LifeLink Devotions for Friday, October 25, 2024

If we are going to be people of faith who follow God into the future, then it is vital that we truly know and understand God and His plan. Moses understood the importance of this, and his priority to know God was a model for the rest of the Israelites and for us.

Exodus 33:7 “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.”

The first thing Moses did was to establish a specific place where he and the people could go to meet with God. Moses put a tent outside the encampment where people could go to personally inquire of the Lord. This is a great statement of God’s intention to establish every believer’s right to enter the throne room and talk to the Father personally. The death of Jesus Christ made that possible when the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom as God opened the way for all His children to meet with Him face to face.

Since the resurrection of Christ and the sending of the Holy Spirit to dwell in us we always have God’s presence with us, but I think the principle of setting aside a time and a place to meet with God still holds true today. Many of you are doing that right now as you read this. You have set aside the spot you are in as a place to meet with God, and reading this devotional is part of hearing from God and knowing Him better so you may follow Him more faithfully.

Exodus 33:8-11a “And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”

Moses had a unique relationship with God at that time and would go to speak with God face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. What an incredible statement of intimacy! That is the potential for all of us and should be our passion.

When God spoke with Moses, His glory was visible to the people, and they responded by standing and worshiping at the entrances to their own tents. In other words, each person made his own home a place of worship. The fact that we have a specific place called a church where we come to meet with God and hear from him is not an excuse to disregard the daily worship of God when we experience His presence and glory. Let us make the worship of God the priority of our homes.

Exodus 33:11b “Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.”

Finally, notice the young man Joshua, who has taken on the responsibility of guarding the tent of meeting. Here was a young man who had a passion to know the God of Moses and to hear from Him intimately. He sacrificed everything to pursue God’s presence in his life. What a dividend was later reaped by Joshua when, based on his relationship with God and faithfulness to God’s plan, he was chosen to replace Moses as the leader of Israel. His leadership success is directly traced to this passion to be in the presence of God always.

May God’s Spirit make these truths powerful in our hearts and change us into people who passionately pursue intimacy with God.

Pastor John