Posted on 02/27/2021 7:16:16 AM PST by metmom
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1).
God’s glory is the radiance of all He is.
In Isaiah’s vision of Heaven, angels called out, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isa. 6:3). What exactly is the glory of God? It encompasses all that He is, the radiance of His attributes and divine nature.
Moses said to God, “I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!” (Ex. 33:18), and the Lord answered, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion” (v. 19). Moses was not allowed to see God’s face, which is the essence of His being: “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (v. 20). But Moses was allowed to see God’s back, which represents the afterglow of His glory.
Perhaps God’s afterglow is like the radiance of the sun. We only see the light that comes off the sun. If we got too close to it, we would be consumed. If the sun is so brilliant, what must God be like? His glory seen in creation is only a dim reflection of His character.
God displayed His glory many times in Scripture. He represented Himself as a great white cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night as He led Israel through the wilderness (Ex. 13:21). After the Tabernacle was built, “the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Ex. 40:34). Years later, He filled the temple in a similar way (1 Kings 8:10-11). This manifestation of God’s glory served as the focal point of worship for Israel.
God takes His glory very seriously. He said, “I will not give My glory to another” (Isa. 42:8). We must not steal God’s glory by becoming proud and taking credit for the good things He has done. Instead of taking God’s glory, say with David, “I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Thy name forever” (Ps. 86:12).
Suggestions for Prayer
Praise God for His glory and majesty.
For Further Study
Read Daniel 4, the story of a powerful man who did not give God the glory. What characterized Nebuchadnezzar in verses 30 and 37?
Studying God’s Word ping
“If the sun is so brilliant, what must God be like? His glory seen in creation is only a dim reflection of His character”.
To amplify your metaphor; As stars go, the sun is on the small-ish side. It is technically described as a dwarf. There are stars many times larger than our Sol. God made them all. Therefore, God is unimaginably greater and more glorious than even the greatest star, or any other created object.
Blessings.
It’s interesting to stand outdoors and reflect on how God’s creation reveals Him to us.
And what we’re seeing is a corrupted version of His perfect creation seen through a glass darkly, with sinful eyes.
That’s heavy, Mom; “....a corrupted version of His perfect Creation seen through a glass darkly, with corrupted eyes”.
That “heavy” bit is a holdover from the hippie jargon of the ‘70s. Our little town had a fine Youth Center for HS kids who went there but hung out outside, rarely going inside. So a friend and I started going there with a Bible under our arm. Each of us would strike up a conversation with a yout standing out along the street. We’d slowly walk them up the sidewalk away from the crowd, then give them the plan of Salvation from The Word, and lead them in the “Sinner’s Prayer”.
Then to give the new baby Christians a place to gather, we started a “coffee house” in a defunct cafe a few blocks away, and had The Word, music, drinks, snacks and fellowship on Tuesday and Friday nights.
The word spread and we had kids show up from all over. Several hundred came to the Lord. It lasted several beautiful years. Now 50 years later, I occasionally meet a middle aged person who says they were a coffee house convert. Now my wife and I are waaaay over the hill, and my partner in the coffee house is a diabetic with both legs off above the knees....but he and his wife are still praising Jesus, too.
Blessings.
I’m old enough to remember that but I was not part of it.
I got saved just after that movement.
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