Restoring Israel's Relationship to God

It is crucial to understand the large-scale narrative arc of these chapters before looking more closely at the details. God reiterates His promise to accompany Israel in His angel, only to have Moses insist twice that Israel won't budge without Him. And so the issue of the "God to go before us" comes to a head: Is Yahweh going to accompany Israel? Moses boldly insists that God come with them, and in response God graciously reveals Himself to Moses and promises to accompany Israel. The passage is stunning in its magnitude. In it, God reveals Himself as one who acts for His people for the Mediator's sake; He shows Himself to be the God who goes with His people despite their sin; He shows Himself to be the God who keeps and renews the covenant even after His people shatter it; and He even shows Himself to be the God whose glory is contagious, making the face of His servant shine. The glory of God is writ so large in the text before us that we are only going to be able to hit the highest points in our sermon this evening. Over the next month or so I hope to discuss most of this passage in more detail. But tonight, we will see the large-scale movement of the passage, which is this: God refuses to travel in Israel's midst, but through Moses' intercession He agrees to do so after all, and condescends to reveal His glory to Moses, renew the covenant with Israel, and even make Moses' face shine with Divine glory.