Show me Your glory!

Exodus 33:12-23
12And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.

13Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
14And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
15And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
16For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
18And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19And 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 shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
20And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.


I believe that God knows all. I believe He knows our every move. How we serve Him, if we will serve Him, and so on. It still amazes me when I read stories like this that it's like He's speaking right to me. In these verses God is promising Moses that His presence will be with him. It's so funny that in verse 12 Moses was beating around the bush with God. He didn't want to just ask God if he was going to be with him so he said "But who will you send with me?." That's like us saying "There's only one piece of cake left I wonder who will eat it" instead of just saying "Can I have the last piece of cake?" What Moses really wanted to say was "Are you going with me God?" All we have to do is call upon the name of the Lord and He is with us. I think God used this time to teach that to Moses (and us). God was preparing Moses for what is to come. I mean he was going to witness a burning bush he definatly needed reassurance that it was God's presence. I think after Moses understood this he asked God to show him His glory. In verse 22 God starts explaining to Moses what is going to happen. God already knew that Moses would experience His presence at Mt. Sinai. The glory that Moses had been asking for would be experienced there. God answered Moses' prayer and used him for His glory.
The closer we get to God the stronger we will feel His presence. Any questions or concerns we may have all we have to do is bring it to Him. Moses was a little concerned about the things that were to come and He wanted reassurance that God was with him. God not only gave him the reassurance but He also gave him an idea of what was to come!