Show me Your Glory!

"And Moses said, I beseech You, show me Your glory. And God said, I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim My name, THE LORD, before you... But, He said, you can not see My face, for no man shall see Me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place beside Me, and you shall stand upon the rock, and while My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and 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." (Exodus 33:18-23, Amplified Bible)

What an amazing experience! I love Moses's boldness. Chapter 19:18-19 of Exodus, describes how the mountain was shaking because of God's presence and was all covered in smoke, thundering and lightning. The whole nation of Israel was trembling with fear. But this doesn't stop Moses to dare beyond all daring and ask to see God's glory. What a thing to ask when you saw all that magnificent manifestation. It is as if Moses knew there was more to God than met the eye. It is the same feeling that makes us sing the closer we get to Him "There must be more than this".

"Show me Your glory" Moses asked. But what's even more amazing is the fact that God agrees. What is He actually doing here? I think He wants Moses close, He wants closeness, because He says to Moses "Behold, there is a place besides Me." He wants Moses to know Him for who He really is: "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim My name, Adonai, before you..." In the Romanian translation of the Bible goodness is replaced with beauty, and I love it: "I will make all My beauty pass before you, and I will proclaim My name, Adonai, before you..."

Adonai wants Moses close but He doesn't want Moses to be killed by His presence so He gives Him "survival instructions". A large part of the Bible is just that- survival instructions. Guidance for "chose life that you may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19). But another large part is- how you may find Me? One of the verses that intrigued me and challenged me the most after I read it is: "You will seek Me and you will find Me, if you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you" declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 29:13-14). The majority of us stop at Jeremiah 29:11, thrilled about God's plans to give us a hope and a future, and fail to focus on the next three verses, where all the beauty is. I was happy to find out about having a hope and a future, but when I read verses 13 and 14, for me it was like starting a treasure hunt: "If He said I will find Him, then I will find Him. I will seek His face until I find Him." If anyone wants to know me, all they have to do is read my notebooks. All of me is in those pages. By association, if I want to know God, everything I need to know is in His journal- the Bible.

Something that remained with me from reading about Moses's moment with God, was that when Moses asked to see His glory, God could have done absolutely anything. In chapter 19 of Exodus, He was shaking the mountains just by being there. Many of us who are looking for miracles and signs, so that they may see God, would have said: "that is the glory of our God!". God on the other hand thinks His glory is His Name. He is The Name- Hashem. He passes Moses by and speaks His Name:

"And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord! the Lord! a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, keeping mercy and loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and fourth generation." (Exodus 34:6-7, Amplified Bible)

This is how He described Himself- loving, merciful, patient, gracious and just. I think above signs and miracles, this is what He wants us to know about Him. Above and beyond His power, omniscience, omnipresence, this is how He wants to be known. This is His glory!

Be blessed today.

Emanuela