The Reformed Church of Locust Valley Pentecost XXII October 20, 2002 Ex. 33:12-23, Mt. 22:15-22
“Trying Hard to See God”
“…I will cover you with my hand until I have
passed by; then I shall take away
my hand, and you shall see my back.”
- Exodus 33:22b,23
If you really want to understand the Bible, you need to have a child’s imagination.
This is not to say the Bible is childish – not by a long shot! It a book by adults for adults, with some exceptions. In fact, it is so X-rated that it used to amaze me that it was even allowed in our high school library! And there it was, in the reference section no less!
The Bible is God’s word for us. But it will help it if you approach it as a child approaches it, or remember how you read it when you were a child, if you were fortunate enough to have read it when you were a child.
A young boy – a boy with faith – reading these passages about Moses would want to be Moses – to have the kind of experiences Moses had. And there is one dimension of Moses’ religious experience in particular we would want to have – an intimacy with God – to actually meet and converse with God. Like two friends. (“Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” Ex. 33:11a) This was at the time of their wilderness wanderings, and Moses would take the tent of meeting out of their camp. And Moses would go into the tent. And the pillar of cloud would descend and block the entrance of the tent. And there the Lord would speak to Moses personally, Moses only, Moses as a friend; as it were face to face.
For any person who loves God, there can be no higher ambition than a face to face conversation with the God of the universe. And Moses had that, and any child reading this story would say, I wish I could be like Moses and talk to God like that.
But despite those conversations, Moses yearned for more. He wanted to behold God’s presence, literally to see him. Moses asks God if he can see his glory.
Moses is asking for certainty. God has freed them from Egypt and brought them into the wilderness where they will wander for a generation. God is feeding them manna and quails and giving them fresh water in the desert. He has promised them a homeland, but the truth is, they are homeless. Their roots are in Egypt, but they were only slaves there. Today’s needs are taken care of by the grace of God, but the truth is, they have no assurance other than God’s promise that tomorrow they will not starve or die of thirst. And they have a destination, but they know nothing about it. God has promised them a land flowing with milk and honey, but the truth is, it is utterly unkown to them.
So isn’t it natural that Moses wishes to be just a little more sure? On the one hand he has a demanding God. On the other hand he is leading a frightened and cantankerous people. So he is in essence saying to God, Give me just a little more. I know we talk like we’re face to face, but let’s make it literally face to face, just one time, to make it a little easier for me to trust you and lead confidently.”
So because it is a natural inclination to want to see God, and because Moses needs a little more certainty, he asks God this, “Show me your glory, I pray(Ex. 33:18).”
So God offers Moses something, but not everything. “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, the Lord’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live (Ex. 33:19,20).”
So God is going to let his goodness pass before Moses, and proclaim his name with his own voice, but prevent Moses from seeing the face of God. Instead God will let him see his back. The Bible says, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by, then I shall take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen (Ex. 33:21b-23).”
So God walks by, and with his own hand, covers the opening in the rocks where Moses stands peering upward. So he sees God’s palm. Then God, having passed by and facing away, lifts his hand and Moses glances up and sees God walking away, sees God himself, but only God’s back.
I wonder what that means?
We know this for sure – it means God is with Moses. He is there. He listens and he responds.
We know for sure also that it means this – since Moses sees only God’s back, where is God? God is moving ahead of the people. Leading them. That’s something Moses needed to know. And it is something we need to know too. We need these two things in our arsenal for living. We need to know that God is there, listening and responding.
At the funeral home, when with broken hearts we weep and lean on the ones we love and cry on their shoulders. At the funeral service, when the Pastor reads the Bible and prays and reassures us of eternal life, we need to know that God hears and responds.
When we lose our jobs, and worry so much about what tomorrow might bring, we need to know that God listens and responds.
When it’s three o’clock in the morning and your kid hasn’t come home yet, and each minute drags like an hour, you need to know God is listening and responding. Moses found out.
And we need to know God is out there in charge and leading us and the world. Life gets scary, even for the bravest. Our economy is staggering a bit. The drums of war are getting dusted off. We wonder if we’ll be making the mortgage payments, or if our lifestyles will have to slide, or if we’ll be able to do the things we’re dreamed of and yearned to do. We wonder what will happen to our church. And we need to know, that we are not alone in a heartless, cold, decaying universe, but that God is in charge, and leading us somewhere – somewhere good. That in the future is life; abundant life and heaven. Moses found out. He saw God, not God’s face, but God walking ahead, leading the way. Moses needed that. We need that!
There is one more thing. One powerful truth this odd and haunting story of seeing God’s back tells us.
The truth is that we sometimes see where God has been by looking back. Not by seeing God’s face, but by seeing where he has been where he has passed by.
One of the neat things about boating is looking at the wake. When you are on a ship, you look over the stern, and you see the neat rows of waves and bubbles gurgling behind the ship. You know the ship is moving by looking over the back.
When you sail, if the wind is light, and you look ahead, it might seem as if you are not moving at all. But if you look behind the boat, you will see little swirls and eddies by the stern which show, that, yes, you are making progress though moving slowly. That, yes, you are moving forward.
When you walk in the snow, you can make out your progress by looking at the tracks you’ve made in the smooth surface.
You and I may not actually be able to see God, not physically like Moses did that strange day long ago, but we can see where God has been.
So, if you drive down Ryefield Road in Locust Valley, you will see a pretty, white, wood frame church building. And that building says something. It says, “the glory of God passed by this spot.” You can’t see the glory of God, not physically, but you can see God’s back, as it were, the wake of where he was. People built this church. People of faith. They took a chance. They gave their money and their time and they got together and built this. And other generations have come and in faith have supported this church and done God’s work here, and loved God here and read and listened to his word – and you see God here – his back – where he was.
And if you look at someone sitting in the pew, you might say, “the glory of God passed by this spot.” Years ago, in some cases too many years to remember, a Sunday School teacher who loved Jesus, gave hours during the week and Sunday morning to lead a class and share her love of the Bible and Jesus Christ, and now, this person who was then a wondering child is now a pillar of the church, giving the tithe, praying, doing mission and ministry and you can see God here – his back – where he was.
And if you go to the state penitentiary, you will see men, though they have committed crimes, treated decently, well fed and warmly clothed and being taught and maybe even reformed, because people, inspired by Jesus, saw inhumane prisons and said, human beings should never be treated like this. And you might say, “the glory of God passed by this spot.” And here you can see God – his back – where he was.
And if you go to a remote village in Africa, you will see people herding goats. They were poor to the point of starvation, but now they have dignity and work and resources and commerce and food on the table, because churches like ours helped them. And you might say, “the glory of the God passed this spot.” And here you can see God – his back – where God was.
And in the hospital, someone is receiving a blood transfusion. Without they would have died. There is no law that says you must give your blood to help someone. Your blood is your own. But someone allowed a needle to be slipped into his vein, and he pumped out a pint, and that pint is now being drained into a suffering person, literally bringing the fluid of life. And you might say, “the glory of God passed this spot.” And there you can see God – his back – where God was.
Is this the truth Moses learned that day? The future remains a mystery. Maybe it’s better that way. Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be. It is certainly the way God is leaving it. We know we shall be changed, received by God and live with God eternally. Jesus showed us that. But there is much else we don’t know. We cannot see the face of God. We do not know why people suffer. We do not know why cancer claims little children or our husbands and wives. We do not know why a good woman is snuffed out by a sniper’s bullet – senselessly and stupidly! We cannot see the face of God. We would die if we did, says the Bible. But we have him with us, listening and responding, we can see him ahead of us, leading us to peace and justice and heaven. And we can see where he has been. The wake, the footprints of God, God’s tracks in the snow, are the difference he has made where he has touched his people to love their neighbors as themselves.
When Jesus was here walking the world, we knew where he had been. He left the religious people challenged. He left the leper whole. He left the sinful forgiven. He left the Temple cleansed. He left disciples equipped to witness. He left the lame leaping for joy. He left the blind seeing. He left the hungry full. He left the poor rich. He left the mourners consoled. He left the seekers at their destination. He left the lost back home. He left the weary rested. He left those who wanted to trap him astonished. He left the weak strong. He left the sick well. He left the outcast loved and welcomed.
We are the people with whom God goes…in front of whom walks God. Where we have been and spoken and lived and worked, people should be able to say, “the glory of God passed by this spot.” What will you do this week that will be evidence that God walked across your cleft of rock?
Fred D. Mueller
