See God?

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”  And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.  I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  But,” He said, “you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.”  Exodus 33:18-20

Our pastor is teaching a series this summer on Exodus, which has been exceptional by the way.  When I read or am taught from this part of the Old Testament I’m left with a sense of awe at God’s might and power and I’m struck by how He didn’t speak directly to the “rank and file” Hebrew.  The Bible says God “called Moses by name” and only spoke and revealed Himself intimately through this specially set-apart man.  God was holy and you couldn’t see Him or even speak His name.  And let’s just say God didn’t cut much slack to people that dissed Him in any way. 

Modern Christians tend to somehow think if we had been Jews in Jesus time that we would have recognized Him and followed, but we should keep the backdrop of Exodus in mind.   The transition from Old Testament to New Testament is no small step.  When Jesus showed up and started speaking, the things He said about God and how people could relate to Him were shocking.  Like this:

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”  Matthew 5:8

Well which is it?  Seriously.  In Exodus, part of God’s Holy Scripture, the Torah, God tells Moses “You can’t see me or you will die.”  Jesus rolls in and says,  “Hey, the pure in heart will see God.” 

Better theologians than me should correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Jesus ushered in a whole new deal….a fulfillment of the Old Testament that we probably wouldn’t have expected.  And not just different, so much better and fuller and more incredible!  Through Jesus Christ, God has chosen to show us mercy and compassion and can actually GIVE us pure hearts….. and then He can show us Himself and His Glory!