In Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers
In the Book of Genesis we read of the Lord speaking to men, but there is no mention of the appearing of His glory. He spoke to Adam in innocency, and after he had sinned; He spoke to Cain regarding his offering, and after he had slain his brother; Enoch walked with God, and we cannot doubt there were divine communications to him, as the Book of Jude makes plain; God spoke to Noah, both before and after the flood; and God appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; but wonderful as all these conversations and appearances were, it was not yet the time for the glory of the Lord to appear to men.
The Divine Glory In Exodus
It was a remarkable sight that Moses saw when God appeared to him in the bush that burned with fire, but which was not consumed, and this was the beginning of the many wonderful things that Moses was to see as the chosen servant of Jehovah. With Israel, Moses saw the Lord’s presence in the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, that directed them after they had left Egypt (Ex. 13:21-22) the Lord having come down in grace to be with the people He had brought out of Egypt on the ground of the shedding of the blood of the Paschal lamb. Although this was the visible evidence of the presence of God, it was not yet the display of His glory.
How very solemn it is that the first mention of the display of God’s glory has to do with meeting their murmurings, even as Moses said to Israel, “In the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that He hears your murmurings against the Lord” (Ex. 16:7). And as Aaron, directed by Moses, said to the whole congregation, “Come near before the Lord: for He has heard your murmurings,” the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud (verse 10). Although Israel had murmured, God was dealing with them in grace, and their murmurings were answered in grace by the rich provision of flesh and manna.
The second appearing of the glory was in very different circumstances, for Israel had bound themselves in a covenant of death to keep the whole law, so that when the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, covering it for six days, “the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel” (Ex. 24:16-17). The contrast between these two appearings of the divine glory is very striking, illustrating the distinction between the Lord’s dealings with Israel under grace and under law. Those who seek to stand before God on the ground of law have to do with a God who is a consuming fire; but those who have to do with God in grace, as made known in Jesus, learn His goodness in the rich provision He has made for His people.
We might have thought that having seen the glory of the Lord as a consuming fire Israel would have dreaded doing anything contrary to what God had commanded them, but so very soon after having seen the divine glory they made a golden calf, breaking the very first of the commandments they had undertaken, on pain of death, to keep. Moses, apprehending the awful consequences of breaking the law, broke the tables of stone at the foot of the mount, so that they did not reach the camp of Israel; and then pleading with the Lord, God in mercy spared the people from the judgment their sin had merited.
When speaking to the Lord concerning Israel, Moses said to the Lord, “If I have found grace in Thy sight, show me now Thy way” (Ex. 33:13), and the Lord answered, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” (verse 14). Encouraged by God’s grace towards Israel, Moses said to the Lord, “I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory” (verse 18); and God, after speaking of His sovereign grace and mercy, said to His servant, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while my glory passes by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen” (verses 19–23).
The sight that Moses had of the divine glory was unique, something very much in advance of what Israel had seen when God appeared to them after their murmuring, and something quite different from the consuming fire on the top of the mountain, for the vision of the glory was accompanied with the words, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty” (Ex. 34:6–7). It was the divine glory in relation to the ways of God with His people where His government exhibits His goodness and His severity. Though so uniquely favoured among men with the sight of God’s glory, it was still true that “No man has seen God at any time” (John 1:18), a revelation that awaited the coming of the Son into the world.
In Exodus 29:43 God had promised, “the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory,” and true to His promise, when the tabernacle was reared, “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Ex. 40:34). Moses, who had seen the divine glory on the mountain has now no clift of the rock in which to hide, so it is recorded, “And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (verse 35).
How very different it was when the divine glory was seen in the only-begotten Son of God on earth, dwelling among men, yet men able to draw near. The poor sinner of Luke 7 was in the presence of the blessed Son of God, and how His moral glory shines out in His grace towards her, and she responding with her tears, her service of love in washing His feet, and in her anointing of the feet that had brought Him down to bring to her the blessing of God.
The divine glory filling the tabernacle also brings before us what God ever had in His mind, a dwelling-place with men where His glory would shine forth, even as it is brought before us in Revelation 21:3, where John hears a great voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” This is surely what Paul also calls our attention to in Ephesians 3:21, “Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
The Divine Glory in Leviticus
The only mention of the divine glory in Leviticus is in chapter 9, on the eighth day after the consecration of the priests. After the offering of the sin offering and the burnt offering, there was the sacrifice of peace offerings, Jehovah having His portion in the inwards and the fat, the breasts and the right shoulder being waved for a wave offering before the Lord. All had their part in the joy and communion of this great day which pointed forward to the time when Israel would be blessed on earth under the sway of Messiah in the millennium.
In connection with the offerings, “Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them,” indicating the blessing that will be brought to God’s earthly people through the work of Christ upon the cross. Then Moses and Aaron, a combined type of Christ as King and Priest, “went into the tabernacle of the congregation,” speaking of Christ entering heaven after the one offering on the cross which met all the claims of God, and laid the basis in redemption for the blessing of God to come to His people.
Moses and Aaron then “came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people” (Lev. 9:23). So will it be when the Lord Jesus comes out of heaven as King and Priest to sit upon His throne (Zech. 6:13), the glory of the Lord will be seen in Him, and the people of Israel will indeed be blessed of God. Then Israel will see that the blessing given to them has been secured because of the sacrifice of the Christ, and all will fall on their faces, and shout for joy, in the presence of the divine glory seen in Him whom they once rejected and crucified, but is now seen to be God’s King and God’s Priest.
The Divine Glory in Numbers
On the return of the spies in Numbers 14, “all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried; and the people wept that night, and all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron” (verses 1-2). As Joshua and Caleb spoke to the people of the good land they had seen, “all the congregation bade stone them with stones” (verses 6–10); and just at this juncture, “the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel!” The appearance of God’s glory manifested how deeply interested He was in the affairs of Israel, and He had come to deal with the unbelief and rebellion of a people who continually provoked Him.
The intercession of Moses is very blessed as he pleads the fame of Jehovah, His long-suffering and His great mercy, and seeks for His wayward people the pardon of the Lord (verses 13–19). Once more the Lord who delights in intercession, spares Israel on the pleadings of Moses, but He said, “I have pardoned according to thy word: but as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord” (verses 20-21). Israel had been highly favoured to be the witnesses of God’s glory, but the time would come when the whole earth would be filled with His glory; and the despisers of God’s presence, the men who had seen his glory and power, and had tempted Him so often, would “not see the land” of promise, none save Joshua and Caleb.
Again, in Numbers 16, when “Korah gathered all the congregation against” Moses and Aaron “unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,” the glory of the Lord “appeared unto all the congregation” (verse 19). This fresh rebellion, like that in chapter 14, was not against God’s servants, but against the Lord Himself. His glory was being called in question, His right to choose whom He would was being challenged, and the Lord had come down Himself with the display of His glory to meet the challenge of Korah and his company. How very solemn for Korah, and for Dathan and Abiram was the presence of the divine glory they had despised.
All Israel had witnessed the glory of the Lord that had come to deal with Korah’s rebellion, and had seen the divine judgment poured upon those who had rebelled, yet the very next day “all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord” (Num. 16:41). We may well marvel at the temerity of Israel challenging so soon, after having seen what happened to Korah, the God who had manifested His displeasure and His power against the sinners. Is it any wonder that the glory of the Lord again appeared (verse 42), and that the judgment of God again fell upon the rebels?
Yet again Israel are found complaining in Numbers 20, this time on account of the lack of water, and when Moses and Aaron fall upon their faces at the entrance of the tabernacle “the glory of the Lord appeared unto them” (verse 6). This time there is no judgment for the people, but Moses and Aaron, no doubt irritated by the attitude of the people, do not carry out God’s instructions, Moses smiting the rock twice with his own rod, instead of speaking to the rock with the rod that budded in his hand. How very solemn was the word of the Lord to His servants, “Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them” (verse 12).
Serious as was this lack of confidence in God, there was not rebellion, as in the case of Korah and his company, or when the people refused the good tidings concerning the land of promise; there was no charging Moses with killing the Lord’s people, so that the Lord in grace provides for His people. Moses had had to endure much, and hitherto had been meek and patient, but he breaks down on his strongest point, saying, “Hear now, ye rebels: must we fetch you water out of this rock?” How unlike the “meekest man in all the earth;” it was all out of character for Moses to speak in this way, but there was only one perfect Man, who never failed, only One who could say, “I do always those things that please Him” (John 8:29).
Although prohibited from entering the land, the Lord in His goodness fully recompensed His faithful servant with the view of the land from the top of Pisgah, and with his appearing on the “holy mount” in the company of the Son of God in His glory (Matt. 17:3; Mark 9:2-4, Luke 9:28-31). Moreover, Moses will have his full reward in the coming day, a rich recompense for his faithful service to the Lord, and for esteeming the reproach of Christ to be greater riches than all Egypt’s treasures.
The privilege of Israel in beholding the glory of the Lord is recalled by Moses in Deuteronomy, where he says to the people, “And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God has showed us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he lives” (v. 24). It was indeed a wondrous privilege that Israel had in seeing the glory of God, but how little affected they were by it; and it is the privilege of saints today to behold the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus, so that we might be “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even by the Lord the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).
R. 13.3.68