Jesus is Better Week 1

Moses and the Radiance of the Glory of God: How Moses Saw God Face to Face and Lived

By Darren Nguyen

18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And 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. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:18-23)

In Exodus 33, Moses makes an incredible request: to see God’s glory. Although Moses spoke face to face with God like a friend (Exodus 33:11), he desired to know God more deeply and see his glory. Moses, as the leader of the Israelites, interacted with God more intimately than any of the Israelites, and yet, he still wanted more of God– a full revelation of his glory.

Before this moment, Moses has encountered two of God’s theophanies, or sensible manifestations of himself. The first was the burning bush in Exodus 3, and the second was on Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19. The narrative of Exodus builds up to this third and final theophany as the greatest revelation of God yet, and it’s just his backside! God’s glory is so incredible that God protects Moses from seeing the full revelation of his glory (Exodus 33:22).

So, what exactly is God’s glory? Glory is translated from the word kabod (Hebrew) or doxa (Greek). The word is related to radiance, brilliant light, and power. In Exodus 33, we see that God’s glory is closely related to his goodness, his name, his merciful character, and his face. Imagine God’s glory as sunrays. In one sense, you can distinguish sunrays from the sun itself, but in another sense, sunrays and the sun itself are so closely intertwined that it’s difficult to separate the two.

Up until this point, Moses’s visions and experiences with God have been obscured and veiled, like looking at the sun through a pair of sunglasses. Moses longed for more of God, and God, in his goodness, only partially granted Moses’s request on the mountain to see His glory at this time. However, what if I told you that Moses’s request was fully granted at a later time?

28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. (Luke 9:28-36)

Later in the biblical narrative, we see Moses on another mountain. And this time, he truly gets to see the face of God through Jesus Christ. The key connecting verse is found in the Scripture in Week 1 of the Jesus is Better Reading Plan.

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power..” (Hebrews 1:3)

Moses saw the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, Jesus Christ himself, and he didn’t just see his normal state; he saw Jesus’ transfigured state and the full revelation that he is in fact the Son of God. While in the past Moses was only able to see God’s backside, he was now able to talk face to face with God (and not in the idiomatic sense). How incredible!

Why Does This Matter to You?

We were once children of darkness, but we have since been adopted and made brothers and sisters of Christ, becoming children of light. With the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and transforming us from one degree of glory to the other, our hope is that through us people may see the glory of God– Christ in us. May our light shine before others as we fix our eyes on the very light Himself who stepped into darkness for our sake so that we might be reconciled to our great holy God.

Finally, we look forward to our future hope, the promise that we will one day see Christ face to face (Revelation 22:3-4). You, just like Moses, will receive the full revelation of the glory of God, and you, and all your brothers and sisters in the faith, will be in his presence beholding him, fully encapsulated by his splendor as his radiance beams before you.

17th century theologian Stephen Charnock wrote,

“The happiness of heaven, which is the ultimate and complete happiness of the soul, consists in a knowledge of God. The sight of God is made by our Saviour the reward of purity of heart: Mat. 5:8, ‘The pure in heart shall see God;’ and to see him as his is in the glory of the other world, 1 John 3:2, 3, when all the rational faculties shall be satisfied with light, and the desires replenished with love… [F]elicity, in the highest region, consists in a sight and knowledge of God…”

May God pull back the veil to reveal to you the joy that is found from the sight and knowledge of himself and remind you of your identity as a child of light.

For Further Study:

Hebrews 1:1-4, God’s Final Word: Unveiling the Supremacy of Christ (Video)

Hebrews 1:1-4 (Podcast)

Hebrews 1:1-4 as the Interpretive Guide for the Book of Hebrews (Journal Article)