A Picture is Worth 1000 Words. A Moment in the Presence of God...Priceless!

Deuteronomy 5  from the daily reading in the One Year Bible (link available on links page)

The Ten Commandments Repeated

5 Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them:

“Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully. ² The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. ³ The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today. ⁴ The Lord spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire, ⁵ while I was standing between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain. He said,

⁶ ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

⁷ ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.

⁸ ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. ⁹ You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, ¹⁰ but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

¹¹ ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

¹² ‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. ¹⁵ You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

¹⁶ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you.

¹⁷ ‘You shall not murder.

¹⁸ ‘You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁹ ‘You shall not steal.

²⁰ ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

²¹ ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’

Moses Interceded

²² “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire, of the cloud and of the thick gloom, with a great voice, and He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. ²³ And when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. ²⁴ You said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives. ²⁵ Now then why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, then we will die. ²⁶ For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? ²⁷ Go near and hear all that the Lord our God says; then speak to us all that the Lord our God speaks to you, and we will hear and do it.’

²⁸ “The Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. ²⁹ Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever! ³⁰ Go, say to them, “Return to your tents.” ³¹ But as for you, stand here by Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and the statutes and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I give them to possess.’ ³² So you shall observe to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. ³³ You shall walk in all the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.

The book of Deuteronomy  is basically Moses reviewing, reminding and restating all that happened from the time of Israel,s departure from Egypt to just prior to their entrance into the promised land. Moses knows that he will not be going into the promised land with the people and he wants them to remember all that God has done for them and remind them of the statutes that God has set for them. Today's text is the recounting of the ten commandments and a reminder that the success, the safety and the longevity of the nation of Israel depends on whether or not they will follow God. 

This account describes one of the primary reason that the nation of Israel failed and turned so quickly from following God. In verses 23-27 it describes how the Israelites heard the voice of God and were fearful so they had Moses go as their mediator between them and God. There is a great difference between hearing a story and experiencing it for yourself. When we hear or read something we might remember it. The words might affect us in some way as we come to know and understand what they say. But when we have a personal experience we are left with a lasting impression in our minds. If a picture is worth 1000 words, an experience is worth hundreds of thousands.

Moses was changed by his encounters with God. He was changed physically, the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone. So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him.(Exodus 34:35), but even more Moses was changed spiritually. Moses was called for a purpose. The circumstances surrounding his birth and his upbringing were orchestrated by God. Moses was changed and transformed prepared for his purpose by his encounters with God. 

Moses was a type or model of Christ. Just as he was the one through whom God delivered Israel and he became Israel's mediator with God. Jesus is our deliverer. Jesus came though not only to free us from the bondage of sin but to restore us to right relationship with the Father. 2 Timothy 2:5-6 says: ... there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,  who gave Himself as a ransom for all ...   Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all, as a mediator between God and men.    Hebrews 7:24-25   says:  Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.   Romans 8:34 says:  Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.     Again though, Jesus did not come to be our eternal mediator. He came to restore us to relationship with God.

Hebrews 4:16 says: Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. We are not to remain far off like the Israelites did. Moses went up to the mountain and into the presence of God for them. Jesus went up onto the cross so that we could go into the presence of God ourselves. We can read  and study  the word of God and we will come to a level of knowledge and understanding of who God is. We can hear the stories and accounts of others who have spent time in the presence of God and we may be encouraged even moved. But there is nothing anyone can tell us, no testimony of the miraculous hand of God that can impact us like being in God's presence. A picture may well be worth 1000 words. A moment in the presence of God does more to change us than a lifetime hearing or reading others words.

A moment in His presence can change us for life and yet we are called to come into His presence daily. To actually live and dwell there. The psalmist knew the power and provision of the presence of God. Psalm 91:1-2 says: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”    Psalm 27:4 says:   One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple

To behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. That's why Jesus came.    2 Corinthians 3:16-18 says:

 whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

We are changed in the presence of God, from glory to glory. In the presence of God there can be no sin, no sickness, nothing that is contrary to the character and glory of God. The Israelites feared God. They had seen God's mighty hand. We have nothing to fear. God calls us to live in fellowship with Him. To abide in His presence. He lives in us. Why should we not abide in Him? Our encounters with God will change us, preparing us for our purpose. 

Thank You Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit that You have given us a better way than the old covenant. Jesus You made the way for us to come in and abide in the very presence of the glory of God. As You abide in me, I will abide in You. Transform me from glory to glory, not for my glory but for Your glory God. Change me, that others might see You through me.    Amen