How to be a 'face to face' friend of God

And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood  at  the door of the tabernacle, and  the   Lord  talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing  at  the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man  in  his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. (Exodus 33:9-11 NKJV)

I find this to be an amazing passage of scripture, especially, "So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." That is powerful.

The whole scene leading up to this event is also spectacular. Can you see everyone's tent pitched toward the tabernacle, the door of their tents facing the tabernacle, and each man standing in the doorway of their tent worshiping as Moses speaks with God?

Then there is the whole manifestation thing with the pillar of cloud--God's presence totally visible and totally present. Back during this time the focus was on His presence, and they even camped, positioned themselves precisely to give full recognition and honor to His presence. They were constantly aware, no matter what they were doing. When  Moses headed to the tabernacle, they took their position of worship "each man in his tent door."

This reminds me of what Paul taught us about the tabernacle today.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make  them  members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit  who is  in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:15, 19 NKJV)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,  which is  your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1 NKJV)

The men standing in the doorway represent a gateway between heaven and earth, and there they worshiped as priests of their families and of God. Wherever we worship, we create a portal to heaven, a means through which the Kingdom of God can manifest, and a portal that invites the presence of God.

Moses found a place to be a friend of God even before Jesus shed His blood. This friendship attracted the grace of God from a future time allowing Moses an opportunity to face the presence of God in the most intimate ways imaginable. This is an intimacy for which we long to experience. But, even as amazing as all this is, there is something else going on in this passage that is equally, if not more, powerful. Joshua is barely mentioned, yet his act speaks loudly.

Moses returns to the camp, "but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle." There is a lot going on here.

First of all, Joshua is a servant. That's where intimacy with His presence begins. Joshua's duty was to serve Moses, and he did so faithfully, but this time when Moses left the tabernacle, Joshua remained. Why?

Everything happening with Israel was based on Moses' intimacy with God. Joshua had spent enough time in proximity of this intimate relationship between the friends Moses and God that he wanted a personal, intimate relationship with God as well. Rather than follow Moses, he dug in for the presence himself.

Today there are too many people following men instead of the presence. They are like the children of Israel who chose to have Moses face God for them, so their relationship would be more with Moses than directly and individually with God.  Many people chase after evangelists, pastors, and other spiritual leaders allowing that relationship to replace or satisfy a personal, intimate relationship with Father God.

Joshua wasn't interested in printing off a bunch of business cards with his name and address. He wasn't interested in creating a following, a niche, a blog--he saw what really counted in the relationship between Moses and his friend God. That's what Joshua wanted. And he knew how to get it. He remained.

I think we miss it. We get caught up in doing things to excite and attract a following and we call it ministry, church, or outreach.  We call it God. These are good things we are doing, but are they God-things?

Joshua watched and observed what made the difference. It was all about the presence. He knew, by watching Moses, it was possible to be a friend with God. That's what he wanted, and he stayed at the tabernacle when everyone left. He chose to worship longer. He chose to develop that relationship of intimacy with Father God.

Joshua did the right thing. He was the one who had the honor of leading the people into the promised land--not Moses, the friend of God.

This is awesome:  "So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." This is how you get there:  "but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle."

dmcb