THE PRESENCE AND GLORY OF THE LORD.
Exodus 33:12-23.
1. Show Me Thy Way (Exodus 33:12-17).
EXODUS 33:12. Earlier in the chapter the LORD had said: ‘Go up hence, thou and the people… unto the land which I sware unto Abraham… I will send an angel before thee (cf. Exodus 33:1-2). Yet Moses now asked, in effect, ‘Who will go with me?’ Moses argued that the LORD had also said, “I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.”
EXODUS 33:13-15. Moses sought reassurance of this fact: “show me now thy way;” and also reminded the LORD “that this nation is thy people.” The LORD graciously promised “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give you rest.” Moses no doubt heaved a sigh of relief; but then countered, “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.”
EXODUS 33:16-17. Moses, who had earlier put his life on the line in interceding for Israel (cf. Exodus 32:31-32), now identified with them as “I and thy people.” Moses argued that, after all, the only thing that makes Israel distinct from the other nations is the presence of the LORD with them. The LORD reassured Moses of His favour, and promised that He would “also” be with Israel.
2. Show Me Thy Glory (Exodus 33:18-23).
EXODUS 33:18. Having asked the LORD to 'show me now thy way' (cf. Exodus 33:13), Moses next waxed bold to ask: “I beseech thee, show me thy glory.” In the building of the Golden Calf, the people had desired to have something to look upon when they worshipped; Moses himself now desired that he might look upon the fulness of the glory of the LORD.
The children of Israel had already seen the glory of the LORD ‘as a devouring fire on the top of the mount’ (cf. Exodus 24:17); and Moses had already encountered the glory of the LORD ‘in the midst of the cloud’ (cf. Exodus 24:18).
However, Moses sought a further revelation. Is it not the case that once we come to know the LORD through our Lord Jesus Christ, we desire ever onwards to get to know Him better?
EXODUS 33:19. Yet Moses could not look upon the full glory of the LORD, as He will explain in the next verse. What He does allow, in His gracious condescension, is that He would make “all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee.”
Something of the goodness of the LORD is demonstrated in His grace and mercy in the second part of this verse. This is not capriciousness on the part of the LORD, as the Apostle Paul explains in quoting this verse in Romans 9:14-16.
“The Name” represents who the LORD is: ‘I AM THAT I AM’ (cf. Exodus 3:14); ‘merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth’ (cf. Exodus 34:6).
EXODUS 33:20. It is written that ‘the LORD spoke to Moses face to face’ (cf. Exodus 33:11; Numbers 12:8). Perhaps we should read this as a metaphor, since the LORD said here in this verse, “no man shall see my face and live” (cf. Exodus 19:21).
EXODUS 33:21-22. So, whilst the LORD in His mercy sets limits to His own self-revelation, which would otherwise be fatal to the observer; he does condescend to offer a fuller vision of Himself whilst protecting His servant from the consequences of seeing Him. Moses was to stand on a rock, and the LORD would hide him in “a cleft of the rock.”
The Cleft Rock represents Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:4), and Him crucified (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:2). The Christian’s life is ‘hid with Christ in God’ (cf. Colossians 3:3). To quote a hymn: ‘Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee.’
EXODUS 33:23. The LORD did allow Moses to see something of His glory (cf. Exodus 34:6). But here again He set limits, for the protection of His servant: Moses would only see the back of the LORD.
Even as things are now, when we have a greater view of the glory of God through our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. John 1:14); the greatest, fullest revelation awaits us in another state when we shall at last ‘see Him as He is’ (cf. 1 John 3:2).
