Moses asks to see the face of God. The Lord rejects that request as impossible, shields Moses, and then proclaims His nature as His glory passes by. This revelation later helped David, the Psalm writer, grasp the merciful and compassionate nature of the Lord and can help us have a healthier view of God as well. We also uncover the meaning of the word "grace," which appears six times in this passage in the Greek LXX. By exploring other uses of that word elsewhere in the LXX, we can see for ourselves how Paul and other early Christians would have understood this important term. (Spoiler alert: They did NOT understand ‘grace’ to mean unmerited favor!)
Teaching Notes
Asking to See the Lord (Exodus 33:12-34:9) - Lesson Outline (PDF)