Moses was the companion of God, for the Lord spoke to Moses face to face; he was intimate with God, being a person who knew God’s heart and having God’s presence to a full extent.
We need to advance in our spiritual life by coming to the Lord as we are and from wherever we are so that we may go on with Him, come closer to Him, until we are His companion, His partner in the divine enterprise, those who know God’s heart and have His presence to a full extent.
The title for this week’s morning revival and deeper study on Numbers is, God’s Speaking from between the Cherubim of Glory.
The ultimate and total consummation of such a matter is seen in Rev. 22 with the New Jerusalem, the holy city, who has the dimensions of a cube (same length, breadth, and height), pointing to the fact that the New Jerusalem is the full enlargement of the Holy of Holies.
Our destiny is to be part of the eternal dwelling place of God, the eternal Holy of Holies, to be fully in God’s presence. The Holy of Holies was a certain size in Exodus, a larger size in 1 Kings, and a full developed size in Rev. 21-22.
The principle of the Holy of Holies is that we as believers in Christ can live and walk directly in the presence of God; there’s no veil or separation, and we don’t only live in His presence as we spend time with Him in the morning, but all throughout the day we live and walk in the presence of God directly.
In Rev. 21:4-5 we see that those in the New Jerusalem will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads; our destiny as believers in Christ is to see God’s face continually, and His name will be on our foreheads! Hallelujah!
Today we all are various levels in our fellowship with the Lord; some may be farther from the Lord, others are a bit closer, while even others are very intimate with the Lord. What we should do is not self-analyze or introspect but simply come to the Lord as we are and where we are so that we may advance with Him.
When we get into this matter, our minds need to be protected from the subtle thoughts of the enemy that being one with God and living in God’s presence directly is something beyond us, something only for the elderly and deeply spiritual persons…
The book of Revelation includes all of us; we all will be part of the consummated Holy of Holies, we all will be living eternally and functioning and serving eternally in the direct presence of the Lord in glory!
Hallelujah, we will see His face, He will shine upon us, and under this shining we will reign in the eternal kingdom!
We simply need to exercise our spirit of faith and not become subjective, analyzing where we are; rather, we need to come to the Lord any time, anywhere, as we are, experience Him and fellowship with Him, being aware that we all are in a process of going on with Him from a degree of glory to another degree of glory!
We are all in the process of advancing with the Lord until we are in the Holy of Holies, standing upon Christ as the propitiation place, the place where redeemed sinners meet with God.
We will be under the shining of the Lord of glory, we will be contacting His throne, and we will receive an infusion continually, hearing His voice! This is our destiny. Hallelujah!
Moses was the Companion of God Intimate with God, knowing God’s Heart and having His Presence
In Exo. 33:11 we see that Jehovah would speak to Moses face to face, just as a man would speak to his companion.
The Bible recognises that Moses was the companion of God; this word for “companion” is different from the word for “friend” used in regard to Abraham in 2 Chron. 20:7 and Isa. 41:8.
Abraham was the friend of God – he was separated unto God from idolatrous people (Josh. 24:2-3) and he interceded for Lot (Gen. 18:16-33). Even the apostle James told us that Abraham was God’s friend (James 2:23).
He was not only justified by God but he also become a friend of God; God regarded Abraham as a beloved one, a person whom He held in affection.
But Moses was not just a friend of God but also a companion of God. The word for companion includes the matter of friendship but goes much further; it also includes the thought of intimate association (one meaning of this word in Hebrew is associate).
Moses was the companion of God, an associate of God; he and God had a common interest, a common enterprise, a common career.
This doesn’t mean that there was no common interest between Abraham and God, for they did share a common interest, but not to the same degree as Moses shared a common interest with God.
Moses and God were partners in a great enterprise; they were involved in the “same career”, and they were partners to the uttermost. Moses was not only an intimate friend with God; he and God were associates, partners, companions.
The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his companion (Exo. 33:11), and Moses was faithful in all His house, and he beheld the form of Jehovah (Num. 12:7-8).
Because Moses was intimate with God, he was a person who knew God’s heart and was according to His heart. Moses touched God’s heart, for he knew what was in His heart, and he had God’s presence to a full extent.
We need to be such persons, those who are according to God’s heart; our organic constitution needs to be His home, and we need to be a duplication of God’s heart.
We need to be the companion of God, those who not only know the word of God and the character of God but also the heart of God, being according to God’s heart, being intimate with God, and having His presence to a full extent.
Even in our aspiration to be formed and prepared to be the army the Lord needs to fight with Him for His interest, we need to realise that this army is priestly, that is, this army is filled with those who contact God and are intimate with God, those who are the companion of God for His great enterprise on earth.
As priest we have the right through the blood of Jesus to enter into the Holy of Holies and fellowship with the God of glory upon Christ as the meeting place.
It is here that we have His leading, His guidance, and His speaking; it is in our face-to-face time with the Lord, in our intimate, personal, spiritual, affectionate time with Him that we know His heart and have His presence to a full extent.
Lord Jesus, we want to be a companion of God like Moses was, those who are intimate with God and who know God’s heart. Make us those who are according to God’s heart, those who could touch God’s heart and who have God’s presence to a full extent. Amen, Lord Jesus, we love You. We open to You. We come forward through the blood of Jesus Christ so that we may enter into the Holy of Holies and fellowship with the Lord of glory upon Christ as our meeting place. Make us Your companion, Lord, those who know Your heart, have Your presence, and touch Your heart.
Advancing in our Fellowship with the Lord to be in His Presence, face to face with God
In Exo. 24:15-18 we see that Moses was in the Holy of Holies on the mountain, where the shekinah glory of God was; it was there that God opened His heart and spoke to him concerning the desire of His heart to have a dwelling place on earth among His people.
There were at least three classes of people at different distances in relation to Mount Horeb, in relation to their proximity to God.
First, the majority of the children of Israel were at the bottom of the mountain, standing at a distance and trembling (Exo. 20:18); this is where we all start.
Second, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders were on the mountain worshipping at a distance and watching (24:1, 9). They were under a clear sky; they ate and saw God, and they had some vision of God and His purpose, but they were mid-way toward the top.
Third, Moses was on the mountaintop being infused with God under His glory, and he was receiving the vision of the tabernacle as God’s dwelling place on earth (see vv. 13, 16; 25:1, 8-9).
These three locations also correspond to the three parts of the tabernacle: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies; we could say that the people of Israel were in the outer court, Aaron, his sons, and the elders were in the Holy Place, and Moses was in the Holy of Holies.
These three locations illustrate the fact that among God’s people there are different degrees of fellowship with Him, and no matter where we are right now, we need to advance in our fellowship with the Lord to be in His presence face to face with God.
It is normal in the church life and in the Body life universally that the saints would be at different levels in their growth in life, at different stages of development.
We simply need to experience the Lord where we are, and He will bring us to another level and another level until we are at the top of the mountain in the shekinah glory!
However, it is injurious and even ridiculous to measure ourselves by someone else or to compare our growth in life and development in the Lord with someone else; we are where we are in our life with the Lord, and we need to slowly advance in our fellowship with the Lord.
We just need to come to the Lord as we are, based upon His blood; we shouldn’t wait until we are better (in our own eyes), until our mood changes, until there’s some time after our latest failure…As soon as we are aware of it, we should come forward to the Lord based upon the blood of Jesus!
There’s another level besides these three – Moses, Aaron and the elders, and the rest of the people; this is Joshua, who was serving Moses in a faithful way for a long time, who was constituted and prepared to be a warrior.
Joshua must have been on the mountaintop, but we don’t know where; spiritually speaking, perhaps he was in transition from the middle to the top – he might have been touching the Holy of Holies, but was not fully there.
Many times we’re like this: we touch the Holy of Holies, then we go to the Holy Place, and then we touch the Holy of Holies again… – we are in transition. It doesn’t benefit us to analyse ourselves concerning where we are, but it is a blessing and supply to ask the Lord in our time with Him,
Lord Jesus, enlighten us to see where we are in our stage in growth in life, in our development in the divine life. We don’t want to be deceived and we do not want to accept Satan’s lies. Lord, we want to go on with You so that we can have genuine fellowship with You under the clear sky. Cause us to advance in our fellowship with You until we are in the Holy of Holies, on the mountaintop, seeing You face to face and having Your speaking! Bring us on with You, Lord, little by little and day by day, until we live in Your presence all the time, being infused with You and receiving Your vision to be Your dwelling place on the earth!
Read this article / blog post in Romanian – puteți citi acest articol și în limba română la următorul link – Să avansăm în părtășia noastră cu Domnul ca să fim un tovarăș al lui Dumnezeu care cunoaște inima Sa.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 176-177 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallisation-Study of Numbers (1), week 8, God’s Speaking from between the Cherubim of Glory.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Moses was a person who was called by God, / He was meant to turn the age; / He was God’s companion, he was for God’s move, / He was faithful, meek, and sage. (Song on, Choose to Be an Overcomer)
# Lord Jesus Christ, we seek Thy face; / Within the veil we bow the knee; / Oh, let Thy glory fill the place, / And bless us while we wait on Thee. (Hymns #773)
# There are depths of love that I yet may know / Ere Thee face to face I see; / There are heights of joy that I yet may reach / Ere I rest in peace with Thee. (Hymns #387)
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