Revelation

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2033-35&version=NIV

What do you ask God to reveal to you when you ask him for revelation? I can tell you right now that too many times I want him to reveal his plan for me – as in exactly what he will do and when he will do it. However, God rarely answers that prayer with a yes. The prayer that he always answers with a resounding ‘yes’ is any prayer that is about me wanting a deeper knowledge of him. I’ve prayed about understanding the power of praying the word of God and he answered. I prayed for a deeper knowledge of the power of the Holy Spirit and he answered. I prayed about learning more about fasting and how to fast and he answered.

God very rarely (unless it has to do with something he wants us to do for him) will answer the questions of what, how, or why he does things. Instead he will reveal to us the ‘Who’. What I’ve learned in my faith walk, is that God wants us to know Him, to know His character, promises, mercy, and love, and then to live our lives walking in faith because we know who he is. Isn’t that, after all, what faith is? And isn’t our faith the very thing that reflects His glory to others?

Moses is a great example of what we God would have us seek to know Him, and how he always answers that prayer. In Exodus 33:13 he asks God, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you”. What does he want God to reveal to him? Not how he will get to the promised land, or when, or why the people are wondering in the dessert. Instead he asks God to reveal himself to him.

And God is please to answer his request. In 33:17 he says, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am please with you and know you by name.”

Then Moses makes another very bold request. He says (vs. 18), “Now show me your glory.” God answers this request as well, replying, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence” (vs. 19).

There are two things I want to note in what God reveals and how he reveals it. First, he tells Moses, “But’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live’. Then the Lord said, ‘there is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen” (vs. 20-21).

The reason I point out how he revealed his glory is because in the revelation of his glory, we also see his grace. Matthew Henry’s commentary on the Bible explains it this way (you may want to read it through several times to fully grasp the meaning because of the Old English writing style – but it is a truth that is worth grasping):

“A full discovery of the glory of God, would overwhelm even Moses himself. Man is mean, and unworthy of it; weak, and could not bear it; guilty, and could not but dread it. The merciful display which is made in Christ Jesus, alone can be borne by us. The Lord granted that which would abundantly satisfy. God's goodness is his glory; and he will have us to know him by the glory of his mercy, more than by the glory of his majesty. Upon the rock there was a fit place for Moses to view the goodness and glory of God. The rock in Horeb was typical of Christ the Rock; the Rock of refuge, salvation, and strength. Happy are they who stand upon this Rock. The cleft may be an emblem of Christ, as smitten, crucified, wounded, and slain. What follows, denotes the imperfect knowledge of God in the present state, even as revealed in Christ; for this, when compared with the heavenly sight of him, is but like seeing a man that is gone by, whose back only is to be seen. God in Christ, as he is, even the fullest and brightest displays of his glory, grace, and goodness, are reserved to another state.”

There are several truths that I love in this. The first is that God’s goodness IS his glory, and that he would have us know the glory of his mercy rather than the glory of his majesty. The second is that only through Christ and because of Christ– God’s glory revealed in mercy – will we one day be able to glimpse the majesty of God’s glory. This is why I believe that Paul refers to Christ as being the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). To full grasp this, you really must read 2 Cor. 3:7-18. I’m including the link because it’s a must-read for full understanding. And as you read, compare/cross reference vs. 12-18 with Exodus 34:29-25 for a glimpse of the glory of God revealed to you but also through you.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%203:7-18&version=NIV

Here’s the second thing I wanted to note - In the process of revealing His glory, He reveals his character. “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex. 34:6-7).

God holds out to you an amazing picture of his character and his glory – and this is but a glimpse of the fullness of who he is. And just like Moses, if you want to see and understand God, you only need to ask. Why does God so willingly answer these requests? I believe it is because they both are absolutely his will – notice God tells Moses that he will do the thing he asked because he is pleased with him. We please God when we seek to know and to do his will.

God’s will and desire for his chosen people are that they would seek to know him, and that through this knowledge, his glory might be revealed to and through them. Through Christ, my friends, you are God’s chosen people, and his desire for you is the same as it was for Moses and the people of Israel. His promises are the same, his mercy is the same. You need to know that if you desire to grow in your faith, if you desire to know God more, if you desire to see his glory, all you need to do is ask and be willing to participate in the process!

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” – Matthew 7:7-8

Are you seeing as you read, my friends, how the Old Testament - the old covenant – and all the promises there-in is just a dim picture of what God offers in Christ - the fulfillment of the new covenant as revealed in the New Testament? This is why the entire Bible is a must-read!

Today's post was submitted by Carol Bartels