“But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” EXODUS 33:20
Simple question from someone near to me, “Why can’t we see God’s face?”
Moses was one of privileged people in the Old Testament to see part of the glory of God in a pretty intimate manner – intimate as it goes for human and God relations. Although God spoke to Moses “as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11), no man ever saw the full glory of God. In fact, when Moses asked, “Please, show me Your glory.” (Exodus 33:18), God only allowed His “Goodness” to come near Moses while he was protected in a cleft of a rock and shaded by God’s hand.
Later in Exodus 34:29-30, Moses came down from the mountain after conversing with God at length and his face was shining from God’s glory and it caused the Israelites to be afraid to come near him.
Several prophets in the Old Testament had experiences where they felt overwhelmed in mere proximity to God, but none could say they experienced seeing God’s face.
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My Sailor’s Understanding
From a submariner’s point of view, you might consider the difference between a non-qual and a qualified sailor in many ways incompatible, or the difference between a skimmer and a submariner. Perhaps the difference between the Captain and a non-qual is of sufficient gravity, but you would have to increase the magnitude off-the-meter to match the incompatibility of a Holy God and sinful man.
We know that as humans, we are made in the image of God, “Let us make man in Our image, in Our likeness…” (Genesis 1; 26), and we are created with many of the characteristics of God, though at human level of power and awareness.
Importantly, we as humans, with our propensity for self-righteousness, are corrupted with sin. Without the supernatural faith-based solution for Salvation through the Gospel, there is no means to reconcile and restore ones relationship with God to be able to see His face. Through the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ’s suffering and sacrifice, the original intent of man can be restored, enjoying a divine inheritance as an eternal, sinless, and capable being in fellowship with God.
I consider there are two main reasons why we cannot see God’s face. One is physical the other is spiritual.
The physical reasons have to do with dimension. God’s character and nature span more dimensions than we are able to comprehend. Just like we cannot see 1000 years as 1 day or 1 day as in 1000 years, these kinds of truths of God make human beings just an off-the-scales downgrade in terms of capability. The Book of Job and many other Scriptures go at length about the creative hand of God, how He can “speak” things into existence on a universal scale.
Yes, as much as I’d like to speak my 1970 Dodge Challenger into a state of perfect restoration or miraculously turn a non-qual into a qualified in Submarines Sailor, it is not going to happen (I am finding it difficult finding that that is truly in God’s will).
A more God-like concern might be, how I be assured that everyone I care about will be saved from eternal wrath? While I cannot “make” that happen, what I can do is walk in faith, to strive to live for God, to communicate the Gospel in ways that lead others to the saving grace found through the Son of God.
The spiritual reasons surround how God is perfectly sinless, holy and righteous. Humans, apart from Christ’s redeeming sacrifice, are storing up God’s wrath for the Day of Judgment. God’s righteousness and the sinful souls of humans are not compatible without divine protection, a gift God freely offers anyone humble enough to accept and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is but an inadequate analogy at best, but imagine having to face the parents of the children who you just killed in an auto accident because you were a drunken fool driving recklessly. If you have a conscience, you would feel such shame you would not be able to bear it. If you do not think you have a conscience, expect God will fully activate your conscience so that you truly understand your error before His judgment.
While God is rich in love, compassion, gentleness, kindness, mercy and patience, He is also Good and must Judge good and evil.
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JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL
A trait that we have that is like God is our innate belief that justice must prevail. God promises He will dispense Justice and Justice will in fact prevail. The issue with most people is we think we are on God’s side in comparison to the most evil people you can think of. There is nothing more wrong than that self-righteous assumption.
Another incorrect assumption is that “I don’t do what I did in the past, so I am not guilty.” That’s nothing more than your self-righteousness pulling a fast one over you, again.
In the perfect judgment of God, the breaking of the Laws are convictable whether the law was broken 50 years ago or 5 minutes ago. A worldly judge may be constrained by statutes of limitations set forth in civil law, however, with God, 1000 years and 1 day are the same. Since God is holy, righteous and just, simply breaking one Law is like shattering the pane of righteousness.
Revelation 21:6-8 is a straight forward passage regarding judgment and why God is still patient, merciful and long suffering to ‘show His face’ to man in effort to reach out to those who will turn away from sin and towards Him:
“And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son…
“… But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerer, idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
I do not need to know what God’s face looks like when I know that those who inherit the Kingdom will be called “son”.
Seek the Narrow Gate. Wide is the path to destruction.
CKY
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