#31. Exodus 33-36 | Is It Not In Your Going With Us That We Are Distinct?
What sets Christians apart from other people? There are many qualities that do, but in this passage, Moses claims that God's presence with His people is what sets them apart from every other nation on earth. We agree! Then later, there is a promise of blessing that goes with God's presence... and we promise, every mom needs it.
Today's Reading: Exodus 33-36
Scripture Read or Referenced:
Exodus 33:7-34:10
Exodus 35:30-35
Matthew 11:30
2 Timothy 2:12-13
Psalm 103:14
Feel like you're raising a stiff-necked people? We get it! Entrusted with a Child's Heart was made for you!
Commentaries Consulted:
Moody Bible Commentary
MacArthur Commentary
Transcript
This is the Dwelling Place
from Entrusted Ministries.
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:I'm Stephanie Hickox.
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:As we look at Exodus 33 through 36 today,
we need to remember what happened at
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:the conclusion of yesterday's reading
with the incident of the Golden Calf.
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:I appreciate the way
Kevin Zuber summarizes it.
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:He writes, there is no doubt that the
incident of the golden calf drove a
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:wedge between the nation and the Lord.
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:Such unfaithfulness is bound
to have a lasting impact.
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:How could the Lord keep his
intention to dwell with such people?
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:He could not be close to them when they
were so prone to be fickle toward him as
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:he had done before and would do again.
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:God narrowed his focus to one man
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:in chapter 33.
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:God commands the Israelites
to take off their ornaments.
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:Perhaps this was so that they didn't
fall back into temptation to make
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:idols out of the gold and silver.
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:But it also served as a physical reminder.
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:They would've gone about without
these accessories reminding them
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:of when they fell into idolatry.
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:The tabernacle hasn't been fully
prepared yet, But in the meantime, we're
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:told where Moses met with the Lord.
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:Chapter 33 verse seven begins.
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:Now, Moses used to take the tent
and pitch it outside the camp,
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:far off from the camp, and he
called it the tent of meeting.
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:And everyone who sought the Lord
would go out to the tent of meeting,
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:which was outside the Whenever Moses
went out to the tent, all the people
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:would rise up and each would stand
at his tent door and watch Moses
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:until he had gone into the tent.
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:When Moses entered the tent.
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:The pillar of cloud would descend and
stand at the entrance of the tent,
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:and the Lord would speak with Moses.
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:And when all the people saw the pillar
of cloud standing at the entrance of
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:the tent, all the people would rise
up and worship each at his tent door.
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:Thus, the Lord used to speak to Moses face
to face as a man, speaks to his friend.
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:When Moses turned again into the camp,
his assistant Joshua, the son of none, a
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:young man would not depart from the tent.
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:Moses said to the Lord, see,
you say to me, bring up this
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:people, but you have not let me
know whom you will send with me.
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:Yet you have said, I know you by name
and you have also found favor in my sight.
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:Now.
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:Therefore, if I have found favor
in your sight, please show me now
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:your ways that I may know you in
order to find favor in your sight.
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:Consider too that this
nation is your people.
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:And he said, my presence will go
with you and I will give you rest.
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:And he said to him, if your
presence will not go with me,
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:do not bring us up from here.
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:For how shall it be known
that I have found favor in
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:your sight, I and the people?
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:Is it not in your going with us that we
are distinct I and your people from every
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:other people on the face of the earth?
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:And the Lord said to Moses, this very
thing that you have spoken I will
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:do for you have found favor in my
sight and I know you by name, Moses
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:said, please show me your glory.
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:And he said, I will make all my goodness
pass before you and will proclaim before
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:you my name the Lord and I will be
gracious to whom I will be gracious and
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:will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
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:But he said, you cannot see my face
for man shall not see me and live.
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:And the Lord said, behold,
there is a place by me where
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:you should stand on the rock.
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:And while my glory passes by, I will
put you in a cleft of the rock and
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:I will cover you with my hand until
I have passed by then I will take
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:away my hand and you shall see my
back, but my face shall not be seen.
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:The Lord said to Moses, cut for
yourself two tablets of stone, like
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:the first, and I will write on the
tablets, the words that were on
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:the first tablets, which you broke.
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:Be ready by the morning and come
up to me in the morning to Mount
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:Sinai and present yourself there
to me on the top of the mountain.
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:No one shall come up with you and let no
one be seen throughout all the mountain.
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:Let no flocks or herds
graze opposite the mountain.
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:So Moses cut two tablets of stone like
the first, and he rose early in the
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:morning and went up on Mount Sinai
as the Lord had commanded him and
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:tooken his hand, two tablets of stone.
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:The Lord descended in the cloud
and stood with him there and
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:proclaimed the name of the Lord.
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:The Lord passed before him.
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:And proclaimed the Lord, the Lord.
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:A God, merciful and gracious, slow to
anger and abounding in steadfast love
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:and faithfulness, keeping steadfast
love for thousands, forgiving iniquity
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:and transgression and sin, but who
will by no means clear guilty visiting
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:the iniquity of the fathers on the
children and the children's children
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:to the third and the fourth generation.
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:And Moses quickly bowed his head
toward the earth and worshiped.
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:And he said, if now I have found favor in
your sight, oh Lord, please let the Lord
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:go in the midst of us for it is a stiff
necked people and pardon our iniquity and
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:our sin, and take us for your inheritance.
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:And he said, behold, I am making
a covenant before all your people.
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:I will do Marvels such as have not been
created in all the Earth or in any nation,
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:and all the people among whom you are
shall see the work of the Lord for it is
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:an awesome thing that I will do with you.
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:God promises to be faithful to Israel even
though they have been faithless to him.
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:He made a promise to Abraham
and he's going to keep it.
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:How can we not take note of
verse 33 11 when we're told.
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:Thus, the Lord used to speak to
Moses face to face as a man, speaks
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:to his friend, and when God tells
him in verse 14, my presence will go
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:with you and I will give you rest.
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:It is interesting because in a few
verses we're going to be told that
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:Moses can't see God's face, and yet
his nearness is so available to Moses.
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:They have a deep friendship
and companionship.
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:And if I look at the life of
Moses in scripture, I don't
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:know that it feels very restful.
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:It seems that God asks quite a bit of him,
but God says that his presence is going
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:to give him rest, and it makes me think
of the New Testament when Jesus says,
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:my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
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:When we live in light of eternity
and we walk with God, it puts in
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:perspective all that he calls us to do.
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:And I think that's the only way
that it really can feel like
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:to live on this fall on earth.
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:You might be thinking of different
points in the Old Testament
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:where people did see God.
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:I mean, what about Hagar?
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:When she met with the angel of the
Lord and said, you are a God of seeing
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:in these instances, it was probably
at the ay or a manifestation of God.
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:In a human sense.
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:We know that God is spirit and
that the spirit of God in all of
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:his fullness could not be seen.
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:Whatever Moses saw, we can't be
completely sure, but it's likely
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:that the full glory and fullness
of God was beyond description.
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:When I was in college, I felt led
to write a Bible study about all the
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:scriptures where God speaks about himself.
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:Though I wish I would've kept
better track of my notes,
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:and Exodus 34 provides one of the
lengthiest descriptions God gives
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:us about himself and his character.
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:Of course, we love to hear that he's
abounding in steadfast love, but he
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:also reminds us that his holiness
requires him to deal with sin justly.
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:In second Timothy, we're told when
we are faithless, God is faithful
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:for he cannot disown himself.
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:But I heard a sermon by John
Piper that explained this verse is
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:frequently misunderstood and misquoted.
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:Would you like to hear it in context?
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:Second Timothy two 12 through
13 reads, if we have died with
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:him, we will also live with him.
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:If we endure.
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:We will also reign with
him if we deny him.
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:He will also deny us if we are faithless.
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:He remains faithful for
he cannot deny himself.
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:God's faithfulness requires him
to deny us when we've denied him.
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:In essence, he gives us what we ask for
nearness with him, or separation from him.
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:Throughout Exodus, I'm seeing that
Moses continually presses into the
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:presence of an unknown God, even when
they don't understand what God will do.
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:And they know how powerful he is.
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:Moses presses in, but
the people draw back,
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:and when he goes up on the mountain
for his second 40 day trek, it says
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:he comes down with his face shining.
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:After being in the presence of the
Lord for so long, we don't necessarily
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:know why it's not recorded for
the first 40 days on the mountain.
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:Or why it didn't happen then maybe
it's because he wasn't fasting, but even
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:when he comes down with this glow, the
people are afraid to even approach him.
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:It seems that they're always wanting
this buffer of space between them and
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:the Lord, but we get to present into the
God of the Bible, and when we see him
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:as a symbol of strength and holiness,
let's not be tempted to turn him into
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:that calf like the Israelites did.
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:I can't help but chuckle when
God says, I will write on the
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:tablets, the words that were on
the first tablets, which you broke.
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:There are many instances in scripture
where God fixes our mistakes.
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:Rights are wrongs, turns,
evil situations for our good.
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:We're told he remembers that we're
dust and he's gracious to us.
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:But we also know that God opposes the
proud and gives grace to the humble.
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:If you want the Lord intervening
for you and you want him working
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:out grace and mercy in your
life, then embrace the opportunity
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:to worship him in all humility.
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:Don't take for granted that
he is merciful, gracious.
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:Slow to anger and abounding in
steadfast love and faithfulness.
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:Lord, we take this opportunity to ask
that you would help us to be humble,
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:but that we would also learn
to pray boldly as Moses did.
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:He walked so closely with you that he
knew which requests would glorify you.
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:We pray that we would not be like the
Israelites, whom you called stiff necked.
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:We also pray that for our children.
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:Continue to work in them and give them
hearts of flesh, that they would be
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:bold when it's for your glory, but that
they would be humble and meek when it
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:comes to fighting for their own will.
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:Thank you that you showed your goodness to
Moses and as I've prayed many times, I
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:ask again that you would open our eyes to
the good things that you're doing in our
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:lives, even when there's sin in the camp.
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:And the work is tireless and
the burden isn't easy.
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:Help us maintain an eternal perspective.
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:Give us glimpses of where you are
being glorified in our homes and in
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:our work, but may we be patient and
steadfast as we wait for the fruit.
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:Thank you that you go with us, Jesus.
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:It's in your name we pray.
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:Amen.
