For the past few years, my devotional time has been spent in reading a chapter from the Old Testament and a chapter from the New Testament. I can honestly say that I don't practice this discipline every morning, but it is a part of my regular spiritual formation. Over the last several weeks I have made my way through Genesis and am closing in on the end of Exodus. During this morning's reading, I came across this quote from Moses to the LORD, "Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight." The LORD replied to Moses "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. And he (Moses) said to him "For 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." (You can see the entire dialog in Exodus 33.)
This passage got me to thinking. I kept coming back to that circular statement from Moses to the LORD...If I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight." What exactly is Moses trying to get at here? If he has already found favor in the sight of the LORD then why does he need to find favor in his sight? As is common in my questioning of the text the commentary in my study Bible doesn't address this particular verse, so I'm on my own to try to work through it.
Why does Moses want to find favor in the sight of the LORD? Moses answers this question by stating "...so that I may know you..." Moses' desire is to know the LORD who has brought his people up out of Egypt. He is seeking this amazing God who brought forth plagues, who parted the waters, and who handed down the Law. He is seeking to understand this greater person.
I understand Moses' desire. In my first semester of seminary, one of the professors gave a sermon one day in chapel. In that sermon, he used the parable of the pearl of great price that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 13:46 as his text. In that parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a pearl of great price that a person who collects pearls found. He sold all that he had in order to obtain that pearl. Seeking to understand the LORD really does take that kind of desire; that kind of sacrifice. There really is nothing more valuable to me than knowing God and being known by him. Many times, in my own busy-ness of life I forget this central truth. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit, he reminds me that our relationship is of utmost importance not only for me but for him as well. The God and creator of the universe truly does seek to know and be known by each one of us. The cost may be great but the reward is so much greater!
A few years ago Graham Kendrick wrote a song called "All I Once Held Dear (Knowing You). This song has been a sustaining theme that runs through my life. I share it with you now in hopes that it blesses you and sustains you in your journey to find favor in the sight of the LORD so that you may know the LORD and find favor in his sight.
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