What Does God Look Like? - Read the Bible and See
When Ezechiel saw God and part of his Court
If you've read parts one and two of this series, you will see that God has appeared to the biblical fathers in both human form and in a bearable form of his natural form. By bearable I mean that God in his full and complete natural state is too overpowering to appear among humans and other living things. The form that God chooses is determined by God's intention and will in the interaction with humans. When God wishes to be conversational, he has appeared in a human form. And notice that Moses, in recording the events I discussed in the first two sections, does not record that God had to have some overpoweringly vain and beautiful human form. Abraham only sees three travelers, and he does not even realize that one is the Lord God until they speak and he recognizes the speech of the Lord (since he had conversed with God in visions previously.) God does not need to have the tallest form, or the blondest hair, or the best muscles, or the most alluring figure. God's natural state is perfection. When God decides to use a human form it is to fulfill his will, and his will is not to be superior to humankind in human traits and attributes. His will is to perform the interaction with humans at the proper comfort level, or the proper level of awe and respect, depending on the circumstances. For example, his interaction with Moses was more "sophisticated" than with Adam and Eve, or with Abraham, in the sense that God appears to Moses in closer to his natural form, even allowing Moses to see as much of him (and hear his name) as Moses could physically handle. Now we are going to look at probably the most discussed (and misunderstood) interaction between God and a human, Ezechiel.
First, it is important to understand a few things about Ezechiel. Ezechiel was a priest. In popular literature today too many people focus on Ezechiel being a prophet, rather than starting with understanding that he was first of all a priest. As a true priest of Israel, he was what we could say "consecrated," in that the Holy Spirit guided his actions and prevented him from error. That is why his book is in the Bible and why humans can in all confidence totally believe in his words. Not only was Ezechiel a priest, but he was a priest during the exile in Babylon. So this gives him a further gravitas and authenticity, because he is charged with keeping the word of the Lord, even in that time of exile and oppression among pagan conquerors. One day, Ezechiel priest, became Ezechiel priest and prophet. A prophet is not someone who "predicts the future." A prophet is someone who hears the literal words and will of the Lord. The words of God may include visions of the future, but a prophet is not and should not be a "fortuneteller." It is precisely because Ezechiel was a faithful priest that God made him a prophet by speaking to him and instructing him. Thus Ezechiel is also reknown as the first prophet to receive the call to prophecy outside of the Holy Land. Understanding this context makes it easier to understand and analyze God's appearance to Ezechiel, because this was in anticipation of another liberation from slavery: both the physical slavery, and later, through the grace of Jesus Christ, the liberation from inevitable death in sin. Thus Ezechiel laid the foundation for Jesus Christ, first by heeding God's instructions in great detail about how and who to judge, and second by heeding God's instructions in terms of construction and worship. Over all of this, however, was the most important purpose of the interaction between Ezechiel and God, which is to emphasize the absolute power and majesty of God, and zeal for God's Holy Name. Remember that the name of God is the mechanism of performing his will, because the face of God, and the name of God, are the physical manifestations of God's intentions.
Unlike the appearances of God described in parts one and two, where God, in some form, comes to humankind and stands on earth, God brings Ezechiel to him. How do we know this. Ezechiel 1:1 ...the heavens opened, and I saw divine visions... and 1:3: the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezechiel, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chobar.-There the hand of the Lord came upon me. Ezechiel, as you will see throughout his book, is a very careful detailer of events, sometimes repeating entire sections as he sought for precise words to describe the experience. As a priest he was not your average Joe, so when he said "the heavens opened" he was not waxing poetic. He describes three "settings" of the stage for the interaction with God: the heavens opened (so he had access to seeing God in God's natural state), the word of the Lord came to him (which means he understood God's speech and intention), and the hand of the Lord came upon him (which means God was able to direct Ezechiel's thoughts and actions.) So this section we are about to discuss, where Ezechiel sees God, is not "future telling", no matter how fanciful the images of God and the angels may be. Ezechiel is seeing God and his court as they are at that time, and not having some science fiction fantasy of aliens or whatever. Ezechiel was a consecrated priest and he was in total communication with God on a very literal level.
So remember, Ezechiel is standing on earth and now, under God's guidance, peering into the heavens, that is, the court of God. Later St John would do the same thing, except that God then directed St John to see the future, especially the return of Jesus Christ to judge finally all of humankind. Ezechiel, in contrast, in the opening of this book, is describing looking into the heavens under God's hand and seeing God and his court "at work." Later comes elements of viewing the future as shown by God. So the first thing that Ezechiel sees as he peers into heaven are "figures resembling four living creatures" whose "form was human but each had four faces and four wings, and their legs went straight down; the soles of their feet were round. They sparkled with a gleam like burnished bronze." Ezechiel goes on to describe how they move, their faces of man, lion, ox, eagle, the human hands under the wings, and the wheels that moved within them 16: The wheels had the sparkling appearance of chrysolite and 20: Wherever the spirit wished to go, there the wheels went and they were raised together within the living creatures; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. As Ezechiel is gazing at the creatures and their wheels, he hears the sound that heralds God, 24: Then I heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring of mighty waters, like the voice of the Almighty. When they moved, the sound of the tumult was like the din of an army. And then he sees the throne of God.
Before we describe the appearance of God, let us demystify what it is that Ezechiel was seeing. Do you remember how when Moses spent time in the presence of God, his face became whiter and more glorious? Anyone in the physical proximity of the natural appearance of God is going to take upon his or her self the impression of God's will. So what Ezechiel was seeing were the angels who are constantly in close proximity to God, in their natural form. Their natural form is a spiritual mapping on their celestial bodies of God's will. Ezechiel was seeing therefore the creative purpose of God, both man and animal, mapped onto the surface of the angels who constantly face and attend God. And the wheels? Galaxies. Galaxies are the nursery of the physical universe. Because the warmth of stars provides for the potential of physical life, "wherever the spirit wished to go, there the wheels went." Physical human and animal life exists at God's will, and his method of providing for life is through warming stars organized into galaxies. Angels are purely reflective of the will of God, and their physical attributes in this peek that Ezechiel had into the heavens, are like seeing an extreme mural summary of how life exists through the will of God. Ezechiel was seeing a condensed soup summary of the nature of life in the forms of the angels who constantly attend God. He sees the face of mankind, the power of life (lion), the nutrition and labor of life (ox), and the aspiration of life (eagle), with straight legs down to gleaming round soles of their feet (these are the spheres of planets and the elements they are comprised of.) God's intention for human and animal life, moves through the wheels of galaxies, using gleaming elements bound into spheres where life can reside. And there is another way we can be certain of this, because in summary of viewing the angels who attend God in his attentions, Ezechiel hears the sound of their wings (which is movement) and the voice of the Almighty (which is God's will, through his Word.) So there is nothing science fiction or futuristic about these angels and what they represent; it is actually very straightforward when one remembers that anything in close proximity to God is total spirit and reflection of his word and his will.
Here is the passage where Ezechiel (1:26-28) sees God: Above the firmament over their heads something like a throne could be seen, looking like sapphire. Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man. Upward from what resembled his waist I saw what gleamed like electrum; downward from what resembled his waist I saw what looked like fire; he was surrounded by splendor. Like the bow which appears in the clouds on a rainy day was the splendor that surrounded him. Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. (2:1-2) When I had seen it, I fell upon my face and heard a voice that said to me: Son of man, stand up! I wish to speak with you. As he spoke to me, spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard the one who was speaking....
Notice how Ezechiel, the priest, did not throw himself down for the angels, but did so for the Lord. That is because as the wise priest, even as he was peering into heaven, seeing marvelous and barely understandable things, he only proned himself in recognition of the legitimate awe and identity of God himself. Even as he saw strange and awesome things he did not understand (like the wheels) he knew they were not God. A true priest and a true prophet always recognizes the true presence of God, and does not worship the attendants of God.
Ezechiel could tell that God had the general outline of a human, and especially noticed the waist because God is seated. The waist is also a boundary between two different visual qualities of God. Upward from the waist gleamed like electrum (which is like a glowing metal.) Downward from the waist is what looked like fire. Remember that God's appearance is a reflection of his intention. Just like with human beings, below the waist represents movement (legs) and reproduction. Fire is a transformational quality. So Ezechiel is seeing God's potentiality for the creation and movement of life in the quality of fire below the waist. Upward from the waist represents feeling, thinking, and breathing. Ezechiel sees God's upward body half as a metal glowing like warm gold. This is reflective of the thriving of life's functions when they are pure like warm, malleable gold. God's intention is to communicate with Ezechiel and guide him, so Ezechiel is seeing part of God's glory in it's "at rest" state, where God is not doing anything with Ezechiel other than communicating and guiding him, but Ezechiel can see the potentiality at rest in God. This does not mean that God was not otherwise "at work"; I'm only referring to his interaction with Ezechiel.
I hope you've enjoyed these three posts about how God takes physical appearance in the Bible. There are, of course, other marvelous examples. But I thought I'd start with the basics and place them in context, because today, there is such poor formation and understanding of many Bible events. There is so much that is accessible and understandable about God and how he has interacted with the Bible fathers that it is sad it is not more widely understood, with more trust and love.
Showing posts with label God's Appearance in Human Form. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Appearance in Human Form. Show all posts
Friday, June 8, 2007
Thursday, June 7, 2007
What Does God Look Like? (Part 2 of 3)
What Does God Look Like? - Read the Bible and See
When God Appeared to Moses
The relationship between God and Moses is remarkable in every aspect, but here we focus on how God physically appeared to Moses and what insights can be gleaned from it. As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series of posts, it is understandable that people are curious about God's physical appearance, and often do not realize there is a significant amount of insight about this question in the Bible. In Part 1 I cite how God appeared in human form to Adam and Eve, and to Abraham. Here, let us look at how God appeared to Moses.
Exodus 3:2-6 There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned." When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am." God said, "Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father," he continued, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
In Part 1 I pointed out that when God appears as a human to Abraham, they already had a history of conversations through visions. So when God appeared in human form to Abraham, Abraham was not struck with awe and fear as was Moses. And there is significance to this difference. When God appeared to Abraham, it was to give him information and to allow for an interaction, a conversational give-and-take. That is difficult to do if one is interacting with God in his natural form of unlimited power. So God is fully capable of having a human form and enjoying interaction with the people he loves. However, with the burning bush, God is "introducing" himself to Moses, who he will raise up to lead Israel out of slavery, and who will codify the law and the Commandments. God knew that they will have many decades of relationship during Moses' life, and this was chosen way to appear. Remember that Moses himself is the author of this book of the Bible, so even though he is writing in third person, he is describing what actually happened to him. Moses starts by writing "an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush." Even though Moses uses the word angel, he does not mean a physical manifestation of an angel personage, because if he meant that, he would have no curiosity of this "remarkable sight" and "why the bush is not burned" because he'd know why, if he was gazing upon an angel. Rather, what Moses means in writing this is that "light" emanating from God was in the bush, though at first he does not realize what it is that is happening. So when Moses wrote he described in hindsight as best as he could what he was seeing, which was the divine light of God. Of course modern day authors wish he wrote, "I saw a bush magically illuminated by full spectrum light that God sent in order to get my attention." But thank God, the Bible authors were very precise as to what they saw and to what they were thinking or perceiving, so that later readers could share with them with confidence in its authenticity. Because it was important that Moses know who and how God truly "is", God therefore chose to appear to Moses as a portion of his infinite light. That is why although it appeared as a "fire flaming" it "was not consumed." Much has been written about the significance of fire, especially as in the form of the Holy Spirit, so I won't go into detail here except to point out that fire is a process that is transformational. Suppose God just used a big spot light like on a billboard instead of a flame. That would simply indicate the emphasis, illumination, and underscoring of a message. When God uses the image of a flame, though, God is indicating that a process is underway. Here he is initiating the process of communication with Moses and the establishment of a freed Israel. That is why the "fire" is "flaming" but the bush is not "burned." It is transformed but not destroyed. How do we know that? Because God tells Moses the ground he now stands upon is holy. Before God appeared to Moses, that was just some ordinary ground for grazing the sheep. Once God appears, by virtue of his presence "the place where you stand is holy ground." This marks the transformation of Moses and his followers to "holy ground", that is, Israel. Pagans would have assumed that the ground remains holy, because of God's appearance there. But the holiness is transferred and "travels along with" God in his presence among the people.
Notice that God identifies himself by voice, even though he is not in a human form as he was with Adam and Eve, and with Abraham. This again is a foreknowledge of God's teaching role with Moses, where the precision of voice is needed, even if God is not at that time in a more sociable human body form. After all, from this point on Moses heard God's voice, instructing him in each step of the exodus. So the burning bush was an authentic view of some of God's form of glorious light, and his voice was the introduction to the means by which they would communicate during the exodus. So subsequent passages state, "On the day the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt," and "The Lord answered him" and "The Lord then told Moses" and "Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron" and "Now this is what the Lord commanded." These are all expositions of speech of the Lord, not his physical appearance.
Exodus 19:9: The Lord also told him, "I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also."
The Lord God decides to take upon himself a physical form "in the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt, on its first day, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai." (Exodus 19:1.) God explains that it will be necessary for people to have total faith in Moses (and God anticipates how weak the people's faith will be) because this is the time of the Covenant at Mount Sinai. So God, who knows human nature better than anyone, realizes that it will strengthen the people's faith in Moses and what he commands on behalf of God if the people can actually see a manifestation of God in their midst. God then appears in the form of fire and cloud, with the sound of thunder, over Mount Sinai and "Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God" (Exodus 19: 17.) God chose the form of the cloud, fire, thunder, and lightening upon the mountain for several reasons. One is to show the people his authentic form and power, so that they recognize him as the creator and ruler of heaven and earth, but also so that they have the proper respect. Exodus 20: 18-20: When the people witnessed the thunder and lightening, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a position much farther away and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die." Moses answered to the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test you and put his fear upon you, lest you should sin."
This is very important to understand. God had then and has now every ability to "showboat" if that would ever be his intention, which it is not. Notice that the first two physical appearances in the Bible are in gentle human form, walking in the cool of the garden, and enjoying the hospitality of Abraham, while imparting important information. It is only when humankind becomes so intertwined in their chosen sins that God has to take on a more formidable appearance - not to impress, but to save. How do we know that? Because God shows the people how Moses can walk right up that mountain and into God's presence without fear, and to emerge with the Covenant. If God was only trying to scare people, a view of hell would do the trick. But God, in anticipation of Jesus Christ His Son breaking the bounds of death and resurrecting with total confidence in God, allows Moses to be the ultimate example of faith, obedience, and goodness. The people could see how God allowed Moses into his presence, although they would be struck down if they tried to do so (not that anyone was inclined to do so, as they were in great fear.) The passage Exodus 19:20 describes this very simply: When the Lord came down to the top of Mount Sinai, he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up to him.
When the Israelites had received the Ten Commandments and the laws of God, God came down from the form on the mountain into a gentler form of cloud that could be among the people in what was called "The Meeting Tent." The cloud was actually a column that stood outside the tent to indicate that God was inside speaking with Moses: As Moses entered the Tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses (Exodus 33: 10.) Moses wrote: The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another (11.) So from this the reader can tell that Moses spoke with God within the confines of a tent "as one man speaks to another" while the column of cloud indicated the presence of God within the tent to those who observed outside. We can tell that God is not appearing to Moses in a human or burning bush form though because one day, when Moses asks God to accompany them in a physical tangible way as they resume their travels, he also asks to see God as he truly is: "Then Moses said, "Do let me see your glory!"" (Exodus 33:18.)
God understands that Moses wants to see God as he truly exists in his authentic form. This is what we call the "glorified form" because it is how God appears beyond the bounds of earthly physics. Again, this is in anticipation of how Jesus Christ will appear transfigured in glorified form, and then later, resurrected in his glorified body. Here is how Moses describes seeing God (Exodus 33: 18-23): Then Moses said, "Do let me see your glory!" He answered, "I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name, 'Lord'; I who show favors to whom I will. But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives. Here, "continued the Lord, "is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. When my glory passes I will set you in the hollow of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face is not to be seen."
Moses does not record his reaction because immediately thereupon God and Moses went to work on the renewal of the tablets (which had been broken by Moses when the people sinned.) But when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, after forty days with the Lord, "he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord. When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him." (Exodus 34: 29-30.) Because of his radiant skin from conversation with God, Moses started wearing a veil, which he removed only in the presence of God. St Paul, years later, would ponder this veiling and conclude that this was symbolic of the failure of the Jews to recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah (2 Cor. 3: 7-18.) However, while the parallel and analogy is totally valid, there's a more fundamental message. Moses did not want the people to start to view him as God, by being distracted by Moses' increasingly radiant skin. Moses knew (think gold calf) all too well how easy it was for people to place God falsely within people and idols. So Moses decided to veil himself so that people would not focus on his radiance and confuse him with the literal presence of God within him.
Let's look closer now at how God's "walk by" of Moses took place. Notice that this does not take place in the tent, but up on the mountain among rocks. God wishes to grant his friend Moses' request, but has to protect him from seeing the full energy and glory of God. So God does the most that he can do to provide a portion of his authentic presence yet still protect Moses. He places him between rocks "in the hollow" and "cover(s)" Moses with his "hand" so that Moses cannot see God's approach or passing by, but only God's "back." Why is this? In the next section I will cite other examples where God's face must be concealed from even the holy because they would die. Do not confuse this with literally a human's "face" and a human's "back" because we have already shown how God can appear in a human form with a front and a back, no problem. In his glorified form, however, God is the totality of the Word of God, which is intention. The face of God is representative of all of God's focus and all of God's energy, and no living thing can endure the total focus of God in his authentic glorified form. How do we know this? Because to make the experience complete, God speaks his name as he passes by Moses. God is the summation of the light and word of life, because all exists because he intends it to exist, and by saying his name, that is like Moses seeing "God at work." So the immense amount of energy and the intentionality of the Word of God in God's full physical form is too much for anyone to bear directly, thus God shields Moses from his direct intentionality. In part 3 of this I'll show another example of this by discussing the angels who do stand directly in front of God and how that, like the radiance of God to Moses' face, reflects in how the angels appear.
When God Appeared to Moses
The relationship between God and Moses is remarkable in every aspect, but here we focus on how God physically appeared to Moses and what insights can be gleaned from it. As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series of posts, it is understandable that people are curious about God's physical appearance, and often do not realize there is a significant amount of insight about this question in the Bible. In Part 1 I cite how God appeared in human form to Adam and Eve, and to Abraham. Here, let us look at how God appeared to Moses.
Exodus 3:2-6 There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned." When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am." God said, "Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father," he continued, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
In Part 1 I pointed out that when God appears as a human to Abraham, they already had a history of conversations through visions. So when God appeared in human form to Abraham, Abraham was not struck with awe and fear as was Moses. And there is significance to this difference. When God appeared to Abraham, it was to give him information and to allow for an interaction, a conversational give-and-take. That is difficult to do if one is interacting with God in his natural form of unlimited power. So God is fully capable of having a human form and enjoying interaction with the people he loves. However, with the burning bush, God is "introducing" himself to Moses, who he will raise up to lead Israel out of slavery, and who will codify the law and the Commandments. God knew that they will have many decades of relationship during Moses' life, and this was chosen way to appear. Remember that Moses himself is the author of this book of the Bible, so even though he is writing in third person, he is describing what actually happened to him. Moses starts by writing "an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush." Even though Moses uses the word angel, he does not mean a physical manifestation of an angel personage, because if he meant that, he would have no curiosity of this "remarkable sight" and "why the bush is not burned" because he'd know why, if he was gazing upon an angel. Rather, what Moses means in writing this is that "light" emanating from God was in the bush, though at first he does not realize what it is that is happening. So when Moses wrote he described in hindsight as best as he could what he was seeing, which was the divine light of God. Of course modern day authors wish he wrote, "I saw a bush magically illuminated by full spectrum light that God sent in order to get my attention." But thank God, the Bible authors were very precise as to what they saw and to what they were thinking or perceiving, so that later readers could share with them with confidence in its authenticity. Because it was important that Moses know who and how God truly "is", God therefore chose to appear to Moses as a portion of his infinite light. That is why although it appeared as a "fire flaming" it "was not consumed." Much has been written about the significance of fire, especially as in the form of the Holy Spirit, so I won't go into detail here except to point out that fire is a process that is transformational. Suppose God just used a big spot light like on a billboard instead of a flame. That would simply indicate the emphasis, illumination, and underscoring of a message. When God uses the image of a flame, though, God is indicating that a process is underway. Here he is initiating the process of communication with Moses and the establishment of a freed Israel. That is why the "fire" is "flaming" but the bush is not "burned." It is transformed but not destroyed. How do we know that? Because God tells Moses the ground he now stands upon is holy. Before God appeared to Moses, that was just some ordinary ground for grazing the sheep. Once God appears, by virtue of his presence "the place where you stand is holy ground." This marks the transformation of Moses and his followers to "holy ground", that is, Israel. Pagans would have assumed that the ground remains holy, because of God's appearance there. But the holiness is transferred and "travels along with" God in his presence among the people.
Notice that God identifies himself by voice, even though he is not in a human form as he was with Adam and Eve, and with Abraham. This again is a foreknowledge of God's teaching role with Moses, where the precision of voice is needed, even if God is not at that time in a more sociable human body form. After all, from this point on Moses heard God's voice, instructing him in each step of the exodus. So the burning bush was an authentic view of some of God's form of glorious light, and his voice was the introduction to the means by which they would communicate during the exodus. So subsequent passages state, "On the day the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt," and "The Lord answered him" and "The Lord then told Moses" and "Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron" and "Now this is what the Lord commanded." These are all expositions of speech of the Lord, not his physical appearance.
Exodus 19:9: The Lord also told him, "I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also."
The Lord God decides to take upon himself a physical form "in the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt, on its first day, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai." (Exodus 19:1.) God explains that it will be necessary for people to have total faith in Moses (and God anticipates how weak the people's faith will be) because this is the time of the Covenant at Mount Sinai. So God, who knows human nature better than anyone, realizes that it will strengthen the people's faith in Moses and what he commands on behalf of God if the people can actually see a manifestation of God in their midst. God then appears in the form of fire and cloud, with the sound of thunder, over Mount Sinai and "Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God" (Exodus 19: 17.) God chose the form of the cloud, fire, thunder, and lightening upon the mountain for several reasons. One is to show the people his authentic form and power, so that they recognize him as the creator and ruler of heaven and earth, but also so that they have the proper respect. Exodus 20: 18-20: When the people witnessed the thunder and lightening, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a position much farther away and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die." Moses answered to the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test you and put his fear upon you, lest you should sin."
This is very important to understand. God had then and has now every ability to "showboat" if that would ever be his intention, which it is not. Notice that the first two physical appearances in the Bible are in gentle human form, walking in the cool of the garden, and enjoying the hospitality of Abraham, while imparting important information. It is only when humankind becomes so intertwined in their chosen sins that God has to take on a more formidable appearance - not to impress, but to save. How do we know that? Because God shows the people how Moses can walk right up that mountain and into God's presence without fear, and to emerge with the Covenant. If God was only trying to scare people, a view of hell would do the trick. But God, in anticipation of Jesus Christ His Son breaking the bounds of death and resurrecting with total confidence in God, allows Moses to be the ultimate example of faith, obedience, and goodness. The people could see how God allowed Moses into his presence, although they would be struck down if they tried to do so (not that anyone was inclined to do so, as they were in great fear.) The passage Exodus 19:20 describes this very simply: When the Lord came down to the top of Mount Sinai, he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up to him.
When the Israelites had received the Ten Commandments and the laws of God, God came down from the form on the mountain into a gentler form of cloud that could be among the people in what was called "The Meeting Tent." The cloud was actually a column that stood outside the tent to indicate that God was inside speaking with Moses: As Moses entered the Tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses (Exodus 33: 10.) Moses wrote: The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another (11.) So from this the reader can tell that Moses spoke with God within the confines of a tent "as one man speaks to another" while the column of cloud indicated the presence of God within the tent to those who observed outside. We can tell that God is not appearing to Moses in a human or burning bush form though because one day, when Moses asks God to accompany them in a physical tangible way as they resume their travels, he also asks to see God as he truly is: "Then Moses said, "Do let me see your glory!"" (Exodus 33:18.)
God understands that Moses wants to see God as he truly exists in his authentic form. This is what we call the "glorified form" because it is how God appears beyond the bounds of earthly physics. Again, this is in anticipation of how Jesus Christ will appear transfigured in glorified form, and then later, resurrected in his glorified body. Here is how Moses describes seeing God (Exodus 33: 18-23): Then Moses said, "Do let me see your glory!" He answered, "I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name, 'Lord'; I who show favors to whom I will. But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives. Here, "continued the Lord, "is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. When my glory passes I will set you in the hollow of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face is not to be seen."
Moses does not record his reaction because immediately thereupon God and Moses went to work on the renewal of the tablets (which had been broken by Moses when the people sinned.) But when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, after forty days with the Lord, "he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord. When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him." (Exodus 34: 29-30.) Because of his radiant skin from conversation with God, Moses started wearing a veil, which he removed only in the presence of God. St Paul, years later, would ponder this veiling and conclude that this was symbolic of the failure of the Jews to recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah (2 Cor. 3: 7-18.) However, while the parallel and analogy is totally valid, there's a more fundamental message. Moses did not want the people to start to view him as God, by being distracted by Moses' increasingly radiant skin. Moses knew (think gold calf) all too well how easy it was for people to place God falsely within people and idols. So Moses decided to veil himself so that people would not focus on his radiance and confuse him with the literal presence of God within him.
Let's look closer now at how God's "walk by" of Moses took place. Notice that this does not take place in the tent, but up on the mountain among rocks. God wishes to grant his friend Moses' request, but has to protect him from seeing the full energy and glory of God. So God does the most that he can do to provide a portion of his authentic presence yet still protect Moses. He places him between rocks "in the hollow" and "cover(s)" Moses with his "hand" so that Moses cannot see God's approach or passing by, but only God's "back." Why is this? In the next section I will cite other examples where God's face must be concealed from even the holy because they would die. Do not confuse this with literally a human's "face" and a human's "back" because we have already shown how God can appear in a human form with a front and a back, no problem. In his glorified form, however, God is the totality of the Word of God, which is intention. The face of God is representative of all of God's focus and all of God's energy, and no living thing can endure the total focus of God in his authentic glorified form. How do we know this? Because to make the experience complete, God speaks his name as he passes by Moses. God is the summation of the light and word of life, because all exists because he intends it to exist, and by saying his name, that is like Moses seeing "God at work." So the immense amount of energy and the intentionality of the Word of God in God's full physical form is too much for anyone to bear directly, thus God shields Moses from his direct intentionality. In part 3 of this I'll show another example of this by discussing the angels who do stand directly in front of God and how that, like the radiance of God to Moses' face, reflects in how the angels appear.
What Does God Look Like? (Part 1 of 3)
What Does God Look Like? - Read the Bible and See
Part 1: When God appears and walks with people in human form
Everyone is curious what God looks like. It's one of the first questions children ask. Or at least, children used to ask this. Now too many of them either do not have received learning and love of God from their parents and schools, or they have a fuzzy view of God, based on either new age ramblings or science fiction character parameters. There has been a creeping "spirituality" where God is viewed as kind of a diffuse energy in the universe, one that can be somewhat manipulated. (Why else would people be so ignorant and willfully defiant about the eternal consequences of mortal sin? They must think that they can "argue" with God, like self appointed spin doctors, lawyers, or PR people when they reach their judgment, and then, surely God will "understand" why they "felt they had to act the way they did.") Our parents and grandparents and ancestors did not have this problem, because they read the Bible and understood and believed. The Bible has many descriptions of the reality of God and how God physically appears. So take another look at these sections of the Bible and enjoy that there really is much more information than people realize, if only they read it with rationality and faith.
Genesis 3:8-9
Remember, Moses is the author of the first five books of the Old Testament, and he had extensive physical viewing of God. When he writes about the fall of Adam and Eve, Moses describes God: When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called the man and said to him, "Where are you?"
Now, put this information in its proper context. Moses wrote with great detail and care, especially when he codified the Commandments and laws of God and Israel. So Moses tends to be very precise. So next, think about what he did not write. He did not write that God was flitting around kind of like a spirit or orb. He did not write that man and woman had a "feeling" that they were in a holy place, and that the vegetation around them rustled in a significant way, etc.
So Moses, without painting a picture, which would not have been his purpose and would have distracted from the message, describes God as "walking" (God was in human form with feet), making a "sound" of walking (so God had weight and his feet made noise as he walked). God "called" the man, so God was using his mouth to create speech that they understood. And God asked the man "Where are you?" which further illustrates God was using human form, because he had eyes that the he let the man know he was using to try to see him through the vegetation. And when you think about it, there's a marvelous human touch about God, because Moses comments that God was "walking in the garden in the cool of the day," just as people would have in that time of pre air conditioning, when the land is cooler and lovely before sunset. Obviously God is not bothered by the direct intensity of the heat of sunlight, and would find his works beautiful at any time of day or night. But he appeared to man and woman in those times as a human being, walking and enjoying the land of Eden as they did. He was making himself a friend (in advance of Jesus Christ making himself clearly all of humankind's "friend") and approachable, by using human form and senses with man and woman.
Genesis 18:1-5
The second description of God appearing as a man occurs when God and two angels approach Abraham. At first they seem to be three human travelers: Now the Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. And when he raised his eyes he saw three men standing at a distance from him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent door to meet them, and bowed down to the earth, and said, "My Lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought that you may wash your feet; and then rest yourselves under the tree. Since you have come to your servant, I will bring you a little food that you may refresh yourselves; then you may go on." They replied, "Do as you have said."
Again, remember to put this in context. Prior to these passages Moses describes how God had appeared to Abraham in visions. So Abraham had already been in conversation with God, but not in God's physical form. So Abraham had heard God's words and seen him in vision, but not yet in God's human, physical form. Another thing you need to know about hospitality in those times is that a traveler would appear to ask for water, food, or shelter by standing at a distance from the owner's tent. By the way, those of you who know a little about Native American hospitality know that this is still done even today among some traditional Navajos, where a visitor stays by their car and honks until someone comes to the door.
So in this passage Moses is giving us the "advance picture" by writing that "the Lord appeared to him (Abraham)" to let the reader know this is God, but that Abraham does not know his identity yet. Abraham, being of the most virtue of men and hospitality, runs to greet and tend to the visitors, using the polite form of address, "My Lord." He does not yet realize that these are angels, and that God is one of the human figures. Abraham runs to Sara and does not say, "Quick, God is out there with two friends, get out your our best fixings," but he does urge her to haste to take care of three honored travelers seeking their hospitality.
It is only when Abraham engages in conversation with the three men that he realizes who they are. Moses does not spell this out in words because he does not have to, since the preceding chapters detail the familiarity Abraham had with the conversation of God. As soon as they engage in conversation, he recognizes that these are angels and the Lord God who are visiting him. You can read their conversation in Genesis 18:9-33. On the theme of how God appears, notice that again, there is such an ordinary human physical companionship and motion when the two angels leave to go to the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. 16: Then the men set out from there and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham walked with them to escort them on their way. So as I described in the garden of Eden, they have human form and mannerisms, by looking in the direction where they are going to walk, and by Abraham walking with them a part of the way, just as any friend or hospitable host would do. Before the angels leave, God explains to Abraham what the angels are going to do. Then the setting is described beautifully in 22: So they turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing in the presence of the Lord. Again, we can all relate to this, where two visitors walk away on a mission, and the two remaining stand side by side, talking. The Lord remains with Abraham and they have an extended conversation, side by side as Abraham pleads the case of any just people who might remain in Sodom. Notice the strength of their friendship, in terms humans today can understand, as Moses writes in 23: Abraham drew near and said, "Will you destroy the good with the wicked?" This is just how two friends would be, in a respectful relationship, where when one is about to broach an important subject, you tend to step closer to your friend. Abraham takes care to be respectful, but feisty, as you can see in 27: Abraham answered, I have ventured to speak to the Lord though I am but dust and ashes. But he is not shy about questioning the Lord and actually negotiating with him in a sense, by asking the dimensions of his mercy in terms of how many just people can justify saving a totally corrupt city. When they finish their conversation and reach an agreement, Moses reports: 33: The Lord departed after he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place. So just as in the garden of Eden, God appears in human form. These short but precise descriptions are not only but charming and reassuring. Anyone can imagine God and Abraham talking side by side, gazing in the direction of Sodom, where the two companion angels were walking, and then when they finish talking, God walks away and Abraham turns back to his tent.
Part 1: When God appears and walks with people in human form
Everyone is curious what God looks like. It's one of the first questions children ask. Or at least, children used to ask this. Now too many of them either do not have received learning and love of God from their parents and schools, or they have a fuzzy view of God, based on either new age ramblings or science fiction character parameters. There has been a creeping "spirituality" where God is viewed as kind of a diffuse energy in the universe, one that can be somewhat manipulated. (Why else would people be so ignorant and willfully defiant about the eternal consequences of mortal sin? They must think that they can "argue" with God, like self appointed spin doctors, lawyers, or PR people when they reach their judgment, and then, surely God will "understand" why they "felt they had to act the way they did.") Our parents and grandparents and ancestors did not have this problem, because they read the Bible and understood and believed. The Bible has many descriptions of the reality of God and how God physically appears. So take another look at these sections of the Bible and enjoy that there really is much more information than people realize, if only they read it with rationality and faith.
Genesis 3:8-9
Remember, Moses is the author of the first five books of the Old Testament, and he had extensive physical viewing of God. When he writes about the fall of Adam and Eve, Moses describes God: When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called the man and said to him, "Where are you?"
Now, put this information in its proper context. Moses wrote with great detail and care, especially when he codified the Commandments and laws of God and Israel. So Moses tends to be very precise. So next, think about what he did not write. He did not write that God was flitting around kind of like a spirit or orb. He did not write that man and woman had a "feeling" that they were in a holy place, and that the vegetation around them rustled in a significant way, etc.
So Moses, without painting a picture, which would not have been his purpose and would have distracted from the message, describes God as "walking" (God was in human form with feet), making a "sound" of walking (so God had weight and his feet made noise as he walked). God "called" the man, so God was using his mouth to create speech that they understood. And God asked the man "Where are you?" which further illustrates God was using human form, because he had eyes that the he let the man know he was using to try to see him through the vegetation. And when you think about it, there's a marvelous human touch about God, because Moses comments that God was "walking in the garden in the cool of the day," just as people would have in that time of pre air conditioning, when the land is cooler and lovely before sunset. Obviously God is not bothered by the direct intensity of the heat of sunlight, and would find his works beautiful at any time of day or night. But he appeared to man and woman in those times as a human being, walking and enjoying the land of Eden as they did. He was making himself a friend (in advance of Jesus Christ making himself clearly all of humankind's "friend") and approachable, by using human form and senses with man and woman.
Genesis 18:1-5
The second description of God appearing as a man occurs when God and two angels approach Abraham. At first they seem to be three human travelers: Now the Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. And when he raised his eyes he saw three men standing at a distance from him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent door to meet them, and bowed down to the earth, and said, "My Lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought that you may wash your feet; and then rest yourselves under the tree. Since you have come to your servant, I will bring you a little food that you may refresh yourselves; then you may go on." They replied, "Do as you have said."
Again, remember to put this in context. Prior to these passages Moses describes how God had appeared to Abraham in visions. So Abraham had already been in conversation with God, but not in God's physical form. So Abraham had heard God's words and seen him in vision, but not yet in God's human, physical form. Another thing you need to know about hospitality in those times is that a traveler would appear to ask for water, food, or shelter by standing at a distance from the owner's tent. By the way, those of you who know a little about Native American hospitality know that this is still done even today among some traditional Navajos, where a visitor stays by their car and honks until someone comes to the door.
So in this passage Moses is giving us the "advance picture" by writing that "the Lord appeared to him (Abraham)" to let the reader know this is God, but that Abraham does not know his identity yet. Abraham, being of the most virtue of men and hospitality, runs to greet and tend to the visitors, using the polite form of address, "My Lord." He does not yet realize that these are angels, and that God is one of the human figures. Abraham runs to Sara and does not say, "Quick, God is out there with two friends, get out your our best fixings," but he does urge her to haste to take care of three honored travelers seeking their hospitality.
It is only when Abraham engages in conversation with the three men that he realizes who they are. Moses does not spell this out in words because he does not have to, since the preceding chapters detail the familiarity Abraham had with the conversation of God. As soon as they engage in conversation, he recognizes that these are angels and the Lord God who are visiting him. You can read their conversation in Genesis 18:9-33. On the theme of how God appears, notice that again, there is such an ordinary human physical companionship and motion when the two angels leave to go to the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. 16: Then the men set out from there and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham walked with them to escort them on their way. So as I described in the garden of Eden, they have human form and mannerisms, by looking in the direction where they are going to walk, and by Abraham walking with them a part of the way, just as any friend or hospitable host would do. Before the angels leave, God explains to Abraham what the angels are going to do. Then the setting is described beautifully in 22: So they turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing in the presence of the Lord. Again, we can all relate to this, where two visitors walk away on a mission, and the two remaining stand side by side, talking. The Lord remains with Abraham and they have an extended conversation, side by side as Abraham pleads the case of any just people who might remain in Sodom. Notice the strength of their friendship, in terms humans today can understand, as Moses writes in 23: Abraham drew near and said, "Will you destroy the good with the wicked?" This is just how two friends would be, in a respectful relationship, where when one is about to broach an important subject, you tend to step closer to your friend. Abraham takes care to be respectful, but feisty, as you can see in 27: Abraham answered, I have ventured to speak to the Lord though I am but dust and ashes. But he is not shy about questioning the Lord and actually negotiating with him in a sense, by asking the dimensions of his mercy in terms of how many just people can justify saving a totally corrupt city. When they finish their conversation and reach an agreement, Moses reports: 33: The Lord departed after he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place. So just as in the garden of Eden, God appears in human form. These short but precise descriptions are not only but charming and reassuring. Anyone can imagine God and Abraham talking side by side, gazing in the direction of Sodom, where the two companion angels were walking, and then when they finish talking, God walks away and Abraham turns back to his tent.
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