When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions; I speak to him in dreams. But it is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? -Numbers 12:6-8
The verses above were God’s response to Miriam and Aaron, Moses’ siblings, after they spoke against him because he married a Cushite wife, Zipporah. In Numbers 12:1-2, we read about Miriam and Aaron having a conversation regarding Moses’ choice of a wife. They then proceeded to say, “Has the Lord only spoken through Moses? Hasn’t He also spoken through us?” When the Lord heard this, He came down and made the statement in the verses above.
It is quite apparent from the Lord’s statement that He shared a special relationship with Moses. That relationship is the focus of today’s message. One of the most important things to God is to share a loving relationship with His children. He even sent His only Son to come down to earth to die an agonizing death to restore that relationship after our sin separated us from Him.
So why Moses? In verse 3 of Numbers 12, we read that “Moses was a very humble man; more humble that anyone else on the face of the earth.” In verse 7, we read, “He is faithful in all of Israel.” In Exodus 33, we are given a glimpse into the type of relationship that Moses shared with the Lord. Whenever any of the Israelites had an inquiry of God, Moses never tried to give his opinion on it. Instead, he pitched a tent outside of the camp and went in to inquire of the Lord. “As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke to Moses…The Lord would speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks with His friend.” And finally, also in Exodus 33, we read in verse 13 that Moses objected that a mere angel was no substitute for God’s presence (remember that an angel of God went with them from the moment they left Egypt). Moses prayed in verse 13, “If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favour with You…if Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” And the Lord responded, “I will do the very thing you have asked because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
The Lord desires to have a close relationship with you as well! He tells us in Revelations 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and each with him, and he with me.” Do you hear His voice? If you do, how have you responded? If not, are you listening for it?
The Lord takes the lead in inviting us into an intimate relationship with Him. He has reached out to us by sending His Son to die so that we might be free to come to Him! He has been the absolute epitome of a true friend to us. How are you being a friend to Him? Perhaps you can find a special meeting place like the tent where Moses met with the Lord constantly, be open and honest with Him, listen for His voice, be obedient to Him, live as His friend, be humble, stay faithful to Him, trust Him, and most importantly, love Him with all your heart, mind and soul. Read more about how Moses responded to the Lord’s invitation and hopefully you will have hope that you too can also respond and share such an intimate friendship with Jesus!!!
Grace and peace be with you.
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