GOD’S WORD FOR AUGUST 22 ~ ~ Exodus 33:18 ~ ~ “And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
From the book by Dr. Tony Evans—The Power of God’s Names
So how do we get to know God as JEHOVAH? Exodus 33 gives a good idea. “Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the Lord would speak to Moses…..Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face. (Vs 9 &11)
As Moses went about the work of the ministry, JEHOVAH spoke to him. In the midst of relating to god, Moses asked to see God. He said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” (vs 18) JEHOVAH, the personal and relational God, gave this reply:
“He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:19-23)
Moses had come face-to-face with JEHOVAH God, and he wanted to know more. He asked to see more. God allowed him to experienced all that he was able to experience because JEHOVAH is the close and personal character of the living God.
Do you know why so many of us don’t know JEHOVAH and don’t experience Him personally in our daily lives? We’re too busy and too distracted to ask for more.
Moses could have been satisfied with the burning bush. He could have been satisfied with the ten miraculous plagues. He could have been satisfied with the parting of the sea. Yet, despite all that Moses had already experienced of God and with God, he asked for more.
Too many of us stop at the bush. We’re satisfied with an introduction. Yet as we see from our study of the relational attribute of God as revealed through His name JEHOVAH, God will come as intimately close to us as possible—if we ask Him and seek Him as Moses did.
Moses took the time to be in the presence of JEHOVAH and to say to Him, “Lord, I want to know you more. Show me more of You.” If Moses were alive today, that would mean he sometimes turned off his television and radio. He stopped texting or phoning his friends as much. He spent less tie at the do-it-yourself shops or at the mall. He removed the static from the line and quieted the noise from around him, clearing away the distractions so that in the tent of the Lord, he could ask for more.
Many believers today say they want to know god. But when you take a closer look at their schedule, you realize they’re just talking noise. Listen, if a guy really wants to get to know a girl, he makes time to talk to her.
Ladies, if a man tells you he wants to get to know you but then he never calls or texts, never stops by or takes you out, then all he has done is cluttered the air with his lies. He doesn’t want to get to know you unless he willingly invests the time to get to know you. If a guy really wants to get to know a girl, he’ll find time, he’ll make time, he’ll stay up late or get up early…he will do whatever he needs to do to get to know her.
JEHOVAH knows when we’re just spouting words and when we truly intend to get to know Him. Moses had dedicated the time and effort before he made the request. So God gave Moses something no other human on the planet has ever experienced—the personal manifest presence of God’s glory!
Covered by God’s own hand and tucked away in a cleft of the rock, Moses saw God’s back pass by. In today’s technology, this might be compared to the exhaust you see when an airplane passes by overhead. You don’t see the plane, but you see evidence of it.
What happened to Moses after he experienced JEHOVAH in that intimate way is remarkable, and it should motivate each of us to seek God and make a close relationship with JEHOVAH the primary focus of our lives. After that encounter, Moses picked up a pen and paper and began writing:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth……..” He kept writing until the history of the beginning of time had been completed.
Even though Moses wrote Genesis, he wasn’t alive when Genesis happened. So how did he know the details of events that were so far removed from him? HE KNEW BECAUSE GOD LET HIM SEE AND EXPERIENCE JEHOVAH. He let Moses see some stuff that had never been seen before so that Moses could write some information that he didn’t have any cognitive knowledge about.
Friend, God wants to reveal to you things you’ve never dreamed of. He wants YOU to simply know Him as ELOHIM—if you only want to know His power without a relationship with His person. That will come about only when you get to know Him as JEHOVAH—as YAHWEH, the Lord.
He is the self-revealing God to those who want to see Him.