Exodus 33:21-23 – “Look, here is a place right beside me.  Put yourself on this rock.  When my Glory passes by, I’ll put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I’ve passed by.  Then I’ll take my hand away and you’ll see my back.  But you won’t see my face.”

I love this passage!  I get such a fierce word picture in my head.  This conversation between Moses and God.  Moses is directly hearing God’s voice, but he is not allowed to see his face.  God offers him a place right next to him.  He gives Moses a choice to position himself there on the Rock.  And when God is going to move, he will then place Moses in the cleft of the rock – the protected place and will cover him with his hand as he passes by.  After God passes by, Moses will see his back.  But he will not see his face.  The glory of it would be too much for him to bear.

I love that.  How many times today do we long to see God’s face?  We want so badly for him to “show up”, to reveal himself.  But in reality, we would not be able to handle the magnificence of all that God is, this side of heaven.  Our humanness doesn’t have the capacity to endure it.  But, like Moses, we so often do have the privilege of seeing God’s “hand” when he is doing things all around us continually and invites us to the rock to share the experience with him.  Sometimes we also see his “back” – when we look back in history, ours and that of others, and see all that he has done and all that he has been.  And we get to experience the “cleft of the rock” when he is working on and in us to create us into something that will bring him more glory.  That safe, resting place where we can trust and be held.  But, like Moses, we will have to wait to see his face.

If God had revealed his face to Moses there on the mountain, I don’t think Moses would have been able to look away.  And there was still much to be done.  God had some things that he still wanted him to accomplish.  A few commandments to engrave.  A few people to lead.  And though God didn’t show him his face, he revealed his character.  v. 5-7 – “God descended in the cloud and took up his position there beside him and called out the name, God. God passed in front of him and called out, ‘God, God, a God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient – so much love, so deeply true – loyal in love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion and sin…’ ”  And that revelation of character would give Moses what he needed to do the things that God asked of him.

How encouraging is that?  God has told us who he is and what he can do.  We read it in his word.  We see it in our every day lives.  It is what gives us the motivation and direction for how we should live and love until we do one day see his face.  Everything we do here is only preparation for that day.  That one day when we will gaze into that glorious face and know all of who he is.  And we will not be able to look away…