In Exodus 34:5–7, the God you cannot see invites Moses (and you) to see him, not with your eyes, but with your ears, heart, and mind. He invites you to know him and to trust him.
Your God is the Lord. You cannot see God’s face and live. God is Spirit, as Jesus told the Samaritan woman. Don’t try to picture or represent God. God is a person. He is not just an influence or an idea. He is distinct from creation, contrary to pantheistic notions. Language that refers to God’s face and hands is anthropomorphic and figurative, but it does communicate, because you are made in God’s image. The perfection and glory of God precludes anything sinful or imperfect in his presence. God is unique. There is none like him. Recognize the glory and greatness of your God!
The Lord has revealed himself to you. The Lord did proclaim his name to Moses. The proclamation of the name reveals the character, the nature of the person. The context is Moses pleading for God’s mercy on Israel who had just violated the Second Commandment. Your God is the Lord. That name means “I am,” Exodus 3:13,14. God is who he is. He is not defined by anything or anyone else. Yet his very name reflects his covenantal faithfulness. He is the God who has redeemed his people and has entered into a covenant with them. He is the God who graciously sends his Presence with his people, even after the idolatry of the golden calf. As God he is beyond any limitation. He is perfect in all that he is. Although you can never know God exhaustively, you can know him truly.
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