Exodus 33:11 “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”
This is a wonderful and almost unprecedented passage of scripture. It is a hard verse to skip over without reading again and again to be sure we understand correctly. Could God have been speaking to Moses face to face? Well, apparently not literally, because a few verses later God says no man can see Him and live.
Remember, God is not limited by any physical boundaries. He was speaking to Moses “as though” they were face to face. That means that every level of intimacy that is present in a face to face conversation was present here.
We attempt to have a face-to-face-style conversation via phone or internet with family members, but don’t quite succeed. God did it with no difficulty. Is this really any different from the opportunity we have in the new covenant, as every believer is brought close to God by Christ and has the Holy Spirit living inside?
Exodus 33:11 “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”