Excerpt from 52 Weeks of Pursuit, Vol. 1
Do we want “God”—or are we satisfied with the “things of God?”
As we begin today’s reading in Exodus 33, God has very simply had “Enough!” He reiterates His promise to give the land of Canaan to the children of Israel—but lets them know they’d be making the journey to get there without Him. Though His personal presence would not be with them, however, He would “send an angel” before them (33:2). This angel would provide the strength and guidance He knew they would need to overcome the enemies that would attempt to keep them from taking the land.
And even though the children of Israel were a “stiffnecked people” (Ex. 33:3,5; 34:9), the thought of not having the Lord’s presence with them was extremely disturbing to them. Exodus 33:4 says that when they heard that the Lord wouldn’t be going with them, “they mourned.” Their reaction made me wonder how we would react if the Lord were to tell us that He would still take us to heaven when we die, but rather than having His presence in and on our lives, “an angel” would be guiding us in the remainder of our journey. Would we be content or satisfied with “the angel”—simply being in proximity to the “things of God,” or would we mourn because we are passionate for “God Himself” and having “His Holy presence” with us? Would our reaction be like Moses’s in 33:15, “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence”?