with you.

Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments

from Mount Horeb onward.

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp,

far off from the camp,

and he called it the tent of meeting.

And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting,

which was outside the camp.

Whenever Moses went out to the tent,

all the people would rise up,

and each would stand at his tent door

and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent.

When Moses entered the tent,

the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent,

and the Lord would speak with Moses.

And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud

standing at the entrance of the tent,

all the people would rise up and worship,

each at his tent door.

Thus, the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face,

as a man speaks to his friend.

When Moses turned again into the camp,

his assistant Joshua, the son of Nun,

a young man, would not depart from the tent.

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 your ways,

that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight.

Consider, too, that this nation is your people.

And he said,

My presence will go with you,

and I will give you rest.

And he said to him,

If your presence will not go with me,

do not bring us up from here.

For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight,

I and your people?

Is it not in your going with us,

so that we are distinct,

I and your people,

from every other people on the face of the earth?

And the Lord said to Moses,

This very thing that you have spoken,

I will do,

for you have found favor in my sight,

and I know you by name.

Moses said,

Please show me your glory.

And he said,

I will make all my goodness pass before you,

and will proclaim before you my name,

the Lord.

And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,

and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

But, he said,

You cannot see my face,

for man shall not see me and live.

And the Lord said,

Behold, there is a place by me

where you shall stand on the rock,

and while my glory passes by,

I will put you in a cleft of the rock,

and I will cover you with my hand

until I have passed by.

Then I will take away my hand,

and you shall see my back,

but my face shall not be seen.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated at this time.

In 2 Samuel 13-14,

David's son Amnon falls in love with his half-sister Tamar,

and uses cunning to bring her to his bedchamber,

and then violates her and sends her away,

so that she lives as a desolate woman

in her full brother Absalom's house

for the rest of her life.

Absalom, her brother, full brother,

on account of this,

hates his half-brother Amnon,

and he eventually murders him.

Fearing punishment for his murder,

Absalom flees to Geshur

and lives there in exile for three years.

After that,

David allows his son Absalom

to return to Jerusalem,

but even after two full years in Jerusalem,

Absalom is not allowed to come into the king's presence,

to come see his father, King David.

So imagine yourself in Absalom's shoes here.

Even though your father and king

has shown you mercy

by inviting you back to the capital,

he has not fully forgiven you.

He refuses to see you.

You're no longer exiled,

but you're still estranged from your father,

and you live with the lingering feeling

of his displeasure every day.

This eventually is too much for Absalom,

and he demands,

Why have I come from Geshur?

It would be better for me to be there still.

Let me go into the presence of the king,

and if there is guilt in me,

let him put me to death.

He's saying,

I'd rather die than to be estranged from you in this way.

Some of you can probably relate

to that feeling of estrangement.

Maybe you wronged your friend

or a family member.

You said something hurtful,

or you betrayed them in some way.

And knowing this,

maybe you acknowledged your fault,

and you tried to make amends,

and your friend accepts your apology,

but your relationship is still not what it used to be.

Maybe the way they look at you has changed.

Maybe the way they speak to you is different,

their tone.

There isn't the same level of affection and intimacy.

There's an invisible barrier,

a distance.

It feels like they are tolerating you,

but they don't seem to enjoy your company.

It's not a good feeling,

and it makes you wonder,

can things ever be the same between us again?

That's the question that the Israelites are left to ask

in their relationship with the Lord God

here in Exodus 33.

In the preceding chapter,

the Israelites made an idol of a golden calf

and worshiped it,

saying that it is the Lord, Yahweh.

And thereby, they exchanged the glory of the living God

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

In doing so, they violated the second commandment,

you shall not make for yourself a carved image

or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above

or that is in the earth beneath

or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them or worship them.

They offended God by misrepresenting him

and attempting to domesticate him

into something that they can touch,

feel, and manipulate to their own liking.

How do you reduce the uncreated God,

the invisible God who dwells in unapproachable light,

whose glory appears in the form of pillar of fire and smoke

to some image or a statue

that we can conceive in our own heads

and fashion with our own hands?

It's unthinkable,

and yet that is exactly what the Israelites did,

and that's what we all do

when we co-opt God for our purposes

and we make him in our image

to reflect our values,

to justify our opinions,

to justify our lifestyles.

Instead of worshiping the creator,

we have worshiped the creatures,

prostrating ourselves before money,

sex, and power,

worshiping other gods,

other people, and ourselves.

By their idolatry,

the Israelites broke their covenant with Yahweh,

and note that this happened

right after the establishment of the covenant.

While God was giving Moses instructions

for the construction of the tabernacle,

a tent for Yahweh,

the great I Am,

so that he might dwell in their very midst,

the Israelites prostituted themselves

with a golden calf,

with an idol.

Israel, as God says of the Israelites

in Jeremiah 31, 32,

they broke my covenant,

though I was their husband.

The nation of Israel became,

metaphorically,

an adulteress by their idolatry.

They were unfaithful to Yahweh

and broke their covenant vows,

and they were left asking,

can our relationship with God

ever be the same again?

That's the question that faces us this morning,

and thankfully,

this passage teaches us

that God shows mercy

to a stiff-necked people

out of his sovereign grace.

So we're gonna look at that

in three parts.

God's mercy,

how he sends the angel to go before you,

God's intercessor,

who interacts with God,

discourses with him face to face,

and then finally,

God's favor,

coming among his people again.

The Lord says to Moses

in verses one to three,

depart, go up from here,

and you and the people

whom you have brought up

out of the land of Egypt

to the land with which I swore

to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

saying to your offspring,

I will give it.

I will send an angel before you,

and I will drive out

the Canaanites,

the Amorites,

the Hittites,

the Perizzites,

the Hivites,

and the Jebusites.

Go up to a land

flowing with milk and honey.

So far, so good, right?

Most of this sounds very good.

We were told in Exodus 32, 14,

that the Lord relented

from the disaster

that he had spoken

of bringing on his people

because of their sin.

The Lord is being patient.

He's being forbearing.

And he will not wipe out

the Israelites

from the face of the earth

as they deserved.

Though golden calf

has been burned

and ground into powder,

and the people of Israel

were made to scatter it

in the water and drink it.

So the Israelites

have gotten a taste

of their own bitter medicine.

Some of them were slain

for their idolatry

by the Levites.

So they're asking,

well, so are we good now, God?

God, it seems that way

for the most part

based on this few verses

that we read.

God tells Moses

and the Israelites

to go to the land

flowing with milk and honey.

That's the promised land.

He promised to send an angel

to go before them

and drive out the nations

who are living there.

So some people think

that this is kind of a letdown,

that God's,

instead of going with them himself,

that he's just gonna send

an angel,

kind of a lowly angel

in his place,

almost like a renowned professor,

instead of coming

to do the lecture himself,

sending his intern

or something like that.

But that's not

what's going on here

because earlier in Exodus 23,

before the Israelites

broke the covenant,

when God was first formalizing

his relationship

with his people,

he said that he would send

an angel before you

to guard you on the way

and to bring you

to the place that I prepared.

So this is not

a downgraded promise.

It's the same promise

that he gave earlier.

Furthermore,

this is not an ordinary angel.

About the angel of the Lord,

the one of whom

the Lord God said,

my name is in him.

This angel doesn't merely

speak in the name of God.

It's Yahweh's name

is in him.

And because of that,

this angel has the power

to forgive sins,

which we know

from other parts of scripture

is a divine prerogative.

And that's why

in Joshua 5, 13 to 15,

people worship

the angel of the Lord

and the angel doesn't stop it

because he is actually

a representation

of the Lord God himself,

a manifestation

of the Lord God himself.

And many pastors

and theologians

make the connection

that the angel of the Lord

is in the Old Testament

the pre-incarnate form

of Jesus,

the second person

of the Trinity,

appearing before

he took on human flesh.

So God is still

planning on fulfilling

his promise to Israel.

He's still planning

on bringing them

to the promised land.

But there's something

still amiss

between God

and his people.

As we see in the second half

of verse 3,

go up to a land

flowing with milk and honey,

but I will not go up

among you

lest I consume you

on the way

for you are

a stiff-necked people.

There's a subtle

but important distinction here

between going

before the Israelites

to clear the land

and going among

the Israelites

to dwell there with them.

God is still going

to go before the Israelites

to drive out the enemies.

He's still going

to deliver them

into the promised land,

the land flowing

with milk and honey

as he had promised

to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

but he's not going

to go among them.

This is an allusion

to Exodus 25.8

where God said,

and let them make me

a sanctuary

that I may dwell

in their midst.

The book of Exodus

devotes 13 chapters

to the construction

of the tabernacle,

the sanctuary of God,

because it's the climax

of God's salvation plan

for the Israelites,

not only to deliver them

from Egypt,

but to dwell among them.

But God is now saying

that he will not

dwell among them.

God will still take care

of their transportation,

but he's canceling

his own reservation.

While God was giving

Moses instructions

for the construction

of his dwelling place

among them,

the Israelites instead

constructed for themselves

this golden calf,

an idol,

in the middle

of their camp.

To continue the analogy

that I used earlier

of marriage

that God himself uses

in the scriptures

between God

and his people,

it's like a wife

cheating on her husband

on their wedding day.

While the husband

is out purchasing furniture

for their new home.

It's the equivalent

of what the Israelites did.

While God was giving

Moses instruction

for the tabernacle,

right after establishing

their covenant,

they gave themselves away,

prostituted themselves,

adulterated the camp.

So God says,

I will not go up among you.

It's like a husband

who cannot quite bring himself

to move into that house

to share the bed

that has been adulterated.

I will not go among you

lest I consume you

on the way

for you are a stiff-necked people.

That's a farming metaphor,

stiff-necked.

When a farmer tries

to get an ox

to go the direction

he wants to go

and the ox

just stiffens his neck

because he doesn't

want to move that way.

It's probably more familiar,

I guess,

example is dogs.

If you guys have dogs

and you walk dogs

and you have a very untrained,

poorly trained dog,

the owner is supposed

to lead the dog

but instead the dog

is pulling you

every which way

he wants you to go

with the stiffened neck.

So imagine the Israelites

that way.

That's what they are.

They're stiff-necked people,

stubborn and willful,

unsubmitted to the will of God.

And the Israelites

recognize in verses 4 to 6

that God's refusal

to dwell among them

is a disastrous word,

they say.

So they mourn

and in response

to God's command

to take off

their ornaments,

they strip themselves

of all ornaments,

jewelry, rings.

This is a sadly symbolic act

in a number of levels

because if you remember,

first,

when God delivered

the Israelites from Egypt,

he instructed them

to ask the Egyptian neighbors

for their silver

and gold jewelry

and in doing so,

they plundered the Egyptians

and stripped them

of their ornaments.

But now,

the Israelites

have also been stripped

of their ornaments

like the Egyptians.

They've been reduced

to the state

of the Egyptians.

Second,

as we see later

in Exodus 35, 22,

the Israelites

were supposed to bring

their brooches

and earrings

and signet rings

and armlets,

all sorts of gold objects

for what?

As an offering

to the Lord

so that it may be used

for the construction

of the tabernacle.

But instead,

they used their golden rings

in Exodus 32

to build the idol,

the golden calf.

So the stripping

of the ornaments

is a reminder

to the Israelites

of their sin

and of how low

they have fallen.

Yahweh no longer

dwells among them.

Dwelling among them

is a disastrous word,

but there is actually

a mercy

in this disaster

because not only

is God still going

to go before them

to bring them

into the promised land,

it's actually merciful

of God

to not go up

with them

in their midst.

Why?

Because he says

in verse 5,

you are a stiff-necked

people.

If for a single moment

I should go up

among you,

I would consume you.

If God

in all his glory

and holiness

would dwell

among these

adulterous Israelites,

his righteous wrath

would consume them

in a single moment.

So God

is actually

mercifully

sparing them

by not dwelling

among them.

Sometimes

non-Christians

say to me,

well,

why doesn't God

just come

and show himself

right now

so that I would

believe in him

and follow him?

Because

God is being

merciful to you.

Because

you have rebelled

against him,

unfaithful to him,

because you have been

adulterous

and idolatrous,

loving other things

more than God,

living for yourself

rather than for God.

Because

if for a single moment

he should go up

among you,

he would consume you.

We so quickly

forget the judgment

that all sinful

humanity is under.

That's why

1 Peter 3, 9

says,

the Lord is not

slow to fulfill

his promise

as some count slowness,

but is patient

toward you,

not wishing

that any should perish,

but that all should

reach repentance.

Why doesn't God

just show up now?

Because he is being

patient

toward the people.

Because he wants

to give you time

to repent,

to turn from your sins

and toward him

in faith and obedience

so that you might

not perish.

Believers and

unbelievers like today

enjoy many of God's

general blessings.

That's what we call

common grace.

He gives us

all food to eat,

places to live,

sunshine in the morning,

rain for water.

He gives us families.

He gives us

our talents

and abilities.

He supplies

the very air

that we breathe.

And this kindness

of God

is supposed to

lead us to repentance.

Romans 2, 45

says,

or do you presume

on the riches

of his kindness

and forbearance

and patience,

not knowing

that God's kindness

is meant to lead you

to repentance,

but because of

your hard and

impenitent heart,

you are storing up

wrath for yourself

on the day of wrath

when God's righteous

judgment will be revealed.

Are you enjoying

the blessings of God

without worshiping

God himself?

Do you love

the gifts

more than the giver

of all good gifts?

Are you fine

with enjoying

the land

flowing with milk

and honey

apart from God

himself?

If you could enjoy

all the pleasures

of this life,

of this world,

all the money,

all the sex,

all the pleasures,

all the success

and recognition,

but you could

never have God

for himself,

would you take

that exchange?

If your answer

is yes,

then you are not

a Christian

because a Christian

is he who forsakes

the world

to gain his soul.

What good

is a honeymoon

without the bridegroom?

What good

is heaven itself

apart from

the loving

presence of God?

17th century

English poet

John Milton

put it this way,

thy presence

makes our paradise

and where thou art

is heaven.

17th century

Scottish pastor

Samuel Rutherford

said this,

oh my Lord

Jesus Christ,

if I could be

in heaven

without thee,

it would be

a hell

and if I could

be in hell

and have thee still,

it would be

a heaven to me

for thou art

all the heaven

I want.

That's the new heavens

and the earth.

Nothing less

than God

dwelling

with us,

making his dwelling

place among us

so that we are his people

and he himself

is our God.

Brothers and sisters,

that's what heaven

is.

Our eternal destiny

is to enjoy

and cherish God

forever.

Are you

enjoying a foretaste

of God

here and now?

Or is something

other than God

your chief

enjoyment?

Even though God

is mercifully

sparing the Israelites,

his absence

is ultimately

a disaster

and things

cannot be left

alone like this.

Israelites

need a mediator.

They need

an intercessor

to come between

them and God

to bridge the gap,

the distance.

Thankfully,

God has appointed

Moses for this

precise purpose

and verses 7 to 11

give us some

background information

about how Moses

used to talk

with God

and commune

with him

as a mediator.

He says in verse 7,

Notice how many

times this verse

tells us that this

tent was outside

the Israelite camp,

far off from the

camp.

This is intentional,

lest we confuse

this tent of meeting

with the tabernacle,

which has not yet

been constructed

because the tabernacle

is also at various

places in Exodus

called the tent

of meeting.

According to

Numbers 2,

the tabernacle,

the one that's not

built yet,

the official one,

it occupies the

very center

of the Israelite

camp,

like the king

who sits in the

middle of his people.

To the east

and south

and west

and north,

it's flanked

by the people

of God.

It's right at the

center.

But this tent

of meeting

is outside the

camp,

far off from the

camp.

This is not

the tabernacle

that God

commends Moses

and the Israelites

to build.

Rather,

it's a makeshift

tent that Moses

was in the habit

of using to meet

with God

before the construction

of the tabernacle.

It's not a tent

designed for God

to dwell in.

It's only a temporary

tent where God

would meet with Moses

and speak to him.

And so,

the mention

of this tent

here is a tragic

reminder of the

alienation between

God and Israel

due to their

idolatry.

God's plan

was to move

inside,

into the camp,

to dwell among

them,

right at the

center.

But that plan

is scrapped

now.

Now they're back

to the way

things used to

be.

The holy God

cannot dwell

among a sinful

people.

So he meets

with Moses

outside the

camp,

far off from

the camp,

away from the

defiling sins

of his people.

But Moses,

as God's

chosen mediator,

enjoyed intimate

fellowship with

God.

He says in

verses 9 to 11,

when Moses

entered the

tent,

the pillar of

cloud would

descend and

stand at the

entrance of the

tent.

And the Lord

would speak with

Moses.

And when all

the people saw

the pillar of

cloud standing

at the entrance

of the tent,

all the people

would rise up

and worship

each at his

tent door.

Thus,

the Lord used

to speak to

Moses face to

face as a man

speaks to his

friend.

When Moses

turned again

into the camp,

his assistant

Joshua,

the son of

Nun,

a young man

would not

depart from

the tent.

The pillar of

cloud is the

manifestation of

God's presence.

It's a reflection,

an expression of

his glory.

So when the

pillar of cloud

stands at the

entrance of the

tent,

notice that God

doesn't actually

enter the tent,

from there the

Lord speaks with

Moses face to

face as a

man speaks to

his friend.

It's a stunning

description of

Moses' relationship

with God.

The expression

face to face,

we have to note

here,

doesn't literally

mean that Moses

saw God's face.

We know this

because later in

verses 17 to 20,

Moses asks God,

please show me

your glory,

and God

specifically tells

him,

you cannot see

my face,

for man shall

not see me

and live.

Similarly,

in Deuteronomy 5,

4,

when it describes

how God spoke

to the Israelites

out of the

mountain,

the fiery

mountain in

Mount Horeb,

it says that

the Lord spoke

with you face

to face at the

mountain,

even though we

are told earlier

in Deuteronomy 4,

12,

that clearly that

they did not see

God's form,

or they did not

see,

or they only heard

his voice.

So clearly the

expression face to

face is not

literal,

rather it means

person to person.

it's a figurative

way,

like when we

speak of

seeing someone

eye to eye,

we don't mean

that literally

you're staring

at each other's

eyes,

rather we mean

that we're in

agreement.

So it's a

figurative way

face to face

here of saying

that God spoke

with Moses

personally and

directly.

This sets

Moses apart

from the other

prophets of old.

Numbers 12,

68,

after Miriam

and Aaron

oppose Moses,

rebel against

him,

God defends

his special

favorite servant

this way.

He says,

hear my words.

If there is a

prophet among you,

I, the Lord,

make myself known

to him in a

vision.

I speak with him

in a dream,

not so with my

servant Moses.

He is faithful

in all my house.

With him I speak

mouth to mouth

clearly and not

in riddles.

And he beholds

the form of the

Lord.

Why then were you

not afraid to

speak against

my servant

Moses?

So Moses

enjoyed a

special favor

with God

and set the

standard really

for all the

Old Testament

prophets.

The Israelites

have sinned

against God

and have

alienated him

but Moses

is a friend

of God.

Maybe Moses

can mediate

on their

behalf.

Maybe Moses

can speak to

God on their

behalf.

Verses 7 to 11

are building

that, that

suspense

in preparation

for the

verses that

follow and

especially

chapter 34

1 to 9

which we'll

talk of,

speak of next

week.

But will

Moses succeed

in his

intercessory work?

That's what we

see in verses

12 to 23.

Moses said to

the Lord in

verse 12,

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.

Moses is

here citing

God's command

to him in

verse 1.

God told him,

go up from

here, you

and the

people whom

you have

brought up

from the

land of

Egypt.

God has

told them

that while

the angels

of the Lord

will go

before them,

that he

will not

go up

among them

or with

them.

So Moses

is pushing

back here

in a very

deferential

way.

God, you

want me to

bring this

people into

the promised

land, but

do you

really expect

me to do

that without

your presence

in our

midst?

Surely you

will send

someone to

go with

me, right?

And by

this, Moses

is implying

that he

wants Yahweh

himself to

come with

him.

Didn't you

say to me,

God, I

know you

by name,

that you

have found

favor in

my sight?

Moses

continues in

verse 13,

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.

Moses is

very ingratiating

in his

dialogue with

Yahweh as

he should be,

and he's

saying, in

effect, if I

have really

found favor

in your

eyes, then

please show

me what you

intend to

do.

Show me

your plans,

that I may

really know I

have your

favor.

And, by

the way,

please remember

that this

nation is

your people.

Remember what

God said earlier

in verse 1,

go up from

here, you

and the

people whom

you have

brought up

from the

land of

Egypt.

Prior to

Exodus 32,

God always

refers to

Israel as

my people.

And he

says, I am

the Lord your

God who

brought you

out of the

land of

Egypt.

But after

their idolatry,

because they

set an idol up

in the place

of God,

after that

point, and

as you can

see here,

God refers

to his

people instead

as your

people, your

people, Moses,

that you

brought out

of the

land of

Egypt.

It shows

how Israel's

idolatry has

alienated God

so that he's

now distant

from them.

And Moses

gently pushes

back on this

notion.

He's reminding

God, remember

God, this

nation is

your people,

not mine.

And God

responds favorably

to Moses'

request to

go with him.

He says in

verse 14,

my presence

will go

with you

and I

will give

you rest.

But the

you here is

singular.

God's saying

I will go

with you,

Moses, not

with the

people.

It's still

a favorable

response to

what Moses

was initially

requesting, so

Moses is

emboldened to

press the

matter even

further in

verses 15

to 16.

As I read

it, please

pay attention

to the

personal

pronouns as

I read

verses 15

to 16.

If your

presence will

not go

with me, do

not bring us

up from here.

For how shall

it be known

that I have

found favor in

your sight, I

and your

people?

Is it not in

your going

with us so

that we are

distinct, I

and your

people, from

every other

people on the

face of the

earth?

So Moses is

not trying to

confirm his

own favor

status with

God.

He's already

been assured

of that.

He's trying

to leverage

his favor

status with

God to

bring God's

favor to

bear upon

the rest of

the nation

of Israel.

Here is

Moses, the

man who

speaks with

God face

to face,

pleading for

God's presence,

which literally

in this passage

in Hebrew is

God's face.

Moses is

saying, God,

what distinguishes

us from these

other nations on

earth is not

some good piece

of real estate.

It's not our

military victories.

It's you,

Yahweh, your

presence.

How else can

we know that

we have your

favor apart from

your presence

among us?

Please go with

us.

And God

remarkably says

yes.

He says in

verse 17,

this very thing

that you have

spoken, I will

do, for you

have found favor

in my sight,

and I know

your name.

God's

God.

This is such a

gracious condescension

from God.

The usual

course is for

God to speak

and then for

people to

listen and to

do what he

told them to

do.

But here,

Moses speaks,

and then the

king grants his

favored servant's

request.

This very thing

you have spoken,

I will do.

Christian

brothers and

sisters, this is

the privilege that

we now enjoy in

Christ.

Because Jesus

made a way for

us to be

reconciled with

God instead of

being enemies,

Jesus said, I

have now called

you, my

friends.

So we can now

approach God's

very throne of

grace and bring

our petitions to

him, and because

we are in Christ

and we're no

longer merely a

servant, but in

God's son, we can

be assured that

God will look upon

us with favor.

Hebrews 3 tells

us that Jesus,

the apostle and

high priest of our

confession, was

faithful to God

who appointed him

just as Moses also

was faithful in all

God's house.

For Jesus has been

counted worthy of

more glory than

Moses, as much

more glory as the

builder of a house

has more honor than

the house itself.

Now Moses was

faithful in all

God's house as a

servant to testify

to the house, to

testify to the

things that were to

be spoken later.

But Christ is

faithful over God's

house as a son.

And we are his

house if indeed we

hold fast our

confidence and are

boasting in our

hope.

In Jesus Christ, we

have even greater

confidence than the

Israelites had in

their mediator, Moses,

because as favored as

Moses was, he was

merely a servant of

God.

But Jesus is God's

beloved son, his

only son.

Who has more clout in

the king's household?

A servant or a son?

The heir.

And that's what we

have access to in

Jesus because we are

his son.

We are his children in

Christ.

To the unbelieving

friends among us, do

you feel alienated from

God?

Do you not know his

gracious presence?

Have your sins driven

God far from you?

Have you turned the

blessings and gifts

that God has given you

into idols that have

displaced God from your

heart and from your

life?

Then you must strip

yourself of the

ornaments and cling to

Jesus.

Plead with God to

intercede on your

behalf.

If God listened to his

favorite servant,

Moses, then he will

certainly listen to his

favorite son, Jesus,

on your account.

You can be restored to

the presence of God.

You can be indwelled by

the very spirit of God

and many of us here can

attest to that reality.

You can be forgiven and

reconciled to God.

You must only turn to

Jesus and put all your

faith in him.

The only reason why God

can actually grant Moses'

request here and dwell

among them again, though

they have sinned against

him, is because he looks

ahead to what Jesus will

do, making atonement for

the sins of his people on

the cross.

Moses could only win the

temporary suspension of

God's righteous wrath, but

Jesus, the son, pays the

penalty for our sins once and

for all, to do away with

the wrath of God forever.

So receiving God's

affirmative answer, Moses

makes one final request in

verse 18.

Please, show me your

glory.

Undoubtedly, Moses yearned

for a deeper knowledge of

God and a deeper encounter

with God, but that's not

all that's going on in this

request.

In Exodus 24, when God first

made his covenant with his

people Israel, with Moses

mediating, Yahweh confirmed

that covenant with his

presence by appearing before

them.

In Exodus 24, he says, the

glory of the Lord dwelt on

Mount Sinai.

And the appearance of the

glory of the Lord was like a

devouring fire on the top of

the mountain in the sight of

the people of Israel.

So Moses is now asking for a

similar confirmation.

Lord, if you really intend to

dwell among us and go with us

again, then please assure me of

this favor.

Please show me your glory as you

did before, more than the

destruction of our enemies, more

than the inheritance of land

flowing with milk and honey.

We want your presence, God.

So please show me your glory.

And God says in verse 19, I will

make all my goodness pass before

you and will proclaim before you

my name, the Lord, and I will be

gracious to whom I will be

gracious and will show mercy on

whom I will show mercy.

This is an astounding revelation.

What does the glory of the Lord

consist of?

It's his goodness, his

graciousness, his character.

And God proclaims his name, which

represents his identity, who he is.

And his name is the Lord.

And when you see that name in all

caps, it stands for his proper, his

name, the proper noun, Yahweh or

Yehovah.

In the Hebrew, it means I am who I

am, or as it is given here, I will be

gracious to whom I will be gracious, and

I will show mercy on whom I will show

mercy.

Note how that parallels the name I am

who I am that God revealed in Exodus

3, 13 to 15.

It's saying the same thing, but this

phrase, it's phrased this way here to

explain why God is showing his favor to

Moses and the Israelites again.

Because the Hebrew word gracious, be

gracious, is a verbal form of the noun

that is translated favor, which is

repeated five times in this passage.

So why does God show favor to Israel?

Because his name is Yahweh.

I am who I am, who shows favor to whom

he shows favor.

In Romans 9, Paul speaks of how God

sovereignly chooses those who will be

his children, just as he chose Jacob

rather than Esau, according to his

purpose of election, his choosing, so

that those who are saved are saved not

according to their works or according to

their desserts or their worthiness, but

according to God's sovereign favor.

Not because they did something right, but

because God chose them and called them.

And then Paul anticipates the people's

objection in Romans 9.

He says, isn't that unfair?

Why does God choose some people but not

others?

And then to answer that objection, Paul

cites Exodus 33, 19, our verse here.

For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on

whom I have mercy and I will have compassion

on whom I have compassion.

So then it depends not on human will or

exertion, but on God who has mercy.

The word for, in introducing that

quotation from Exodus, suggests that the

quotation answers that objection, that God

is being unfair and unjust when he chooses

sovereignly some people to be his and not

others.

However, at first glance, Exodus 33, 19,

doesn't seem to actually answer the

question, right?

He seems to just restate the problem.

I will have, be gracious to whom I will

be gracious.

I will show compassion to whom I will

show compassion.

And the reason for that lies in the fact

that it, this is the very nature of God.

It's in his very name to act in this way.

As we'll see next week in Exodus 34, 6,

it's in God's very nature.

It's part of his name to be merciful and

compassionate.

But his name also speaks of God's radical

independence and sovereignty.

God is not an admissions officer whose job is to

admit the most qualified students.

God is not a hiring manager whose job it is to

hire the most qualified candidates.

God is a king who appoints whomever he wishes to his

service.

God is a father who adopts whomever he wishes as his

children.

In other words, God dispensing mercy to whom he wills is

part and parcel of the very name and identity of God.

It is part of God's very nature.

He is gracious to whom he is gracious because he is the I am

who I am.

He is the sovereign Lord who is accountable to no one and

subject to no one else's authority.

I am who I am means that God never changes.

He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

He was and is and will be.

God is always true to himself.

He's faithful to his character.

He never deviates from his purposes.

He never changes his will.

So why is God favorable toward Israel despite the fact that

they are an unfaithful, undeserving, and adulterous

bride?

Despite their idolatry and rebellion?

Because he is Yahweh.

I am who I am.

And he has chosen Israel and he has put his name upon them.

And the name Yahweh is made up of the Hebrew verb to be.

And it's related to God's promise earlier given to his people

in Exodus 3.12.

I will be with you.

So how can Yahweh forsake his people, change his mind,

and renege on his promise when his name means I will be with you?

I will not leave you or forsake you.

God shows his favor to his people because he has chosen to show favor

to his people.

God never reneges on his promises.

That God's ongoing favor toward his people depends not on our works,

not on our deserving, but on his sovereign purposes should be a source

of great comfort for us as Christians.

Because our sins are many, are they not?

But his mercy is more.

Do we deserve his favor?

No, we do not.

We do not deserve his favor.

But Jesus has come to declare the ear of the Lord's favor.

We do not deserve to be his people.

But God calls us his own.

God calls us his people.

And he shows us mercy.

Why?

Because God says, I have chosen you.

And I have mercy on whom I have mercy.

So Christian brothers and sisters, perhaps some of you have lapsed recently.

You've backslidden.

You're living in unrepentant sin.

Maybe you're afraid of turning to God.

Maybe you're afraid that he will turn you away.

Maybe.

Maybe.

Are you afraid that things will never be the same again between you and God?

God says, fear not.

For I have redeemed you.

I have called you by name.

And you are mine.

Rest assured in God's favor toward you in Jesus Christ.

Because God shows mercy to a stiff-necked people out of his sovereign grace.

Let's pray together.

God, we praise you and we worship you because our salvation depends not on our works.

That the basis of our relationship with you is not what we do or have done, but it is what you have done in Christ.

It's not because we chose you.

Love.

Love.

Because you are.

I am who I am.

We love you.

We worship you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.