Exodus 33:18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and 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.”
Job 11:7 “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
Job 26:14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Timothy 6:16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
All that he had yet seen of God was insufficient—only raised his desire, only sharpened his appetite to see more. (Ellicott)
Moses speaks as one who dreaded the thought of going forward without the Lord’s presence. God’s gracious promises, and mercy towards us, should not only encourage our faith, but also excite our fervency in prayer. (Henry)
So long as we are clothed with this body, which was destined, indeed, from the very first to be transformed into the glorified state of the immortality of the spirit, but has become through the fall a prey to the corruption of death, we can only walk in faith, and only see God with the eye of faith, so far as He has revealed His glory to us in His works and His word. (Keil)
Moses asks for something very personable – “Show me Your glory”. Moses was closer to God than any man since Adam, and he asked for more intimate closeness. He wanted to be closer still. He was in the presence of God. He was near God. He spoke with God and God with him. He saw the hand of God do miracles and wonders. He pleaded with god for the restoration of Israel. And Moses still wanted to be more intimate with his understanding and knowledge of God by actually seeing His glory.
Do we seek to be more intimate with God? Do we want to be in His presence and experience His glory? Do we want to be known by God in a personal way so that we are not only fully devoted servants but a friend of God too? I wonder if we want to be blessed by God and given the comforts of His blessings without wanting to be close to Him. When we see His creation and have been given glimpses of His awesome power, protection, peace, presence, joy, grace, mercy, and love, do we want to be closer still, or just be a benefactor? That is the question, isn’t it?
Just wanting to be close enough to receive goodness is not worthy of His holiness, grace, and mercy. That is like wanting to be friends with a very generous person for what they give to you, but never ever wanted to truly be their friend in an indebted way. How shallow is a friendship that only desires to be given something by that friend? Isn’t it shameful?
Every single person has been given the beginning knowledge of God and who He is. God wrote it on their heart and minds. He stands at the door to our souls and seeks to come into our lives, invited in. He had His Word written down so that we might know Him and of His grace, mercy, power, wisdom, holiness, goodness, and one million more adjectives that only begin to explain how awesome All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Ever-Present He is. He sent His one and only Son to die and redeem us from eternal torment, Hell. He promised eternal life. He sent His Holy Spirit to fill us with His continual presence. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. He promised to be our rock and refuge.
What has He asked of us, His creation? – To believe, rely upon, and trust in His Son and to honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do.
Examine your life, your wants, where you spend time, what you think about, who you listen to, what you say, what you do, and where you place importance. Can you say that you truly are seeking and desiring to know and understand more and more of God and be closer to Him?