A Different Focus

The previous post ended by saying that the Israelites focus was their own lives, not God's heart. Moses was quite different. After becoming GREAT in Egypt, he CHOSE to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the benefits of Egypt. The children of Israel did not have to CHOOSE their hardships, but Moses had been presented with the finest of everything the world could offer and he refused it all. (Hebrews 11:26) Having quickly forgotten it's oppression, the people of Israel wanted to return to Egypt (the world). They remembered only that they had feasted on the things they lacked in the wilderness of God's testing. Moses, on the other hand, chose hardship "because he was looking ahead to his reward."

What was that reward? The answer is found in Exodus 33:1-2. The offer of the promise they had awaited was before them. After four hundred years in a foreign land, the offer of a bountiful land was being laid before the leader. But there was a catch. v. 33 - God told Moses to take the people to the land He had promised them, that he would give them the escort of an angel, although He would not accompany them. Moses quickly responded, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here." (Ex. 33:15) Moses did not hesitate or bargain in his answer. He would without a second thought remain the arid desert, the place that brought much discomfort with God's presence, rather than go to the land of vineyards, streams and beautiful houses without God's presence.

It's a good thing that the option of entering the promised land without God was not placed before the Israelites. They continually complained in difficult times with threats to return to Egypt, and if they would have taken Egypt without God, they would have gladly taken their own good land with an angel. Their reward was whatever benefited them the most. (This is what the world lives for too - "What is best for me?")

To Moses, the promise was nothing without God's presence. He refused God's offer because even though it would have resulted in a much more comfortable life, it was void of what his heart beat for. He desired above all else to know God. He did not ask for land, wealth, honor, or any other tangible asset. He had it all in Egypt and realized that it did not bring true satisfaction. Immediately after he refused the offer of the promised land void of God's presence, his heart cry was, "please, show me Your glory." (Ex. 33:18)

Moses made a firm decision. He pursued the reward of knowing God. Shunning the world was no price at all in comparison with the reward of God's glory. Because he decided to forsake the rewards of the world's system, he was able to draw near to the God on the mountain. The people, however, couldn't draw near to the God of holiness. Egypt's desires were still in them. They had not separated themselves in their hearts from the world, which resulted in their inability to separate what was of the world and what was of God.

If you desire both the world and the intimate knowledge of God, the image of God becomes distorted. You do not truly know Him; you know a different Jesus. The children of Israel wanted God's deliverance, but desired what Egypt had as well. That was why they never would "give up the prostitution they began in Egypt." They were conformed to the world, Egypt's desires were shaped within them, and even though God's strong power delivered them out of Egypt, they did not make the decision to get Egypt out of them.