God with Us: Part 2

Have you ever done something you were afraid to do because someone said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you”? Maybe you didn’t want to ride a roller coaster, but then a friend said, “I’ll go with you” and you found yourself slowly ascending and quickly descending on the track.

I recently went ziplining. I didn’t really want to go, but when my daughters and cousins went, how could I not join in? And after my youngest daughter readily propelled herself onto the line, how could I remain at the base?

We are regularly encouraged to do difficult things because others are with us.

Exodus

In our first reflection on God with us, we focused on the topic of God with his people in the book of Genesis. About four centuries later, God calls Moses to lead Israel out of slavery. But Moses objects,  “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” God answers, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:11–12 NIV).

There’s that theme again: God with his people.

God’s words to Moses sound like a parent reassuring a fearful child. Moses would not have to confront Pharaoh alone. The Creator of heaven and earth—the one who was with Adam, Eve, Abraham and Joseph—promised to be with Moses.

And during his forty years leading Israel, Moses learned the value of God’s presence. In Exodus 33, God says, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And Moses responds, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (33:14–16). Moses is saying “If you don’t accompany us on this journey, we don’t want to go.”

What makes us different? Ultimately, it’s not our education or nationality or bank account. Those things are about us. The difference-maker is God. God is with us.

Joshua

The book of Joshua opens with Joshua replacing Moses as the new leader of Israel. The LORD says to Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The Lord continues, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:5–9). God’s presence didn’t depart from Israel when Moses died. Instead that same presence continued with Joshua. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” God’s presence with his people doesn’t diminish with the passing of time.

While the phrase “I will never leave you nor forsake you” was first spoken to Joshua, it applies to all of God’s people. About a thousand years later, the author of Hebrews writes, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (13:5). Although God originally spoke those words to Joshua, they apply to the readers of Hebrews, and they apply to us two thousand years after Hebrews was written. No matter what we go through or where we end up, God will never leave us. And that gives us reason to be content with what we have.

Judges

As God encourages Moses and Joshua with his presence, he also encourages Gideon. Gideon was secretly threshing wheat in a winepress out of fear of the foreign invaders when an angel appears to him and says, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”

Gideon replies, “But sir, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?” Ignoring Gideon’s question, the LORD commands Gideon to save Israel from Midian. Gideon objects, “Pardon me, my lord . . . but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

Finally, the LORD overrules Gideon, just as he did with Moses by stating, “I will be with you” (Judg. 6:11–16).

David

King David also understood the value of God’s presence. In Psalm 23, he writes,

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me (v. 4).

What gave David courage to go through the darkest places? “You are with me.”

Conclusion

God’s presence with his people wasn’t tied to one specific person or one particular generation. God’s faithful presence followed his people through the centuries. And when his chosen leaders needed encouragement to accomplish a difficult task, he said “I will be with you.” And he’s still saying the same thing to us.

*This reflection is a part of The Heart of Scripture: God with Us.