“Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord dwelt dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.” – Exodus 24.15-17
If you wanted to sum up all of God’s attributes into one word, that word would be ‘Glory’. When God reveals His Glory, he is revealing Himself in His awe inspiring fullness.
Moses later has the opportunity to see the Glory of the Lord pass by (Exodus 33) but he has to be shielded as “you cannot see my face,” [says the Lord] “for man shall not see me and live.”
Later still, once the people have followed God’s directions, via Moses, and all is in order, the Glory of the Lord descends and fire appears and consumes the offering and all that is on the altar. The reaction of the people is hilarious, but full appropriate: “when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.”
What else can be done when the Glory descends? I think I’d shout (something along the lines of “Wha-on-mfgrng…gibber!”). No one can see the Lord and live!
But Jesus. Oh, how wonderful and beautiful! Jesus comes down, the second part of the Godhead, and allows us access to the Father!
In the transfiguration, the three disciples see His Glory! They see Him in His glorified state and they live! How glorious that act is!
It must not be underestimated! The essence that is God, shown in Jesus, is revealed to man completely. This Jesus, the very image of the Father (Colossians 1.15) comes and make possible a view unseen even by Moses who spoke to God as one speaks to a friend (Exodus 33.11).
If we allow ourselves to “Focus on the Glory!” as Officer X suggests, we are able to grasp the marvelous thing that has happened – a way being made open for us to access all that God is (His every attribute, His every facet, His very nature).
And once we focus on that Glory, we, like Moses, begin to reflect that Glory – dimly at first (like the moon reflects the sun) but ever increasing and brightening as the dawn turns to full day.
God is allowed to do His work in and through us and He pours light into a dark world through us.
Focus on the Glory!
Lord, please help us to focus on you and what Jesus has done – the full measure of the impact of His life, death and resurrection. Help us to see and meditate on THAT. That our vision would be fully saturated in knowing Your essence and the ramifications of having access to that and Holy Spirit living in us. Help us to desire the more. For Jesus’ Christ’s sake. So be it.