To see His face and live?

 

“Moses said, "Please show me your glory…" But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live."” (Exodus 33:18,20, ESV)

This dialogue took place between Moses and God. Moses wanted a glimpse of God’s glory; but the Lord said, nobody could see His face and live! Quite a strange answer since He was already talking to him face to face. Indeed, this is what preceeded their conversation:

“Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. Moses said to the LORD, "See, you say to me, 'Bring up this people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.' 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight…" 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people?..." 17 And the LORD said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name." 18 Moses said, "Please show me your glory."” (Exodus 33:7-11ff, ESV)

Is there any contradiction? Another passage will help us sort it out: “…If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD…” (Numbers 12:6-8)

In other words, the Lord was not speaking to Moses through dreams, visions, inner convictions or angelic visitations as He did with others: He was speaking to him face to face; i.e., mouth to mouth. Moses heard His voice audibly, a voice as affectionate as that of a friend. In addition, God made it clear for everyone to know He approved of His servant: a column of cloud would come down and stop at the entrance of the Tabernacle every time Moses would go in to meet with Him, as if to prevent anyone from entering and disturbing their intimacy. Then Moses would come out of these meetings, marked: his skin would beam so much that the people would not be able to look at him (Exodus 34:33-35).

However, despite all these manifestations (and this is without mentioning the plagues of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the waters of Marah, the manna and the quails), Moses was still unsatisfied and kept on having doubts about himself (or maybe he was just doubting of God or the people): “how shall it be known that I have found favour in your sight, I and your people? ”

The Lord finally granted him the permission to make a request and Moses dared: “Please show me your glory.” In other words, “It is true, I've known You like no other human being has ever had. It is also true You have used me powerfully on several occasions, speak to me face to face and treat me like a friend. But if it is true that You love me as much as You say You do, then, I only desire one thing: I want to know Your ways and I want to see Your glory.”

Isn’t it beautiful? To me, this query is the most sublime aspiration. And even though it is not today’s topic, it doesn’t prevent us from meditating on it...

So Moses made his request, and somehow, God found Himself a bit stuck and forced to negotiate. Note that He didn’t refuse to make His ways known to Moses; He just has a few problems with the second part of his demand. Moses had asked to see His glory and God had replied: “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” As if to say, ‘If I let you see all My glow, you will not survive it.’

The message had been so brilliantly passed on that, generations later, the only sight of the Angel of the Lord was enough to terrify the people. Gideon exclaimed himself: “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face” and Manoah, Samson’s father said: "We shall surely die, for we have seen God." (Judges 6:22 & 13:22)

And yet… It seems it is nevertheless possible to see Him, to see His face and to live. If not, why would Jesus say on the beatitudes’ mount: ‘‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’’ (Mathew 5:8) And why would David say: “You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, LORD, do I seek."… Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his face continually!” (Psalms 27:8 & 105:4). He must have indeed seen Him as suggested in Psalm 18: “Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water. Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.” (vs 7-13)

Isaiah saw Him as well: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"” (Isaiah 6:1-5)

And so did John, as the book of Revelation shows it. These are men who saw God and did not die. Men who have proven that it was possible to see God and live. So, did God lie to Moses?

 

To be continued…