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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

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