Village Schools of the Bible

Part 3

BEHOLDING GOD'S GLORY:
A FURTHER DEFINITION: Exodus 33:17-23
by Max Frazier, Jr.

a short study in 10 parts

We have been asking ourselves the question, Just what is God's glory. We began to consider in our last meeting together, that God's glory is what is in himself. And we began to examine four ways in which God's glory was revealed. The first two were these: God's glory as seen in his name and in what he has done. Today let us consider two other ways in which our text in Exodus 33 states that God's glory is revealed.

Third, God's glory is seen in his mercy. Exodus 33:19 states, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." Mercy is God's seeing man in his pitiful condition and doing something to deliver him. God had acted with mercy toward the nation of Israel following their sin with the golden calf. They deserved his wrath and punishment, but he delivered them instead. He provided the means for their renewal with him.

Christmas is a time of God's showing us his mercy. He looked upon us in our desperate need and because of his mercy and love, he acted to meet that great need. Jesus Christ came to offer to us God's mercy. He himself was to be the penalty for the sins of mankind.

Fourth, God's glory is seen in his grace. The word "compassion" in Exodus 33:19 could also refer to God's grace. Now grace is God's unmerited favor bestowed upon us in spite of the fact that we deserved God's punishment. You might remember all the ways God showed his grace to Israel while they were in the wilderness: His guidance by the pillar and the cloud. His feeding them with manna and quail. He supplying water for them from the rock. His granting them victory over their enemies. Did Israel deserve all this? Absolutely not! They continually grumbled and complained. They constantly abused God's grace.

Think, as the holidays approach, of how God has been gracious to you.

Christmas is a time for reflecting upon God's glory. The glory of his grace and the glory of his mercy. It is a time for us to dare to ask God to draw us closer to him in a deeper relationship.

Perhaps it is time to sit down right now and prayerfully ask God to show you how you can show his mercy and grace to someone else this holiday season. It could be sharing a bag of groceries with a neighbor, or sharing a friendly visit with a lonely resident of a nursing home, or just sending a cheerful greeting card to someone who needs encouragement. As we do these small thing, we, too, share in God's glory.

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