Exodus 33 — Thoughts
Is God Hiding?
An atheist recently asked me to respond to the “Hiddeness Argument.” This perspective suggests that, if God existed, He would make His existence unmistakable to us. But since God’s existence isn’t obvious to everyone, He must not exist at all.
The thing this argument misses is that God’s end goal isn’t for us to just believe in Him — His end goal is for us to have a relationship with Him. And a relationship is something that must be chosen.
If God DID present Himself to the world in a way that couldn’t be denied, we would have no choice but to believe in Him. …And without that choice, there could be no real relationship.
So instead, God shows us just enough of Himself to make choosing to believe in Him a reasonable option. And He holds back just enough of Himself to make choosing not to believe in Him a reasonable option. Each can make sense if we want it to. The question is: Which will we choose?
We see this in Matthew 13:10-13 when Jesus’ disciples ask why He speaks in parables. His response is that He wants some people to understand His message, but not others. From the context, we can tell that the ones He wants to understand Him are the ones with faith — those who choose Him. And the ones He doesn’t want to understand Him are the skeptics — those who don’t choose Him.
In this chapter, we see what each choice can look like.
The Israelites chose not to believe in God. Moses was supposed to bring back a message from God, but he was taking too long. So they crafted their own god instead, an idol made of gold shaped like a calf. The result: a broken relationship with the one, true God. God was so hurt by their betrayal, He didn’t even want to go with them to the Promised Land anymore.
But Moses chose to believe in God, and he leaned into that relationship. The result: “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” And because of that relationship, God ultimately chooses to stay with the Israelites.
Not only that, Moses asked to see God’s glory — and God let him! Because once we choose a relationship with God, we begin an adventure in which God shows us more and more of who He is.
The reality of God is hidden for those who don’t want Him in the first place. But for those who choose Him — who put their faith in Him — God becomes undeniable.