Seeing the Glory of God

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Moses pulverized the golden calf and returned to Sinai to once again receive the 10 Commandments (Exodus 34). On Sinai the Lord passed before Moses, proclaiming His holy character. When Moses descended, he didn’t find Israel frolicking like pagans, but a nation terrified of him.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai … Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him … and they were afraid to come near him (Exodus 34:29-30). And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face (Exodus 34:33). This happened whenever God spoke face to face with Moses with one catch. The glory on Moses’ face dimmed until he met again with God (2 Corinthians 3:7, 13).

Fourteen hundred years later, Jesus stood on Mount Tabor in Israel with three of His apostles. There, the disciples saw the face of the King of Glory, veiled in human flesh, shine like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light (Matthew 17:2). This was a foretaste of what the world will witness when Jesus returns at His Second Coming (Matthew 16:27-28).

This same glory experienced temporarily by Moses, and embodied in the Son of God from eternity, is the future of every child of God. In the chain of salvation Paul said, Whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Romans 8:30). This glory of grace bestowed upon the believer, awaits each of us, yet is experienced by us daily in veiled form. We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).

God’s glory on Moses created fear in Israel. Seeing Jesus transfigured caused great fear in the disciples (Mark 9:6). I dare say if we saw the glory of God as He sanctifies us from day-to-day, we’d be tempted to worship one another, thus God hides it from us except in His Word on the face of Jesus Christ.

The Book of Leviticus

You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2).

Part 1 of 2. One of the greatest stumbling blocks to personal Bible study is the Book of Leviticus, but it’s one of the most important and wonderful books of the Bible … when you understand God’s purpose in giving it.

Leviticus is a lengthy list mundane and sometimes odd laws given by God to Moses to regulate Israel’s relationship to Him, to each other, and to life as His earthly people. It’s a national law of behavior for ancient Israel.

Every law known to man exists for the purpose of restricting unacceptable behavior. Between 2000 and 2007, the US Congress classified 452 new crimes creating a total of 4,450 illegal activities. This doesn’t even consider additional state, county, and city laws! In 2013, there were already 20,000 federal laws on the ownership and use of guns.

But we continue to break the existing laws so government creates new laws to stem the lawlessness. It is believed that the average American breaks 3 federal felony laws per day that no one even knows are on the books! No law can make a person good or righteous, but laws point out our failures. Man is sinful and the law makes that abundantly clear.

The Apostle Paul characterized the Law of Moses as the ministry of death that kills (2 Cor 3:6, 7). By that he meant that the Law condemns each of us as guilty of violating the holy character of God. God said, “This is how you are to serve Me“; and we rebel. God said, “This is how you are to treat one another“; and we do what we want.

Think about the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17. Today, have you made anything in life of equal or greater devotion than God? Have you lied? Have you craved something that doesn’t belong to you? Have you had an unkind thought about someone else? We can’t even keep the 10 Commandments for a day, let alone the multitude of rules in the Book of Leviticus. And the penalty?

The soul that sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:20). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Yes, this is a major bummer! But read again tomorrow to see the amazing hope God gives the guilty sinner in the Book of Leviticus!