In Your Presence

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence [paniym – face, figuratively of the person] of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked [erom – without clothing]; so, I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”                                    Genesis 3:8-11 

The first mention of God being present in a given situation or circumstance is found in the above passage, where Adam was looking to hide from the Lord after he found himself naked. The fact that he knew he was naked was just a symptom of the real issue; he had sinned by doing the thing, the only thing Elohim Yahweh told him not to do. Adam and Eve had to hide themselves from the presence of God, which they had always enjoyed. They would need to leave Eden, but God would give them a promise that the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, would be man's provision and restore His presence to humanity. The Angel of the Lord, Christ in angelic form, would appear to some throughout Old Testament times to remind mankind that God had not abandoned him.

From Jacob to Israel 

Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh, so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” So, he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there. So, Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” Now, the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. Therefore, to this day, the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip, which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.                     Genesis 32:24-32 

Jacob had an amazing encounter with the Lord in the above passage, and he knew it. “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” The wrestling match had to do with Jacob's strength and ability, and Jacob is left with a permanent limp. It was a constant reminder that man's strength may be his most significant obstacle to the presence of God in his life. Paul had a similar experience with a thorn in the flesh, as described in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. Paul had prayed for its removal, but God told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." He was learning that his own strength was hindering his ability to experience God’s presence.

Jacob had been a taker by the heel from his very birth, and his subsequent life had been a constant and successful struggle with adversaries. The thigh is the pillar of a man's strength, and its joint with the hip is the seat of physical force for the wrestler. When the thigh bone is thrown out of joint, the man becomes utterly disabled. Jacob now finds that this mysterious wrestler has wrested from him, by one touch, all his might, and he can no longer stand alone. In that condition, he learns by experience the practice of sole reliance on one mightier than himself. This is the turning point in the story. Jacob is given a new name, Israel, representing the new person he has become. Henceforth, Jacob feels strong, not in himself, but in the Lord and the power of His might. 

Fullness of Joy 

I have set [shavah – focus on] the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken [mot – unmovable]. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely [betah – calm assurance]. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol [sahat – pit, grave]; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.               Psalm 16:8-11 

In the above psalm, David expresses a confident expectation of eternal life and happiness founded on the evidence of true attachment to God. It represents the deep conviction that one who loves God will not be left in the grave and will not suffer permanent decay, corruption, or perish in the grave forever. David focuses his attention on his ongoing and continuous relationship with the Lord, as evidenced by his acknowledgment of the Lord with his right hand, the hand of honor and approval. David had a clear understanding of the Finished Work of Christ and the security and assurance it provides to each believer. He also understood that death and the grave would not separate him from the Lord. His attention to beholding the face of God in the details of life became a passion. In Psalm 17:15, As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake. The Apostle Paul echoed these sentiments in Ephesians 3:19, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

The above passage from David was quoted by Peter on Pentecost, marking the birth of the church (Acts 2:25-28). The application was not to David but to Jesus the Nazarene. He was delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God and put to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power (Acts 2:22-24). Peter tied David’s testimony of God's faithfulness to Jesus as a fulfillment of the prophecy that He would live in His humanity in His Father's presence and survive His crucifixion without undergoing decay. Many Old Testament prophecies have multiple fulfillments. 

The Burning Bush 

Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So, Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.                       Exodus 3:1-6 

Moses spent forty years in the wilderness as a shepherd after his time in Pharaoh’s household, and now the Lord commissions him from a burning bush. He finds himself in the presence of the Angel of the Lord, a reference to Jesus Christ. Moses was being instructed on how to experience His presence. The fact that the burning bush was not consumed is not by accident. F.B. Myers concludes that it is a picture of God’s presence, not consumed because of His love for His people. In any case, the Angel of the Lord told Moses that to approach the Lord would require him to “remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Moses’s response was similar to Adam’s in Eden: Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look God in the eye. Anyone entering the Lord's presence must approach Him as holy ground. The removal of shoes is a confession of personal defilement amid His unspotted holiness. 

Moses was commissioned to be the one through whom Yahweh would deliver the people from slavery, receive the Pentateuch, and lead the people through the wilderness. His relationship with God was unlike that of any other Biblical character. In Numbers 12:8, With him, I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form [likeness] of the Lord. Exodus 33:11 tells us that the Lord used to speak to Moses face-to-face, just as a man speaks to his friend. He would meet the Lord in the tent of meeting when Moses would pitch his own tent outside the camp while the Tabernacle was still being constructed. In Exodus 33:8-10, And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent.

“My Presence Shall Go with You”

Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ “Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know [yada – to know relationally, experientially] You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider, too, that this nation is Your people." And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." Then he said to Him, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. "For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”              Exodus 33:12-16     

Moses found a friendship and an intimacy in his relationship with God, and he needed to know what the Lord's intentions were regarding His people. God had told Moses to lead the people, but without God's presence, and Moses was deeply concerned. God knew Moses by name, that is, that Moses was devoted to God. So, Moses wanted to continue learning God's ways and experiencing God's grace (favor). Moses interceded on behalf of the nation by reminding God that they were His people. In response, the Lord reversed His threat not to go with them and to give them rest.

Moses also needed confirmation that the Lord would indeed go with His people. The absence of God's presence with them in their journey to the Promised Land would pose serious problems. God agreed to Moses' request, assuring Moses that He was pleased with him. The Lord's presence was necessary for the nations of the world to recognize that these people were different and unique. When believers in Christ do not have regular fellowship with God's presence, the world cannot recognize the God of the Bible through their lives. 

Job’s Dilemma

“But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. “My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. “But He is unique [ehad – sovereign], and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does. “For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such decrees are with Him. “Therefore, I would be dismayed [bahal – troubled] at His presence; when I consider, I am terrified of Him. “It is God who has made my heart faint, and the Almighty who has dismayed me, But I am not silenced by the darkness, nor deep gloom which covers me.                                    Job 23:10-17 

Job was in the midst of his trial, not understanding the meaning and purpose, but instead seeing God as terrifying. He is acknowledging God’s sovereignty: And what His soul desires that He does. He is troubled at the presence of God, but he still holds to his devotion to follow God and His ways: “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.“  It will not be until the end of his trial that he comes to see the nature of the living God. In Job 42:3-6, ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore, I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You; Therefore, I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” The religious man follows the words of His mouth but is afraid of His presence. At Sinai, the people told Moses to go up on the mountain because they were afraid (Exodus 20:18-19).

Taking Refuge

How great is Your goodness [tub – that which is desirable for enjoyment], which You have stored up for those who fear [reverence] You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men! You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies [contentions] of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, for He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged [masor - fortified] city.             Psalm 31:19-21 

David recognizes the goodness of God; that which is desirable for enjoyment is stored up for those who reverence Him, who have taken refuge in Him. In Psalm 27:4-5, the secret place of His presence is further defined: One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. For in the day of trouble, He will conceal me in His Tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent, He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. It is a place of intimacy with God and protection from enemies. It is a besieged city, fortified by His lovingkindness.

A Spiritual Mindset

Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on [phroneo – a mindset, devotion to, involving the will, affections, and conscience] the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died [apothnesko – aorist active indicative – past action], and your life is hidden [krupto – concealed in a place of security] with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead [nekroo – aorist active imperative, keep putting to death] to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

                    Colossians 3:1-5 

Paul saw clearly that the presence of God was experienced by a consistent entertainment of things above, spiritual thoughts that promote an intimacy with God. The spiritual mindset focuses its attention on things above, not on earthly matters. Once the believer recognizes that, in Him, you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead (Colossians 2:11-12). These are spiritual thoughts and convictions that affect the will, affections, and conscience of the believer. Once he accepts that he is dead to this world and his own interests, he is raised up with Him through faith in the working of God. In His presence in fullness of joy!

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.              James 4:10