Ex. 33:14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Ex. 33:15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.
Ex. 33:16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
Hag. 2:4 But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.
Hag. 2:5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’
God’s promises for His people in the promise land involved a number of blessings, but the most important promise was His presence. God covenanted with His people that the land that flowed with milk and honey would be a place where The Holy Spirit would dwell among them and make God’s presence real to them.
In Exodus 33 God’s heart was grieved because of the people’s idolatry and rebellion so He told Moses that He would send an angel to lead them into the promised land but He wouldn’t go with them. Moses cried out in despair and God changed His heart and assured Moses that He would go with them. Moses, at that point, made the amazing confession that gives us such insight into the truth of who we are and and why we are. He said “Lord, all the blessings, miracles, and gifts of Canaan mean nothing without your presence. It’s your presence that makes it a land flowing with milk and honey. Your presence is our great gift, and we would rather live in the Desert with your presence than be in Canaan without your manifest presence.”
Think about that; any Desert is a place of blessing as long as you have His presence. If you have His presence, you have it all. If you suffer the loss of all things, and yet have His presence, you can rejoice. It helps you understand Philippians 4; “Rejoice in The Lord always, again I say rejoice, …The Lord is near.”