The Israelites were slaves in the land of Egypt for 400 years. The Egyptians treated them harshly, and their lamentations filled the land. Their cries reached Jehovah God, who remembered the covenants made with Abraham , Isaac , Jacob , and called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
The Egyptian Pharaoh did not allow the Israelites to leave Egypt and obstructed them in every possible way, so God imposed ten plagues on the Egyptians. When the Egyptian army chased the Israelites to the Red Sea side, he performed a miracle to separate the water of the Red Sea from the middle. The Israelites were able to successfully walk to the other side of the sea. When the Egyptian army crossed the sea, God restored the sea water and submerged them.
During this process, the Israelites witnessed the power of God with their own eyes. They should be full of awe and longing for God, but they complained about God at every turn, rebelled against God, and were afraid of seeing God's glory. Why is this?
First of all, God's appearances are always accompanied by terrifying visions. The first time God appeared to Moses was in the blazing bush on Mount Horeb . Moses covered his face because of fear. Three months after the Israelites left Egypt, God descended on Mount Sinai in front of the people. There were thunders, lightnings, and thick clouds on the mountain, and the sound of a trumpet was very loud. The LORD descended on the mountain in fire, and the smoke from the mountain went up like a furnace. There was a great earthquake throughout the mountain, and all the people in the camp trembled. When God called Moses to go up to Mount Sinai to receive the tablets of the law, the glory of God was on the top of the mountain in the shape of a blazing fire in front of the Israelites. Moses spent 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai. When he came down from the mountain, he found that the people had made a golden calf to replace God. He became furious and broke the two tablets of the law into pieces. Later, Moses went up to Mount Sinai for the second time to receive the tablets of the law. When he came down from the mountain, his face shone because the Lord spoke to him. When all the Israelites saw him, they were afraid to come near him, so Moses covered his face with a veil.
Secondly, people cannot survive when they see the face of God. When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, he appeared in the pillar of cloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night. He never appeared to them directly. Although Moses alone found favor before God, when God spoke to Moses in the pillar of cloud, it was like a man speaking to a friend. But when Moses asked God to show him the glory as evidence of God's presence with the Israelites, God told Moses, You cannot see my face, because no one can see my face and live. You can see my back, but not my face. Every time God called Moses up the mountain to speak, the people were not allowed to come close to watch, lest He suddenly come out and kill them. After the incident with the golden calf, God told Moses that He would not go with them any longer, "lest I destroy you on the way." This is because God is holy and righteous, and He cannot tolerate sin. However, the Israelites are full of sin and do abominations in the eyes of the Lord. God is afraid that He will destroy them when he sees their face.
The Israelites also knew that they were sinful and unclean, and were afraid of the Lord God, so they said to Moses: "Please speak to us, and we will listen. We do not want God to speak to us, or we will die." They asked Moses to come closer to hear God speak, and then pass God's word to them. God only wanted the Israelites to be reverent and granted their request, agreeing that Moses would be the mediator between God and the people. Therefore, Moses was the first high priest and prophet of Israel raised up by God. Moses prophesied that Jehovah God would raise up a prophet like him from Israel. This is the only high priest, eternal king, and true prophet of all mankind Jesus Christ. Before the coming of Jesus Christ, there was no prophet like Moses in Israel, because he was known face to face by the Lord.
