Thursday, Oct. 3
Exodus 33:7 – 34:35 Read it here
The Tent of Meeting spoken of today doesn’t seem to be the same as we read about earlier in Exodus, which was a precisely built tent at the center of the community where worship was centered—but the purpose is the same.
The phrase as it’s used in today’s passage refers to a tent Moses pitched outside the camp, where he met God and where the people would come to him for guidance.
We don’t know exactly how God and Moses met with one another. The pillar of cloud stood at the entrance to the tent while Moses and Joshua were inside.
It doesn’t seem that Moses saw God with his eyes, as he asks in 33:18 for God to “show me your glory,” apparently meaning he wants God to appear visibly. God agrees, but to protect Moses, does not allow Moses to see God’s face…he must hide in a cleft of the mountain until God passes, and only see God from behind.
This is not the first time that we’ve been told that humans can’t see God face-to-face, as God’s glory would overwhelm them to the point they would not survive. That will change, though, after humans have seen God’s face in the person of Jesus.
Paul refers to this Exodus passage in 2 Corinthians 3, when he said, “We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away.”
After the arrival of Christ, a full encounter with God becomes transformative rather than overwhelming. As Paul continues in 3:18, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”