A God to Go Before Us

Recall with me the original motivation for the golden calf: "Make us gods to go before us," said Israel to Aaron. And he did. But that was no god, not worth worshiping, incapable of leading. Nonetheless, it well expressed the human desire for a visible god. We want to see what we worship! It is astonishing what an outsized role the sense of sight plays in our lives. That is true also in the religious sphere. But I want you to see with me that God addresses that felt need in an absolutely glorious, God-sized display of His glory before Moses. The people had asked for a visible God to go before them; now, in the opening verse of our text, Moses requests the same thing. To be known by God is much. To find grace in the sight of God is much. But to see the glory of God — that is more. That is what we were made for. The craving for a god we can see is expressed in Moses' request to see God's glory — and it is addressed by God's willingness to show His goodness and His back to Moses. Show us the Father, and it is enough for us! That is exactly what happened here, as the Father showed Himself to Moses, and it was enough — not just for Moses, but for all of us as we absorb the glory of the holy one as conveyed to us through the Mediator's account of his vision of God.