Do We Know God?

He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.  Psalm 103:7

Moses met God at the burning bush where He revealed His covenant name, the LORD.  God made Himself known personally to Moses and said to him, "I will be with you."

God would come to meet with Moses at a tent set up outside the camp of Israel.  Moses had access to the LORD that no one else had.  When jealousy prompted Miriam and Aaron to complain about Moses, God told them that He spoke to other prophets in dreams or visions, but He spoke to Moses face to face.

The psalmist says that this intimate contact helped Moses know God's ways, not just what He did. The Israelites saw what God did. They experienced deliverance, divine provision, and God's glorious presence, yet they did not discern God's ways as a merciful, compassionate and loving God.

When Moses went up to the mountain, they could clearly see and experience that glory of God coming upon the top of the mountain, yet they made a golden calf to worship.  Later, when the spies came back in fear, they wanted to return to Egypt.

Moses had learned His ways, so that when God threatened to destroy the people, he appealed to God's character and purpose: "remember Your promise, Lord.  Don't do this or the Egyptians will hear of it."  

Is God afraid of the Egyptians' opinion?  No!

God plans to use Israel to reach the Egyptians and all other nations. The Egyptians do not need to hear that the LORD, who demonstrated to all Egypt that He is God, killed off the people He chose. 

Moses knows what God is about, saving the world, and wants the people to be a part of it.

Reflect and Respond
Do we know His acts or His ways?

~Pastor Bruce Garner