Moses Requests To See Yahweh's Glory -And Does So In The Only Way That Is Possible Even To Him (Exodus 33:18-23).
Now Moses is emboldened. He has been privileged to see Yahweh more fully than any human being since Adam. He has seen Him along with the elders of Israel (Exodus 24:10). He has been with Him on the Mount in personal session. He has seen Him in the pillar of cloud at the Tent of Meeting. But always He has been partly hidden. Now he begs, as His friend, that he may see His full glory.
To speak of ‘contradiction' when speaking of seeing God is not to appreciate the great problem of what it means to see God. There are many levels of seeing God, from seeing him in the heart, through seeing Him in the cloud, through seeing Him as fire, through seeing His splendour like the splendour of the sun, up to the ultimate of a vision so brilliant that a man expires at the sight (1 Timothy 6:16).
But as Yahweh explains, Moses does not know what he asks. To fully see Yahweh's ‘face' could only be disaster for him, for he would immediately expire. No human flesh could bear the sight. But He promises him that he will see the hinder part of His glory. That is something he may survive. By this Moses probably saw more of Yahweh's glory than any before or since, until the greater Moses came (Deuteronomy 18:18).
We may analyse this passage as follows:
a Moses asks to have Yahweh's glory shown to him by Yahweh (Exodus 33:18).
b Yahweh replies, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” (Exodus 33:19).
c Yahweh tells Moses that he cannot see Yahweh's face and live. For man shall not see Him and live (Exodus 33:20).
b Yahweh tells him that there is a place by Him, and Moses will stand on the rock, and it shall come about that while His glory passes by He will put Moses in the cleft of a rock, and will cover him with my hand until He has passed by.
a Then He will take away His hand, and Moses will see His hinder part (literally ‘back'), but His face will not be seen (Exodus 33:21).
We note that in ‘a' Moses asks to see Yahweh's glory, and in the parallel he will see the back part of His glory. In ‘b' Yahweh promises to make His ‘goodness' and the proclamation of His name pass before him, and in the parallel He explains that His glory will pass by him. And ‘c' is central in stressing the central truth that no one can see Him in His full glory and live.
‘And he said, “Show me, I pray you, your glory.”
Moses had seen much of the glory of Yahweh, although only as partial revelation, but it has filled him with a yearning to see more. If Yahweh is his friend let Him show him His glory. Let him be privileged as no man has ever been.
‘And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” And he said, “You cannot see my face and live. For man shall not see me and live.”'
God's reply is that He will show Moses all that it is possible for him to see without expiring. He will show him His goodness and beauty. He will show Him all that His name means of grace and power, of love and friendship, proclaiming His name and very nature to His friend. He will show him His graciousness as revealed through His sovereign activity. He will show him the fullness of His compassion and mercy. But He cannot show him His face. That would be no kindness. That would reveal no friendship. For none can see Him full face and live. Notice how the description of His glory is so widely embracing. It is not just sheer light. it is aesthetic beauty, it is moral purity, it is glory of being, it is compassion and favour, it is mercy and love, it is all these and more.
“ I will make all my goodness pass before you.” He will be permitted a sight of the sheer goodness and beauty of God, an awareness of His holiness and of His moral glory, the full beatific vision.
“ And I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you.” To know someone's name was to know him fully. And Moses will know His name as proclaimed by Yahweh Himself. And when Yahweh speaks all is clear. He will have a full revelation of what Yahweh's name means, of what He is. He will appreciate the very nature of God (see Exodus 34:5).
“ I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” These further promises link with the proclamation of His Name. His being gracious and showing mercy will be part of the proclamation of His name. Moses will be made aware of His sovereign power as it is revealed in the exercise of His graciousness and mercy, His all encompassing grace and mercy, that which He bestows on His chosen. He will through it recognise and be aware of the supremacy of Yahweh as the ultimate in sovereign graciousness and mercy. He will see His action in coming days showing abundant, sovereign graciousness and mercy to many, yes, to the thousands whom He will choose (Exodus 34:7). All that a man can see of this he will see (see Exodus 34:6). He will know His name.
All this is Moses to know and experience, not necessarily all at once, but gradually as he is able to take it in. (See for example Exodus 34:5-7). For knowledge of God takes a long time to absorb. But there is a physical limit to what even he can know.
“You cannot see my face and live. For man shall not see me and live.” But see His full face, His full glory he cannot. For no one can see it and live.
So do we learn about the full favour to be shown to Moses, and the extent beyond which it cannot go for his own safety. And we also learn that the glory that one day we shall see in His presence is beyond telling and beyond physical endurance.
‘And Yahweh said, “Look there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock, and it shall come about that while my glory passes by I will put you in the cleft of a rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by, and I will take away my hand, and you will see my hinder part (literally ‘back'), but my face shall not be seen.”'
If Yahweh is speaking from the cloud outside the Tent of Meeting it is clearly pitched near a rocky place. And Yahweh directs him to come there and stand on a rock, necessarily out of sight of the camp. Then when His glory begins to pass by He will put Moses in a cleft of the rock and cover him with His hand. For no earthly protection will be sufficient. Such is His glory that only the divine hand can prevent it from blasting him where he stands. Then will the full glory of Yahweh be revealed, and once it is safe He will remove His hand and Moses will see the aftermath, as much as a man can bear. But he will not be able to see His full glory. He will only be able to imagine what it must have been from what he does see.