Exodus 34:8-14: a reflection

8Moses hurried and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9He said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go among us, even though this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” 10He said, “Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been worked in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD; for it is an awesome thing that I do with you. 11Observe that which I command you today. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare among you; 13but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherah poles; 14for you shall worship no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

After Israel's grievous sin with the golden calf, Moses bows and worships, and makes a bold plea: If now I have found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go among us, even though this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance. Notice what Moses asks: not that God would go with a people who deserved it, but that God would dwell among a stiff-necked, sinful people, pardoning them and taking them as his own. He pleads for God's presence with an unworthy people.

Notice the ground of Moses' plea: not the people's worthiness, but God's mercy. Moses does not pretend the people deserve God's presence; he calls them stiff-necked, and asks for pardon of their sin. Yet he pleads for God to go among them still, to dwell with them despite their unworthiness, to pardon them and take them as his own. He asks for the presence of the holy God with an unworthy, sinful people, on the ground not of their merit but of God's mercy. And God grants it, making a covenant with them.

That plea is worth making our own, for we too are unworthy of God's presence, yet may ask for it on the ground of his mercy. We can feel that God could not dwell with us, that our sin makes us unfit for his presence; and if his presence depended on our worthiness, we would have no hope. But Moses asked for God's presence with a stiff-necked people, on the ground of mercy, and God granted it. Do not despair of God's presence because you are unworthy; ask for it, as Moses did, on the ground of God's mercy, pleading, dwell with me, pardon me, take me as your own, even though I am unworthy. The God who agreed to dwell among a stiff-necked people, pardoning their sin, is willing to dwell with us, unworthy as we are, on the ground of his mercy; ask him for his presence, as Moses did, not on the ground of your worthiness, but of his pardoning mercy.

Lord, after Israel's grievous sin with the golden calf, Moses bowed and worshiped, and made a bold plea: if now I have found favor in your sight, please let the Lord go among us, even though this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance. Notice what Moses asked: not that you would go with a people who deserved it, but that you would dwell among a stiff-necked, sinful people, pardoning them and taking them as your own. He pleaded for your presence with an unworthy people. Show me the ground of his plea: not the people's worthiness, but your mercy. Moses did not pretend the people deserved your presence; he called them stiff-necked, and asked for pardon. Yet he pleaded for you to go among them still, on the ground not of their merit but of your mercy. And you granted it, making a covenant with them. Help me make that plea my own, for I too am unworthy of your presence, yet may ask for it on the ground of your mercy. I can feel that you could not dwell with me, that my sin makes me unfit for your presence; and if your presence depended on my worthiness, I would have no hope. But Moses asked for your presence with a stiff-necked people, on the ground of mercy, and you granted it. Keep me from despairing of your presence because I am unworthy; help me ask for it, as Moses did, on the ground of your mercy, pleading, dwell with me, pardon me, take me as your own. Thank you, Lord, that you are willing to dwell with me, unworthy as I am, on the ground of your pardoning mercy.