What Does It Look Like to See God’s Glory?

There is a moment in the book of Exodus that stops you in your tracks. Moses, one of the most remarkable leaders in all of Scripture, a man who had witnessed a burning bush, watched plagues descend on Egypt, seen the Red Sea part, and followed a pillar of cloud and fire through the wilderness, stands before God and asks a single, breathtaking question: “Show me your glory.”

It is a bold request. Perhaps even an audacious one. But before we judge Moses for asking it, it helps to understand the circumstances that drove him there.

A Leader at the End of His Rope

Exodus 32 is not easy reading. Moses has been up on the mountain with God long enough that the people he leads have grown restless, anxious, and spiritually reckless. They melt down their gold jewelry and fashion a golden calf. They bow before it. They declare that this idol is the god who brought them out of Egypt. Aaron, the man left in charge, either leads this charge or fails to stop it. Either way, the result is catastrophic.

When Moses comes down from the mountain and sees what has unfolded, the situation deteriorates further. He destroys the calf, burns it, grinds it to powder, mixes it with water, and forces the people to drink it. Then, in a moment that no commentator can describe as Moses’ finest hour, he calls forward those loyal to God and commands a violent reckoning that costs thousands of lives.

This is a passage full of discomfort, and it is worth sitting with that discomfort honestly. Scripture does not sanitize its heroes. Moses was furious, grieved, and perhaps overwhelmed. What this passage ultimately reveals is the weight of leading people who, despite witnessing miracle after miracle, still could not seem to grasp what God was doing among them.

And then God says something that shakes Moses to his core. In Exodus 33:1-3, God tells Moses to take the people to the promised land, but adds that He will not be going with them. He would send an angel instead. The people were too stiff-necked, and God’s holiness in their midst might consume them entirely.

For Moses, this was unacceptable.

The Promised Land Is Not About Milk and Honey

What follows in Exodus 33 is one of the most remarkable exchanges in all of Scripture. Moses goes back to God again and again, interceding, arguing, pleading. He essentially says: if your presence does not go with us, do not send us at all. The destination means nothing without the One who makes it a destination worth having.

This is a profound reorientation of what the promised land actually means. The milk and the honey, the fertile soil, the geographic inheritance, none of that is the point. The point is the presence of God. The promised land is only the promised land if God is there. Without His presence, it is just another piece of land.

This same logic echoes in the New Testament when Jesus says to the thief crucified beside him that today he would be with him in paradise. Paradise is not primarily a location on a map or a future destination on a timeline. Paradise is being in relationship with Jesus. That is the gift being offered, then and now.

Glory Revealed as Goodness

When God finally responds to Moses’ request to see His glory, the answer is surprising. God does not show Moses raw, blinding divine power. Instead, He passes before Moses and proclaims His own character. In Exodus 34, God declares Himself to be merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.

This declaration is so foundational that it is repeated at least six more times throughout the Old Testament, in Psalms, Joel, Jonah, and elsewhere. It becomes a kind of creedal statement about who God is. His glory is not primarily a display of overwhelming force. His glory is His character. His glory is His love.

This is the thread that runs from Sinai all the way to Bethlehem and then to Calvary.

The Word Tabernacled Among Us

In John chapter 1, the language of Exodus 34 resurfaces in a stunning way. The text describes Jesus as being full of grace and truth, the same qualities God proclaimed about Himself to Moses on the mountain. John says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and the word translated “dwelt” carries the meaning of tabernacling, of pitching a tent, of taking up residence. It is the same concept that shaped the wilderness sanctuary where Moses would meet with God.

What Moses could only hear and partially glimpse, the world was now able to see face to face. Jesus is described in Hebrews 1:3 as the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being. The question Moses asked on the mountain, “Show me your glory,” was answered completely in the person of Jesus Christ.

Glory Proven at the Cross

But the fullest proof of that glory came at Calvary. In John 12:23, Jesus speaks of the hour of the Son of Man being glorified, and He is speaking of the cross. At the moment of His greatest suffering, Jesus prays for the forgiveness of those crucifying Him. He does not call down judgment. He intercedes.

This is the same posture Moses took on the mountain, arguing before God on behalf of a stiff-necked people who did not deserve his advocacy. Jesus does the same, not just for Israel, but for all of humanity. Romans 5:8 captures it plainly: God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The Question You Would Ask

If you could ask God one question right now, what would it be? Why is there suffering? Why do people keep making the same mistakes? Why does it feel like things are going backwards?

Whatever your question, the good news is that God can handle it. Hebrews invites us to come boldly before the throne with our requests, our doubts, and our wonderings. Moses asked to see God’s glory, and God answered. He is still answering. He answers through the person of Jesus, who said plainly in John 14:9 that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father.

God’s glory is not a spectacle designed to overwhelm you. It is a love designed to meet you exactly where you are, stiff-necked and all.

Go deeper by watching the sermon connected to this Blog Post: https://youtu.be/KtBm8Vr414A?si=FPE7ytwX69w5EHfO