Moses on the Mountain with the Lord
Part 18: Gazing at the Glory of God
Exodus 33:18-23
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Oct. 27, 2010
*Moses was an absolutely amazing man of God. The more we study his life, the more we can be inspired by his character.
*Last week we were inspired by Moses’ passion for the presence of God. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai with the Lord, the people committed a horrible sin by worshipping a false god. Part of the heart-breaking consequence of their sin is found in Exodus 33:3, where God told Moses: “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
*The people were losing the presence of God in a way that believers cannot on this side of the cross. Losing the presence of the Lord broke Moses’ heart, so he cried out to God in prayer, and the Lord graciously heard his prayer. And in vs. 14, God said: “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
*How much did Moses want to be in the presence of the Lord? -- In vs. 15, Moses told God: “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” In other words: “God, I would rather die here in this desert with you than live in the Promised Land without you!”
*Moses had great passion for the presence of the Lord, and God rewarded this passion. But Moses wanted even more. Moses wanted to gaze on the glory of God. Let’s think about gazing on God’s glory tonight, as we read Exodus 33:18-23.
18. And he said, "Please, show me Your glory."
19. Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
20. But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live."
21. And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.
22. 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.
23. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen."
*"Please, show me Your glory." -- There are 4 things to notice tonight about Moses’ request.
1. First: Notice the holy desire for God’s glory.
*Moses wanted to gaze on the glory of God, but what is the glory of God? -- We need to know, because God’s Word speaks of His glory 300 times!
*The first time we see God’s glory is in the Book of Exodus, and the last time we see His glory is in Rev 21:23, where the new city of Jerusalem was described. There the Bible tells us that: “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light.”
*Almost from cover to cover God speaks of His glory, but what is the glory of God? -- The Old Testament word picture for “glory” is a weight, something heavy. And God’s glory is heavy indeed. It is something that we should never take lightly.
*What is the glory of God? -- John Piper tells us that “Glory is a very hard thing to define. It is like the word ‘Beauty.’ We all can use it, but to try to reduce it to words is very frustrating. It is easier to point to examples.”
*Piper used the example of the 57-story I.D.S Center, which is the tallest building in Minneapolis, and he said: “A sunset seen from the top of the I.D.S. -- that’s glory. A perfectly executed 30-foot jump shot with one second to go, -- that’s glory, too.
*The glory of God (Piper says) is the beauty and excellence of His manifold perfections. It refers to His infinite and overflowing fullness of all that is good. . . God’s glory is the perfect harmony of all His attributes into one infinitely beautiful and personal being.” (1)
*Moses wanted to gaze on the glory of God. It was an audacious request. Some commentators even criticize Moses for making such a bold request. But notice that God didn’t criticize Moses for wanting to see more.
*In 2 Chronicles 7:14, when God gave Solomon the keys to revival, one of the things the Lord tells us to do is “seek my face.” God wants us to seek more and more of Him, because we can never get to the end.
*One preacher compared our understanding of God with our understanding of the ocean. He said, "I know the sea, but I don’t know the vastness of the sea. There is a part of the sea that washes up on the sands of my life. I can swim in it. It lulls me to sleep with its waves. And yet, I know only a very little part of the sea."
*Melvin Newland explained, “It’s the same way with God, isn’t it? -- He is so close we can almost reach out and touch Him. And yet, He is so magnificent that we will never completely understand all about Him.” (2)
*There is always more of the Lord to see, to know, to experience, -- and we should. In Psalm 34:8, David cries out to us: “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”
*Moses had tasted more of the Lord than anyone else of his generation. But he wanted more. And so should we.
-That’s the holy desire for God’s glory.
2. But also notice the helpful declaration with God’s glory.
*We see this declaration from the Lord in vs. 19: “Then He (the Lord) said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’”
*God’s glory is not enough for us. If all we had was the glory of God, we would be completely overwhelmed. In fact, we would be dead. But here in vs. 19, God gives more than His glory. He gives us the declaration of His name, His graciousness and His compassion.
*Here the Lord gives us a brief declaration of the gospel of God. And this is vital, because we cannot handle the glory of God without the gospel of God.
*During the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, Peter, James and John got a taste of the glory of God. It happened on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter later wrote about this in 2 Peter 1 and said:
16. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
*We have “a more sure word of prophecy” the KJV says. I like that translation. Peter was in no way doubting the experience that he had on the mountain with Jesus. In fact, we are completely sure about it, because that mountain-top experience is part of God’s Word today.
*But it is easy to see how Peter could say that the Old Testament Scripture was more sure than their time on the mountain.
-The Word of God was more sure because it came through more witnesses.
-The Word of God was more sure, because sometimes you can’t believe your own eyes.
*James Merritt explains: “Only three people saw this vision, and heard this voice, and he was one of those three. They were on that Mountain of Transfiguration, and saw Jesus in all of His glory. They heard the voice of God who said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Their experience was glorious and wonderful, but Peter also knew something about that experience, and that is, it was one never to be repeated, and one that can never again be experienced.
*So where does that leave us who have had no vision and heard no voice? Well, Peter tells us that God has given us something better than experience -- the Word of God. The point that Peter is making is: The word of God is more sure than what your eyes can see, and what your ears can hear. (3)
*We may never see the glory of Jesus Christ in this world, but we’ve got the message that will take us home to glory.
-In these verses we see a helpful declaration with God’s glory.
3. But also notice the huge danger of God’s glory.
*We see the danger in vs. 20, where the Lord told Moses: “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” The unveiled glory of God is a dangerous thing. We need to get a sense of the overpowering awesomeness of the glory of God.
*Thinking about Moses’ request, Robert Crilley said: “Speaking with the Almighty is one thing. Actually seeing His face is quite another. Like trying to drink from a waterfall, the unveiled glory of God would simply overwhelm us. (4)
*In 2 Chronicles 7, when Solomon was dedicating the Temple, the Bible says:
1. Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
2. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.
3. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying: "For He is good, for His mercy endures forever.’’
*Isaiah 2 speaks of fearsome judgment coming on the house of Jacob, and all those who refuse to walk in the light of the Lord. Listen again for the overwhelming power of the glory of God:
7. Their land is also full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is also full of horses, and there is no end to their chariots.
8. Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.
10. Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty.
11. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
19. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily.
*There are other good examples:
-When God called the prophet Isaiah, he saw the glory of God, and he said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5)
-The Apostle Paul was struck to the ground and blinded by the glory of the Risen Savior. Paul would later testify: “Since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.” (Acts 22:11)
-Near the end of his first letter to Timothy, Paul urged the young preacher:
14. that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,
15. which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
16. who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. (1 Tim 6:14-16)
*The glory of the Lord is dangerous to frail creatures like us, because it is so completely overwhelming.
*But there is even a greater danger for us from the glory of God, because it is the holy, holy, holy standard by which God measures our lives.
-This is the earth-shaking message that God gives us in the little verse we often use to witness for Jesus. It’s Romans 3:23, where God says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We could no more measure up to the glory of God, than a germ could become President of the United States!
*This is the huge danger of God’s glory.
4. Thank God that here we also see the Hand of defense from God’s glory.
*The Hand of defense from God’s glory is God’s own Hand, and we see it starting in vs. 21:
21. And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.
22. 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.
23. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
*With His own Hand, God did two wonderful things for Moses: First, the Lord put Moses in that cleft or protective crevice. Then as the Lord passed by, He shielded Moses with His own Hand.
*And 1,500 years later, God would wrap all of the glory of His Hand in human flesh, so that His Hands could be nailed to a cross for our sins. Jesus Christ, God Himself, is our only protection from His glory. No one can safely see the glory of God, unless they have trusted in the saving Hand of God.
*And the rock of safety in this Scripture is another picture of the salvation we have in Jesus Christ. The Lord Himself is the real Rock of our salvation!
*One day during a terrible storm, Augustus Toplady hid between two massive towers of rock. And he was inspired to write these words of praise to Jesus:
“Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.”
*Toplady knew about storms in life. Most of his life he was afflicted with sickness. He died at the young age of 38. Listen to his final words: “My heart beats every day stronger & stronger for glory. Sickness is no affliction, pain no cause, death itself no dissolution. My prayers are now all converted into praise.” (5)
*Toplady was trusting in the Rock of our Salvation. He was trusting in the saving Hand of God. So should we! The only way to safely see the glory of God is through the saving Hand of God.
*Let’s go to the Lord in prayer.
1. Adapted from SermonCentral sermon “GOD CREATED US FOR HIS GLORY” by John Piper - Isaiah 43:1-7 - July 27, 1980
2. SermonCentral sermon “God, Show Me Your Glory!” by Melvin Newland - Exodus 33:18-23
3. Adapted from ChristianGlobe.com sermon “The Fountain of Truth” by James Merritt - 2 Peter 1:12-21
4. ChristianGlobe.com sermon “Veiled Glimpses of God’s Glory” by Robert S. Crilley - Exodus 33:12-23
5. Sources:
http://nethymnal.org/htm/r/o/rockages.htm
SermonCentral sermon “God Is in Trouble” by Mike Turner - Psalm 46:1-3
