Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory." And the Lord said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Then the Lord said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen. The Lord said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain." So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped." Exodus 33:18-23, 34:1-8
Any minute now, I expect to receive word that my daughter, Danielle, has been rushed to the hospital and has given birth to her first child (and my first grandchild). Little Maddox has been in the womb for more than 9 months now and God has been carefully crafting every part of him, preparing him for his entry into His creation. And when Maddox emerges through the birth cavity, he will come into a new world far different than the one he has lived in over the last 9 plus months. He will emerge into uncertainty but there is one certainty he will have with him from the beginning: his birth and new life will fully represent God’s glory.
This glory is the same glory that Moses was looking for in our passage today...the glory of God. You’ll recall in the last passage that Moses had found favor with God because he trusted, relied on and wanted to know Him better than he already did. In other words, Moses hungered for God. In return, God promised that His presence would be with Moses and the Israelites as they made their final journey to the land promised by God in His covenant…the land flowing with milk and honey.
In response to Moses asking God to show His glory, the Lord replied, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence…You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live…There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen." So God accepted Moses’ request and agreed to pass before him and show His glory but Moses would be concealed from looking into the face of God for this would bring his death.
So the stage was set. Moses was told to "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain." You’ll recall that Moses smashed the two original stone tablets after seeing the sinful idol-worshipping behavior of the Israelites when he came down from Mount Sinai after his first encounter with God. God was now ready to do it over again.
We read where Moses did as the Lord commanded and "chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones" before going "up Mount Sinai early in the morning." Once back on the mountain, scripture tells us "the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord" before passing "in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’" The Lord had done as He promised. He had shown Moses His glory. And how did Moses respond? He "bowed to the ground at once and worshiped."
Question: In what ways do you see God’s glory displayed in your life? Do you look for God’s glory in the world around you? How do you respond to His glory when you see it on display? Do you, like Moses, bow down and worship God for His awesome power and majesty?
Friends, whether it is in the birth of my first grandson, Maddox, or the birth of countless other babies this day and every day…whether it is in the wonder of a cloudless night where every star and some planets are visible…whether it is in the beauty of a setting or rising sun…or whether it is in the way of His grace, mercy and love that has me writing this and you soon to read it this very day…whatever way you might see God’s glory on display…let us all just be in a spirit of constant praise and worship to the One through which all things are possible. All glory and honor to our glorious, magnificent Lord forever and ever. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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