Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen."
Exodus 33:18-23
This also is a wonderful passage, and Moses' daring faith rises to new heights as he beseeches God to show him His glory. Doubtless even as he asked he knew that it was impossible, for no man can see the face of God and live. But what God did say to him is full of significance. It was as if He said, 'Moses, how glad I am with this intercession of yours. You are in the position in which I can withhold nothing from you that is possible for Me to give, but it is not possible for this to happen. If I revealed My glory to you, the world would disintegrate. You are not ready yet for that one day, Moses. One day, but not yet, not yet! But I will let you see all that man can bear to see'. And Moses was set in the cleft of the rock by the hand of God, and was given to see the 'after-glow' of the divine glory. And even this was overwhelming enough to make his face shine (34:29). But there is something else to learn here. Moses asked to see the glory; but God said, 'I will make all My goodness pass before thee' (19). In the light of what we now know in the fullness of the gospel, it can surely be said that His goodness is but glory in disguise, for God has given to men the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6), and Christ was goodness incarnate walking among men. And of that incarnation not only could John say, 'We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father' (John 1:14), but also Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that Moses, with Elijah, viewed its glory on the mount of Transfiguration. Glory, then, is goodness, and goodness glory, and both seen to perfection and in fullness in Him Who loved us and gave Himself for us.