Exodus 33:18-23
“And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory.” (Exodus 33:18)
Experts tell us that sixty to eighty percent of communication is from non verbal communication, including voice tones, body language and odors. Because communication involves so much more than just words, talking on the telephone to my daughter is less satisfying than seeing her face to face. Texting or writing eliminates every part of communication but the words themselves. We are unable to get a real picture of what people are thinking.
Moses talked to God face to face , but the experience was still like calling a close friend on the phone. He craved that personal face to face contact, and asked to see God physically.
“And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” (Exodus 33:19-20)
God responded that while he would reveal himself to Moses or anyone else in his mercy and grace, even being so personal as to allow them to know and use his name, but to actually see him would be fatal. To avoid damaging one’s eyes while viewing a solar eclipse it is necessary to project the image onto a screen rather than viewing it directly. The intensity of God’s glory would destroy a man, if viewed directly. As a result, John 1:18 tells us, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” Paul tells us, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption,” in I Corinthians 15:50. Our natural body cannot handle exposure to God’s holiness.
In Numbers 12:6, God said, “…Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” Many today claim to have seen God, but in reality what they saw was just a vision. In Ezekiel 1:1, Ezekiel tells us “Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.”
Even that vision had a very unsettling impact on Ezekiel according to Ezekiel 1:28. “…This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face…” Isaiah Jeremiah and Daniel all described similar levels of awareness of sin from the visions they saw, as did John in Revelation. Any vision of God that doesn’t result in a similar sense of humility and awe is highly suspect.
“And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:21-23)
In order to limit Moses’ exposure to the glory of God to safe level, God would place him in a cleft or crack in the rocks and cover him with his hand, only allowing him to see a partially obscured view. Even that slight exposure would have a tremendous effect on Moses’ both physically and spiritually, and could not be experienced without preparation.
When we are having trouble seeing God in our lives, it is because he is protecting us from our sinful state. To fully recognize his holiness in comparison to our sinfulness would destroy us. He will only allow us to see as much as we can handle, and sometimes our sin makes that a very small amount.
“And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory.” (Exodus 33:18)
Experts tell us that sixty to eighty percent of communication is from non verbal communication, including voice tones, body language and odors. Because communication involves so much more than just words, talking on the telephone to my daughter is less satisfying than seeing her face to face. Texting or writing eliminates every part of communication but the words themselves. We are unable to get a real picture of what people are thinking.
Moses talked to God face to face , but the experience was still like calling a close friend on the phone. He craved that personal face to face contact, and asked to see God physically.
“And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” (Exodus 33:19-20)
God responded that while he would reveal himself to Moses or anyone else in his mercy and grace, even being so personal as to allow them to know and use his name, but to actually see him would be fatal. To avoid damaging one’s eyes while viewing a solar eclipse it is necessary to project the image onto a screen rather than viewing it directly. The intensity of God’s glory would destroy a man, if viewed directly. As a result, John 1:18 tells us, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” Paul tells us, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption,” in I Corinthians 15:50. Our natural body cannot handle exposure to God’s holiness.
In Numbers 12:6, God said, “…Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” Many today claim to have seen God, but in reality what they saw was just a vision. In Ezekiel 1:1, Ezekiel tells us “Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.”
Even that vision had a very unsettling impact on Ezekiel according to Ezekiel 1:28. “…This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face…” Isaiah Jeremiah and Daniel all described similar levels of awareness of sin from the visions they saw, as did John in Revelation. Any vision of God that doesn’t result in a similar sense of humility and awe is highly suspect.
“And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:21-23)
In order to limit Moses’ exposure to the glory of God to safe level, God would place him in a cleft or crack in the rocks and cover him with his hand, only allowing him to see a partially obscured view. Even that slight exposure would have a tremendous effect on Moses’ both physically and spiritually, and could not be experienced without preparation.
When we are having trouble seeing God in our lives, it is because he is protecting us from our sinful state. To fully recognize his holiness in comparison to our sinfulness would destroy us. He will only allow us to see as much as we can handle, and sometimes our sin makes that a very small amount.
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