What happensPermalink
God sends the Israelites to Canaan and promises to drive out its inhabitants before them, but He will not Himself go with them. Moses asks for His presence not to depart, however briefly. Moses prays to see God’s glory, and God agrees to let Moses see a small part.
Why it mattersPermalink
God goes with us despite our failings. Moses was an effective mediator between God and man—how much more effective must Jesus be! Moses asks to see God’s glory, and he will in the next chapter, but his prayer foreshadows the night millennia later with him and Elijah and Jesus.
Key versePermalink
And he [Moses] said to him [God], “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.”