2 September Exodus 33

Show me your glory

In Exodus 33, the Lord delivered the bad news to his people that he would not go with them to the Promised Land because they were “a stubborn and rebellious people” (33:3). Moses was distressed by this revelation and sought to change God’s mind. When God finally promised to do as Moses had asked and to go with him as he led the Israelites , Moses asked one more thing: “Then show me your glory”

Exodus 33:18-23 (EASY) “Then Moses said, ‘Please, show me your glory!’ The Lord said, ‘I will let you see how great and good I am. I will tell you my name, that I am the Lord. If I choose to be kind to someone, I will be kind to them. If I choose to forgive someone, I will forgive them. But you will never see my face. Nobody can see my face and still be alive. Then the Lord said, ‘Look! There is a place near to me. You can stand there on a rock. When my glory passes in front of you, I will put you in a hole in the rock. I will cover your eyes with my hand as I pass by there. Then I will remove my hand so that you will see my back. But nobody must ever see my face”.

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” The glory of the Lord refers to the presence of the Lord. Moses did not want to do anything without the presence of the Lord.

Exodus 33:14-18 (EASY) “The Lord replied, ‘I myself will go with you. I will give you rest. Then Moses said, ‘If you do not agree to go with us, do not let us go anywhere. If you do not go with us, nobody will know that you are pleased with me. Nobody will know that you are pleased with us as your special people. I, and all your people, will be the same as all the other people in the world.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will certainly do what you have asked for. This is because I am pleased with you. I know you by your name.’ 18 Then Moses said, ‘Please, show me your glory!”

It seems that the more Moses experienced God, the more he wanted of Him. Most of us are content with our limited relationship with God. The word glory comes from the Hebrew word kabowd (kaw-bode’), and this words means “abundance.”. When Moses is asking God to show him more of His glory, he is asking God for an abundance or overflow of Himself in Moses’ life. Encountering the glory of God is all about allowing God to give you the abundance of His presence.

Throughout the scripture, we see people hungry for God's glory, the following scripture leads to reflection on this:

Isaiah 26:9 (AMP) “In the night my soul longs for You [O Lord], Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For [only] when Your judgments are experienced on the earth Will the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness” .

Psalm 42:2 (AMP) “My soul (my life, my inner self) thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and see the face of God?”.

Psalm 63:1 (AMP) “O God, You are my God; with deepest longing, I will seek You; My soul [my life, my very self] thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water”.

John 3:30 (AMP) “He must increase [in prominence], but I must decrease”.

C.S. Lewis said: “But the trouble is that we call “asking God’s forgiveness” very often really this consists of asking God to accept our excuses.” Further explained by Kyle Echols: “One of the main reasons we do not encounter the abundance of God in our lives is because we are already filled with our own personal abundance”.

*What is God’s Glory?*

Isaiah 6:3 (ESV) “And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”. I quote: “The glory of God is the manifest beauty of his holiness. It is the going public of his holiness. It is the way he puts his holiness on display for people to apprehend. So, the glory of God is the holiness of God made manifest.” - John Piper. The Psalmist speaks to God’s glory in Psalm 19:1 (ESV) “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork”.

*Jesus was the glory in the human body.*

Hebrews 1:3 (AMP) “The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority]”.

The Bible reveals that the fullness of God dwells inside His human body. Jesus is the radiant glory of the Father. If we seek the presence of Jesus with all of our heart, we will always find ourselves in His glory.

*God created us for his glory.*

Isaiah 43:7 (NIV) “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made”

It can be said that man “glorifies” God because, through man, God’s glory can be seen in things such as love, music, heroism and so forth, things belonging to God that we are carrying “in jars of clay. This is confirmed in 2 Corinthians 4:7 (NLT) “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves”.

I quote Rick Warren:

“The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory of God. It is the reason for everything that exists, including you. God made it all for his glory. Without God’s glory, there would be nothing.”

“When you use your life for God's glory, everything you do can become an act of worship”

Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (AMP) So then, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of [our great] God.

One way we can glorify God in our work, is to do our very best. This Paul explains in:

Colossians 3:23 (AMP) “Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men”.

Colossians 1:16 (TLB) “Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory”.

*Glorifying God in everything* means we honour Him in our thoughts and actions. Our thoughts are to be set on the things of God and the Word of God. When we focus on God’s Word, we know what is right and can follow through with doing what is right.

*Glorifying God in faith:* Hebrews 11:6 (AMP) But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.

*Glorifying God in love:* Romans 12:9 (EASY) “Really love other people, not like a hypocrite. Hate anything that is bad. Continue to do things that are good”.

*Glorifying God by Denying oneself:* Luke 9:23-24 (EASY) “Then Jesus said to all the people that were there, ‘A person who wants to be my disciple must not think about himself. He must decide that his own life is not important. Every day he must be like someone who carries his own cross to go and die. Then he may come with me as my disciple. Whoever wants to keep his own life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me will have true life”.

*Glorifying God by being filled with the Spirit:* Ephesians 5:18 (EASY) “Do not drink too much wine so that you become drunk. That will destroy your life. Instead, let God's Spirit fill you”.

*Glorifying God as “living sacrifices”;* Romans 12:1 (EASY) “My Christian friends, God has been very kind to us. Because of that, I really want you to serve God with your whole life. Offer your bodies to him like a sacrifice that continues to live. Serve him with everything that you have and that will please him. That is the true way to worship God”.

*How hungry are you for the glory of God?*

Exodus 33:12-20 (EASY) “Moses said to the Lord, ‘You have said to me, “Lead these people to their new land.” But you have not told me who my helper will be on the journey. You have told me, “I know you by your name. I am very pleased with you.” If you are really pleased with me, tell me your thoughts. I want to understand you properly. Then I can continue to please you. Remember that this nation, the Israelites, are your own people.’ The Lord replied, ‘I myself will go with you. I will give you rest. Then Moses said, ‘If you do not agree to go with us, do not let us go anywhere. If you do not go with us, nobody will know that you are pleased with me. Nobody will know that you are pleased with us as your special people. I, and all your people, will be the same as all the other people in the world.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will certainly do what you have asked for. This is because I am pleased with you. I know you by your name.’ Then Moses said, ‘Please, show me your glory!’ The Lord said, ‘I will let you see how great and good I am. I will tell you my name, that I am the Lord. If I choose to be kind to someone, I will be kind to them. If I choose to forgive someone, I will forgive them. But you will never see my face. Nobody can see my face and still be alive”.