Truth that is more than words
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Moses immediately knelt low on the ground and worshiped. Then he said, "My Lord, if I have found favor with you, my Lord, please go with us (even though this is a stiff-necked people), forgive our iniquity and our sin, and accept us as your own possession." (Exodus 34:8, 9 CSB)
Some truths cannot be contained within mere words. Describe for me, if you will, the most wonderful fireworks display you ever saw. Tell of the lights and colors and how they contrasted with the night sky. Tell of the boom of the mortar shells and the bursts of the explosives in the air. Tell about the layering effects of one shot upon another as they spread, shimmer, and dissolve. Help me feel the warm summer air and the delight of the crowd. Make it come alive.
Exodus 33 and 34 must be read slowly and repeatedly. Sentences here and there demand pondering. Paragraphs, like the one immediately before the verses written above, must be considered deeply and thoughtfully.
Toward the end of this chapter, two things stand out like fireworks against a summer sky.
Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did not eat food or drink water. He wrote the Ten Commandments, the words of the covenant, on the tablets. (Verse 28)
As Moses descended from Mount Sinai — with the two tables of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain — he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the LORD. (Verse 29)
Moses experienced God in near-fatal doses. Moses did not have a bite to eat or a drink to sip. He glowed with God's glory. All Moses wanted was more of God. Nothing else mattered.
Truths too big for words. Ideas to ponder for days, years, and decades. Hunger and thirst filled only by the majestic glory of God himself.
Moses experienced God's favor, which was not his gifts, but his presence. He wanted nothing but more of God.
The LORD is my shepherd; I have what I need. (CSB)
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. (ESV)
The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. (NIV)
The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. (NLT)
GOD, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. (The Message)
I will seek more of God.
Our Father, all I want is more of you. Amen.
 | David Bowman, (DMin, PCC) is the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as a Multiplying Trainer for Future Church Co. Learn More » |
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