Face to Face with God

Face to Face with God

Read: Exodus 33:7-11

“So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”    (Exodus 33:11a NASB)

          Can you visualize the scene in Exodus 33:11 – Face to face with God?

Here’s Moses, the one who said to Jehovah at the burning bush, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)  He also gave several other excuses, one being, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” (Exodus 4:10). 

          Moses had plenty of speech training when he was attending the educational institutions of Egypt.  He had received the best education the Egyptian universities had to offer, but forty years in the backside of the desert attending lazy dirty sheep had apparently stripped him of his eloquence.  “I can’t talk,” he moaned to God.  How ridiculous!  What a flimsy excuse! 

          Now we see him standing in the door of the Tabernacle carrying on a friendly conversation with the Holy God of the universe face to face.  What a change!  How does a tongue-tied sheepherder become such a dynamic leader and conservationist? 

          If you had to deal for forty years with a congregation full of grumblers and complainers like Moses did wouldn’t your life change?  Would it be for better or worse?  How would you react to a disobedient and obstinate people?  Consider what effect spending forty days and nights in the very presence of God would have on your life.  Would you expect changes from that experience?  

          I’ve always admired Moses for his fiery leadership and humble attitude.  He faced unparalleled criticism and bore the brunt of the people’s sinful ways for forty years; yet he remained compassionate and humble before God.  Yes, he grew angry, showed frustration, and acted impulsively at times, but his heart remained in tune with Jehovah.

          When God wanted to annihilate the people because of their idolatrous sin, Moses interceded for them, even suggesting that the Lord blot his name out of the book rather than destroy His heritage.  That, my friends, speaks of true humility and compassion.

          One of the most profound statements regarding Moses’ relationship with Jehovah was penned by the psalmist David, “He (God) made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the sons of Israel” (Psalm 103:7 NASB).  The “ways” of God are the innermost secrets of His being.  Moses had a special relationship that few Old or New Testament servants could claim. 

          Bible characters such as Enoch (who walked with God and was not because God took him), Abraham (who was called the friend of God), Noah (who was the only righteous man on the earth before the flood), Abraham (who was called the friend of God), David (who was regarded as a man after God’s own heart), and the prophets were noted men of courage and strength, but Moses is the only one who the bible says talked to God “face to face.”

          What would a face to face experience with God be like?  If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and have been washed in the blood of the lamb, and have your name written in the lamb’s book of life, you will get that opportunity when you enter heaven’s gate. 

          The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”  (NASB)

Thought for the Day: God is waiting to carry on a friendly conversation with you.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I can hardly wait for the day when I will see you face to face and carry on a father/son conversation.