Knowing the God of Glory

What do you really want from God?
It is a question worth considering because our answer reveals much about our spiritual priorities. We often come to God asking Him to change our circumstances, provide for our needs, heal our sicknesses, strengthen our marriages, or remove our difficulties. None of these requests are wrong. In fact, Scripture encourages us to bring our needs before our heavenly Father.
But how often do we come to God simply because we want to know Him better?
How often do we pray, not merely for what God can give us, but for a deeper understanding of who He is?
In Exodus 33, we encounter a man who understood that the greatest blessing God could give him was not something from God's hand but a greater knowledge of God Himself.
That man was Moses.
And his request should challenge every Christian who desires to grow in spiritual maturity.

The Desire to Know God
By the time we reach Exodus 33, Moses has witnessed extraordinary demonstrations of God's power. He had encountered God in the burning bush, watched the plagues fall upon Egypt, crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, and stood before Mount Sinai as the mountain trembled beneath the presence of the Lord.
Few individuals in human history had witnessed so much of God's power.
Yet Moses was not satisfied.
In Exodus 33:18, he makes a remarkable request:
"I pray You, show me Your glory!"
Consider what Moses was asking. He did not request another miracle. He did not ask for greater power, additional blessings, or even an explanation of God's plans for Israel.
He wanted to know God more deeply.
Earlier in the chapter, God had promised that Israel could continue toward the land of Canaan. The promised land, victory over their enemies, and the blessings associated with God's covenant were still before them. Yet Moses recognized that none of these blessings could replace the presence of God.
He declared in Exodus 33:15:
"If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here."
For Moses, the promised land without God's presence was not enough.
This is a mark of genuine spiritual maturity: valuing God Himself above everything God gives.
Unfortunately, we can easily reverse those priorities. We may become so occupied with God's blessings that we neglect the God who provides them. We can become more concerned with what God is doing in our lives than with growing in our knowledge of His character.
Consider your own prayers.
If God gave you better health, greater financial security, a stronger marriage, obedient children, and fewer difficulties, but you knew Him no better than you do today, would you be satisfied?
That question should cause us to examine our hearts.
The Christian life is not merely about receiving God's blessings. It is about knowing, loving, and worshiping the God who gives them.
And here is something we must understand: the more we truly know God, the more we will desire to know Him.

God Must Reveal Himself
Moses' request also teaches us something essential about the nature of God.
God cannot be discovered, understood, or approached merely through human effort. He must reveal Himself.
In Exodus 33:20, God tells Moses:
"You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"
God is infinite, and we are finite. He is holy, and we are fallen. He is the Creator, and we are His creatures.
Theologians sometimes describe this reality as the incomprehensibility of God. This does not mean that God cannot be known. Rather, it means that God can never be known exhaustively.
We can know God truly because He has revealed Himself, but we can never know Him completely.
No matter how much we study Scripture, how long we have been Christians, or how much theology we understand, there will always be more to learn about our infinite God.
This ought to produce humility.
We must never approach Scripture as though we have mastered its Author. Nor should we assume that years of Christian experience mean we have reached some advanced level where we no longer need to grow in our knowledge of Him.
God graciously reveals Himself, and our responsibility is to receive that revelation with humility and faith.
Notice also how God responds to Moses.
He places Moses in the cleft of a rock and covers him as His glory passes by (Exodus 33:21–23).
Moses does not determine how he will encounter God's glory. God provides the way.
The lesson is clear: we do not approach God on our own terms. We come to Him according to the revelation and provision He has graciously given.
And that brings us to the heart of this remarkable passage.

God's Glory Is Revealed in His Character
When Moses asks to see God's glory, we might expect another extraordinary demonstration of divine power.
Perhaps another earthquake, fire from heaven, or some visible manifestation of God's majesty.
But God's response is profound.
He reveals His character.
In Exodus 34:6–7, the Lord proclaims:
"The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished."
Here we encounter one of the most significant descriptions of God's character in all of Scripture.
And we must understand something important.
This is God describing Himself.
These are not Moses' personal impressions. They are not Israel's opinions. They are not conclusions reached through human philosophy.
God tells us who He is.
He is compassionate. He sees the suffering and misery of His people and is not indifferent to their affliction.
He is gracious. He extends undeserved favor to sinners who have no claim upon His kindness.
He is slow to anger. His wrath is never uncontrolled, impulsive, or unjust. His anger is always perfectly righteous.
He abounds in lovingkindness and truth. His covenant love is steadfast, His promises are trustworthy, and His faithfulness never fails.
He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. Though sinners have rebelled against His authority, God graciously provides forgiveness.
But notice how this revelation concludes.
God declares that He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
Here we encounter something many people struggle to understand.
God is merciful, but He is also just.
He is loving, but He is also holy.
He forgives sinners, but He does not overlook sin.
We must never emphasize one attribute of God at the expense of another.
Some prefer to think of God almost exclusively in terms of His love and mercy, leaving little room for His holiness and judgment. Others emphasize His justice and wrath so strongly that His compassion and grace seem almost secondary.
Both approaches distort the character of God.
The God of Scripture is perfectly compassionate and perfectly just.
His mercy never violates His righteousness. His justice never contradicts His goodness. His love is always holy, and His holiness is never separated from His goodness.
God is not divided into competing attributes.
He is perfectly and eternally everything He has revealed Himself to be.
This is why our understanding of God must always be governed by Scripture rather than personal preference.
We do not have the freedom to create a version of God that agrees with our opinions, approves of our desires, or reflects the values of our culture.
Our responsibility is not to determine what God should be like.
Our responsibility is to know Him as He has revealed Himself.
Knowing God Should Lead to Worship
What happens when Moses encounters this revelation?
Exodus 34:8 tells us:
"And Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship."
Moses does not respond by engaging in a theological debate. He does not merely record the information and move on.
He worships.
This is where theology must ultimately lead us.
The study of God is not intended merely to increase our knowledge. It is intended to deepen our worship.
We can study God's holiness without being humbled by it. We can explain His grace without being amazed by it. We can defend His sovereignty without finding comfort in it.
It is possible to become intellectually familiar with the things of God while remaining spiritually unmoved by them.
But that is not the purpose of knowing God.
Theology should shape our affections, strengthen our faith, deepen our reverence, and transform how we live.
The more we understand God's holiness, the more seriously we should take sin.
The more we understand His mercy, the more grateful we should become for His forgiveness.
The more we understand His faithfulness, the more confidently we should trust Him through life's difficulties.
And the more we understand His sovereignty, the more willingly we should submit ourselves to His providence.
A growing knowledge of God should produce a growing love for God.
If our theological knowledge is increasing while our humility, worship, and obedience remain unchanged, we should ask whether we are approaching the study of God with the right heart.

The Glory of God Revealed in Jesus Christ
The revelation Moses received was extraordinary, but it was not the final revelation of God's glory.
In the New Testament, John declares:
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
What Moses longed to behold finds its fullest revelation in Jesus Christ.
Christ is not merely someone who teaches us about God. He is God the Son incarnate, the perfect revelation of the Father.
And nowhere do we see the harmony of God's mercy and justice more clearly than at the cross.
God did not overlook sin to save sinners. In His holiness and justice, He judged sin through the substitutionary death of His Son. And in His mercy and grace, He provided salvation for those who repent and believe in Christ.
As Romans 3:26 explains, God is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
The cross demonstrates that God's justice and mercy are never in conflict.
Through Christ, sinners are reconciled to the very God whose glory Moses desired to see.
And for those who belong to Christ, the privilege of knowing God is not merely a future hope. It is a present reality that will continue throughout eternity.
Never Stop Pursuing a Deeper Knowledge of God
There is something deeply convicting about Moses' request.
Here was a man who had witnessed more of God's works than almost anyone who ever lived, yet his desire was still to know God more deeply.
What about us?
Have we become too familiar with the things of God?
Have we allowed years of church attendance, Bible studies, sermons, and theological discussions to replace a genuine pursuit of knowing Him?
Perhaps we know the right doctrines. Perhaps we can explain the attributes of God. Perhaps we can defend sound theology.
But has that knowledge made us more humble? More prayerful? More obedient? More thankful? More eager to worship?
The apostle Paul expressed this same desire when he wrote in Philippians 3:10:
"That I may know Him."
Paul already knew Christ. Yet he wanted to know Him more.
That should be the lifelong pursuit of every believer.
And we pursue that knowledge through the means God has provided: prayerfully studying His Word, sitting under faithful biblical preaching, participating in the fellowship and worship of the local church, and obeying what He has revealed.
We do not need to chase extraordinary experiences to discover God's character. He has already made Himself known through His Word.
The question is whether we are seeking Him.
We may never witness a burning bush, walk through the Red Sea, or stand beside Moses on Mount Sinai. But in Scripture, we have been given the privilege of knowing the same God.
The God who revealed Himself to Moses is the God who has made Himself known through His Son.
And the greatest blessing He gives His people is Himself.
So perhaps our prayers need to change.
Not that we should stop bringing our needs before God, but that our greatest desire would become something greater than our immediate circumstances.
Lord, teach me who You are.
Help me understand Your holiness, trust Your goodness, rest in Your sovereignty, and rejoice in Your grace.
Correct what I misunderstand about You. Deepen my love for You. Make Your Word precious to me and Your character the foundation of my worship.
Above everything You could give me, I want to know You.
May the prayer of Moses become the prayer of our hearts:
"I pray You, show me Your glory!" — Exodus 33:18

Grace Community Church South Bay
Committed to knowing God through His Word and making Him known