Single lesson
Moses Asks for God's Presence
Exodus 33:1–23
In this lesson, children trace how Moses responds when Yahweh says he will not go up among the people, and how Moses asks for God’s presence and glory. The class will follow the order of the passage and notice key choices and outcomes.
Before you teach
Exodus 33:1–23 begins with Yahweh telling Moses to lead the people towards the promised land, while saying he will send an angel before them. The people mourn, Moses meets Yahweh at the Tent of Meeting, and then Moses asks for God’s presence, favour and glory.
Students will be able to retell the passage in order and explain that Moses asked for Yahweh’s presence to go with the people.
Welcome: Hear the problem
5 minShow the reference and say that today’s story begins with difficult news. Read Exodus 33:1–3 aloud. Ask children to listen for two things: what Yahweh tells Moses to do, and what he says about his own presence. Briefly explain “stiff-necked” as stubborn from the wording of the passage. Tell the group they will watch how the people and Moses respond.
Exodus 33:1, Exodus 33:2, Exodus 33:3
Read and explain: The people mourn and Moses goes to the tent
7 minRead Exodus 33:4–11. Help children notice the sequence: the people mourn, remove their jewellery, Moses sets up the Tent of Meeting outside the camp, the people watch, the cloud comes down, and the people worship. Explain that the Tent of Meeting is the place described here where people sought Yahweh and where Yahweh spoke with Moses.
Exodus 33:4, Exodus 33:5, Exodus 33:6, Exodus 33:7, Exodus 33:8, Exodus 33:9, Exodus 33:10, Exodus 33:11
Discuss: Why does Moses ask for God’s presence?
6 minRead Exodus 33:12–17 together. Ask children to find Moses’ requests and Yahweh’s answer. Point out that Moses asks to know Yahweh’s way and says the nation is Yahweh’s people. Then he says that if God’s presence does not go with them, they should not go. Discuss how, in this passage, God’s presence is what sets the people apart.
Exodus 33:12, Exodus 33:13, Exodus 33:14, Exodus 33:15, Exodus 33:16, Exodus 33:17
Make and respond: Sequence cards of the passage
8 minGive children cards or strips of paper to draw or write key moments from the passage: the command to go, the people mourning, the tent outside the camp, the cloud at the tent, Moses asking for God’s presence, and Moses asking to see God’s glory. After ordering the cards, let each child choose one scene and tell what happens there from the verses.
Exodus 33:1, Exodus 33:4, Exodus 33:7, Exodus 33:9, Exodus 33:15, Exodus 33:18
Closing: God answers carefully
4 minRead Exodus 33:18–23. Explain that Moses asks to see Yahweh’s glory. Yahweh answers by speaking about his goodness, grace and mercy, and also says that a person may not see his face and live. Finish by reviewing the lesson order and asking children to say one true thing this passage teaches about God or Moses.
Exodus 33:18, Exodus 33:19, Exodus 33:20, Exodus 33:21, Exodus 33:22, Exodus 33:23
Questions to explore
What bad news made the people mourn at the start of this passage?
Look closely at what Yahweh promised to send and what he said he would not do among the people.
Exodus 33:2, Exodus 33:3, Exodus 33:4
What happened when Moses entered the Tent of Meeting?
Find the visible sign at the tent door and what Yahweh did there with Moses.
Exodus 33:9, Exodus 33:10, Exodus 33:11
Why did Moses say they should not go up unless God’s presence went with them?
Read Moses’ words about how the people would be recognised as different from the peoples on the earth.
Exodus 33:15, Exodus 33:16
Make, think or respond
Sequence Cards: God’s Presence with Moses
What you’ll need
- Paper or card scraps
- Pencils or crayons
- Scissors
- Bible
Try it together
- Write or draw six key moments from the passage on separate cards.
- Mix the cards up and work together to place them in the order of the passage.
- Read the matching verses for each card and check the order.
- Invite children to explain one card in their own words using the text.
This activity helps children sequence Exodus 33:1–23 and notice the choices, prayers and answers in the passage.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, prepare the six card labels in advance with simple pictures to sort, then let them point to the matching verse as you read it.
- For older or confident readers, ask them to add a short sentence on each card explaining the outcome of that moment, such as mourning, worship, promise or request.
An optional closing prayer
You may pray: “Yahweh, thank you for this passage. Please help us understand what Moses asked and what you answered. Teach us to listen carefully to your word. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Exodus 33
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people that you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’
2 I will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
3 Go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way.”
4 When the people heard this evil news, they mourned; and no one put on his jewelry.
5 Yahweh had said to Moses, “Tell the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go up among you for one moment, I would consume you. Therefore now take off your jewelry from you, that I may know what to do to you.’ ”
6 The children of Israel stripped themselves of their jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.
7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it “The Tent of Meeting.” Everyone who sought Yahweh went out to the Tent of Meeting, which was outside the camp.
8 When Moses went out to the Tent, all the people rose up, and stood, everyone at their tent door, and watched Moses, until he had gone into the Tent.
9 When Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, stood at the door of the Tent, and Yahweh spoke with Moses.
10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the Tent, and all the people rose up and worshiped, everyone at their tent door.
11 Yahweh spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. He turned again into the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, didn’t depart from the Tent.
12 Moses said to Yahweh, “Behold, you tell me, ‘Bring up this people;’ and you haven’t let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’
13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me your way, now, that I may know you, so that I may find favor in your sight; and consider that this nation is your people.”
14 He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Moses said to him, “If your presence doesn’t go with me, don’t carry us up from here.
16 For how would people know that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Isn’t it that you go with us, so that we are separated, I and your people, from all the people who are on the surface of the earth?”
17 Yahweh said to Moses, “I will do this thing also that you have spoken; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”
19 He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim Yahweh’s name before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”
20 He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.”
21 Yahweh also said, “Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock.
22 It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by;
23 then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.