Stop Sign
Author: Chrissy S.
27 July 2003
If God offered you one wish, what would your wish be? Would you ask for a
heavenly credit card- with no limit of money spent? Or perhaps would it be
fame? Maybe you would ask for more family or friends? Whatever it is- what
would be your wish?
Moses had one request for God. He cries out to the Lord in Exodus
33:18 (NASB) “ I
pray You, show me Your glory.” Here is what happens next, “And He
said, “ I Myself will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim
the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But
He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” Then
the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there
on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will
put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed
by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall
not be seen.” (33:19-23 NASB) Now the Lord said to Moses, “Cut out
for yourself two stone tablets like the former ones, and I will write on the
tablets the word that were on the former tablets which you shattered. So be ready
by morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there
to Me on the top of the mountain. No man is to come up with you, nor let any
man be seen anywhere on the mountain; even the flocks and the herds may not graze
in front of that mountain.” So he cut out two stone tablets like the former
ones, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as the
Lord had commanded him, and he took two stone tablets in hand. The Lord descended
in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the Lord.
Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the
Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness
and truth; who keeps loving-kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression
and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity
of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” Moses
made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship. (Ex. 34:1-8 NASB)
So Moses’ humbly asks that God would reveal His glory to him- that was
His one desire. He could have asked for the people to be at the Promised Land
the very next day. He could have asked for a tasty different food other than
manna and quail. He could have asked for anything and He asked to see God’s
glory. Moses’ got the greatest, seeing the glory of God. How many of us
are guilty of having a selfish wish? Moving on…
In response, Moses falls flat down to the earth in worship for God. The red hexagon
shape, known as a stop sign, is a significant command. It calls for obedient
(and legal) drivers to come to a complete stop. Here we see Moses’ life
come to a complete stop. For everything that once mattered, matters not. There
was nothing greater than seeing the glory of the Holy Lord.
Do we stop all of our worries, dreams, thoughts, crushes, etc., when we come
in the presence of God? Do we lay it all down to just worship? Turning the pages
to Psalm 46:10 (NASB) “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be
exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” In the NIV,
it says “Be still and know that I am God;...” Can we for a moment
step aside from all that life, media and the peer pressures demand of us and ‘be
still’ as we come and worship in the presence of the Sovereign Lord? There
is no one who deserves our attention more than the Lord God Almighty. Just ponder
on that thought…May God’s glory and greatness overwhelm you when
you walk into His presence.
**Following up** When Moses came down from the mountain forty days later,
his face shown of the glory of the Lord. As you walk way from worship, think
about how people may see God’s glory shining into your life… perhaps
your attitude changes, your worries remain no more, your focus is different,
etc. Ask God that His glory may shine in you for others to see. Give Him your
all and He will change you.
