Time to break camp and go
1The LORD told Moses, “It’s time to go. Take the people you led out of Egypt and get going to the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I told them, ‘I’ll give this land to your descendants.’” 2I’ll send an angel ahead of you to clear the road. I’ll drive out the local residents—Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3Go to this fertile land, rich in milk and honey. But I’m telling this: you’ll be leaving without me. It’s for your own good. These people are so obnoxiously stubborn and disobedient that if I traveled with you, you’d end up dead. I’d have to see to it.”4When people heard that bad news, they went into mourning and changed out of their good clothes. 5They did this because the LORD told Moses to quote him. So Moses told the people: “You’re so obnoxiously stubborn and disobedient,” God says, “that if I traveled with you, you’d end up dead. I’d have to see to it. So, change out of your dress clothes and pack away your jewelry while I think about what I’m going to do with you.”
6From that time on, after leaving Mount Sinai, [1] the people of Israel wore no jewelry or fancy dress clothes.
Moses pitches a tent to meet God
7When the people stopped to camp, Moses would set up a tent outside the camp, at a fair distance. He called it the Meeting Tent. [2] That’s where people went when they wanted to hear from the LORD.8Whenever Moses left the camp to go to the Meeting Tent, people came out of their own tents to stand and watch him. They kept watching until he stepped inside the Meeting Tent.
9The column of smoke that led the people would move over to the entrance of the Meeting Tent whenever the LORD came to talk with Moses. 10When that happened, and the people saw the column of smoke descend and hover beside the Meeting Tent, they stood reverently in a spirit of worship beside their own tents. 11That’s how the LORD used to talk with Moses—one on one, just as someone talks to a friend. When Moses came back to the camp, he left his servant behind, to stay at the tent: Joshua, Nun’s son.
God tells Moses to calm down
12Moses told the LORD, “Look, you told me, ‘Get these people out of Egypt.’ But you didn’t say which people. You didn’t tell me who’s going with me. You also told me, ‘I know you by name and I’m pleased with the man you’ve become.’ 13If you’re pleased with me, let me in on what you want me to do. At this point, I don’t know what it is. I want you to continue to be happy with me. But to do this, I need to understand what you expect of me. And I want you to consider this nation, which is made up of your very own people.”14The LORD answered, “I’m going to be with you. Don’t get worked up over this. I’m giving you a sense of peace about what you’re doing.”
15Moses told the LORD, “I’m holding you to that. If you’re not going to travel with us, let us stay right here. 16After all, how could anyone possibly know that you’re pleased with us if you’re not with us? Don't you have to be with us, and among us, for us to see that we’re special to you—unique among all the other people of the world?"
17The LORD answered, "I'll do what you ask because I do know you by name and I'm delighted that I do." 18Moses said, "Please let me see you in all your glory."
19The LORD said, "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pass right beside you. All the goodness that is within me will be right there. I'll call out my name, LORD, [3] as I pass by. I choose who I'm going to be kind and compassionate to.” 20But the Lord also said, "I need to warn you not to look at my face. Any human who looks directly at me will die." [4]
21So the Lord said, "Look over at that rock. Stand beside it, because I'm nearby. 22I will slip out and pass beside you while you step back into the crevice of the rock. As I pass by, I'll protect you by holding out my hand and blocking your line of sight. 23As I pass you, I will drop my hand and you can see the back of me leaving. But I will not let you see my face."
