Exodus 33:18-20. 18Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
There is very little in life more important than glory. Glory is the God given longing of every human heart. We’re all glory seekers. Glory is why we get out of bed in the morning. It’s why we do everything – work, play, eat, drink. Man’s quest for glory is why we storm beaches, and hold babies. It’s why you will risk loving another person, and why rejection stings so bad.
Everything in the universe, from constellations to centipedes, was created with some level of glory. Human beings, as image bearers of God, are the most glorious thing in creation. Which is why it’s so easy for us to become addicted to our own glory instead of seeking God’s.
But what is glory? In the Bible, the word means weight. It carries the idea of having meaning, or significance. Interestingly, on the mountain with Moses, God will define his glory as his goodness – Please show me your glory….I will make all my goodness pass before you. You may remember that creation began in goodness, as in “and it was all very good.” Goodness occurs when something is living up to its design. Therefore, glory is the opposite of shame or feeling “less than”, imperfect, failing to be what you were created to be. Isn’t that what we all want out of life? A glory to cover our shame? Isn’t that what Moses’ audacious prayer in Exodus 33 shows us?
Moses’ request to see God’s glory comes right after the Hebrews’ great sin of crafting and worshiping the golden calf. As God told Adam in the garden, sin leads to death, but Moses interceded for the people, pleading for forgiveness, mercy, and the knowledge of God, even in the midst of their great failure.
God responds to Moses’ prayer with a living object lesson. A foreshadowing of Christ. Yes, God will let the people live and even go to the Promised Land, but with a catch. God himself will not go with them.
Exodus 33:3. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.
God was offering them his blessings without his presence. But Moses knew what we all need to learn – only the glory of God’s presence can cover the shame of our hearts. Moses could have prayed God, get us to the promised land. Or, God, please don’t kill us all. And he did. But Moses’ final prayer, his ultimate prayer, was God show me your glory. Because without the shame covering glory of God’s presence even the “blessed life” is not worth living.
Moses asked to see God’s glory and God graciously allowed it. But what’s even more gracious is that God has answered this prayer for you and me before we even prayed it. God has shown us his glory in Christ Jesus and we didn’t even have to ask. The truth is we never would have. We would have been content with chasing all of our lesser glories. But in Christ, we never have to live that way again.
2 Corinthians 4:6. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
To live is Christ means our search for glory is over. We have found our significance in his grace. We have found our purpose in the sacrifice of the cross. We have found our life’s meaning in learning to love like Jesus.
You: What lesser glories do you tend to chase after? Work? Sex? Status? Productivity?
You in Christ: How does your union with Christ satisfy your longing for glory?
Christ in you: How can you both behold and display the glory of Christ’s sacrificial love today?
To Live is Christ 