“And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses whom the Lord knew face to face.”
– Deuteronomy 34:10
What a description. All kinds of things can be said about Moses but here’s the way Deuteronomy 34:10 describes him: as a man whom the Lord knew face to face. Like, the Lord. If this description does not astound you, you don’t realize who the Lord is. The Lord, the Holy God of the universe. Moses, a sinful man, this is the end of the book of Deuteronomy. He’s not going to the promised land because of his sin because he did not treat God as holy and yet, this sinful man knew the Holy God, creator of the universe face to face like personally, intimately.
Walking Face to Face with the Creator
Through Christ’s work on the cross in our place, we are afforded intimacy with God. We can know Him face to face.
Do you realize in every one of our lives today through trust in Jesus this can be a reality for us? For all those who have trusted in Jesus, this is a reality you can experience, that you and I can know God face to face like personally, intimately, you and I. I’m a sinner. I have so much sin in my life, in my past. I’m so prone to sin in the present, in the future. I’ve sinned against the Holy God of the universe and yet the Holy God, creator of the universe has made it possible through Jesus for me to know him face to face.
Deuteronomy 34:10 Encourages Intimacy with God
And you too. You too. You can have this kind of intimacy with God on a daily basis. Be in awe of this. Be astounded by this, just struck with wonder over this and live in it. Live in it. God, we want to live in this. We want to live with face-to-face intimacy with you. God, we want to live with face-to-face intimacy with you today.
Thank you for prayer like right now as we’re praying. God, we praise you for the privilege of communion with you. It doesn’t have to stop after this podcast episode’s over. It can just continue and continues all day and walking in communion with you. So God, help us to grow in intimacy with you in our experience of delight in you. God, we want to know you more and more and more face to face and then oh God we pray for the spread of this gospel to people who have never heard it that they might know you face to face.
Deuteronomy 34:10 Prays for the Blessing of Knowing God
We pray for Uyghurs in China. Almost 12 million of them. Muslim people who are isolated in many ways or intentioned in many ways with the government in China. God, we pray for Uyghurs. I pray for an Uyghur man I was sharing the gospel with the other day in an Uber ride. God, please please please we pray, we pray for more and more Uyghurs to know you face to face through Jesus. Please God, cause the gospel to go to them and they might know you face to face. Please use us, our lives, our churches to get the gospel to them that they might know you face to face. God, we praise you for this privilege and we pray that you help us to live in it. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
