I love footnotes. There is a note in my Bible in verse 12 that says the word “you” in “you will worship God on this mountain” is the plural form. That means, in Texas, this sentence would read:
When you have brought the people out of Egypt, y’all will worship God on this mountain.
At the very beginning of the Exodus story, God is making a big statement. Moses and all the people will be back at this very spot. God said it would be a sign that He is who He says He is.
A few verses before, God tells Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” A few verses later, when Moses asks what name he should give the people, God says, “I Am Who I Am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I Am has sent me to you.’”
Over and over again, God provides proof of who He is — the God of the universe, the God of their ancestors, the Great I Am. And then, to top it all off, after delivering the people out of slavery and splitting the Red Sea, God gives further proof by bringing Moses and the Israelites back to the very same mountain where Moses first encountered God in the burning bush.
Before God ever gives a commandment to His people, He proves His character.
There was a long season when God’s character came into question for me. As a young woman, I had a deep desire to live abroad and church plant. Even though there was a short stint when I lived in Hungary, I spent the bulk of my 20s and 30s raising kids and building a life in Wimberley. I started to believe that God was holding back from me, or that He had forgotten me and my desires altogether. The life that many people would dream of, I was resenting.
Over time, through His goodness and mercy, I began to see that my anger was creating blinders to all the things God was doing in my life—the children I was entrusted with and the community that surrounded me. He showed me how to eat the fruit that was in season. He showed me that I was not alone or left behind. All of what He did was more than enough.
But then a door was opened. My husband and I were asked to lead a team to the Hungarian-speaking region of Serbia. Even still, I was offered a position as the Missions Lead at Cypress Creek, further proving that God not only sees me, but that He knows me intimately. Even though I wavered, He never did.
How has God shown His true character to you? God has proven Himself. Let us respond by having nothing before Him in our lives.