Skip to main content

Don't Wanna Go!

“Don’t wanna go!”  You hear that from kids.  If they don’t want to go somewhere, they can make that abundantly clear.

Adults often share that feeling but they might couch their reluctance in a more diplomatic term such as:  “I would prefer not to”.  Sometimes they even choose to hide how they really feel by using phrases like:  “I’m too busy” or “I already have a commitment”.

Moses was not a kid but an adult.  He didn’t wanna go and he didn’t even try to hide his reluctance!  In fact, he clearly expressed it in very direct terms:  Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.  (Ex 33:15)

Ok, to be fair, it wasn’t an issue of Moses not wanting to go; he just didn’t want to go if God’s presence wasn’t going with him.  Moses was astute enough to know that if the Lord’s presence was not with him (and with the people of Israel), things could go sideways very quickly. 

One commentator put it this way in interpreting the passage:

“Let us (Moses and the people of Israel*) rather live and die in the wilderness, with thy presence and favour, than go into Canaan without it; for even that promise of rest I regard not unless thou be with us, and accept us. Thus he shows how highly he valued the special presence of God. He dreaded the very thought of going forward without it.”  (Benson Commentary)

Julie Holmquist used some more contemporary words when she wrote this from her study of the passage:

“God’s presence provided direction and comfort. He was valiant in their midst to fight off their enemies. He provided safety, strength and joy. It was His presence that set them apart from all the other peoples of the earth. His presence solidified their identity as His chosen people.” 

 

To put it all in KISS** type wording that usually resonates with me:

            “I don’t wanna go if the Lord ain’t with me because nothin’ good can ever come of it”.

 

*I inserted this for clarity, at least clarity for my sake!

**Keep It Simple Steve

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Little Words, Big Impact

Sometimes we get caught up in the big words and that certainly has its place.   But, sometimes I think I appreciate the little words even more.   These are one or two or three letters words that can have big meaning and big impact. Take the word “I”.   It is a pronoun that often is used to identify the one who might be communicating.   The communication could be something like “I love you” or “I forgive you” or “I will do that.”   Meaning and impact from a word with just one letter! Take the word “no”.   It can put a stop to things. For example, you could have what you think is a really great idea but if you receive a no, your great idea comes to a screeching halt.   Meaning and impact from a word with just two letters! Take the word “yes”.   It can set things in motion.   For example, perhaps you are in love with that certain special person and you ask that question and they say yes.   Big things are set into motion and yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Double Entendre

Double entendre:   a word or expression used so that it can be understood in two ways.   For example: Seriously struggle with sin : 1.   Some people seriously struggle with sin.   That is, they see how easily sin entangles and they take their struggle with sin seriously and overcome it. 2.   Some people seriously struggle with sin.   That is, sin easily entangles them and they have serious struggles with sin and they never seem to overcome it. The example is not just theoretical, it is real.   And it is likely that many of us have experienced both over the course of our lives.   But whatever you have experienced, I have some more double entendres that follow a bad news/good news format: 1.   Sin is costly .   The cost is spiritual death.   But we have a Savior who paid the cost with His own life so that we can live spiritually. 2.   Sin has consequences . The consequence of sin is eternal separatio...
Post a Comment
Read more

Flee From/Flee To

If you are going to flee, do it right! What?   Give me a chance to explain! But first, let’s land on what it might mean to flee.   To flee is to run away from a place or situation of danger or evil.   It also means to hurry toward a place of safety. So, here are some possible explanations: 1.   Flee when God tells you: Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt , and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”  (Matt 2:13)   2.   But don’t try to flee from God: But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord . He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord .  (Jonah 1:3)     3.   Flee from danger: For they have fled from the ...
Post a Comment
Read more