Our Brush With Glory

Show Me Your Glory: When God Names Himself

Moses asked for the boldest thing a human can ask: “Please show me your glory.” God did not deny him—but He answered in a way that reframed the request. Instead of full, blinding splendor, God gave Moses something even more life-altering: His Name—a revelation of His character.

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

keeping steadfast love for thousands,

forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,

but who will by no means clear the guilty.” (Exod. 34:6–7)

Moses had prayed, “Show me your ways” (33:13) before he prayed, “Show me your glory” (33:18). That order matters. We don’t encounter God’s glory by skipping His will. God meets Moses in a cleft of the rock, shields him with His hand, and passes by—not to dazzle Moses into silence, but to name Himself so Israel will know whom they follow.

Why “Name” Matters

In Scripture, a name isn’t window dressing; it’s identity, purpose, and promise. When God says, “I know you by name” (33:17), He speaks of intimate knowledge. When He proclaims His own Name (34:5–7), He discloses His heart.

The Bible’s first chapters underline this significance: God invites Adam to name the animals (Gen. 2:19–20). He dignifies human vocation with participation. As the 18th-century philosopher Giambattista Vico argued—verum factum—the maker knows best. If that’s true of artisans and engineers, how much more of the Creator? The One who made the cosmos alone knows its purpose. To learn His Name is to learn that purpose.

Glory We Recognize—and the Glory Beyond

We understand “glory” more than we think. A royal coronation brims with beauty, honor, and weight—music, vestments, pageantry, the crowd’s awe. Yet even such splendor is only an echo. In Scripture, glory belongs first to God. And unlike borrowed human glory, God’s glory is moral as well as majestic. When He reveals Himself to Moses, He doesn’t spotlight thunder or sapphire pavement; He proclaims mercy, grace, patience, loyal love, and truth.

God’s glory is not mere spectacle; it is character—holiness fused with compassion. That is why Moses, hearing the Name, “quickly bowed… and worshiped” (34:8). Revelation produces adoration.

Mercy and Justice—Together

Exodus 34 holds two clauses side by side: God forgives “iniquity and transgression and sin,” and He “will by no means clear the guilty.” This is the Bible’s enduring tension: How can God be both perfectly just and lavishly merciful?

The New Testament answers at the cross. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Rom. 3:23–25). In Jesus, God remains just—sin is truly judged—and becomes the justifier—sinners are truly forgiven. The Name of Exodus 34 shines in high relief at Calvary.

So if you pray, “Show me your glory,” God points you to Christ. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). The face Moses could not see, we behold by faith in Jesus—crucified, risen, reigning.

What God Gave Moses—and Us

Notice what God doesn’t give Moses: unmediated sight. “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (33:20). What He does give is exactly what Moses (and we) most need:

1. Presence with boundaries – a cleft in the rock, a sheltering hand. God comes near without consuming.

2. A renewed Word – new tablets, same covenant (34:1). Failure didn’t erase promise. Grace rewrites it.

3. A confessed Name – God interprets God: merciful, gracious, patient, loyal, faithful, forgiving, just.

4. A path forward – Moses prays, “Please go in the midst of us… pardon our iniquity… take us for your inheritance” (34:9). God’s glory moves His people, not only moves them.

Why This Matters for Us Today

• If glory is God’s character, seek it where He speaks. Start with “Show me your ways,” and Scripture will lead you into “Show me your glory.” Obedience opens sight.

• If God’s Name binds mercy to justice, run to the cross. Don’t try to balance the ledger yourself. Receive the gift by faith.

• If God renews tablets after failure, let Him rewrite your story. Past golden calves don’t have to define future callings.

• If God’s glory is seen in the face of Christ, look there daily. Worship is not escape; it’s alignment. Glory clarifies purpose.

A Prayer for the Cleft in the Rock

Lord, You know us by name. We ask what Moses asked: show us Your ways—the path that pleases You—and show us Your glory as You choose to reveal it. Hide us in the Rock that is Christ. Let Your Name—merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness—be the banner over our lives. Forgive our sin. Go with us. Make us Your inheritance.