Series: Flowers in the Desert
Psalm 91:9-10 ESV
Exodus 6:1-8 EXP
Genesis 12:1-3 (Covenant)
Exodus 3:1-3 ESV
Exodus 33:20 ESV
Deuteronomy 4:12 ESV
I John 4:12 ESV
I John 4:18 EXP
We don’t often identify a place with a person, which seems strange in some ways.
I’ve known people who were so close to their Mother that when they think of their home and describe it to others they call it, “my Mother’s house.”
That’s about the best way we can describe a dwelling place that feels safe and warm.
In Psalm 91, the author (Hebrew tradition attributes it to Moses) goes a step further.
We read in Psalm 91:9-10, “Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge - no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.”
Given the relationship between Moses and God, it does make sense that Moses would have written this psalm.
To understand more we turn to the Expanded Version of Exodus 6:1-8, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh]. ·I will use my great power against him, and [L By a mighty hand] he will let my people go. ·Because of my power, [L By a mighty hand] he will force them out of his country.” Then God said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the name ·God Almighty [El Shaddai], but they did not know me by my name, ·the Lord [Yahweh]. 4 I also ·made [established] my ·agreement [covenant; treaty; C the covenant with Abraham; Gen. 12:1–3] with them to give them the land of Canaan. They ·lived in that land, but it was not their own [L sojourned; wandered as aliens]. 5 Now I have heard the ·cries [groans; moans] of the ·Israelites [L sons of Israel], whom the Egyptians are treating as slaves, and I remember my ·agreement [covenant]. 6 So tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel that I say to them, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out from the hard work the Egyptians force you to do. I will rescue you, so you will not be slaves to the Egyptians. I will ·free [redeem] you by my ·great power [L outstretched arm], and ·I will punish the Egyptians terribly [L with great/mighty judgments]. 7 I will make you my own people, and I will be your God [C the heart or essence of the covenant]. You will know that I am the Lord your God, the One who ·saves you [L brought you out] from the hard work the Egyptians force you to do. 8 I will ·lead [bring] you to the land that I ·promised [swore; L lifted my hand to give; C to take an oath] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give you that land to own. I am the Lord.’”
In verse 1 God will act with a mighty hand.
In verse 2 God identified himself as “I AM the Lord.”
In verse 3, I am El Shaddai, God Almighty AND Lord Yahweh.
In verse 4, I Am God who established a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3).
In verse 5, God was identified as the One who hears.
In verse 6, Moses was told, I AM the Lord who will rescue, redeem, and punish those who have mistreated you (my people).
In verse 7, I make you (Israel) my own and I AM your God who saves.
In verse 8, I will lead you and bring you to the land I promised.
Moses’ conversation with God in Exodus 6 explains why and how Moses (and ultimately Israel) could rely on God to BE their dwelling place.
We know from Exodus 3:1-3, “Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.”
We know from Exodus 33:20, “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
And we read in Deuteronomy 4:12, “Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.”
Then I John 4:12 confirms, “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.“
God is IN us when we receive God.
God is Spirit.
Psalm 91:9-10 makes it clear that God dwells in us and is our place of refuge.
In addition to that, God promised Moses (because he turned to God and received God) evil would not enter.
That makes sense really. When we turn to God and receive the Spirit of God in us, evil cannot reach us. Evil cannot reside in the presence of Holy God. Evil breeds fear and we know from I John 4:18, “Where God’s love is, there is no fear [L There is no fear in love], because ·God’s perfect love drives out fear [T perfect love casts out fear]. It is punishment that makes a person fear, so love is not made ·perfect [complete] in the person who fears [C fear of punishment, not an appropriate fear of God; compare Prov. 1:7; 2 Cor. 7:15; Phil. 2:12].”
With God in us we shall not fear for God is our dwelling place.
Today’s desert plant is the beautiful Kingcup…in honor of the beauty of God in you.
Spiritual Practice: God IN You
When you turn to God and receive His love, know that Holy God resides in you. Spend time sitting with God in you.
In God, Deborah
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