Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
17 But the people continued to sin against him;
in the desert they turned against God Most High.
18 They decided to test God
by asking for the food they wanted.
19 Then they spoke against God,
saying, “Can God prepare food in the desert?
20 When he hit the rock, water poured out
and rivers flowed down.
But can he give us bread also?
Will he provide his people with meat?”
52 But God led his people out like sheep
and he guided them like a flock through the desert.
53 He led them to safety so they had nothing to fear,
but their enemies drowned in the sea.
54 So God brought them to his holy land,
to the mountain country he took with his own power.
55 He forced out the other nations,
and he had his people inherit the land.
He let the tribes of Israel settle there in tents.
The Meeting Tent
7 Moses used to take a tent and set it up a long way outside the camp; he called it the “Meeting Tent.” Anyone who wanted to ask the Lord about something would go to the Meeting Tent outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the Tent, all the people would rise and stand at the entrances of their tents, watching him until he entered the Meeting Tent. 9 When Moses went into the Tent, the pillar of cloud would always come down and stay at the entrance of the Tent while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud at the entrance of the Tent, they stood and worshiped, each person at the entrance of his own tent.
11 The Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but Moses’ young helper, Joshua son of Nun, did not leave the Tent.
12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have told me to lead these people, but you did not say whom you would send with me. You have said to me, ‘I know you very well, and I am pleased with you.’ 13 If I have truly pleased you, show me your plans so that I may know you and continue to please you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
14 The Lord answered, “I myself will go with you, and I will give you victory.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If you yourself don’t go with us, then don’t send us away from this place. 16 If you don’t go with us, no one will know that you are pleased with me and with your people. These people and I will be no different from any other people on earth.”
17 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will do what you ask, because I know you very well, and I am pleased with you.”
Moses Sees God’s Glory
18 Then Moses said, “Now, please show me your glory.”
19 The Lord answered, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will announce my name, the Lord, so you can hear it. I will show kindness to anyone to whom I want to show kindness, and I will show mercy to anyone to whom I want to show mercy. 20 But you cannot see my face, because no one can see me and live.
21 “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes that place, I will put you in a large crack in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back. But my face must not be seen.”
30 “Forty years later an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush as he was in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw this, he was amazed and went near to look closer. Moses heard the Lord’s voice say, 32 ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’[a] Moses began to shake with fear and was afraid to look. 33 The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. 34 I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt. I have heard their cries and have come down to save them. And now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’[b]
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.