MAN SHALL NOT SEE ME AND LIVE

יח  וַיֹּאמַר:  הַרְאֵנִי נָא, אֶת-כְּבֹדֶךָ.

18 And he said: 'Show me, I pray Thee, Thy glory.'

יט  וַיֹּאמֶר, אֲנִי אַעֲבִיר כָּל-טוּבִי עַל-פָּנֶיךָ, וְקָרָאתִי בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, לְפָנֶיךָ; וְחַנֹּתִי אֶת-אֲשֶׁר אָחֹן, וְרִחַמְתִּי אֶת-אֲשֶׁר אֲרַחֵם.

19 And He said: 'I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.'

כ  וַיֹּאמֶר, לֹא תוּכַל לִרְאֹת אֶת-פָּנָי:  כִּי לֹא-יִרְאַנִי הָאָדָם, וָחָי. 

20 And He said: 'Thou canst not see My face, for man shall not see Me and live.'

כא  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה, הִנֵּה מָקוֹם אִתִּי; וְנִצַּבְתָּ, עַל-הַצּוּר.

21 And the LORD said: 'Behold, there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock.

כב  וְהָיָה בַּעֲבֹר כְּבֹדִי, וְשַׂמְתִּיךָ בְּנִקְרַת הַצּוּר; וְשַׂכֹּתִי כַפִּי עָלֶיךָ, עַד-עָבְרִי.

22 And it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand until I have passed by.

כג  וַהֲסִרֹתִי, אֶת-כַּפִּי, וְרָאִיתָ, אֶת-אֲחֹרָי; וּפָנַי, לֹא יֵרָאוּ.  {פ}

23 And I will take away My hand, and thou shalt see My back; but My face shall not be seen.' {P}

 

GOD IS PHYSICAL AND LIMITED

Show me of your ‘Entire self” ” all your honor”. Moses spent more time than anyone human facing God, facing a cloud…He knows something….He knows that all those other times God was hiding in the cloud, he saw a fire within the cloud but somehow thought there was more to GOD than either the cloud or the flickering fire within. He was there and he who looked at the burning bush, sensed there is more to God than “meets the eye”, he was curious enough that he asks to see God first good chance he gets. I imagine that Moses figured he is in a good place now, God just told him he liked him so he asks the obvious, “Can I see all of you”. What’s important in this statement is Moses mind set. It is clear from the way the question is asked that Moses is not even wondering if God is spiritual or physical he knows God is physical and asks to see him. God’s response matches, he doesn’t deny he is physical but actually almost apologizes for not being able to fill Moses request and offers the best he can do which is letting Moses sees his back.  God then instructs Moses to stand on a rock, God will then pick him up and put him in the cleft of the rock, and then God will cover Moses with the palm of his hands (so Moses can’t be harmed) and then God will remove his hand letting Moses see his back.

To my mind that was God’s big chance he could have told Moses what many cops say “go home there is nothing to see” that he is a spiritual God and therefore has no body or image. But instead God explains that his face is a “dangerous face” that his gaze kills. But God suggests an elaborate set up designed to do “the best he can” so Moses can see his back. Moses was clearly satisfied that he saw God’s back… That then confirms that God has 2 palms a face and a back implying that we could truly be in his image.

God is then some sort a physicality that has a shape, palms a back and a face.  So is it settled? Both God and Moses confirm beyond the shadow of the doubt that GOD IS A PHYSICALITY, probably based on biblical description made up of light that can harm humans, which is evident by the fact that God is always hiding in a cloud or fire. Moses face radiated from just being around God who was hiding in a cloud, evidently out chice or of necessity.