What is there about the face of God that would strike a human being dead? Take, for instance, the request of Moses to see God’s face. Actually, he asked to see His glory. God refused because He said to see His face would kill Moses.
(Exo 33:20 KJV) And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.We also have the case of Isaiah coming into the presence of God, and knowing that he was going to die having seen God.
(Isa 6:5 KJV) Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.What is there about the face of God that would cause death in a human being? Later on, we have God speaking to Moses out of a cloud. That seems to be enough to ensure Moses survival. What is the nature of God‘s face that, covering it up with a cloud, will save your life? It can’t be the concept of holy fire as His righteousness. That would tend to shine through any cloud you could throw in front of it.
I’m thinking that it is the total, absolute purity of God’s countenance that would be deadly. Why? It’s possible that seeing such purity would cause us to have such a deep longing in our souls that we would die in grief. Have you ever wanted something so bad you could feel it? Has that feeling ever been so intense that you wanted to die if you couldn’t have it? I’m not sure I have, but I’ve read about it, usually in fiction.
This purity would not be the kind of characteristic that radiates. He would not be a reflection of the statement that God is the light, at least, in our human sense of that. We think of light as radiating. We think of darkness is the absence of light. Are those biblical statements or philosophical conclusions? Maybe this is another one of those mysteries like the Trinity or the incarnation. Maybe the concept is that there is a light that is so pure that it does not radiate. I can’t comprehend that. But then I can’t really comprehend God either.
homo unius libri
Amen! Thank you…I always appreciate your reflections!
ReplyDeleteOne of the great joys of retirement for me is the time to contemplate the great mysteries of life. I rejoice that some of my thoughts resonate with you.
DeleteGrace and peace