On seeing God's back

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.”   (Exodus 33:21-23)

God's presence is frustratingly elusive.  Christians have to learn to deal with a God who seems to hide himself as much as display his glory.  And for many the cumulative disappointment of this causes them to slump into mediocrity and half-heartedeness.  Sometimes it is one big disappointment which dents their faith, but often it is just the steady frustration of dealing with a God we cannot see.

Scripture, however, warns us to expect this elusiveness.  Even Moses' greatest moment of divine revelation recorded in Exodus 33-34, was actually the vision of God's back disappearing into the mist.  The reason given to Moses was that "no-one may see me and live" (Exodus 33:20).  God is not being awkward in hiding his glory, but merciful.

Moses' eyes may have been shielded but his ears were not closed.  He hears a description of God, and we too are allowed to listen in through reading scripture.  A vision would kill us, but a message opens the eyes of our hearts.

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. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”   (Exodus 34:6-7)

God is:

• full of self-giving love - "the compassionate and gracious God"
• incredibly patient - "slow to anger"
• overwhelmingly and enduringly faithful - "abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (ESV)
• forgiving of all varieties of sin - "forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin"
• still the awesome God of justice - "he does not leave the guilty unpunished"

That glory is revealed to us all the more clearly as we read about the exact representation of God's being; Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:3, John 1:14).  At the cross we see the justice of God as Christ takes our just punishment, but overwhelmingly we see his love, faithfulness and mercy.  The bible is written to show us God's glory which finds its magnificent climax in Jesus.

Following on from Sunday's sermon I want to apply this to our prayer life.  I suspect that the prayer life of many of us is impoverished by disappointment in God.  Like Moses we want to see his glory and are disappointed that, at best, we see his receding back.  But what we can hear is of infinitely more value to us.  It will often be frustrating, disappointing, confusing, and sometimes on the surface of things even boring.  But with perseverence and humility we will know a love which surpasses knowledge and be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19).

So let me make some simple suggestions:

1. Make a simple, time-limited commitment to God about reading your bible.  Why not commit for one month to read your bible a set number of times a week for a set time.  Don't make wild commitments you will only fail.  If you can only do it once a week for five minutes then do that!
2. Commit this to God asking him to encourage your weak faith.
3. Tell a friend about your commitment and ask them to hold you accountable and discuss it.
4. Pray before every reading that God would reveal to you something of his character.
5. On each occasion think through what you learn about God and what your response should be (praise?, humility? patience? self-sacrifice? contentment?).  Commit this to your memory (use a note book if necessary), and think about it in idle moments, and seek to respond in the way you noted.
6. At the end of the period make an honest assessment.  Has this benefitted you or not?  Talk about this with your friend.  Consider making another modest, time-limited commitment.

Many years ago I made a commitment of this sort.  As I remember I think I committed to about three minutes of bible and prayer five days a week for a month.  It got me going, and I have never looked back.

I have prayed for you before you read this.  I am praying that this would play a small part in igniting, or re-igniting a passionate commitment to know the living God.  This side of eternity we may only see his back.  But what a back!