Glory of God

In our first section, we described God's glory as the "visible majesty of the divine presence." It would be wise to memorize this definition, as it will help you understand the studies ahead. Moses gets to view God's Glory. In other words, he gets the privilege of seeing the "visible majesty of the divine presence." He sees a visible manifestation of God's majesty and presence.

Seeing God’s Glory: Moses asks to see God’s glory. Moses was the only person we know of in the bible to ever ASK to see God’s glory.

(Exodus 33:19-23) “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.”

God himself described his glory as his “goodness” yet says that His face must be concealed because there is no living thing that can stand to look into the brightness of His face. Then God covered Moses with his hand (to protect him) until He passed by, and Moses was able to see the glory of God from behind.

This is an incredible mystery as to what actually happened. God is Spirit, and cannot be contained even in His creation. Yet, to Moses, God reveals His splendor, in a partially concealed manner. And the result is that Moses’ face reflects the partial glory of God that he had seen.

Ex. 34:29-30, 33 “When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the two tablets of the Testmony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant, because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant and they were afraid to come near him. …v33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.

In verse 30 we also discover the most common response to a sighting of God’s glory.

The prophet Ezekiel had the same reaction: Ez 3:23 “So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face.”

In Isaiah 6:4, the prophet encounters God's glory and cries out, "Woe to me for I am a man of unclean lips."

Think about the response of people in the bible to the Glory of God. They bow down and prostrate themselves before His presence. Then think about how modern man, with his sense of science, analysis, and even antagonism toward the things of God. How would he respond to a manifestation of the Divine Majesty?

The Apostle Paul, while he was still killing Christians, was struck down from his horse on the way to Damascus. The bible says in Acts.9:3 “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a LIGHT from heaven flashed around him.”

His response is clear. He knows it is God! When he says, “Who are you Lord?” he is recognizing that he is in God’s presence…the God who he does not at this moment know. How do you think he knows it is God? Write your answer below:

Paul’s reaction is still that of fear and reverence. He knows in his spirit that he has encountered God and spends the next three days in the dark, wondering if he will ever see again. The next three days are probably the longest days of his life. Seeking God. Repenting. Asking for God’s mercy. Three long days of darkness and fear. Three days of judgment. Three days of loneliness, without hope. All because of an encounter with the One, the Holy, God. The flash of light is a flash of glory.