Chapter IX: Moses Hidden in the Cleft of the Rock

EXODUS 33.17-23

FOR forty years, Moses, the little boy who had been taken out of the water by Pharaoh's daughter, was brought up in Pharaoh's Palace in Egypt, where he learned the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in word and deed.

He evidently knew that he belonged to the Israelites or Hebrews, as they were called; but it was not till he had reached forty years of age that he began to look upon the sad plight of his own people.

The Egyptians had gradually made the Hebrews into slaves, and were using them with great cruelty; but at length Moses understood that God was going to deliver the people by his hand.

However, the first effort he made, was that he killed an Egyptian who was hurting a Hebrew man; and this came to the ears of Pharaoh, and he was so angry that Moses fled away, and never stopped till he reached the land of Midian.

Here he remained for another forty years. He married a wife and had two sons, and he tended the flocks of his father-in-law, and lived a very peaceful life.

But one day God came down and spoke to him. He told Moses that in Egypt, the condition of God's people was getting worse and worse, and that He had chosen Moses to be their deliverer.

God said that He would go with him, and help him through; and promised that they should all serve God on this very Mountain in Horeb, where God was now speaking to him.

It would take too long to tell you all the wonders that God had to do to set His people free from their bondage; but at length they escaped from Egypt—every one of them—they went through the Red Sea on dry land, because God kept back the water on each side of them; and as they passed in to the dry pathway God had made for them, He took His Pillar of Cloud, which used to lead them, and He put it behind them, so that it was between them and their enemies. And it was a cloud of darkness to the Egyptians, but it was a bright light to the Israelites, all night.

When they had passed over, God took the cloud away, and the Egyptians followed through the Sea, but God let the waters go back on Pharaoh and his host, and they were all drowned in the sea, and the Israelites were all safe on the other side.

This is a glorious lesson for us, to show us how God will conquer our great enemy, Satan, and will bring us safely through, if we trust Him.

When the Children of Israel came to Horeb, God called Moses up on the Mountain to receive His Commandments, and to listen to all that God wished him to do; but the people began to get restless and disobedient.

Moses had been on the Mountain for forty days, and they said to Aaron, the brother of Moses, who was the High Priest, "Up! Make us gods, which shall go before us, for as for this Moses we know not what is become of him!"

Then Aaron made a Golden Calf for them to worship!

When Moses came down from talking with God, and found what had happened, he threw the slabs of stone on which God had written His law, over the edge of a precipice, and they were broken in pieces beneath the mountain.

The Lord was very grieved and angry at the disobedience of the people. And Moses besought the Lord to forgive them; and he even asked God to blot his name out of the Book where He had written it, sooner than that the whole Congregation should perish.

And God heard his prayer for the forgiveness of the people, and told Moses to go forward and lead them to the Land. And God said, "My Presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest."

Now Moses loved God very much, and he answered the Lord, "If Thy Presence go not with me, carry us not up hence, for wherein shall it be known here, that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not in that Thou goest with us?"

And the Lord said unto Moses, "I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken."

And then Moses, emboldened by God's wonderful kindness in answering his prayer, made a yet further request. "I beseech Thee, show me Thy Glory!" he said.

And the Lord promised to shew Moses all His Goodness, and all His Mercy; but God told him he could not see His face, for the Glory of it would be too much. The Lord pointed out a place on the mountainside where there was a clift, or cleft, in a rock, and He told Moses he might stand within that cleft, and God would put His hand over him, so that the glory of His face should not be seen.

So Moses hastened into that cleft of the rock, and the Glory of the Lord passed by, and after He had passed by, Moses was allowed to see His back, but His face might not be seen.

It is a wonderful story; and I think it should dwell in our hearts, that the Holiness of God is great beyond what any words of ours can picture.

There is a prayer of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John, which is very comforting when we think with solemn awe about the Holiness of God.

"Father I will that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am: that they may behold my glory, which Thou hast given me; for Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

God gave His own beloved Son, Jesus our Lord, to wash away our sins, and make us fit to see his Glory by and bye.

And in the Book of the Revelation we are told, that in Heaven, God's servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face.