The power of this drama, the words and imagery used to describe it, is unsurpassed in all human documentation, timeless, and as close to the Eternal as language can take us. I will never forget, when a sophomore in college, I read it as if it was the first time I ever noticed it, and it gripped my soul, and has never let go, even after 50 years. And I am but one out of countless people over the millennia who have been utterly enchanted by it.
Moses had just received what he wanted from YHWH; His presence would dwell in their midst and the construction of the Tabernacle would move forward. All this was pure grace, and had nothing directly to do with the people, but because of Moses’ intercession, and the fact he had a relational track record with YHWH; that is, YHWH favored him in the past and knew him by name. It is at this point Moses, in a most spontaneous and gutsy way, blurted out a request that perhaps startled even himself: “Show me your glory!” Here we must quote the whole of YHWH’s answer because every phrase is packed with fathomless meaning:
The Lord answered: I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim my name, “Lord,” before you; I who show favor to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will. But you cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live. Here, continued the Lord, is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. When my glory passes I will set you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face may not be seen.
Notice first YHWH’s attitude toward Moses and his daring request. He is direct, open, and underneath it all, He is obviously pleased. He is pleased because He loves to reveal Himself to longing souls. In fact, YHWH was bringing Moses to this point all along from his first encounter at the burning bush. YHWH proceeds to explain, in a most matter of fact way, what He can do and what He cannot do. He will make all my “goodness” pass before him and proclaim His name before him. It is noteworthy that YHWH’s goodness is paralleled to His glory passing before Moses in this same passage. They are not obvious synonyms, but we observe that goodness is the gentler of the two terms, for most often, when God reveals His glory, it is in judgement. But here He does so in gracious revelation of a benevolent Creator who created all things good and glorious like Himself.
Proclaiming His name before Moses is an interesting reversal of what is most common in Scripture, that of calling on the name of YHWH. The name motif we have encountered before, especially when God promised He would make Abraham’s name great. A name is an extension of one’s own essential being, and for YHWH to reveal His name was to entrust His very personhood to Moses. We will see what this entails in the next posts. YHWH then reveals His absolute sovereignty over the graces of favor and mercy which He bestows upon persons.
At this point the text presents us with the grandest paradox of all. Earlier, in verse 11 we find that Moses spoke to YHWH “face to face.” Here YHWH informs Moses nobody can see His face and live. We are intentionally left with a great tension between YHWH’s immanence and transcendence. Moses did indeed experience with his fleshly eyes, not by dream or vision, something absolutely unique among all the prophets, an unsurpassed intensity of YHWH’s glory. On the other hand, his flesh could not survive the full exposure to YHWH’s uncreated glory. It translated in the end of seeing the “back side” of YHWH as He passed Moses, covered with YHWH’s protecting hand, and hidden in the “cleft of the rock.” St. Cyril of Jerusalem provides this insight into this paradox:
Moses says to him, “Show me yourself.” You see that then also the prophets saw Christ, that is, in the measure each was able. “Show me yourself, that I may see you clearly.” But he said, “No one sees me and still lives.” Therefore, because no one could see the face of the Godhead and live, he assumed the face of human nature, that seeing this we might live. Yet, when he wished to show even this with a little majesty, at the same time when “his face shone as the sun,” the disciples fell to the earth terrified. His bodily countenance shined, not according to the full power of him who wrought it but in the measure the disciples could bear. Now if this terrified them and even thus they could not bear it, how could anyone gaze upon the majesty of the Godhead? It is a great thing you desire, O Moses, the Lord says; and I approve your insatiable longing and “this word I will do” for you, but according to your capacity. “Behold, I will set you in the hollow of this rock”; for as you are small, you will lodge in a small place.
Catechetical Lecture 10.7.
A key phrase in the above quote is “I approve your insatiable longing…” When Moses finished his business of intercession, his heart burst open with the ultimate request for the ultimate experience, fueled by a deep down longing burning in the depth of his soul. It is only when we dig deep enough into our interior can we recognize this longing, and let it erupt fully into our consciousness, brushing aside all earthly and temporal desires. To see God is to become like God, as John the Evangelist so eloquently teaches us:
Beloved, we are children of God now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Takeaway: To gaze upon God’s glory is the ultimate experience a human being was made for.
Questions:
- What sort of things do you find yourself longing for in your day to day life?
- What happens within your soul when you read this narrative of Moses’ speaking with God “face to face just as a man speaks with his friend,” and his request to see God’s glory? Do you relate with this at all? Explain.
Resources Used:
ACCS, vol. III on Exodus.