“A Glimpse of Glory” – FBC Morning Light (2/11/2025)

Well a good morning to you today as you begin the journey of this day I'd like to just encourage you with a few thoughts from Exodus chapters 33 and 34.

Now the context of chapter 33 is it's coming right on the heels of that horrible experience when

Moses comes down off of the mountain after meeting with God and he and the people of Israel have already violated the very first of the

Commandments first couple of Commandments you know they made the golden calf they were worshiping that and so on and so forth so that was

Exodus 32 and in Exodus 33 it's like a it's gonna be like a reboot if you will and Moses prays to the

Lord and asks for the Lord to go with his people which the

Lord says in verse 14 my presence will go with you and I will give you rest but then he makes this

Moses makes this really startling request he says in verse 18 of chapter 33 please show me your glory show me your glory now the reality is

Moses didn't really understand what he was asking for he thought he did but he really didn't and it's clear because the

Lord says I will make my goodness pass before you and I will proclaim the name of the

Lord before you I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious I will have compassion on whom

I will have compassion but he said you cannot see my face for no man shall see me and live in other words the

Lord is saying you you could not stand to be in the presence of the full magnitude of my glory it would be too it would be too overwhelming and you wouldn't live through it all and then the

Lord said in verse 21 here is a place by me and you shall stand on the rock so it'll be while my glory passes by that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and I will cover you with my hand while I pass by then

I will take away my hand and you shall see my back but my face shall not be seen now honestly

I don't know what this is that Moses experienced now the Lord explains there puts it in you know like well anthropomorphic ways using you know the the analogy of human of human characteristics you know his face his back covered with his hand but God is spirit he's not he's not a man he's not he doesn't have a physical attributes of a human being so he's using those descriptors to basically tell

Moses I my glory is going to pass by but I will shield you from experience the full splendor of my glory or you wouldn't live

I'll just let you see the tail end of it now what is it that Moses saw it's not so much what he saw but what he heard and understood about the goodness and the glory of God remember back in verse 19 of chapter 33 the

Lord said I will make all my goodness pass before you it is his goodness that is his glory you get that sense right he gets a glimpse of the goodness of God and what does he see what what is it about God that he sees that is so glorious well down in verse chapter 34 we read in verses 5 and 6 it says the

Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him Moses there and proclaimed the name of the

Lord and the Lord passed before him same idea as in the end of chapter 33 where the glory passes by the

Lord passed before him and proclaimed Yahweh Yahweh Elohim the

Lord the Lord God Yahweh Yahweh Elohim and then there is this recitation of some of the glorious attributes and qualities of our

God he is merciful and gracious long suffering and abounding in goodness and truth keeping mercy or hesed that's that steadfast love that covenant loyalty that God has toward his covenant that he makes with his people he keeps steadfast love mercy hesed with thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin by no means clearing the guilty visiting the iniquity the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation so he ends by God ends by declaring the glory of his justice and righteousness by no means clearing the guilty but that follows on the heels of these glorious attributes of mercy grace long suffering abounding in goodness and truth keeping steadfast covenant loyalty to thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin

Wow what Moses saw in the glory of God on that day is astounding and it continues to this day this is our

God he is a God who is merciful he is gracious he is long -suffering he he abounds in goodness and truth he is steadfastly loyal to the covenant that he makes with his people he forgives iniquity and transgression and sin how can we not bow down before and worship this

God how can we not love him and be grateful to him for who he is and for all his glory let's relish in the glory of God that he shows us in this passage today and so our

Father and our God we do thank you and praise you for who you are we thank you that you are long -suffering we thank you for your mercy we thank you for your steadfast loyalty to your covenant people we thank you father that you forgive iniquity you forgive our transgressions and you forgive our sin oh we so desperately need you the

God that you are thank you for who you are in Jesus name Amen all right well listen have a good rest of your day and may