(Exodus) Exodus 33:12-23 — J. Vernon McGee

Moses Asks to Know God's Way

Now, we have Moses turning to God again. He was a great man of prayer. Verse 12,. And Moses said unto the Lord, See thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people, and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me.

Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight, and consider this nation as thy people.

The thing that Moses wanted is the thing that Paul said, that I might know him and the power of his resurrection. It's the same thing Philip meant, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. And I think every sincere, real child of God today has a desire to want to know God and to want to know Christ.

God's Presence Gives Rest

Now God answers him, verse 14,. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I'll give thee rest. Now you see, it's the presence of God. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

Moses knew he couldn't make it on his own. For wherein shall it be known here, that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

That's important to notice. God made them a peculiar people for a very definite reason, as the Church is to be a peculiar people today. And that means a people for God. That doesn't mean we're to be oddballs.

Moses Finds Grace and Intimacy with God

Verse 17, And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also, that thou hast spoken. For thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. Now Moses becomes very intimate, you see, with God.

Moses Asks to See God's Glory

He said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. He couldn't see God face to face, you see, actually. He said, I'll make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I'll show mercy in whom I will show mercy.

And Paul uses that in Romans, you remember. God is sovereign. And I don't have time to go into that today. Verse 20, And he said, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And you just well write that down, friend.

You're not going to see God face to face, not today. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock. It shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by.

And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts. That's been an unfortunate translation, what they would see a representation of God. Because God is a spirit. They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

But God says, But my face shall not be seen. That is only a representation of God. Now the glory, the Shekinah glory was that. You remember the Lord Jesus said that when he came the second time, that would be the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.

Christ Reveals the Father and the Believer's Hope

I think that sign is the Shekinah glory. I'm of the opinion that that's what it will be. But in that day, God's glory was revealed. Now when Christ came, he took upon himself human flesh. And when he did, the glory was not there, you see.

It was not there when he came. He took a very humble place. But he was God, you see. And therefore, that's the reason he could say, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Now you and I today are not going to see God.

We're going to see the Lord Jesus Christ. And he will be in human form. Because that's what he took when he was down here. And he today is in a glorified body. And we shall be like him. This is the anticipation and the hope of the believers, those who are walking today by faith, friends.

Walking by Faith in God's Presence

And that's the way Moses is going to walk. But now he says, Your presence must go with us. And we need his presence today, friends, to face the problems of every day.