Exodus 33:13-15 - (Moses said) "Now therefore, if I have found favor in Your sight, please show me now Your ways, that I may know You in order to find favor in Your sight. Consider too that this nation is Your people." And He (God) said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Here when Moses prayed to God, Moses was leading the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the promised land of Canaan. Moses is urgent in his prayer to God for help. He cannot rest until he is assured repeatedly that God will go with him and his people. This is how much the presence of God meant to Moses.
God spoke to Moses face-to-face as a man speaks to his friend. He said, "My presence will go with you." Moses latched on to that promise, and he prayed as a man prays who dreads the thought of leading his people without God's help. In effect Moses prayed: If You do not go with us, dear God, don't take us up there at all. Without You we can go nowhere. Without Your love and help it isn't worth it. All that we do, or all the wealth we shall have, without You, it is nothing.
This is the same humility and trust in God that we need in our nation today, as we near the observance of Independence Day (or for our Canadian neighbors, "Canada Day," celebrated just yesterday). When Moses prayed for God's help, he remembered Israel's life in Egypt where Idol worship was practiced and where God's people experienced harsh conditions under their Egyptian overlords. Moses also remembered the priceless spiritual treasures from God that must not be lost—that He was their God, and that He would give them a Savior.
God's earlier promise to Abraham that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed (see Genesis 22:1-18; Acts 3) meant that God would be with Moses and the children of Israel as they ventured forth through the Sinai to the land of Canaan. In truth, we enjoyed the same spiritual blessings today. The promise of the Savior for us has been fulfilled. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Moses prayed for his people because he loved them. He knew it was God alone who could lead and protect them—and this is true for us today. When did you last pray for the senators from your state, your representatives in Congress, the President? Please pray for them. Pray also that we live as a nation under God. I have met many people in lands where I have served, and I know that men and women of many nations look to us with the hope that we shall help them strike away the bonds of ignorance, misery, and tyranny that are all too common in their lives.
In humility and with true repentance, may we thank God for this wonderful country and the countless blessings He has showered upon it.
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we are Your people. Lead us forth in truth and righteousness to be beacons of light to those who live in darkness. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
From the message, "This Nation Under God," by Chaplain Earl Kettler
Reflection Questions:
1. Moses—now there's a biblical figure—what would you like to ask him about his relationship with God?
2. How has God blessed all the families of the world through Abraham?
3. Why is it good to pray for our nation's leaders and those in other countries around the world?
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Kings 12-13 Acts 11
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