Christ in all the scriptures Shew me thy glory

 Christ in all the scriptures

Shew me thy glory  Exodus 33

Chapter 32 plumbed the depths of human depravity: chapter 33 scales the heights of Divine glory.  The chapter is a dialogue between God and Moses, and reveals the heart of God in a way no other portion of scripture does.  The epitaph was written over Moses life in Deuteronomy 34v18, "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel, like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face".   The chapter is about the intimacy of Moses with the Lord of all heaven and earth.  Indeed, Jesus was called "a prophet like unto Moses"-Deuteronomy 18v15, which marks out Moses as unique in the history of men.  The world has an expression, "It's not what you know, but who you know that counts"; Moses knew God more than any man apart from Christ, and the little knowledge of Him who is infinite, caused him to want to know more and more.  Jesus said that this is the very essence of eternal life, to know and continue to know the only true God-John 17v4.  The Apostle Paul said that "for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord", he was prepared to suffer the loss of all things.  Nothing compares to the intimate knowledge of God, this is the message of the bible.  So what do we learn about God from this chapter?

He expects the leadership to take responsibility for the people v1a      "And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart and go up hence, thou and the people which  thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt...".  He repeats what He said in 32v7, "thy people whom thou hast brought up".  God makes the leaders responsible for the behaviour of those whom they lead.  He does the same in the New Testament-Hebrews 13v17, "Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls as they that must give account".  In the clamour for spiritual leadership, which is a trait of the modern day, those who seek such recognition, bring upon themselves considerable responsibility.  Not only will they give account of themselves (Romans 14v12), but also for the state of those under them.

God will be faithful to His word  v1b   "...unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land".  He will never break a promise, though men do constantly.  His word is His honour, and it will never fail.  Despite the treachery of redeemed Israel, He will lead them to the promised land.  Something similar to this was said by Paul in 2nd Timothy 2v13, "...if we are unfaithful (most versions), yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself".  He will always be true to Himself which is total reliability.  We can trust Him, can He trust us?

His direct presence among us is conditional  v2-3 "I will send an angel before thee...I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiff necked people: lest I consume thee in the way".  God's attitude to sin and rebellion is unchanged and unchangeable.  He is repulsed by sin and will not dwell in its presence.  Too much emphasis on "easy-believism" has clouded our understanding of God, and reduced our concept of holiness.  He removed His presence from the temple in Ezekiel's day because of secret idolatry-refer Ezekiel 8v4; 9v3; 10v4; 10v18; 11v23.  The smug attitude of modern day churches is captioned in the spurious claim based on Matthew 18v20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them".  The crucial factor is in my name; He does not put His name to evil, and when gatherings go on condoning it, we will not have His presence.  It is a travesty for churches to claim otherwise.  God will not condone in the church what He will condemn in the world.  Indeed, Peter says, quoting from Ezekiel, "judgment must begin at the house of God"-1st Peter 5vThe effect of this was decisive; the people stripped themselves of all their ornamentation which had been associated with idolatry and humbled themselves before the Lord.  God separated Moses from the camp and set up a tent of meeting outside.  "Moses took the tabernacle and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp".  It is of the Lord to separate from evil. 

God draws people to Himself through the power of example   v4-10

I know this because I was brought to the Lord through contemporaries who were coming to Christ in a local church mission. There were 16 saved around my age and I was the last to come!  God had Moses pitch a tent far from the camp and His pillar rested there.  From a distance people stood outside of their tents, witnessing longingly as the Divine presence exonerated Moses and his followers.  Joshua joined him and others followed.  Soon a trickle became a crowd, and those left behind were jealous-they knew that God was calling them from their failure.  He will do the same with Israel in the future, as He will use the Gentile converts to cause Israel to return-refer Romans 11v11-14, Paul speaks of them "provoking them to jealousy" and "provoking to emulation".  The power of example is great, and we all have some influence in our own sphere.  When all the words are finished the example of lives becomes decisive.  How wonderful are the ways of God, how well does He know us! "And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door, and all the people stood up and worshipped, every man in his tent door".   They were suitably humbled and transformed from worshipping the gods of Egypt to worship God.  Oh, that I were the more able to provoke to worship, than is often more the case, to provoke to anger and bad ways.

With God, one man can make a difference in any community  v11-17

The Lord knew Moses was upright, different from the rest, and He could rely on him to be faithful.  Indeed it is recorded that "Moses was faithful in all God's house"-Hebrews 3v2.  However, Moses was perplexed about the journey through enemy territory to the promised land.  He appeals to God's grace, that is he asked for something they did not deserve, and reminded the Lord that he had found grace in His sight-v12-13.  Perhaps he was referring to the fact that when he left Egypt, he had committed murder, and yet God saw fit to call him to lead the people.  This was nothing short of unmerited favour.  Also on his return to Egypt, he had failed to circumcise one of his sons, and God rebuked him, again, an evidence of God's grace.  God assured him that He would go with him, personally, all the way-"My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest", v14.  Moses pleaded for His presence to be with the whole camp through the journey, and answered-"If thy presence go not with us, (understood, referring to them all) carry us not up hence.  For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth?"  Moses repeated prayer for all God's people to enjoy His presence as they journeyed, was accepted by God..."I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken, for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name"-v17.  Moses' prayer was very bold; he demonstrated in his prayer that he was concerned about the reputation of the Lord in the ungodly nations around.  His request was for Divine glory, and God honoured it.  One man, with a godly attitude made a difference to the nation.  God agreed to go with them, but only when they fully understood His repulsion toward their sin, and His absolute right to withdraw benefits as He chose, and only after they had humbled themselves.  There would be many more times in their history when God removed His presence, temporarily, and Israel must yet learn the holiness of God, that He is apart, above, greater than all, and that He alone is worthy of their worship. 

God's glory is His grace!     "And he (Moses) said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory."  The chapter deals with three aspects of the character of God-His government, His grace, and His glory.  He asserts the right to govern His people by granting or withholding privilege as He will-v1-10.  He takes account of their erring tendencies, and is gracious toward them-v11-17.  He displays His glory within the limitations they can bear it-v18-23.  The spectacle of God and man speaking to one another in such intimate detail is truly amazing.

Moses wanted to know more, which is always the effect an infinite God will have on us.  In the verses, God's grace is prominent-v11, v12, v13, v16, v17.  From a source I cannot remember, I picked up a phrase that describes grace, the grace of God, as "compelling excellence", that is, such demeanour that compels our attention.  The grace of God is His unmerited favour bestowed upon undeserving individuals, and is said to be "the exceeding riches of grace" that will never be exhausted-Ephesians 2v7.  Forever, God will demonstrate His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  In a world of blame and counter blame, surely this is compelling, that the Majesty of heaven will be gracious to undeserving rebels!?  Moses was a murderer, albeit out of loyalty to his kinsman; he was also negligent in family life by failing to circumcise his son at the command of God.  The people whom he led out of Egypt had turned to rank idolatry, yet now God was prepared to forgive them, and take them to the promised land.  Such favour is compelling, coming from the Lord of heaven and earth, and it is no wonder Moses wanted to know more.  The request to be shewn His glory was somewhat misplaced, but understandable, for to know something of God compels us to want to know more.   This is God's answer to Moses request:

"I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy upon whom I will shew mercy".  

UNMISTAKABLY, HIS GLORY IS HIS GRACE!

There are many aspects of the glory of God.  Scripture abounds with the many facets of His glory that sets Him apart.  The word is kabod in Hebrew (200 times in KJV) and doxa in Greek (168 times in KJV).  The root of the word glory is WEIGHT, but figuratively so, suggesting value, worth, splendour which is evident to all.  The biblical study of the glory of God is inexhaustible, but we can tabulate a few here in order to grasp the meaning.  In all these aspects God is higher, greater, superior to all.

The glory of His eternal existence-Psalm 90v2; He is "the Ancient of days"-Daniel 7v9.  He is glorious in His faithfulness-Lamentations 3v23; 1st Peter 4v9-He is utterly dependable, the antithesis of all that is fickle and changeable (His promises are sure).  He is glorious in holiness-Isaiah 6v3; Rev. 4v8 He is the Lord of hosts, who live to proclaim His worth-He is apart from all sin and infirmity of man.  He is glorious in His impartiality-many times over we learn there is no respecter of persons with God-Deuteronomy 10v17; 2nd Chronicles 19v7;  Acts 10v34-35; Romans 2v11, 3v22, 10v12-13; Ephesians 6v9; Colossians 3v25.  He is glorious in His inscrutability-Job 11v7, Ecc. 3v11, 5v9, 8v17; Isaiah 40v13-14; Romans 11v33-36.  He is glorious in His omniscience, He knows all things, the end from the beginning, the past from the future; at all times He knows the trends of all groups and the character and actions of all individuals-refer Psalm 139v1-13,147v5, 33v13-16-nothing is hid from the eyes of Him who knows all.  He is glorious in His omnipotence-Joshua 10v10; Judges 4v15; 1st Samuel 7v10; Psalm 33v6-9, 68v14; Ezekiel 1v24; Daniel 4v17, v25, v32; Matthew 28v18; Revelation 11v15, 19v6.  He is glorious in His omnipresence; the word does not occur in scripture, but the fact of it is imprinted on almost every page; Psalm 139 records it, He is everywhere!  The plaque on the wall of my aunt and uncle said "God is the unseen guest at every table, the silent listener to every conversation".  Spurgeon said, "God is everywhere, His circumference is nowhere, but His centre is everywhere.  Others have said, "He is not nowhere, He is NOW HERE!"  The repeated assertion of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount was that the Father "sees in secret", there is nowhere God is not present.  We could go on "ad infinitim"-He is glorious in His longsuffering, His love, His mercy, His righteousness, His justice, His sovereignty, His wisdom, His truth, His compassion, His transcendence, His AURA-Christ is said to be the brightness (effulgence, outshining) of His glory.  Perhaps it was this appearance Moses wanted to see, but it was not possible; however he saw His back parts, as God in full shekinah glory passed him by.  God cannot be seen, physically, He dwells in light unapproachable (1st Tim. 6v16); even the angels who inhabit His presence must cover themselves before Him (Isaiah 6).  He reveals Himself in the face of Jesus Christ (2nd. Cor. 4v6).  

He says to Moses, "THERE IS A PLACE BY ME...", that place was in the cleft of a rock!  That is where Moses saw the glory of God, on the ledge of a cleft rock.  The picture is plain, we see all the goodness of God, His mercy and love and compassion at a very special place, the place where the rock was cleft...the place called Calvary, where Christ the Rock of ages was cleft for me, as the hymnwriter has penned it.  Christ on the cross is described as the wisdom of God, and the power of God (1st Cor. 1v24).  It is clear from Exodus 33, and a host of other scriptures that Christ on the cross is the glory of God, for it was at that place, and on that occasion, God was able to reveal Himself in all His fulness to sinners like myself.  No wonder Paul could write, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world"-Gal. 2v23.  For Paul, all the glory of this world fell to dust in light of the of the glory of God expressed on a Roman cross.

"God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST!"

This is nothing short of compelling excellence, the grace of God in Christ, which has opened the floodgates of mercy to mankind, to the praise of His glory.