Today in chapel, Dr. Zach Bowden walked the Cedarville community through Exodus 40. He pointed out that in Exodus, although God performed many incredible signs, Israel persisted in unbelief. Moses believed that God made a mistake in choosing him as a leader, not understanding that Israel’s salvation didn’t depend on his own eloquence but on the One who went with him. The Israelites refused to listen and ended up fashioning a golden calf. The Israelites were all sinners, just like the rest of us, and the Ten Commandments show us the sin that we’re all capable of.

The Israelites’ world was a place filled with unjust taskmasters and adversity. But this wasn’t a world out of control. It’s God’s world. One of the most important lessons to learn from Exodus is that the Maker of heaven and earth is not indifferent to His creation. He comes to deliver them, demonstrating that their sin will not have the last word. He guides and sustains them. He reveals Himself as a God who is with His people.

The Glorious Word of God

When Moses asked to see His glory, rather than showing him what he could not see, God told Moses what he needed to hear: a declaration of His character. God’s glory is not some abstract notion. It’s beyond us and it’s above us, but it’s also for us. It’s bound up in the reality that there’s One who is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, loving, and forgiving. The God of Israel is the only One who can forgive sin, and Israel needed only to listen and trust in His Word to receive that forgiveness, but they didn’t.

The Powerful Word of God

We are confronted with the very Word of God every time we open the Bible. It’s the same Word that God used to create the world, and it’s the same Word that animates the book of Exodus.

God’s word is a Word for us. It has been given to us so that we won’t be led into the same unbelief that characterized the Israelites. Unbelief is in our blood. We naturally ignore God’s Word and craft our own golden calves. We come from a long line of ancestors who have been exchanging the truth of God for a lie.

The Ultimate Word of God

But just like God provided a way out for Israel, He also provided a way out for us. He has spoken His definitive word ultimately through His Son, who is the exact representation of His nature — compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in faithful love. He showed His presence with His people by sending His Son into our world to save us.

So, like Israel, we wander this world, but not alone. We face suffering, but we don’t need the pillar of cloud or fire to sustain our faith. We have the Word, and the Word is for us.