Exodus 33:16

For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not in that Thou goest with us? The presence of the Lord would be a sign, a guarantee, to Moses and the people that the Lord had really forgiven their great sin and turned back to them in mercy. So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. The visible guidance of God would be a sign to all men that Israel was the nation of God's choice.