Moses begs of God to show him his face, or to manifest his glory;
he replies, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee,” and I will
proclaim my name; “but my face thou canst not see; for there shall no
man see it and live!” The persuasion was very prevalent in the world,
that no man could support the sight of Deity, Genesis xvi, 13; xxxii,
30; Exod. xx, 19; xxiv, 11; Judges vi, 22, 23. We read that God spake
mouth to mouth with Moses, even apparently, and not in dark speeches,
Numbers xii, 8; “The Canaanites have heard that thou art among thy
people, and seen face to face,” Numbers xiv, 14. God talked with the
Hebrews “face to face out of the midst of the fire,” Deut. v, 4. All
these places are to be understood simply, that God so manifested himself
to the Israelites, that he made them hear his voice as distinctly as if
he had appeared to them face to face; but not that they actually saw
more than the cloud of glory which marked his presence. The face of God
denotes sometimes his anger: “The face of the Lord is against them that
do evil.” “As wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish
before the face of God,” Psalm lxviii, 2. To turn the face upon any one,
especially when connected with the light or shining of the countenance,
are beautiful representations of the divine kindness and condescension.
To regard the face of any one, is to have respect of persons, Proverbs
xxviii, 21. The Apostle, speaking of the difference between our
knowledge of God here and in heaven, says, “Now we see through a glass
darkly; but then face to face,” 1 Cor. xiii, 12; by which he shows the
vast difference between our seeing or knowing God and divine things by
an imperfect revelation to faith, and by direct vision. This observation
of the Apostle is rendered the more striking, when it is recollected
that the Roman glass was not fully transparent as ours, but dull and
clouded. Of this, specimens may be seen in the glass vessels taken out
of Pompeii.
he replies, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee,” and I will
proclaim my name; “but my face thou canst not see; for there shall no
man see it and live!” The persuasion was very prevalent in the world,
that no man could support the sight of Deity, Genesis xvi, 13; xxxii,
30; Exod. xx, 19; xxiv, 11; Judges vi, 22, 23. We read that God spake
mouth to mouth with Moses, even apparently, and not in dark speeches,
Numbers xii, 8; “The Canaanites have heard that thou art among thy
people, and seen face to face,” Numbers xiv, 14. God talked with the
Hebrews “face to face out of the midst of the fire,” Deut. v, 4. All
these places are to be understood simply, that God so manifested himself
to the Israelites, that he made them hear his voice as distinctly as if
he had appeared to them face to face; but not that they actually saw
more than the cloud of glory which marked his presence. The face of God
denotes sometimes his anger: “The face of the Lord is against them that
do evil.” “As wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish
before the face of God,” Psalm lxviii, 2. To turn the face upon any one,
especially when connected with the light or shining of the countenance,
are beautiful representations of the divine kindness and condescension.
To regard the face of any one, is to have respect of persons, Proverbs
xxviii, 21. The Apostle, speaking of the difference between our
knowledge of God here and in heaven, says, “Now we see through a glass
darkly; but then face to face,” 1 Cor. xiii, 12; by which he shows the
vast difference between our seeing or knowing God and divine things by
an imperfect revelation to faith, and by direct vision. This observation
of the Apostle is rendered the more striking, when it is recollected
that the Roman glass was not fully transparent as ours, but dull and
clouded. Of this, specimens may be seen in the glass vessels taken out
of Pompeii.