GRACIOUS TO WHOMEVER HE WANTS TO

PROCLAMATION

“And he said, ‘I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.’  And He said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of The Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.’  And He said, ‘Thou canst not see My face; for there shall no man see Me, and live.’ ”  Exodus 33:18-19 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The Lord God told Moses to lead the people away from Mount Sinai to the land which He had promised to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob.  He said that He would send an angel before them to drive out the current inhabitants, but He would not go with them because they were a stiff-necked people and He might destroy them. (Exodus 33:1-3)  The people mourned when Moses told them what The Lord God had said. (Exodus 33:4-6)  Then Moses pitched the tent which was the tabernacle some distance away from the camp and there he met with The Lord.  Whenever the people saw the cloudy pillar at the entrance to the tabernacle, they knew that The Lord God was present and speaking with Moses.  No man approached the tabernacle, they all worshiped God, every man standing in the doorway of his own tent. (Exodus 33:7-10)  While talking to God, Moses asked Him to show him His glory.  The Lord God told him that no man can see His face and live. (Exodus 33:11-20)  He told Moses that He would be gracious to whomever He wanted to, and He would show mercy to whomever He wanted to show mercy.  Then He told Moses that He would hide him in the cleft of a rock and pass by allowing him to see His back side. (Exodus 33:19-23) 

 

APPLICATION

The Lord God is good all of the time.  He is gracious and merciful, and He shares His grace and mercy with whomever He chooses to share them with.  They are both gifts from God, we have done nothing to merit either one of them.  Because of our limited capacity for understanding, we sometimes we ask The Lord God for things which are not in our best interest.  Since He knows all, He may choose to give us something that is different from what we asked for because it will be better for us.  We need to learn to thank Him for the doors which He closed and protected us from, as well as for the doors of opportunity which He opened for us.