His Presence

Exodus 33:14 NIV: The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

It was a trying time. Moses, holding the Ten Commandments, witnessed the people of Israel in raucous revelry, worshiping a newly minted golden calf. God, rightly frustrated, told Moses, “Look, I’ll still give you the promised land, but I’m not going with you there.” Not content with this plan, Moses pleaded with God, reiterating his desire to know God more deeply. This verse is God’s reply. 

I don’t know about you, but these two simple promises are all I need to hear from God. The Hebrew word translated as “presence” is actually the word for “face,” as in “My face will go with you.” This isn’t merely the idea that God exists somewhere in the universe. It is the image of His face turned toward us as He walks with us on the journey. In my art piece, I represented this as light shining on the path. In the Old Testament, writers often asked for God’s face to “shine upon” them, indicating His love, favor, and goodness directed toward us. 

God’s light, guiding, illuminating, and visibly present, doesn’t mean the path ahead is free of obstacles. It doesn’t mean we know all the twists and turns our journey will take, but there is another promise in this verse to cling to. God says he will give us rest. 

The Hebrew word is nuach, meaning “to settle” or “to dwell in security.” Think of pulling into the driveway of your dream home, your moving truck loaded to the brim, and realizing this is it, your forever home. This isn’t rest, as in a short nap on the couch or the sigh after finishing a stressful project. This is a permanent, soul-filling sense of safety as you put down deep roots and step into the reality of the future you’ve dreamed of.  

The bench along the path represents the brief rests we encounter along the journey, moments to breathe, recover, and gather strength. But the distant waterfalls and flourishing landscape symbolize the deeper rest God ultimately promises, the settled security of dwelling fully in His presence.

The temptation, illustrated in the artwork by the path of steps heading off to the side, is that we think there’s a better, quicker, and easier path to the destination we long for and that we don’t need God on the journey. 

What strikes me about this passage is that God still offered Israel success despite their horrendous failure. They could still have the land, protection, and future they wanted, but without His presence.

A promised land without God was never Moses’ true desire, because even the best destination becomes empty without God. Like Moses, I only want to move forward if He is with me every step of the way.