“Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’ And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’ Then the Lord said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.’”
– Exodus 33:18-23
Yesterday, we talked about how Moses fellowshipped with the Lord in the Tent of Meeting, and we remembered that they had conversations there as friends. Today, I want to continue looking at the story of Moses as we discover how much this Biblical hero desired and loved the presence of God. Even though he and God would commune regularly in their special place, Moses was apparently unable to see the Lord’s face; this is why he requested to see His glory. Interestingly, Yahweh’s response to His friend was to tell him that if he were to behold Him fully, he wouldn’t survive. However, in an apparent effort to honor his request to know more about Him, the Lord told Moses that He would hide him in the cleft of a rock and walk by him so he could see His majesty from behind. I think it’s significant that even though he didn’t get to fully behold the face of His Heavenly Father, Moses kept pressing for more of God’s presence, and the Lord responded in favor. You see, in spite of having witnessed His power at work in parting the Red Sea and traveling through the wilderness with Him in a pillar of fire, this servant leader was hungry for more of His Divine Helper. Though there were many things he could have devoted his time and attention to, he wanted a greater measure of His Savior’s presence, because He understood that every human skill and ability flows from carrying more of His glory! Friend, be like Moses! No matter how much of Jesus you have already experienced, live from a place of wanting more. When you elevate your desire for His glorious presence above everything else, all the things you are concerned about will find a new source of inspiration and power — in Him. Though you will never be able to fully perceive His glory, there are always new facets of His character to be experienced, because He is infinite. Since He is the source of everything in this world, spending time with Him is what equips and empowers you to live your life effectively. When you make the Lord’s presence your top priority, you will experience abundant life — the kind that fully magnifies the wondrous fact that you were made in the image of the Almighty! |
Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for the example of Moses. I want to have a heart that desires your presence and glory more than anything else in this world.
Reflection
Do you desire to see God’s glory? If so, pray and ask Him to reveal it to you; keep pressing in for more of His presence.
One Response
I was reading this and way back in 1977 I was in a very bad accident where another person lost control of their car and hit me head on and also on my side of the car, I remember looking through a blue tunnel vision and I heard a man that this car is worst and with all my might I open the door and there was a man with black glasses and as I look at him ,he had no eyes or face and it was then every one was rushing to get me out and I never seen him again, I often remember what happened ? I never was knocked out ans remember every thing and also I remember a woman’s voice saying you will be hurt but you will be ok.