Today is one of those rare days when I could stay home ALL day! Finally a chance to work on Abishag’s story again and clean the house, little by little, for Christmas. (How is it only a week away?) We’ve had more than our normal snow for this time of year and our typical winter clouds. But this afternoon, just for a few moments, the sun broke through, this bright orb of gladness. It is amazing how much better I feel on sunny days. The sun’s kiss feels like a very small taste of heaven. (So does the ocean, as seen here off the coast of California.)
Someone told me the other day that the sun is our energy source and that’s why we feel better when it’s shining. I did not comment on that then, but as I looked into the face of the sun through our kitchen window today, I thought that the sun seemed more to me like a glimpse of God’s glory than simply an energy source.
Moses wanted to see God’s glory. He had spoken with God as a with a friend, but had never seen His glorious face. So Moses asked to see what had been denied him. But God told him that no one could see His face and live. So God hid Moses in the cleft of a rock and passed by, only allowing Moses a glimpse of His goodness, His glory. And yet, Moses’ face shone with that glimpse, so much so that the people of Israel asked Moses to cover his face. They couldn’t bear to look into such light, just as we cannot bear to look into the sun’s face.
Moses only saw a shadow of God’s full glory then. But when the time came to be fulfilled, Jesus (Yeshua), God’s Son, His promised Messiah, laid aside that same glory when He came to earth in human flesh. At last mankind could look on God’s face and live! He walked among us as one of us, as Moses longed to see Him.
I have often wondered if the star the wise men followed wasn’t a piece of Jesus’ glory breaking through the heavens to illumine the way for them to find the king they sought.
The sun in our earth’s orbit won’t guide us as that star once did the wise men, though it can remind us of a greater glory, a brighter light that can shine in our hearts if we let it. As the sun lifts our spirits with its warmth and bright rays, so God’s glory lifts our souls to seek Him. And we can say with Moses, “Now show me your glory.”
And God did when He sent Jesus.
Selah~
