Courtney Gilmore Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.” God said, “You cannot see My face. No man shall see Me, and live. Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock. While my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and You shall see My back. But My face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:18-23)
So, Moses would get to see the Lord’s back – an outline of who He is. Also, Moses would see the effects of God’s glory but still be protected from His Power. While we are living on this earth, we will not ever fully see God. Paul explained this to the Corinthian church: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
Remember that when God first called Moses through the burning bush, he asked what he should tell the people God’s name was. God said, “’I am who I am.’ Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14) The reason that God said this is because there is no one name for who God is. He just is who he is. He’s all-encompassing & described by more words than can be expressed in a brief summary. But now, as an answer to Moses’s request to see His glory, God said He would reveal His goodness & proclaim His name Yahweh or “I am”. So, God was going to explain some of who He is so that Moses could better know Him.
“So, the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.'”(Exodus 34:6-7)
This is not at all an exhaustive list of God’s attributes because Moses only saw Him in part. But God showed the part that Moses needed to see at the moment. After the people sinned, Moses had begged for mercy. So, the Lord declared that He is indeed merciful. Moses had asked over & over for God to affirm His favor towards him. So, the Lord explained how overwhelming His grace is. After the golden calf incident, Moses must have been concerned about the peoples’ rebellious & wavering nature. So, in contrast, God revealed how faithful, loyal, & true He is. God reassured him that His love is abounding & it would remain steady. He wouldn’t get angry quickly & He’d forgive them when they turned away. He did have to remind Moses that there was a balance & He would still punish the unrepentant. But that is not the part of Himself that God focused on because it is not the part that Moses needed to see most at that time. By revealing Himself in this way & rewriting the ten commandments after they broke them, God was making sure that Moses knew His covenant couldn’t be permanently broken. Israel might be rebellious & unfaithful, but their Lord, God was not!
While we are living on this earth, we will not ever fully see God. But He will show us the parts that we need to see when we need to see them. When we need His compassion & understanding, He will reveal it. When we need a little reverence, He will remind us of His authority. When we doubt, He will exhibit His power. When we fall short, He will express His grace & mercy. Ask God to reveal Himself to you. He loves His children! He wants us to know Him more & He will show you who He is when you ask. Also, read, read, read. Just in this passage, God tells us of His overwhelming favor, patience, goodness, faithfulness, & steadfast love. The more scripture that we read, the more of Him we will see & know.
Moses’s immediate reaction to God’s revelation was one of worship. “Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.” (Exodus 34:8) When God reveals His character to us, we should be so thankful that we worship Him. He deserves it just because of who He is!
“The skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” (Exodus 34:29) Because he’d been in the presence of God, Moses reflected God’s light to the people. We too should shine the light of God to the world around us when we spend time with Him. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) The more time we spend in His Presence, the brighter our light will shine. Otherwise, like Moses, the glory that others see in our lives will fade. “Moses would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.” (2 Corinthians 3:13)
Excerpt from Episode 68 “God Reveals Himself” on Podcast and YouTube
