Today's Prompt: Crevice**
As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Exodus 33:22 NLT
Have you ever wondered what happened when God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock?
But what does that mean? I always took these scriptures at face value. God put Moses in a crack in a rock, put his hand over Moses' face, then walked in front of Him. But God is a spirit surrounded with so much glory that he wouldn't have been able to see through it. So what did he see? As I looked into this more, I found some teaching that made me think something more happened than God strolling by in front of Moses.
Most scholars believe Moses write the first five books of the Bible. But how did he know what happened in the beginning, as Genesis records? He wasn't raised in the Jewish community, so he would not have heard the stories passed down through the generations. God would have had to reveal those details to him.
Is that what happened while he was in that crevice?
Moses asked God to show him His glory, and God responded you shall see My back. I know all of God is absolutely glorious, but having God right there and only being able to see his back would be disappointing. But what if God showing Moses His back meant showing him the past? I believe this may have been when God showed Moses the glory of creation.
Another possibility is that is when Moses was taken to the Mount of Transfiguration. Many believe that the crevice Moses was in is the same cave Elijah hid in 1 Kings 19. There is a Jewish tradition that says Mount Sinai/Horeb was the Mount of the Transfiguration. That would place Moses, Elijah, and Jesus all in the same place, just at different times. Perhaps seeing Jesus was God making all His goodness pass before Moses.
I love both of these ideas. Whatever happened to Moses on that mountain affected him to the point he glowed for weeks. That is what happens when you behold the glory of God.
“But [the time is coming when] the earth shall be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14
Moses got to experience the glory of God for a short time. However, we get to live in the glory. Jesus will return for a glorious church. His glory will become stronger than we have ever seen to make that happen. The glory of the Lord is coming. Rise up and meet it.
**This post is part of the #write28days Challenge, writing and posting EVERY DAY in February
4 comments
Wonderful to consider the possibilities of what Moses saw, isn’t it? God’s glory is life-changing, that’s for sure!
We wrote very similarly today! “Great minds lthink alike!” Though we shared some of the same scriptures we also have some differences so it makes it more interesting. Those thoughts of Moses and Elijah are interesting, and I love how you pointed us to our future glory. Blessings to you!
Same person, different story. We covered it all. It will be interesting to learn how it all happened, I think perhaps, his mother and sister taught him about Abraham even in the palace, as she came to care for him.
This is beautiful. Just the encouragement I’m looking for today. Eyes on Jesus and Shine!