“So, Moses chiselled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” (Ex 34: 4 – 7)

This is God, speaking of himself. Verses 6 – 8 are not the words of a human, but the recorded words of Almighty God. This is what God wants us to know about him. Whatever questions we may or may not wish to ask him, these are the truths The Lord wanted Moses to hear, and therefore the truths he wants us to take on board.

First, he is the LORD. He repeats it: “The LORD, the LORD…”. No-one or no thing is more powerful than he. He is the sovereign creator of the entire universe. In wisdom and authority, he is above all other things.

Yet, perhaps paradoxically, he is also compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness. His greatness and strength never drive him to selfishness or cruelty. He sees our weaknesses and responds with compassion and grace. He hates the wilful sin that occupies the human heart but chooses to slow his anger and act in love instead.

This portrait of the living God is vibrant with love and forgiveness. Despite the darkness that stains the human condition, The Lord is quick to offer new life, sins forgiven, and rebellion paid for by the mercies of God. He will even forgive wickedness.

The Lord wanted his people to know that his love abounds. Anything that abounds exists in large amounts. It is rich and overflowing. The Lord’s love for us is beyond measure, impossible to count or quantify, too big to fully grasp.

But the Lord also punishes. He is a God of justice. The guilty cannot escape him and their punishment even affects their children and grandchildren, a strong encouragement towards genuine repentance.

In just a few short words, God revealed his sovereignty but also his love. He let Moses know of his unwavering commitment to justice, as well as his deep desire to forgive and bless. He spoke of his faithfulness, in order that we might be faithful to him.

What an amazing picture we have here of God.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. (Matt 14: 22 – 30)

The phrase, to “step out in faith”, probably comes from this occasion. We usually say it when we are thinking of taking risk. For example, “I’m not sure if I’ll get this job I am applying for, but I am going to take a step of faith”. But what is our faith in when we say that?

We know from other stories in the gospels that Jesus loved faith. And still does. He loves faith in him. He praised the centurion for his clear, no-nonsense understanding of Jesus’ authority to heal the sick. And he comforted the woman with the terrible bleeding condition with the words, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you.” (Matt 9: 22)

But Jesus doesn’t force us to have faith. He waits for it, patiently, to be expressed. He didn’t say to Peter, “come on, join me on the water, You can do it, just try!” He waited for Peter to form his own response to the situation. I think he does the same with us.

Peter didn’t take a risk based on the probabilities of being successful. He didn’t close his eyes, lean his foot down on the surface of the water and hope for the best. He saw what Jesus was doing, spoke to him, formed a plan in his mind, checked it out with him (“Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water”), waited for Jesus to reply, and then, (and only then) he put a foot over edge of the hull, planting it on the choppy waters, and the rest in history.

Peter’s faith was on the Saviour in front of him and The Lord’s word of encouragement to step out. I think there are some important keys here.

First, try to discern what the Lord is doing. Don’t just assume he will bless a risk, if you haven’t worked out what his plans are. Second, when you have a sense of God’s will after prayer and seeking his face, ask him: “Lord, if this is you, please confirm the decision I need to make”. Third, when you have the green light to go, that is, the peace of God to proceed (as long as it involves no disobedience to Scripture), you are ready step out.

Is God calling you to take a step of faith?

We have done a few devotions recently from the book of Deuteronomy. Here’s Moses speaking again to the next generation nation of Israel, about to enter the Promised Land.

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Deut 30 :11 – 20).

God’s Word is never far away. If you are a follower of Jesus, like me, the Scriptures are within easy reach. We have Bibles on our shelves, worship songs on our phones that remind us of the God’s truths, and endless opportunities to hear sermons or podcasts online.

However, we can’t just assume his word is in our hearts or in our mouths. We must invite God’s law, his stories, his instructions and principles, his encouragements into our souls, beyond the intellectual, beyond information level to affect our choices and our will. We must allow it to make us uncomfortable so that we change. We must speak it to our innermost beings.

Moses set before the people a decision. Life or death. Life meant loving him, walking in obedience to him and keeping his commands. Death meant choosing other gods and losing out on everything the Lord wanted to give them. Choose life.

The same speech could be given to us today. We have received new life and the forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ’s death on the cross. But life is still full of decisions, with consequences. Will we invite the Lord’s word to challenge us and mould us? Will we love him first or will we drift to the gods of this age and miss out?

Choose life.

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place

throughout all generations.

Before the mountains were born

or you brought forth the whole world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Ps 90: 1 – 2),

My brain can’t get a grasp of what “everlasting to everlasting” means. People talk about eternity past and eternity future, but I find it impossible to imagine. All I know is that his infinity is one of the many ways God is vastly superior to me. To us.

“From everlasting”. Was there a beginning to God? The Scriptures don’t allow us to believe that. Somehow God has always been and always will be. And over that seemingly impossible span of time, he has always been in charge. He has always been God. He will always be God.

Before the mountains were born, before our planet spun on its axis, he has been the sovereign God. When people were created, he invited them to dwell with him. Even though many rejected the call, he held out his hand. Today, The Lord still holds out his hand.

Later, in Psalm 90 we read:

“Teach us to number our days,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps 90: 12)

This is a stark reminder of the brevity of life on earth. God may be everlasting, but we are not here forever. Our souls will live on, but what will we do with the limited time we have before we die? Will we live intentionally, making the most of our time, loving God, and doing his will, or will we waste the opportunities set before us? Will we “number our days” -that is, put them to good use?

All human beings, like you and I have a paradoxical existence. We are temporal and we are eternal. We are not from everlasting, but eternity is laid out in before us. Faith in Christ will lead us to the dwelling place of God, but will we still number our days? Will we take seriously every minute, every day? Will we do everything we can to further his kingdom? Will we love the lost and feed the hungry? Will we carry out his will?

The psalmist (this is a prayer of Moses) believes that we will gain hearts of wisdom if we number our days. A finite life on earth lived with purpose, under the sovereignty of God, will feed the fertile soil where wisdom wants to grow.

Peter encouraged us to live with purpose, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ… make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1: 5 – 11).

“After the death of Moses, the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them —to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates —all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them” (Joshua 1: 1 – 6).

At the risk of taking verse five out of context, this has to be one of the most encouraging statements in the Bible: “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Joshua had seen firsthand the extraordinary relationship God had with Moses. “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Ex 33: 11). Through Moses, The Lord had performed incredible miracles and executed deadly but righteous judgements. Moses had friendship with the almighty, sovereign God. God gave him the power to bring water out of a rock and part the Red Sea. And now Joshua is being told that The Lord will be with him in the same way.

I don’t know about you, but if I were Joshua, I would really struggle to get my head around the enormity of all that.

And yet, if we read our Bibles, as followers of Jesus, we have stepped into a not dissimilar relationship with God. We are told in Ephesians 2 that we are “raised us up with Christ and seated… with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2: 6). We are forgiven and cleansed from sin, we are adopted into his family, and we are now spiritually “in Christ”, where he is at the right hand of the Father.

Our prayers are not only heard, but we have been given authority to speak in his name, make disciples of all nations, heal the sick and cast out evil spirits. And to top it all, Jesus told his disciples (and therefore also us) “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28: 20). In other words, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

The One was a friend to Moses and Father to the eternal Son, is with us and will never leave us or forsake us.

I don’t deserve it and nor do any of us! But we can live in the good of it and start using the authority he has given us to change our little corner of the world.

During a long speech that Moses gave to the people of Israel, after their 40-year trek in the wilderness and just prior to entering the Promised Land, he said this:

“Only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess” (Deut 4: 9 – 14).

Be careful. Watch yourselves closely. Don’t forget what you have seen and known. Keep them in your heart. Teach them to your kids and grandkids.

“Watch yourself” is an odd instruction and is probably more commonly used today as a warning against having an accident. “Watch yourself on that muddy slope”. “Watch yourself with that hot pan”. Today we hear it as a call to be careful.

Although Moses is speaking to the whole nation, he personalises it for every individual. He is calling every person to be careful. The fate of the nation depends on the choices of each person in it. So, watch yourself, he says, each and every one of you. Decide now what is important. Make intentional decisions today about what you will choose. Let those choices and behaviours directly relate to what you have seen the Lord do and what you have heard him say. Don’t forget any of his words and deeds.

In fact, people, you will likely have children one day, so make habits now to daily remember the Lord and fix them in your life. This will help you to pass them on effectively to the next generation. Your personal response to serve the Lord is vital. Remember: this is all bigger than any of us.

For his sake and his purposes, and for your influence upon those around you, watch yourselves closely.

Perhaps this is still a call to the church today. Watch yourself, each and every one of you. Decide now what is important. Make intentional decisions today about what you will choose. Let those choices and behaviours directly relate to what you have seen the Lord do and what you have heard him say. And don’t forget any of his words and deeds. For his sake and his purposes, and for your influence upon those around you, watch yourselves closely.

As Paul wrote to Timothy, “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim 4: 15 – 16).

“Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. The LORD said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank” (Num 20: 6 – 11).

The Lord was not happy with the way this played out. His instructions to Moses were to take the staff, which he did, gather the assembly together, with Aaron’s help (tick!) and then speak to the rock, with everybody watching on.

No tick for the last instruction.

Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses spoke to the people. Actually, he vented his anger at the people and said, “must we bring water out of this rock?” Moses then struck the rock twice with his staff, which the Lord had not told him to do.

You may know the end of the story. In verse 12, we read, “But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” In one stupid moment, Moses lost his ticket into the Promised Land.

What did he do wrong?

Perhaps the first thing is that Moses didn’t follow the Lord’s specific instructions. He improvised out of frustration. It is amazing to me that the Lord still went along with it, providing the much-needed water. I guess his compassion for the people outweighed any thought He may have had to hold back the miracle.

Second, the emphasis on “we” in Moses’ question, “must we bring you water out of this rock?” does suggest that he thought of himself a little too highly in that moment. If Moses had followed his orders to the letter, the Lord would likely have honoured him before the people, as he often did. Instead, Moses stole the glory that belongs only to the Lord and paid the price.

Doing the will and work of God is not to be taken lightly. When the Lord entrusts us to serve him in any kind of leadership role, we stand on holy ground. The question is, will we honour him as holy by obeying his instructions and will we honour him as holy by giving the glory to Him?

The most humble man on earth failed to be humble by the waters of Meribah and it cost him dearly. Let’s not make the same mistake today.

“You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed” (Deut 7: 17 – 23).

Poised with anticipation, the second-generation children of Israel are preparing to take the land – the land the Lord promised to them. The book of Deuteronomy is full of speeches given by Moses reminding them of the law, recalling their disastrous short history so far, and then calling them to renew their covenant with God.

In this speech in chapter 7, the Lord, through Moses, is carefully informing the Israelites that they will not conquer the current inhabitants in one single military campaign. They will take possession of the land “little by little”. “You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once”, says Moses.

This is an interesting detail, because some battle-ready tribes may be keen to get on with the job. The sooner we get in there, the quicker we can make it our home, plant crops, build permanent shelters etc.

But the Lord is calling them to be patient. It is not going to be a done deal in one day, or a week, or a year. This new season of conquest needs to take place gradually, and the reason is given: “or the wild animals will multiply around you”.

If the nations were eliminated all at once, the overall balance of the ecosystem would be affected. With a sudden depopulation everywhere, and time passing until all families could be transported to their new homes, there would be fewer people present to control the environment, particularly predators dangerous to human beings. A slower campaign of possession would provide a better chance of creating new communities that are livable and safe.

This is a great example of God’s timing revealing his superior knowledge and wisdom.

There are times when I want the Lord to answer a prayer straight away, or in a particular way. Why do I have to wait, when God can do a miracle in a moment? The thing is, although we know he sees the bigger picture, we don’t always trust that what he sees is as important as the issues at front and centre of our minds.

When I want God to act quickly, I have no view of the rest of the ecosystem. The other people affected, his will in multiple scenarios around me. It is not just my needs he has promised to take care of, but countless others. The pieces of the jigsaw need to come together in just the right way. His timing is perfect.