What is your practice of taking your requests to the Lord? Do you plead with him on your knees? Do you wait until Sunday morning and say a prayer in church? Do ask him for help like he’s your best friend? Moses set up a tent of meeting for the people he was leading. (Not to be confused with the tabernacle we’ve been reading about in recent posts.)
This was a special location set up outside the camp. People would approach the tent of meeting with their requests for God. Moses would speak to God on their behalf. It seems like this passage is out of place. I’m not saying it is, just that it seems like it.
Most recently we’ve heard about a rebellious people who turned their back on God. Wouldn’t some time have passed before they would have such reverence? We hear here they were bowing outside their own tents when they saw the Lord coming in the pillar of cloud. You can just picture Moses entering the tent, and then the cloud coming down to enter the tent as well. The people were overcome with awe and would bow.
No matter when the sequence of these events is, it’s good to see the respect of the people. They recognized that God was in their midst. Where do you show such respect? At church? Alone in nature? Stuck in traffic?
What I liked best about this reading was how Moses was able to meet with God. We read, “[I]nside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” Can you imagine meeting God face to face? What would you say?
Take some time today to imagine meeting God face to face.
Let’s pray. Lord, you do come to us in our time of need. You are there in our time of rejoicing. Thank you for how you intervene in our lives. Help me to be more attentive. I want to listen for your voice. I love being able to tell you exactly how I feel. I know you are working in the world around me. Use me to help reveal your plan. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
I find myself curious about Joshua’s role. Does he overhear the conversations between God and Moses? Is his role to guard the tent of meeting? Is that why he stays after Moses leaves?
I love your questions! I believe God smiles When we wrestle with Scripture. I wondered a similar thing, especially the overhearing part. Do you suppose it was part of his “apprenticeship” to see how leaders interact with God?