“Exodus: A Praying People” by Rev. Cody Sandahl – November 6, 2016
Introduction
We are still looking at how God shaped the Israelites in the book of Exodus and how God shapes us today. Last week we saw the Israelites finally get something right when they showed generosity to help build the traveling Sanctuary. We heard how the heart is intertwined with generosity – whether that’s with gold and silver or sewing and construction abilities. This week we are catching the Israelites after they – once again – did something wrong, so God starts calling them by a new nickname: the stiff-necked people.
Exodus 33:1-3, 12-23
The Lord said to Moses, “Go, leave this place, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
12Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have said to me, ‘Bring up this people’; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15And he said to him, “If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. 16For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.” 17The Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18Moses said, “Show me your glory, I pray.” 19And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” 21And the Lord continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; 22and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; 23then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”
Abandoned?
If you watched the sermon teaser video this week, you already heard this story. But when I was in elementary school my family was out very late, so when my parents pulled into the garage everyone just kind of stumbled out of the car and found their beds as quickly as possible. Everyone, that is, except for me. Unbeknownst to my family, I had actually nodded off in the car, so I was still in the garage. At some point in the night I startled awake, drenched in darkness all around me. I did my best impersonation of the three blind mice as I fumbled for the door, only to discover that the door was locked. I couldn’t get inside.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been in darkness so thick you can’t even see your fingers, but it is a very unsettling experience – especially for an imaginative kid who reads too much science fiction. My mind was imagining all kinds of aliens, monsters, or maybe just some terrestrial spiders slowly descending upon my head in the dark. So I alternated between beating on the door with all my might, shouting at the top of my lungs “I’m in the garage! I’m in the garage!” and kicking my legs forcefully into the darkness just in case some of those imagined creatures weren’t imaginary. It seemed like seven eternities before someone finally heard me – the bedrooms were pretty far away from the garage in that house, but eventually my parents came to get me.
Have you ever felt abandoned? Have you ever felt alone in the dark with no one to hear you? Have you ever felt like that with God?
The Israelites in our text today are feeling abandoned by God, and it’s because they deserve to be abandoned. We’ll hear about what they DID next week, but suffice it to say that it was the absolute low point in their relationship with God. In several books’ worth of transgressions, this might’ve been the worst. So God is a mite displeased with them, hence their new nickname.
And that’s when I think it hits them – they’re wandering in the desert. The only direction they have is God’s physical presence via the pillar of cloud and fire. God is all they really have to go on, and they’re afraid they just blew it forever. They’re afraid they’re going to be abandoned. And they know they deserve it.
Ever felt that way?
The Promised Land
But did you notice God’s response? Right at the start, “The Lord said to Moses, “Go, leave this place, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” God was still giving them the Promised Land. In fact, God said he would still drive out the Canaanites for them. They’re still going to get the land flowing with milk and honey.
God’s promise remains. God’s word is eternal. God’s trustworthiness is assured. Even when you feel like you’ve been abandoned. Even when you feel like you’re alone in the dark. Even when you feel like you deserve it.
In our first text today, what’s the last thing Jesus tells his disciples? The very last words of the Gospel of Matthew? “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Just as God had given the Israelites the task of taking the Promised Land, so too Jesus gives us the task of making disciples, baptizing, teaching, obeying. And just as the Israelites doubted, so too Jesus’ disciples and we doubt. Just as the Israelites needed to know that God would stay with them, Jesus’ disciples and we need to know that Jesus is still with us. And so he signs off with “remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
God had to tell the Israelites: “remember, I promised.” Jesus had to tell his disciples: “remember, I’m with you.” Apparently we have a hard time remembering. The antidote to our fear is to remember. The antidote to our sense of abandonment is to remember God’s promise and Jesus’ presence. Our problem isn’t that God has left us – it’s that we IMAGINE that God might leave us.
The imagination is powerful – it’s what dreams are made of. But it’s also what nightmares are made of. When I was in that garage suffocating in the impenetrable darkness, my mind knew that it was fairly unlikely that alien entities had been living in the ceiling of the garage, waiting for a moment to attack me. But my imagination was more powerful than my memory.
Has your imagination ever been more powerful than your memory? More powerful than your reason?
Have you ever told a lie because you could only imagine terrible consequences for telling the truth?
Have you ever despaired because you couldn’t imagine anyone putting up with you anymore?
Have you ever lashed out because you couldn’t imagine the other person deserving grace?
The imagination is a big problem with online bullying, especially with teenage girls. Someone finds out a scandalous secret or a revealing photograph – some tabloid material. And then that gets used – show us more or we’ll share that photo, tell us more or we’ll share your secret. Of course, that just means they have more ammunition, more power, more control. When you can only imagine the bad things, when you can’t remember the hope, you’re in a dangerous place. The decisions we make out of fear today often make tomorrow worse.
And so God says, “Remember, I promised.” Jesus says, “Remember, I am with you.”
The Lion and the Dragon
SO which direction is your imagination going right now? Are you imagining the fictitious aliens waiting to pounce on you in the dark garage? Are you imagining reasons to be afraid? Or are you remembering God’s promises? Are you remembering Jesus’ presence? Are you imagining reasons to have hope?
Hollywood pictures this by putting an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. But I like the imagery in the book of Revelation better. In Revelation two creatures are in opposition – the Lion of Judah on one side and the Dragon on the other. And spoiler alert – the Lion wins.
But I love those images. A lion is associated with what? Courage, right? Facing things head-on, not running away. And what about a dragon? A dragon is associated with fear. Hide from the fire or it’ll burn you up.
When our imaginations are running wild, when we’re seeing monsters in the dark, when we feel like we have no choice because of the consequences, when we feel alone and abandoned and afraid – that’s when we’re feeding the dragon. Nothing good comes from feeding the dragon. It’s almost as bad as feeding the pigeons – they’ll never leave and your house will be covered in unpleasantness.
But when our imaginations remember that God is still with us, when we remember our hope, when we remember our strength and resolve because Jesus is with us – that’s when we’re feeding the lion. Good things come from feeding the lion.
It’s not always easy to feed the lion. You still might have to face the music, face the consequences. But it’s better to face the consequences with the lion than trying to avoid the consequences by making a deal with the dragon. The dragon is never satisfied, never full. Remember what Lando Calrissian said after making a deal with Darth Vader – “This deal is getting worse all the time!”
And I think that’s why prayer is so powerful. Prayer feeds the lion and starves the dragon. Even if we are afraid in our prayer, even if we are angry in our prayer, prayer feeds the lion and starves the dragon. In our text today Moses prays for assurance and direction. God says in v14 “my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” But Moses still isn’t sure, his lion needs a little more food. So he prays again, and God replies in v17, “I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” But Moses STILL isn’t sure, his lion needs a three course meal. So he prays again. And God response in v19, “I will make all my goodness pass before you.”
Finally, Moses is ready. Shortly after this they have a ceremony to rededicate the Israelites to the Covenant. They publicly proclaim that they are following where God leads. The lion beat the dragon again.
But the great thing about prayer is that we don’t have to wait until we feel strong and powerful and ready to roar like a lion. Prayer is what gives us the strength when we’re feeling weak. Prayer is what gives us the way forward when we can only imagine being trapped. Prayer is what gives us the voice when we’re afraid to speak.
Summary
So where do you need to feed the lion and starve the dragon? Where do you need strength because you feel weak? Where do you need a way forward because you feel trapped? Where do you need a voice because you’re afraid to speak? Prayer feeds the lion and starves the dragon. Prayer helps us remember that God has promised. Prayer helps us remember that Jesus is with us, even to the end of the age.
How will you feed the lion and starve the dragon this week? How will you pray? Amen.
