The text gives us three different examples to show us the kind of relationship Moses had with God. First, at the tent of meeting, outside the camp, the presence of God “would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses” (Exodus 33:9). This is how “the Lord used to speak to Moses, face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (33:11).

Second, we see rather detailed conversation going on. “Show me your ways,” said Moses, and God replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest (33:14). Moses responded, “If your presence will not go, do not bring us up from here” (33:15). And the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have asked, for you have found favor in my sight” (33:17). There is more, yet this is already a longer conversation with God that most of us commonly experience.

Third, Moses asks, “Please show me your glory” (33:18), and God does not say No. “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord,’ and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one shall see me and live” (33:19-20).

The easy critique here would be to argue that the text contradicts itself, declaring in one verse that God talks to Moses face to face, and then declaring a minute later that God does not talk to Moses face to face. But the story is more interesting than that. Certainly there is a strong contrast being expressed, but we might be wise to hesitate to claim we are smarter than the Bible. The first face-to-face is relational: Moses hears the words of God, and responds to what God says, with the same intimacy and understanding that can happen between close friends. The second face-to-face is metaphysical: Moses gets to see a great deal of God’s glory, but not so much that it will overwhelm him and indeed destroy him. Moreover, ‘the face of God’ is surely a metaphor, just like references to God’s hand or arm or heart: these are not claims that God has a biological body like ours; instead, they are efforts to talk about God’s strength or love or presence, using human language to describe God, because it is the only kind of language we have.

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Teach us, O Lord, to yearn for the same kind of relation with you that Moses experienced: rich in conversation, rich in intimacy. Our hearts and our prayers are often so shallow. Enable us to press on, day by day, to know you with all the fullness of our hearts.

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