We also understand that the worship of God was a communal matter, that when Moses would head out for the tent which was pitched outside the camp, all Israel would stand up and watched Moses until he entered into the tent. They all worshipped; everyone at their tent door, while Moses was in the tent speaking with God.

But what is more interesting is the end of the chapter, after Moses demands God’s blessings, God’s presence and God’s protection. At one point, Moses even says to God: "If your presence doesn't go with me, don't carry us up from here." In other words, "if your presence will not be with us, don’t even bother sending us anywhere."

Lastly, Moses asks for something seemingly out of ordinary. Moses says to God: "Please show me your glory." Now in itself, perhaps this is not an unusual request, but God’s answer to Moses blew me out of the water. God said "You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live. Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33:20-23)

What? God has a face, hands, and a back? What sense is there in this passage?

Rabbi Michael Paley is interpreting this passage in light of Moses Maimonidies’ writings. He says:

"Moses Maimonidies proposes an answer to this question. To understand what it would mean to see the face of God, we first have to understand what it would mean to see anyone's face, since people are also made in the image of God. When I look at your face, what do I actually see? I don't really see your face, but rather I see what I think your face looks like. It doesn't depend on your face; it depends on my eyesight, memory, and sense of good taste. However, if you are my friend, I will see you in a different way. Our relationship will help me experience seeing you in a richer and more mutual way. If you are my closest friend, I might move from seeing you through my eyes towards seeing the world through yours. If something is bothering you, I will know it. If you are celebrating, I will be engaged by it." [1]

What an interesting perspective on this passage, and how interesting it is that Rabbi Paley recognizes the greater and more important things about God, like his Presence. He continues:

"If Moses were to see the full face of God he would only see what he thought God looked like. This would be enough to recognize God but not enough to feel the divine presence, because Moses is limited by his humanity, while God is absolute and infinite. But if Moses stands behind God seeing only from the back, then he may for an instant be able to look at the world through the eyes of God. This would not be face-to-face but rather "face-in-face." He would be able to see the fullness of reality from the perspective of the divine without losing his own human perspective. He would be able to look at the fragile world as a friend, with mutuality and compassion for what he sees. This is the special nature of friendship." [2]

Beautiful and fascinating! This is the essence of Covenant Eschatology, and the essence of understanding the presence of God today. God’s redemption of mankind, God’s reconciliation of humanity to Himself is not about "face-to-face" but rather "face-in-face." It is about an intimate and personal relationship with our Creator. It is also not only about us communing with God, but about God fraternizing with us, with "mutuality and compassion" for what he saw, which was sin and wrongdoings. And indeed, it’s about friendship about us befriending God, and God befriending us.

But this is not the final interpretation of this passage. For thousands of years, Jewish scholars have been arguing about Exodus 33. They always recognized that God has no form, no face, no hands, and certainly no back. So the general consensus among those Jewish scholars, is that God’s back is a meaning for something else, something higher about man’s relationship with God. Rabbi Avi Weiss writes: "When God tells Moshe, you can see me from behind, but not from the front, He may be saying that events can only be understood in hindsight." [3]

To this day, Jewish scholars agree that Moses’ ability to see only God’s back, should be interpreted as Moses being able to see where "God just was" to see God’s glory in "hindsight." This interpretation seems to harmonize with what we know about the rest of the scripture, and the greater redemption story for all of us. The best Moses could do, was to see where "God just was," God's presence in hindsight and retrospect.

Our advantage today is that we can also look in the New Testament and contrast the days of Moses with the post A.D. 70 world in which we dwell with God. In Revelation 22, an Angel is showing John a picture of the world after the destruction of the Temple. We see a world in which man and God commune:

"There will be no curse any more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads." (Revelation 22:3-4)

Does the contrast get any clearer? Does the picture get any more beautiful? Unlike Moses, we have been blessed today with being able to see "God’s face." God’s face is not about a God with flesh and blood, but about where "God just is," about relationships, about God’s hand of protection and God’s safety.

Yet again, we see how putting Scripture into its proper context gives us access to the deep and rich meaning behind the words themselves. So I once more exhort and encourage all of you to continue to study the Scriptures and travel the journey. In a recent conversation, I described my Christian faith as a journey that is never-ending. I was strongly cautioned and criticized by other Preterists for comparing Christianity with a journey. "The Gospel is finished” they say, while they ignore the bloodshed across the world resulting from differences in interpreting Scripture. "Our faith is a journey," I said. It is my journey to make for myself, not yours to make for me. Some think they have it all figured out, they think they have arrived at their destination, that they have Truth. I am not one of them. I choose to continue to learn, explore, rethink faith, consider my doubts…ask the hard questions. That is what Christ did. That is what staring in God’s eyes is all about; it is about where "God just is." It is about bettering the world, our families, our society, our environment and the Kingdom. It is about relationships. We can make the journey together, or we can make it apart. But I believe together I can learn something from you, and perhaps you can learn something from me. What a wonderful way to engage each other and take Christianity to new heights!

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