See the Glory of the Lord
Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-7
Have you ever been disappointed when you got to this point in the narrative? Moses had asked to see God’s glory. God told him plainly, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” (Exodus 33:20) Yet God promised, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.” (Verses 21-23) Moses got up early the next morning, eager with anticipation, and went up the mountain to see God!
When I was young, I was also excited to hear about what Moses saw. What does God’s glory look like? But Moses doesn’t describe what he saw, only what he heard. Yet, when you know the holy wrath of God against your sin and you hear God say He wanted to destroy His sinful people and make a great nation from Moses, then there is nothing more glorious than this description of God’s grace and mercy. This week we want to learn to see God’s glory in this revelation of His nature.
O most gracious LORD, show us your glory in your grace and mercy in the face of our sinfulness. Fill us with joy and gladness in your glory. Amen.