God Shuffled His Feet

In Exodus 34 we find a really cool account of Moses saying, “Show me your glory!” And God agrees to let Moses see Himself (except for His face). So, Moses goes out to the place God named, and brings some stuff that God said to bring, and the LORD comes by. He even creates his own fanfare.

Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship. He said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your own possession.”
— Exodus 34:8-9

Man… Moses isn’t giving this up! God even said, “Yes” (last time), and Moses is still pleading the case to God. He’s not giving it up. Even when God said “Yes,” Moses more or less replies, “Well, you better mean it!“

God’s replies sort of puzzles me:

Then God said, “Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the LORD, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you. Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorites…. etc. etc. etc.”
— Exodus 34:10-11…

So….. yes??

That’s a “yes,” right?

I hate these non sequitur responses. Jesus does them all the time, God does them even more in the OT. It’s like we missed part of the context. (Why? Because when God gets done, Moses doesn’t say, “Huh?”) When we dig in we often find great jewels of insight into God. But when we start out, we’re like the song “God Shuffled His Feet” by Crash Test Dummies. Here’s the lyrics:

After seven days
He was quite tired so God said:
“Let there be a day
Just for picnics, with wine and bread”
He gathered up some people he had made
Created blankets and laid back in the shade

The people sipped their wine
And what with God there, they asked him questions
Like: do you have to eat
Or get your hair cut in heaven?
And if your eye got poked out in this life
Would it be waiting up in heaven with your wife?

God shuffled his feet and glanced around at them;
The people cleared their throats and stared right back at him

So he said:”Once there was a boy
Who woke up with blue hair
To him it was a joy
Until he ran out into the warm air
He thought of how his friends would come to see;
And would they laugh, or had he got some strange disease?

God shuffled his feet and glanced around at them;
The people cleared their throats and stared right back at him

The people sat waiting
Out on their blankets in the garden
But God said nothing
So someone asked him: “I beg your pardon:
I’m not quite clear about what you just spoke
Was that a parable, or a very subtle joke?”

God shuffled his feet and glanced around at them;
The people cleared their throats and stared right back at him

I honestly don’t Get God’s answer (to Moses — not the song) … I’d love to hear your thoughts.