May 2005
Exo 33:9 And it happened as Moses went into the tabernacle, the pillar of cloud would come down and stand at the door of the tabernacle. And He spoke with Moses.
Exo 33:10 And all the people would see the pillar of the cloud standing at the door of the tabernacle. And all the people rose and bowed themselves, each one at the door of his tent.
Exo 33:11 And Jehovah would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp. And his attendant, Joshua the son of Nun, a young man did not leave the middle of the tabernacle.

This passage really challenged me and my walk with the Lord. We see how the Israelites saw the presence of God and yet they worshiped from a far at the doors of their tents. We see God talking to Moses face to face like a friend. This is God’s heart for us, He does not want us to rely on others to minister to us, or a once a week appointment with Him. He wants to talk to us face to face so we can know we are friends of God! What is interesting is that we see Joshua in the middle of the tabernacle with Moses and even when Moses departs he remains in the tabernacle. I believe that this is when Joshua saw and got to know the true character of God.

We see the fruit of this intimacy later on in the Bible when it was time for them to inherit the Promised Land! The Israelites had grumbled and moaned and the spies had come back with an evil report but Joshua and Caleb were able to say this when giving their report back! “Num 14:8,9 If GOD is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land, a land that flows, as they say, with milk and honey. And He'll give it to us. Just don't rebel against GOD! And don't be afraid of those people. Why, we'll have them for lunch! They have no protection and GOD is on our side. Don't be afraid of them!"

This sounded like a man who was fully persuaded of who his God was and what He could do in those circumstances. When we face life we need to know our Father and what He has done for us. We need to know Him intimately and not from a distance, so we will never doubt His character and His love for us. Allow God to meet with you face to face and as a friend.