The Absence of God

Accepting Second Best

 1  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.’   2  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.   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.”  - Exodus 33:1-3 ESV

The verses quoted above come in the context of Israel asking for another god. Moses had been away in the presence of the God of Israel for a long time, and the people feared he would never return. They feared a God whose power was such that even to touch the foot of the mountain where He revealed Himself was to perish. They wanted a simpler and less dangerous god, one they could control, and not have to fear. In response to their concerns, Aaron called for an offering of gold jewellery, fashioned a golden calf from it, and introduced it to the people as their new god. This aroused the wrath of the God of their fathers, and three thousand golden calf worshippers perished at the foot of the mountain when Moses returned to camp.

After this deadly incident, God commanded Moses to lead the people away from Mount Sinai toward the land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob:

 1  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.’ - Exodus 33:1 ESV

Understand the context of this call of God for Moses. There had just been a huge cleansing among the people. Three thousand worshippers of the golden calf had been killed by the swords of the Levitical priests. A plague sent by God in Exodus 32:35 likely wiped out those whom the sword failed to slay. The people who remained, belonged to the Lord, and had been spared His judgment. These were the people God wanted to bring to the Promised Land. 

While these individuals were spared the judgement of God that day, this did not mean they were innocent. Among them was Aaron, the priest. He had fashioned the golden calf and introduced it to the people as their new god. He was a leader among these rebels, but for some reason, God spared his life. As they made their way to the Promised Land, God made four promises to His people. Let’s consider these promises.

I WILL GIVE IT (verse 1)

The first promise of God is found in Exodus 33:1:

 1  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.’  - Exodus 33:1 ESV

God reminded this remnant of Israel about the promise He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He told their forefathers that He would give the land of Canaan to their offspring. Consider this offspring for a moment. Among them, as we already mentioned, was Aaron the priest who had fashioned a golden calf, and introduced it to the people as their god. God described the others as a “stiff-necked” people (see verses 3 and 5). To be “stiff-necked” is to be unbending, stubborn and unwilling to change one's ways. The idea is that the “stiff necked” person sets his or her face to walk forward and not turn to the left or the right. Nothing will convince them to change direction. The direction they were taking was the way of sin and evil.

It was these “stiff-necked” people God chose to lead to the Promised Land. They were imperfect, prone to sin and wander from God and His purpose. As sinners they often failed their God. It is easy to think that we have to be perfect for God to love and bless, but that is simply not the case. He blesses us in our imperfection. He pardons us in our iniquities. He calls us in our shortcomings, and uses us in our weakness. Every one of us who starts on this journey needs work. It was to these imperfect and “stiff-necked” people that God promised the Promised Land. As one among them, I am glad He did.

I WILL SEND AN ANGEL BEFORE YOU (verse 2)

The second promise of God is found in verse 2. Note what God told them here:

 2  I will send an angel before you.  - Exodus 33:2 ESV

As these “stiff-necked” believers made their way to the Land of Promise, God sent an angel before them. These immature Israelites couldn’t see the obstacles before them. They were not aware of the dangers ahead. Their enemies would often be bigger and wiser than they, but as the Psalmist said in Psalm 34:7:

 7   The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. - Psalms 34:7 ESV

They lacked the maturity and wisdom to discern the wisdom of God and the path He had for them, but as Abraham said to his servant: 

 40  … ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. … - Genesis 24:40 ESV

In Daniel’s day these angels shut the mouths of lions so they did not devour him. Isaiah tells of a time when the angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 Assyrians in a single evening. 2 Samuel 24:16 recounts how the angel of the Lord stretched out his hand to destroy the city of Jerusalem and would have done so, had the Lord not called him to withhold it. These angels were given charge over God’s stubborn people. Though Israel was weak and inexperienced, they would watch over them as they made their journey to the promised land. What an assurance this was for the people of God! God promised the protection and guidance of His angel over all who would commit themselves to take this journey. 

I WILL DRIVE OUT YOUR ENEMIES (verse 2)

Understand that the land the Lord promised His people was inhabited by many different nations. It was not a simple matter of entering the land and settling in. Israel would first have to drive out the current inhabitants. The Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizites, Hivites and Jebusites, were all significant nations in the region. The idea of driving out these nations would have weighed heavy on the minds of the Israelites. How could they overcome them? Did they have the strength and skill necessary to cast them out and inhabit their land? It is to this question that the third promise of God is addressed. 

2 … and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  - Exodus 33:2 ESV

The promise of the Lord for His people was that He would drive out these many nations so that they could live in their land. God committed Himself to doing this for His people.

If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that there are a number of enemies on our path as well. Who among us does not struggle with sinful attitudes, actions, and words? I have been a believer for many years and I am still finding these enemies behind the bushes and hidden corners of my life. They jump out surprising me with bitterness, anger or evil thoughts. The more I grow, and the deeper I go into my faith, the more I find them lurking everywhere. There have been times when I asked the Lord: “How much more are you going to find in me?” The reality of the matter is that I will go to my grave fighting sin. It is a great enemy to my walk with Christ. But sin is so much ingrained into my natural self that I don’t know how I can overcome it. This promise of God, however, speaks to me. It shows me that God can drive out these enemies. 

We who go to the promised land have a sinful nature. God sends His angel ahead of us because we are weak and blind. As we take one step after another toward that land, we are comforted and reassured that it is the Lord who will drive out our enemy. This is His work, as we surrender to Him. The only thing that will keep us from experiencing these victories is our own unwillingness. If we are willing to go, God will not only protect and guide us on the way, but He will drive out the enemies before us. Every enemy to our enjoyment of this land will be removed. The blood of Jesus Christ assures us of this.

THE LAND WILL FLOW WITH MILK AND HONEY (verse 3)

The final promise of God to His people is in Exodus 33:3 which reads:

3   Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey…  - Exodus 33:3 ESV

The land to which God was sending His people, was a land flowing with milk and honey. It was a land of prosperity and blessing. In this land God’s people would know no lack. They would have all they needed. They would bathe in the blessings of her God. He would drive out her enemies and they could live at peace. 

Despite their stubborn and rebellious hearts, God called His own people and invited them to make this journey to the Promised Land. He would send His angel before them to guide and protect them all the way. He would drive out all their enemies and bring them into a land of perfect peace and comfort. All of these promises were Israel’s, there was only one thing missing. We read in Exodus 33:3b

 3   … I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” - Exodus 33:3 ESV

Now, it would have been possible for Israel to see this as a blessing. God withdrew His presence so that He did not consume them. Wasn’t this what they were afraid of when Moses went up into His presence and did not return? Were they not afraid that God consumed him in the holy fire that fell upon its height? Who would not fear such a God? Was it not an act of mercy for God to withdraw? They could have all the blessings without the presence of a God of consuming fire. They would have all the blessings without the fear. They would have all the outer substance but be left with an aching, and powerless void. 

The French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal said this:

What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? Thus he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can only be filled with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God Himself. (Pascal, Blaise, Pensées)

God offers His people all the blessings in exchange for His presence. What is most striking about this is how easy it is for believers to accept this offer. How easy it is to choose a trouble-free life over fellowship with the Saviour. How easy it is to fill ourselves with this world and leave all intimacy with God to some future time. 

What is the Christian life to you today? Is it rules and regulations? Is it church and other believers? Is it Christian service and hope of an afterlife? If we were to ask the apostle Paul this question, what would he answer. He records this for us in Philippians 1:21 where he offers a one word answer. “Paul, what does the Christian life mean to you?” “The answer,” replies Paul is simple:

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)

Paul, what is the Christian life to you? How would you summarize it in one word? That’s simple, he replies, that one word is “Christ.” It is all about Him. What is the Christian life without Christ? What is a marriage without a partner? What is a drivers’ license without a car? What is a fork without a meal? What is a body without life? What is Christianity without Christ? God offered Israel all the benefits without His presence. Would you accept this offer? Many do.

What was the response of the people of that day to this offer? Listen to the words of Exodus 33:4:

 4  When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.  - Exodus 33:4 ESV

The people that day described this offer as a “disastrous word” and mourned. As for Moses, listen to his words in verses 15 and 16:

 15  And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.   16  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?” - Exodus 33:15-16 ESV

These believers could not accept a faith without the presence of God. They could not imagine departing Mount Sinai and leaving God behind. I have met believers in my day who were not even aware that they could know the presence of God.

What makes a Christian different from the unbeliever? Is it not the presence of Jesus Christ and His life-giving Spirit? You are different because Christ lives in you. You go to church like everyone else. You pray and read your Bible like many others. You try to live a good life like many in your community. Like the devil himself, you believe in God and His Son Jesus Christ. None of these things distinguishes you from the unbeliever. It is the presence of Jesus Christ and His life-giving Spirit that makes us different. 

John Bunyan in his book, The Pharisee and the Publican says this:

The tree must be good before the fruit can be good; for the nature of the fruit is governed by the root. (Bunyan, John, The Pharisee and the Publican)

He goes on to remind his reader that only a righteous tree can produce righteous fruit. Only a life that has Christ in it can produce Christ-like fruit. A banana tree will never produce apples. You can’t be a Christian without Christ and His Spirit in you. It is His presence that makes you a Christian.

All around the world there are churches in which the presence of Christ is absent. He knocks on the door but He has never been permitted entrance. God offers Moses the opportunity to go through the motions and experience His benefits without His presence. Moses and Israel would  have nothing to do with this kind of faith. As stiff-necked as the people of Israel were, they had enough sense to say: “A faith without God is no faith at all.” I am afraid that many churches of our day fall far short of this.

Can you hear the cries of believers in the church saying: “God, if you are not among us, close us down? We want you not just a meeting and building.” Can see the passion in the servant of God who cries: “God, if you are not in my ministry, take it from me? Can you feel the heart of the believer who pleads: “Lord, If I cannot know your presence in this life, take it from me so I can enter eternity and experience You there. Where is this passion for Christ?

The presence Israel longed for was not just on the Sabbath day when they came to the tabernacle to make their sacrifices. Brother Lawrence, in his book, The Practice of the Presence of God says this:

The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great a tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament. (Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God).

Will you be content with all the blessings without the presence of God? Will you accept the invitation to the promised land and leave God behind? Will you live your life without the intimate knowledge of His presence? Will you pass through the valley of the shadow of death and face eternity without knowing His voice? 

You can make the Christian life about all kinds of things. Ultimately, however, it boils down to one thing. That is, Jesus Christ, His presence, and work in us. Without Him, we are settling for something that will never satisfy.