A Question Regarding the Presence of the Lord

Is this a legitimate question? May this question be asked? Let us pause together for a moment and search for a biblical answer.

The scene which we are about to enter is very similar to that which is found at the beginning of the previous chapter. In chapter 16 Israel is threatened with starvation. In chapter 17 Israel is threatened with death from thirst. Let us be careful not to charge God foolishly in trials as Israel did. We, too, can so easily blame the Lord for difficult things that are placed before us as if He is a God that takes pleasure in our woes. Such thinking often produces harsh thoughts of the Lord and brings more bitterness and gall into the trial. Israel has forgotten the wonders Jehovah has performed and has become forgetful of the promises that He has made to them. Israel fails to see God’s wise design in their trials and difficulties. It is God’s purpose to wean His people Israel from all earthly desires and fleshly lusts. Do you know, dear reader, of such exercises? It is God’s design to teach the soul to rely on Him alone in all of its needs. Especially in light of trials and difficulties which a person can at times face, this childlike dependency is tested! In chapter 17 we see clearly how Israel fails this test.

It does not mean that trials like those we read about in these chapters are not trying circumstances! The test of dependency upon the Lord does not minimize the severity of the trial itself. For Israel the reality is that one woe is passed, and behold, another one follows. In chapter 16 it is the threat of hunger and in chapter 17 it is the threat of thirst. The questions become so manifold; has God forgotten to be kind? The battle between faith and unbelief, trust and despair, rage in the soul which, at times, cries out, “is the Lord among us, or not?”

Still we must ask, is this a legitimate question? When we look at the context, we must answer no. When we look at the question only, we must say yes. Is this question not of utmost importance? Can this not often be the question of a concerned soul? Did Moses not say once, “If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence?” We cannot deny the importance of this matter. A right use of this question is possible and is worthy to be considered. It is crucial how and when these questions are asked. The Lord knows our heart. When it is well, every true seeker of God will learn to ask this question in urgent prayer—as a pressing request for guidance and divine protection. “Lord, without Thee I cannot go further.” Then it is, “Shew me a token for good.” When Job said, “Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I can not perceive Him,” he longed for the Lord to speak and show such a token for good. When the poet sings, “Hath God forgotten to be kind?” the heart laments after the Lord and begs for signs of the Lord’s noticeable presence. If there are such readers among us, hear then, take courage, and let not your heart be overly troubled. Is He among you? Yes, for He has said so in His Word. He is everywhere present. He is the unchangeable covenant-keeping God. He has desired Zion for His habitation. He has said, “This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell.” He does not forsake the work of His own hands. He is present in the appearance of His Word. Where two or three are gathered in His Name, He is in the midst of them. He is there because He has said, “I w ill never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” With His Godhead, grace, majesty, and Spirit, he is at no time absent from His Church.

There is, however, also a sinful way of asking this question. When Israel spoke these words, it was an act of sin and daring unbelief against better knowledge. It was a sinful denying of His presence which had been so clear before and had recently been confirmed. The Lord had showed Himself in mighty wonders (Red Sea), but now Israel denied it as if nothing special had happened. The Lord had been among Israel, but what had they done with His presence? This text was meant to call in question the Lord’s previous doings. Israel called in question Jehovah’s goodness and faithfulness. They looked for the Lord in their midst but failed to recognize the Lord when He was among them.

It is God’s design to teach the soul to rely on Him alone in all of its needs.

Dear reader, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” Let us ask this question reverently, not as the people of Israel did. Let us ask this question as family and as father and mother. Let us ask this question as church members, as a denomination, as hearers of the Word in church on Sunday. There are people who will readily say, “We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long” (Psalm 74). Be careful! Do not ask this question like Israel did. There is a sinful and a right use of this question. Let us follow the history just for a verse or two more. We can read that the Lord in His great goodness and faithfulness gave a visible sign of His presence! Israel questioned what they knew, or at least, could have known! This is nothing but willful ignorance and blatant rebellion. What a wonder then, that the Lord does not send fire, but water. Refreshing water becomes the sign of His presence. It flows from a smitten rock. Many centuries later Paul boldly says that this Rock was Christ and that many drank from this Rock. Solemn thought! Christ is the exalted Servant of the Father who shall be extolled to the highest.

Let us take this to heart and consider it well. Despite chiding and tempting, even now in 2007, God points to His Christ. The message we have heard again in the preaching of the Mediator is a crucified (smitten) Christ, a resurrected King, and an exalted Mediator. This gospel we are privileged to hear, but have we hearkened to it? Have we obeyed the voice of His Servant? This word is very near unto you, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” Do you dare question it? Remember, reader, we have become such subtle creatures. We have our ways, customs, and opinions to camouflage and to deny our responsibility, sin, and guilt. The guilt of rejecting the presence of Jesus in the preaching of the Gospel can also be done in the form of asking a question as Israel did. May the Lord keep us from falling into the same sin as the people of Israel. They asked this question in unbelief. May we, in secret, before God, learn for the first time or by renewal to ask this question out of a deep sense of our need and utter helplessness. Then it will undoubtedly be experienced, “By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea.”

— Rev. H. Hofman Loma Alta,
Bolivia

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