Show Me Thy Glory

Moses said, "I pray thee, show me thy glory."

Exodus 33:18

In the Exodus story there is a dialog between Moses and the Lord while on Mt. Sinai that reveals the desire of every human being. After promising to dwell with his chosen people in response to Moses' request, Moses ups the ante one more notch with another request. Moses wants to see God face to face. The answer given is:

"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."

So God places Moses in the cleft of the rock and puts his hand over him while he passes him by. In the process of coming into contact with God's glory, Moses is transformed. When he comes down from the mountain the face of Moses is shining such that the people cannot look upon him. He resorts to wearing a veil before the people to hide his face.

In 2 Chronicles 5 we read of Solomon's building of the first temple. Upon its completion, Solomon and the nation of Israel appear before the Lord. During its dedication, the Glory of the Lord fills the temple. The story reads:

¹¹ Now when the priests came out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to their divisions; ¹² and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jedu'thun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with a hundred and twenty priests who were trumpeters; ¹³ and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures for ever," the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

Again, as in the days of Moses, the presence of God's glory causes a separation between the people and the Lord.

Fast forward to the New Testament. In the gospel of Mark beginning in chapter 9 we read about the transfiguration of Jesus:

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, ³ and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Eli'jah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. ⁵ And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah." ⁶ For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. ⁷ And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." ⁸ And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only. ⁹And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

For the followers of Jesus coming into the cloud of God's glory caused them to be "exceedingly afraid". Yet, even in their fear Peter was able to state that it was "good" for them to be in the presence of God. This testimony before Moses and Elijah, the giver of the Torah (law) and Elijah (the greatest prophet) was that the disciples were to listen to Jesus who was God's son. This is the revelation that through Jesus mankind can now look upon the face of God in a way that is brand new. It was not until the arrival of the Messiah that the mercy that God planned to give to mankind to reconcile Himself to his creation was released through his son, Jesus Christ. This comports with declaration of Jesus in Matthew 11 about John the Baptist:

¹¹ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. ¹³ For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is Eli'jah who is to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Even as great as John the Baptist was, he sent a message to Jesus when locked in prison asking Jesus if he was the one to come? Luke 7:19-22 reads:

¹⁹ And John, calling to him two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" ²⁰ And when the men had come to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, 'Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?'" ²¹ In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many that were blind he bestowed sight. ²² And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

Jesus goes on to state that:

"I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

The declaration is that those who are "born" into the kingdom of God have something that John the Baptist did not have. It is the ability to see God's glory in the humanity of his son, Jesus; and, to have God himself through the power of his Holy Spirit dwell within one so that we know that God is with us ("Immanuel"). When we see Jesus we see the Father. It is Jesus Christ who introduces us to the personal aspects of God the father. The request of Moses and all who are born of women to "Show me Thy Glory" can now be fulfilled by faith in Jesus as Messiah. The revelation starts in this life; but, lasts for an eternity.