Show Me Your Glory (Exodus 33:20-23)

But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (Ex. 33:20).

In answer to Moses’ request to see His glory, God partly gave him what he asked for. He denied that which Moses was not ready to bear—beholding the face of God. A full discovery of the glory of God would quite overpower the faculties of any mortal man in this present state of existence. It would overwhelm him because man, being sinful, is unworthy of it, and being weak, he cannot possible bear it. And finally, because man is guilty of sin, he could only dread seeing God’s glory. This was certainly the reaction of Isaiah when he beheld some of the glory of God in the temple. His only response was, “Woe to me for I am undone.” It is because of God’s compassion that He holds back the face of His throne and spreads a cloud upon it (Job 26:9).

God has said that here in this world His face will not be seen. That is an honor reserved for the future state of our existence, and is to be the bliss of holy souls just as it will be the torment of unholy ones. Matthew Henry speculates that, should men see God’s face in this world, they would not be content to live without it. “There is a knowledge and enjoyment of God which must be waited for in another world, when we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).”

However, God did grant Moses his request in part. He promised to make all His goodness pass before him. He had previously shown Moses many manifestations of His goodness in caring for Israel in the wilderness, but now He would reveal the source of that goodness. Moses asked to see God’s glory, but God said that He would show him His goodness. God’s goodness is His glory, and He wants us to know Him by the glory of His mercy more than by the glory of His majesty, for we must fear even the Lord and His goodness (Hos 3:5). This goodness is sovereign, for in the dispensing of it God shows mercy to whom He pleases, and withholds it according to His will.

Even in this, Moses needed protection from the consuming glory of the Lord. God placed him in the cleft of the rock, which reminds us of Christ’s protection of us. It is in the cleft of this rock that we are secured from the wrath of God, which would otherwise consume us. God then passed by, allowing Moses to see His back side. This was all God would allow because we are not ready to see His face. While in this body, we see only in part, but in heaven we will see face to face.

When you are in love with someone, don’t you want to know everything about him or her? That is the way your relationship with God should be. You should long for the day when you see Him as He is, when all shadows are removed and you dwell in His light. Meditate today on this hope. Look forward to it with joy and anticipation.

Receiving Divine Favor (Exodus 33:17-19)

"So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name” (Ex. 33:17).

Moses had spent all his energy interceding for Israel, pleading with God to show His people mercy. Finally, God granted Moses his desire—He would go with all the people and dwell among them in close communion just as He had said. The Lord answered Moses’ prayer because Moses had found grace in His sight and because God knew him by name. It was because of God’s love for Moses that He showed mercy and grace to Israel. Neither Moses nor Israel had done anything to earn God’s favor. God gave it solely on the basis of His sovereign grace and His electing love.

It is notable that Moses did not give up his quest to reconcile Israel to God. He prayed without ceasing. Here we see the power of God through prayer displayed. Like the poor woman who continued to knock at the master’s door, persistent and unrelenting, Moses eventually received what he requested. Too often, we fail to persevere in our prayers. We pray once, and that is all, concluding that, because God has not answered immediately, He is not going to answer at all. But this was not Moses’ attitude. He did not give up, and in the end, his prayers were answered.

Moses was persistent in another area as well. After God granted him his request, Moses asked, “Please, show me Your glory.” Moses, the one who had been on the mount in intimate communion with the Lord, still wanted something more. It wasn’t enough that God met him in the tent of meeting, he wanted to know God at a deeper level. He wanted to see God’s glory. This is the way it is with all who walk with the Lord. It isn’t enough to have a surface relationship with Him. God being everything to them, they want to know Him more fully and intimately. They want to see Him face to face.

Moses made a tremendous request to see the glory of the Lord. He had heard God’s voice, he had seen the pillar of fire, but he wanted more. Perhaps Moses desired a sight of God’s glory as a token of His reconciliation, a guarantee of His presence. But Matthew Henry thinks otherwise. He notes that God’s Word is always sufficient, not necessarily needing a sign. Yet, God granted his request anyway, choosing to show Him grace and compassion because it was God’s will, not because Moses deserved it.

If you are God’s child, He loves you and knows you by name. This means that He answers your prayers, though not always according to your desires. He has called you to come to Him, to lay your requests before Him boldly and in faith. Do not neglect prayer, for it is a powerful weapon against the enemy, and it draws you close to God.

Immanuel, God With Us (Exodus 33:15-16)

"Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here” (Ex. 33:15).

God responded to Moses’ prayer of intercession by promising to remain with Moses, but not with the people as a whole: “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Henry points out that the emphasis was not lost on Moses, and that he did not hesitate to insist that God abide with all the people, not only with their leader: “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” Why was this so important? Why was it not enough for the Lord to be with Moses, to empower him to lead the people, and to give him the confidence and strength to enter the Promised Land. The answer has to do with grace: “For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us?”

What makes the church different from everyone else on earth is the presence of the Lord. God does not dwell among the people of the world, for the arrogant and the wicked cannot come into His presence. Such privilege is reserved only for His people, for those whom He has graciously called to be His own. The misconception that God loves and abides with all people is a great error that masks one of the most glorious truths of the Christian religion. While God certainly cares for all His creatures and shows a benevolent love to everyone, He does not love the unbeliever with an abiding, intimate, and special love. This is reserved for His adopted children, for the ones He has graciously chosen out of the world. Only these experience the joy of God’s presence, of a relationship with Him that is closer than anything we could ever imagine. The world does not enjoy the abiding presence of the Lord because He does not dwell in the hearts of the unregenerate.

When Jesus Christ came to earth, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger, He was called Immanuel. This means “God with us.” The ultimate blessing of being a part of the family of God, the glorious hope of all Christians, is Immanuel, God with us. Without Immanuel, we cannot come into the presence of God, but through the grace of our Lord, manifested in the person of Christ, we can know what it is like to have God with us, to live in intimate communion with the Lord. Though we deserve to be cut off from His life-giving presence forever, He shows us grace by dwelling with us in love.

God loves His children. He has promised never to leave them or forsake them. He has promised that nothing can separate them from the love of Christ, and He has promised to walk with them through the valley of the shadow death. What does this mean for you today? 

On Account of Grace (Exodus 33:12–14)

“Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight” (Ex. 33:13a).

The sin of Israel did not disrupt the relationship Moses had with God. The Lord still spoke to him face to face, treating him like a dearly loved friend. He did not remove Moses’ call as leader and governor of the people, or his duty to lead them to the Promised Land. But this was not enough for Moses. He wanted the Lord’s presence to be with all the people, not just with him. He wanted the Lord Himself to dwell in their midst, not just the Angel of the Lord (a manifestation of God’s presence) to lead them along the way. So Moses inquired of the Lord, asking Him, “If you still want me to lead this stiff-necked people to Canaan, who will go with me? Who is sufficient except for You?” Moses wanted more for his people than salvation from the curse of Egyptian bondage; he wanted the blessing of God’s presence. When we are saved, we are not only delivered from ruin, but we become entitled to everlasting happiness in the presence of God. This was what Moses wanted for his people, and he wasn’t going to stop interceding for them until he got what he wanted.

Moses interceded on the basis of God’s grace and kindness toward him. God called him by name and showed him much love. He didn’t bother to appeal on the basis of God’s kindness toward Israel because they had estranged themselves so thoroughly from the Lord. Instead, he laid the stress of his plea on what God had said to him, as if he were saying, “Lord, if ever You will do anything for me, do this for Your people. Do it for my sake because You are well-pleased with me.” This was how Jesus presented Himself to His Father on our behalf, as the one in whom God is always well-pleased. It is because of the Father’s favor toward the Son that those with whom He is displeased obtain mercy. We are accepted because we are in Christ.

It is not by our own merit or our own “rags of righteousness” that we are reconciled to God and given everlasting life. It is only through the merit of Christ. Our Savior appealed to the Father on the basis of His being well-pleased with the Son, not simply because He is the Logos, the eternal Son whom the Father has always loved, but also because He lived a sinless life. Christ lived a life that was well-pleasing to the Father because it honored His Law and fulfilled His righteousness, and the Father graciously accepts us because of what the Son has done.

Do you ever fall into the trap of thinking that you need to earn God’s favor, that you can’t go to Him in prayer or worship until you earn the right to do so through good works of some kind? What good works do you trust in to make God love you more? Trust in Christ’s righteousness today and find peace with God.

Speaking to a Friend (Exodus 33:9-11)

"All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped" (Ex. 33:10a).

Though the Lord would not dwell among the people of Israel and bless them with intimate communion, He would meet with Moses. Exodus 33:9–11 reveals the special relationship God had with this most humble servant. It was one of intimacy, grace, and friendship. No doubt, this relationship gave the Israelites much encouragement as they watched Moses enter the tabernacle, a place where they could not go. Though God had removed Himself from them, He had not removed Himself from Moses, and this filled them with hope and inspired them to worship. No longer did they worship idols made of their own hands, but they worshiped the Lord as He condescended to speak to Moses. All had not been lost. Israel still had a mediator, one who was highly favored by God. So with this hope in their hearts, they stood at their tents and worshiped the Lord of glory.

The text says that “the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” God initiated the meeting out of His abundant grace, speaking to Moses face to face. God revealed Himself to Moses, not only with clarity, but also with greater expressions of kindness, grace, and love. He spoke, not as a king to his subject, but as a man to his friend—as to a beloved one, in whom He took pleasure. This reminds us of Jesus’ words to His disciples when He said that they were no longer servants but friends. This is what grace is all about—God and man joining in close communion, not with the distance between a king and his subject, or a master and his slave (though these concepts certainly apply, and we should never fail to recognize them), but with the intimacy of two friends.

Because of our mediator Jesus Christ, whom God loves and adores, we can come into the presence of the Lord without fear. We can come into His presence and enjoy communion with Him in an intimate way, as a friend with a friend, as a son with a father. Think of how glorious this is! This is what the Scripture means when it says that love drives away fear (1 John 4:18). It is not our love, but God’s love for us that does this. When we stand before our Creator in the name of Jesus Christ, whom He loves, we do not need to be afraid, for He loves us. He wants us close to Him, walking with Him as Adam walked beside Him in the garden, face to face, in the love of friendship.

One way of showing someone grace is being warm, kind, and loving. Grace doesn’t mean that we show someone the bare minimum of respect—a cold, detached acknowledgment. We are to treat others the way God treats us. How do you treat others? Coldly, dispassionately, reservedly? Or lovingly and kindly, like Jesus treats His people?