The best friend

 

Moses, the friend of God

  

Who is your best friend? Do you enjoy different types of friendships which range from an acquaintance to a close friend or to loving friendship with a family member?

 What about a friendship with God? Is it possible to draw close to someone you can’t see or touch?

 In a previous episode, when Moses first met God in a burning bush, he called Moses to be Israel’s leader. Under God’s guidance, he led the nation from Egypt, and after God parted the Red Sea, they crossed into the desert.

 During their travels, Moses climbed Mount Sinai where God gave him the Ten Commandments. He spent forty days on the mountain, and the people did not know what had happened to him. They grew impatient. Their connection with God was through Moses, and if he was gone, why should they worship God anymore? They persuaded Aaron to craft a calf from golden jewellery, and they worshipped it. This was soon after they’d promised God they'd always serve him.

When God saw they’d turned their backs on him, he told Moses to go down the mountain. The Lord threatened to destroy them and make Moses into a mighty nation.

 But Moses intervened. 

“Why should you be angry? With mighty power, you brought the people out of Egypt, and the Egyptians will think you led them here to destroy them. Turn from your anger! Remember, you promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to make their descendants as numerous as the stars, and to bring them into a fertile land and give them an inheritance.”

God cancelled his threat, but in the camp, they were worshipping the calf and dancing. In his fury, Moses smashed the tablets. God sent a plague, and in the aftermath of that terrible catastrophe, Moses appealed to the Lord in the tent outside the camp. This was the meeting place where Moses interceded for his people. The pillar of cloud at the entrance made God’s presence obvious, and  it separated him from the people. Moses would talk with God as his friend.

 “You keep telling me to lead these people, but you haven’t told me who you will send with me. You know me by name and say you are pleased with me. Teach me your ways so I may know you and remain in your favour. Remember, this nation is your people.” Exodus 33:13. 

 Moses loved God and the Israelites,  but they had failed both God and himself. He needed divine guidance and encouragement, and God, his closest friend, promised to help him.

 “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

When God warned Moses that he’d abandon his people, Moses knew they needed God’s presence and protection. He pleaded with God to stay with him and the nation, and God renewed his promise to the patriarchs, honouring Moses, his faithful friend and obedient servant.

Did Moses need further reassurance? He dared to ask for further evidence.

 “Show me your glory.” The sight of God’s power and mercy would deepen Moses' understanding of God.

God sent him to a rocky ledge, where he’d cover Moses while he walked past, and God would remove his hand to show Moses his back. No one could see God’s face and live because his holiness would expose their sin and condemn them.   

 At God’s command, Moses chiselled two fresh stone tablets and climbed the mountain again. Despite Moses' unfettered anger, God did not rebuke him. While he had been faithful to his Friend, the people had insulted God, abandoned him, and disobeyed him. The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with Moses, and passed in front of him.

 “The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.” Exodus 34:6-7. 

This is who God is and Moses understood even more about his Friend.

 Moses could represent the nation because he always talked with God. Yet he never claimed to know  God fully, consistently desiring to strengthen the relationship. And when the Lord becomes our closest companion, he lives in us, the most significant, caring friend we could ever know. 

We just need to accept his invitation. 

 During Moses' remaining years, he communed with God. While Moses and Israel wandered in the wilderness, God entrusted him with instructions for the tabernacle, the portable house of worship, and detailed information for worship through the various sacrifices. When food and water stocks were low, it was Moses who cried out to God, and Moses’ friend and Lord supplied their needs.

Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, a record that God gave him for the world.

 And when Moses died on Mount Nebo, God buried him and kept his grave a secret. The Israelites could not elevate Moses to godlike status or create a shrine at his burial place. Moses would have wanted all the glory to go to Israel’s God. No one else in Israel’s history showed the mighty power or performed the outstanding deeds Moses did in the sight of all Israel until Jesus came to reveal his Father to us. 

 Centuries later, Moses re-appeared on another mountainside. As Jesus prepared to suffer on the cross, Moses and Elijah descended from heaven. They spoke with Jesus about his death and departure from this earth. (God had taken Elijah to heaven in a chariot.) These two giants of the faith had shared an amazing friendship with God during their earthly lifetime, and this was a special blessing reserved for themselves and for Jesus, who received divine encouragement before the agony of crucifixion claimed his life.

 Through Moses, God becomes real to us. He is holy. We can’t stand in his presence because we’re far from perfect, but he is compassionate, loving, and forgiving. God proved this when Jesus died, since Jesus’ blood paid the debt we owed God for our sins. See John 3:16. Jesus is the greatest of all. Once he has forgiven us, Jesus calls us brothers and sisters, and we become God’s children. He promised to be with us forever, and no closer friendship exists than this.

 Let’s keep close to Jesus through prayer. Let him speak. Let's sit still so that we may hear him. We grow close to God when we read the Bible, study God’s ways, and respond to the Holy Spirit.

 I love Moses’ life and his humble spirit. He stands out, not because he was raised in the affluent courts of Egypt, but because he kept close to God and faithfully served his people for the Lord Almighty. His writings have influenced the world ever since.