I am all for honesty and sincerity in prayers. I believe firmly that God knows what we’re going to pray for before we even pray for it (Matthew 6:8), so it behooves us to open up and pray as honestly as possible. Doing so will help us grow in the process.
But there’s a difference between being honest with God and being borderline rude to God. A portion of Moses’ discussions in the Tent of Meeting are highlighted in Exodus 33. Far be it from me to criticize Moses, but at first glance, they seem to be a little too bold for my taste.
Read Exodus 33:12 and notice what Moses says to God. “You’ve said you would send someone to help me”—referencing God’s promise in Exodus 33:2—“but You haven’t sent anyone! You also said that I know You by name and have found favor in your sight. So why is it that I know nothing about You?!” (Text obviously paraphrased by me.).
Those are aggressive statements. I would never advise anyone to talk to God like that; Job tried it, and God rightfully rebuked him for it.
But this is Moses. Next to Jesus Himself, Moses has arguably the closest relationship with the Father of anyone else we find in the rest of Scripture. If he’s talking to God like this, it has to be for a reason.
Obviously, God didn’t take offense to Moses’ tone because He grants some of what Moses asks for. Instead of sending a messenger to guide Moses like He said earlier in the chapter, God now says that “His presence” shall go before them (Exodus 33:14). According to Moses’ admission, this is done to give him and Israel more credibility.
Why is it that Moses can talk to God like this? To answer that, you have to consider the scene. This isn’t Moses demanding an answer from God because he feels like God has wronged him; instead, Moses wants to draw closer to God. He wants to know more about Him. He wants to be more in fellowship with His Deliverer and His God.
The words of Exodus 33 are not meant to be disrespectful—they’re the emotional words of a man who is yearning for God. Virtually every one of the beatitudes in Matthew 5 point to Moses’ attitude in these verses. Look them up. They’re all here, personified through Moses.
In this sense, Moses’ words are not unlike what Peter says on the Mount of Transfiguration. Mark 9:5 sees Peter blurting out a desire to make multiple tabernacles: one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. Mark 9:6 says that he says this because “he didn’t know what to answer [at the scene], for they became terrified.”
Be honest, though: Who wouldn’t be?
Sometimes, the only appropriate response to God’s presence is silence. In other cases, we voice our desire to be closer to Him in words maybe we don’t even know are inside of us. Either way, our desire should be the same as Moses: Please, God. Show me Your glory!
