Mondays with Matt: Not Going Anywhere Without You

This is one of my favorite passages:

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I will send an angel before you...But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way.”

As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. 

Moses said, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 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?”

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” (Excerpts from Exodus 33)

Marital issues...God is not happy with the wayward ways of his treasured possession. He had asked them to make a sanctuary but instead, they had decided to make and worship a golden calf (Chapter 32), most likely a form of the Egyptian bull god, Apis.

How could they do this, when He had repeatedly shown them that He would be there for them? He then offers them safe passage to the Promised Land and have an angel accompany them, but he was not going with them because they were a stubborn people. 

Then, Moses speaks to God face-to-face and implores Him to change His mind. 

Teach me your ways so I may know you.

If you are not coming with us, I am not going anywhere.

I don’t want to go into the Promised Land without you.

I am more interested in seeing your glory.

And God says,

I will show you my glory.

I grew up in my Christian walk thinking that Heaven was the ultimate destination. I also found myself equating God being with me when good things happened, and abandonment when challenging stuff happened. I have moved away from this thinking to the understanding that being with God is most important, regardless of the good or bad.

Is being with God most important for us? 

More important than heaven?

What does being with God mean to you?

How would you speak to a friend?

Would you speak to God the same way?