“Moses took the tent and pitched it outside the camp, at a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone seeking the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp. And whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, the way a person speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his servant, Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent. Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your way, that I may know you, that I may continue to find favor in your sight. And see that this nation is your people.”” Exodus 33:7, 9, 11, 13 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/exo.33.7-13.NET

I have always wanted to meet with the Lord as Moses met with the Lord. While others were invited to seek the Lord, the Lord only spoke to Moses as a man speaks to a friend. No doubt today, while we are all invited to seek God, God seems particularly close to a few. Who gets to know God best and sees Him the clearest? Who are those lingering around God like Joshua, hoping, perhaps obtaining, some residual contact with the Almighty? Why did Moses want to know the Lord anyway? The Bible commentator says this word to ‘know’ means that Moses may understand what God’s nature and character are so that he can shape his petitions accordingly, and find grace in His sight, and so that future prayers may be answered  This should be our purpose too when we meet with the Lord in His word. To begin to record from His Word the desires of God so that we can begin to orient our prayers toward those things. Perhaps the biggest reason we find ourselves so far from our God is that we want so little of our God or His will on earth as it is in heaven. The purpose of meeting with God, as it was for Moses, was to align himself and his work to the will of God for the glory of God. When we make loving God and doing His will for His glory upon the earth as it is in heaven our greatest passion, we too will encounter more of Him in our lives. His voice will be clearer and His appearance more visible to those who seek Him diligently to honor Him fervently.