God's Promises: He Goes with Us and Gives Us Rest

Is it just me, or did January feel like being on a swirling merry-go-round, clinging to a railing for dear life and wondering when the spinning would stop? Of course, every time, I did get a chance to slide off and out of the hustle, I was still reeling with dizziness which made it awfully hard to be productive and tackle my never-ending to do list much less rest. So, when I started researching the promises of God in Exodus, I breathed a special sigh of relief when I read the one that most immediately jumped out at me:

Exodus 33:14 -- HIS PRESENCE WILL GO WITH US, AND HE WILL GIVE US REST.
It was like Jesus Himself was smiling and saying, "Help is on the way! This month, the tide is changing ever so slightly."

Here are a few different translations of that verse:

He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” – World English Bible

The Lord said, “I Myself will go with you. I will give you rest.” – New Life Version

The Lord answered, “I myself will go with you, and I will give you victory.” – New Century Version

The Lord answered, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you peace.” – God’s Word Translation

There is some richness and depth of meaning that is worth digging into in this verse, short though it may be. For starters, the context comes in the midst of God dealing with His rebellious children the Israelites. In previous verses, He basically sends them on their way toward the Promised Land, but He draws a line in the sand that He will not personally go with them because He's afraid He just might kill them. Is this the equivalent of the parent driving the car while the kids are bickering in the back seat? I think yes. He has had one too many "Dad, she's looking at me funny!" and weathered so many blood curdling screams and Cheerio explosions in the back seat that those Israelites don't even know that the next step is that hard brake that makes you wide-eyed and somehow perfect little angels in a split second. He knows He will absolutely pull this car over, and it will not be pretty.

Now, God is not a liar, but this is one of those instances where I think He expresses His boundaries to see how His people respond. He needs them to know that He can't take it any more, and they better shape up. He needs them to feel that He is under no obligation to keep tolerating them. But, even beyond that, I think He wants to know if they can get past their entitlement to realize that they actually do want Him near them. He wants to know that He is more to them than just Provider or Protector. He wants to be loved for His Person. So, even as He is placing His line in the sand, I think He is leaving the door open for them to respond like repentant children afraid of losing their special connection with their Papa. So, Moses, seeing the Israelites distraught, goes to the Tent of the Meeting to talk with the Lord while the rest of the Israelites hold their breath in reverent worship.

While there, Moses reminds his fed-up friend, God, that He has called this nation His people and that He told Moses to lead them. For better or for worse, they carry His spiritual DNA. Friend-to-friend, Moses asks to be let in on what the plan is. He wants to remind the Lord that He is loved for who He is. Yes, He offered to send them with His same blessings and provision, but they prefer to sit tight until their relationship with God is repaired, and He chooses to go with them. Thus, verse 14 is His response.

Here is something encouraging to note, the promise in this chapter is just as much that not only are we allowed to make requests or ask questions or even negotiate boundaries with God, we're actually invited to as it says in Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together..." or in Philippians 4:6 "let your requests be made known to God." This is at the heart of what He's really after even in this story--He wants people who He can call friends--not spoiled children who treat Him like their personal butler and not puppets or robots who only follow His rules without any personal engagement. Friends have conversations from the heart and fight to maintain connection with one another even in the midst of conflict. In making His boundaries known, He is inviting them to fight for their relationship with Him as friends. And He responds with mercy because they communicate that they value their connection with Him more than what He can do for them.

When He responds, He doesn't give them a substitute for what they're really asking for. In the Hebrew etymology of the word presence in this verse, the meaning is "face" or "faces." He isn't sending an angel on His behalf, but rather, His very face will go with them. According to Studylight.org, the Adam Clarke commentary expounds on this idea by saying that the Lord could be saying:  "I shall give thee manifestations of my grace and goodness through the whole of thy journey. I shall vary my appearances for thee, as thy necessities shall require." 

How amazing is it to think that God encapsulates so many characteristics that each of those characteristics is like a separate face. Getting to know Him is just as multi-faceted if not infinitely more so as getting to know another human being. While He gives us Himself entirely, He does not reveal Himself in all of His complexity all at once. This is a true relationship complete with mystery and the responsibility to seek Him in order to know Him more and more. 

And, true to His abundant nature, not only does He mercifully decide to grant Moses' request, He adds in that mysterious aspect of rest. Rest in this context can be understood in many different ways, and I think that's the beauty of the Bible. It can be both solid and living, both logos and rhema. This section of the verse could be as simple as God saying directly to Moses, "I will do what you want, so set your mind at ease." But, I think God is creative enough that He can simultaneously be talking to Moses and to us. One of the reasons I believe He's not just telling Moses to quit getting his panties in a bunch is because the etymology of the word rest in this verse offers so many different meanings. 

It comes from the Hebrew word nuwach that is used in many different instances in the Bible. These varying instances offer us a clue as to the many ways this rest can be understood and applied. Nuwach is used to describe how God the Creator rested on the seventh day. It is also used to describe in Numbers 11:25 how the Spirit of the Lord rested or alighted on someone. In Deuteronomy 3:20, nuwach is likened to the possession of the Promised Land. In several different verses, this rest is depicted as a ceasefire or being relieved of your enemies on every side. In 1 Kings 5:4, it uses nuwach when it says, "The Lord my God has now given me rest all around; there is no enemy or crisis." (HCSB) And Isaiah 14:7 indicates that this kind of rest causes a response of joy:
"The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they break into shouts of joy." (AMP)

So what kind of rest do you need in this season? Do you need stillness? Do you long for His presence or His spirit of wisdom to come alight upon you? Do you need reminded that He is giving you the power to possess your own Promised Land? Do you need to know that He will command your enemies and crises to cease and desist? 

This past Monday, we had a worship night at my house. In the days before, I had spent hours making a set list with the Lord and crying my way through it. It was a call to hope and a call to remember His promises for victory. It was about taking hold of the authority that God has given us. But as we gathered in my living room, some sitting on the floor, some with hands upraised, some stomping their feet in righteous indignation at the works of the enemy, something special settled in over us--rest. We were being reminded that He goes before us, and that one of our greatest weapons of warfare is actually rest. It's being able to be still in deep trust that He is already going before us and is already plowing through obstacles to give us the Promised Land. 

This past month, we have continued the fight to receive Esthefanny's high school diploma (that is overdue more than a year), and honestly, just about everything that can go wrong or can rise up as an obstacle, has. Initially, in the midst of being hung up on by the school's head authority or having unfair demands placed on us because of someone else's negligence, the temptation was to feel anger and to feel like I should've expected this kind of corruption and should have protected us in a better way. But, after a while, with each new obstacle, I started to get the sense that He's doing something deep here. Maybe it's to strengthen faith. Maybe it's His way of leading us to take a stand in our own small way against the prevailing spirit of corruption in this nation. Maybe there is no lesson at all but merely an invitation to draw near to Him in our lack and receive His grace and championing power. But, regardless, I am taking hold of this promise and speaking it out over this situation: He will go with us, and He will give us that promised diploma. 

In the midst of seeing precious families waiting for years for adoptions to be finalized only to be told that they have yet another hearing or need yet another document, I both hold out my heart to feel their frustration and also speak to the circumstance: He will go with your family, and He will end this crisis and give you your reason to shout for joy.

Maybe your need for rest stems from a diagnosis or a financial lack or dream that still isn't fulfilled. Maybe you've been knocking on this door for so long, your knuckles are bleeding from the splinters. Maybe you desperately need God to show you a new part of Himself that you haven't met before. You can't always will yourself to have hope, but you can always draw close to the Person of Hope. You are invited to reason with Him and make your requests known. He can handle your big emotions and painful doubts. He longs to be your first Promised Land of refuge. He is a friend who wants to be your rest even before the circumstance changes. He invites you to be still so He can help you feel safe on every side and know that He is indeed going with you. And if you need some songs for that stillness to stir up that assurance of His nearness and His fighting for you, let me recommend:

"Defender" sung by Steffany Gretzinger

You go before I know
That You've gone to win my war
You come back with the head of my enemy
You come back and You call it my victory
You go before I know
That You've gone to win my war
Your love becomes my greatest defense
It leads me from the dry wilderness
All I did was praise
All I did was worship
All I did was bow down
All I did was stay still
Hallelujah, You have saved me
So much better Your way
Hallelujah, great Defender
So much better Your way

"You Are My Champion" sung by Dante Bowe

You are my champion
Giants fall when you stand undefeated
Every battle You've won
I am who You say I am
You crown me with confidence
I am seated in the Heavenly place
Undefeated--with the One who has conquered it all

When I lift my voice and shout
Every wall comes crashing down
I have the authority Jesus has given me
When I open up my mouth
Miracles start breaking out
I have the authority
Jesus has given me