Seeking the Face of God? Exodus 33:18-23

Text:  “And the Father Himself, which hath sent Me (Christ Jesus), hath borne witness of Me.  Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape.”

John 5:37.

                    “And He, (God the Father) said, Thou canst not see My face; for there shall no man see Me and live.”

Exodus 33:20.

          “No man hath seen God (the Father) at any time; the only begotten Son (Christ Jesus), which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.”

John 1:18.

Good morning, God-seeking Christian!  You have sought the face of God, found Christ Jesus; and been graciously SAVED - as the Scriptures promised you would.  Now, it is your daily duty, and mine, to continue to seek the face of God Almighty, find it in Christ Jesus alone, and glory in His Presence.  Let me ask you, let me ask myself also - are we seeking God’s face continually?

“When Thou (the Lord) saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.  Hide not Thy face from me; put not Thy servant away in anger; Thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my Salvation.”  (Psalm 27:8-9)

“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his/her way, and the unrighteous man his/her thoughts; and let him/her return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”  (Isaiah 55:6-7)

Old Augustine, one of the early church worthies, said something like this:  “Mankind has a God-shaped hole in his heart, that only Christ can fill.” (paraphrased)

And you know what, dear friend?  I have personally proven that he was correct in his profound assessment.  All mankind have an innate need to seek the face of his/her Creator Lord God.  Praise God, some of us find Him.

Many native peoples in faraway, often uncivilised lands, who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, go out into the deepest jungle; bow down; and seek to worship some external, unseen power, to try to satisfy this need.

Similarly, a new born baby, as soon as it receives its sight - naturally seeks to gaze up into the face of its nurturing Mother and Father.  Think about it!

This is what Moses, the man made mighty by God, is doing in today’s Scripture passage above.   We can understand to some degree, therefore, what Moses is trying to do when he says the following:

“…I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.”  (Exodus 33:18)

In a sense, Moses is saying, “Loving Father, let me look into your dear face?”

However, the Lord answers Moses with these words:  “Thou canst not see My face; for there shall no man see Me, and live.”  (Exodus 33:20)

Now, bring this startling knowledge into the context of John’s Gospel account of Christ Jesus, and rejoice in the revelation that Jesus Christ was, is, and forever shall be, the Lord God Almighty!  Hallelujah!  What Truth!

“And the Father Himself, which hath sent Me (as God incarnate), hath borne witness of Me.  Ye have never heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape.”  (John 5:37)

Why have we never heard the voice, seen the face, nor the shape of Almighty God?  ‘…For there shall no man/woman see Me, and live.’!   Amen.

What Christ is teaching us here is that, He is God incarnate; God Almighty in human bodily form.  The only face of God mankind has ever seen is the altogether lovely face of the Living Lord Jesus Christ.  Glory to His wonderful Name!  You will find a perfect illustration of the face of Christ Jesus in Song of Solomon chapter 5, verses 9-16.  Glory to His Name!

“His mouth is most sweet; yea, He is altogether lovely.  This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”  (Song of Solomon 5:16)

When Moses sought God’s face, the Lord showed Moses His great power: “…I will make all My goodness pass before thee and I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” (Exodus 33:19)

The miracles that Christ Jesus did, fulfilled the same function - God the Father bore witness of God the Son, in the power of God the Holy Spirit.

Thought:  True Christians see:  “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”  (2 Corinthians 4:6)