Quick Note: Exodus 33:7-11 – The Tent of Meeting

Exodus 33:7-11 – “7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. 10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”

In the middle of Exodus 33, this section, which is our passage today, was inserted between what seems should have been one cohesive story.  Verses 1-6 speak about the Lord’s command to Moses to leave Sinai and lead the people of Israel to the Promised Land without his direct presence due to the sin of the people.  Verses 12-23 speak of Moses’ plea to the Lord to go before them and his desire to see the Lord’s glory.  It seems like an awkward place to put our passage today which speaks about how Moses spoke to the Lord at the Tent of Meeting; but in reality, it actually is a perfect place, for without having verses 7-11, we may not be able to understand how Moses could have interceded with the Lord later in verses 12-23.  Why would the Lord grant Moses the request to see His glory?  Why would God take Moses’ opinions so seriously?  Why would God follow through with Moses’ request to lead these frustrating Israelites personally to Canaan?  It was because of what we see in vs. 11 in this passage about the Tent of Meeting – “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…”  God and Moses were friends.  The questions we are presented with then are can we also be friends with God the way Moses was? What would we have to do? And what would be the result?

It is clear in verse 7 that anybody could have become close friends with God the way Moses was if they wanted to, for it states, “…And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting…”  It didn’t matter who you were – your status, your position in the community, how old you were, or your gender.  Whoever you were you were welcome to come to the Tent of Meeting as long as you were seeking the Lord.  So the answer to that first question is a clear and resounding “Yes” you can become friends with God the way Moses was, you just have to seek Him the way Moses did.  You must want it, for the door is already open for you.  Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)  If you come to the Father, who is waiting for you with open arms, He will never cast you out.

The second question about what we have to do to become friends with God the way Moses was is also very clear, but the pointers are scattered throughout these verses.  The first pointer is found in vs. 7 as well, which states, “…And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.”  The first step that must be taken to become intimate and close friends with God is to step out of the world and into a relationship with Christ.  Without that first step, no friendship can be forged, for before then we are nothing but enemies of Christ.  But this stepping away from the world and toward Christ does not just happen when you take the step of salvation, it needs to happen every day as you deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Him.  To draw close to someone, usually, you have to draw away from another.  Why do you think when a couple gets married, they leave their parents and cling to each other?  It is because specific ties must be weakened and other ties strengthened.  It is the same here.  To get into a closer relationship with God, you need to pull away from the world.  That does not mean to go into isolation and live as a monk in a mountain top village in the Andes.  It does not mean that you sell all your possessions in this world and walk around homeless.  No!  It means that you allow nothing to stand between you and your relationship with God in your heart.  Jesus said in Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”  There can be nothing between you and Christ; you must step away from the world and into Him.  James 4:4 states it best, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”  The second pointer is found in vs. 11, where we are told that Moses talked to God face to face.  Now, we know clearly that Moses never saw the face of God, for God states later in vs. 20, “…You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”  If Moses had already seen God’s face physically then God would never have stated this verse later.  This phrase “face to face” means that they had an openness between them.  There were no secrets.  There were no hidden agendas.  There was no deception.  They spoke as if there was nothing between them.  Our relationship with God must be the same.  When we speak with Him, are we carrying any secrets that we think we can hide from Him?  Do we have any unconfessed sin and/or ulterior motives?  We must lay our lives open before Him, for He already knows but seeks an open relationship with us.  To speak in this manner with God, we must have sin gone, for God cannot stand in the presence of sin.  To speak in this manner with God, we must be open and ready to hear what He has to say with a ready heart of obedience.  To speak in this manner with God, we must not be afraid to pour out our hearts to Him in prayer.  And the reason we can do this is because Christ opened up that path for us.  He tore that veil between God and us down and created an openness between us.  The third pointer is found not in Moses, but in Moses’ servant Joshua in vs. 11, for it states, “…When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”  Joshua would become the eventual successor of Moses, and that is likely because of the time he spent personally with God.  When Moses left, Joshua did not stop communing with God too, instead, he spent even more time in that tent conversing with Him.  If we want a close relationship with God, we must pursue it like nothing else before.  We must show our desire for it by spending time with Him in His Word.  We must show our desire for it by seeking Him and His face.  To get a close relationship with God, we must invest the time.  We must hunger and thirst after Him.  These three pointers to 1)  To leave the world behind and chase after God, 2)  To be open before Him, and 3)  To spend time with Him will all build a closer relationship with God.

The answer to that last question of what is the result of having a close relationship with God is just as clear as the answers to the first two questions.  First and foremost, that close relationship with God builds a beautiful friendship with you and the Creator of the universe.  There are many Bible heroes who were considered friends of God like Abraham and David.  Who wouldn’t want to be friends with the most powerful and important person in the universe?  Second, we see that every time Moses went to the tent, the people could see him go out.  His going out became a witness for the people of Israel of God’s desire to have a personal relationship with each individual.  This witness even brought many of them to worship.  When we have a close relationship with God, it becomes a witness to the world of not only the power of God to change our lives and change our hearts but His love, mercy, and grace.  Our lives can become witnesses of God’s love.  This is what is meant by becoming a living sacrifice for God (Romans 12:1).  Third, we see that Moses’ walk with God helped inspire Joshua to seek after God.  Moses’ relationship with God encouraged Joshua to build one with Him as well.  In the same manner, when we walk closely with our Savior, our lives become an inspiration for others to seek after God.  It is like a fire setting another fire setting another fire.  There are so many Christians who have been inspirations to me personally like Billy Graham, Nate Saint, Jim Eliot, and my parents.  Their lives are/were an example of what a close relationship with God looks like and what a blessing it really is.  Their choices to live for God and to love Him more encouraged me to do the same.  In I Peter 3:1 and 1 Cor. 7:12-16, it is obvious that a life lived for Christ can become an encouragement to the people around it to seek after God.  Obviously, the main benefit of drawing close to God is the friendship you build with Him, but you also get the added bonus of becoming a strong witness of the power and grace of God.

This passage about the Tent of Meeting, although short and somewhat out of place, is very powerful, for it reminds us of what a close relationship to God looks like, how we can obtain it, and how we can use that relationship to bring Him honor and glory.