Daily Devotional Details

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The glory of the Lord shall be revealed. Isaiah 40:5

What is the glory of the Lord? And what does it mean for this glory to be revealed? The glory of the Lord is the full wonder of who God is, the splendor of God himself.

Moses said to God, “Please show me your glory” (Ex. 33:18). Here’s the fascinating thing about that prayer: God had already made himself known to Moses. He had done this in the burning bush and in the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea.

More than that, we’re told “the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud” (16:10). “The appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire” (24:17). “The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (40:34).

Something of the glory of God had already been revealed. Notice how it was revealed—in the cloud (means it’s unknowable), and in the fire (means it’s unapproachable), and in the tent of meeting, but Moses was not able to go inside (means it’s inaccessible). So Moses says to the Lord, “I’ve seen reflections of you, but I want to see the full wonder of who you are! I want to see your face! Show me your glory!”

God says, “You cannot see my face… and live” (33:20). So God hides Moses in the cleft of a rock and covers Moses with his hand. Then God causes his glory to pass by, and Moses is allowed to see the afterburn of God’s glory: “You shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen” (33:23).

Moses is a great model of prayer. You too can ask God to show you his glory.