God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
Numbers 23: 19 (NIV)
Scripture: Ephesians 3
For the last three devotions, we have looked at examples of how God appeared to people. He has taken different forms to accomplish that. He had to, didn’t He? He is a spirit, after all. This devotion will look at how God uses His spirit and glory among other things to appear to people.
To read the previous devotions in this series, click the appropriate button below.
We started this series of devotions off with the statement that we sometimes question how we can seek God if we can’t see Him. One reason we can’t see God is because He is a spirit. The Bible tells us, however, that God uses His spirit and glory, among other things, to appear to people.
God as Spirit
Part of the reason we can’t see God is because He is a spirit. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4: 24 NASB). Even though we are made in His image (Gen. 2: 27), God doesn’t have an earthly body like ours.
God reveals Himself to us through the Spirit by using our conscience. Romans 2: 14-15 says, “for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them” (NKJV).
God revealed Himself to Balaam several times. In several, it doesn’t say the form that He took, just that God did come to him (Num. 22: 9, 20; 23: 4, 16). Numbers 24: 2 says, “… the Spirit of God came upon him” (NKJV). I would think “came upon him” would have to mean something internally.
God’s Glory
We can see God’s glory when He chooses to show it to us. “As Aaron was speaking to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and there in a cloud the LORD’s glory appeared” (Ex. 16: 10 HCSB). “When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses” (Ex 33: 9 ESV). Numbers 12: 5 says God revealed Himself in a cloud when He came down to deal with sibling squabbling.
In Ezekiel’s vision, he saw the glory of the Lord. “And the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD” (Ezek. 10:4 NKJV). Notice that His glory is not described.
This was not the only time God’s glory appeared in a cloud. Exodus 13:21 says, “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night” (ESV). God’s glory was in the cloud and fire.
So, maybe God does still appear to us, but we don’t see? I wonder if there are times He appears to us but we don’t catch that it is really Him. I can see us so caught up in this world that we miss Him. But I really think that, if God is really going to appear to us, we will know. He isn’t going to be in total stealth mode.
His Name
God has lots of names. Still, His revealing Himself through His name may be a little harder to understand.
Moses asked God what His name was. God replied, “… I AM WHO I AM…” (Ex. 3: 14 NKJV). This means more than just I am me. It means He was not created by another.
The name Jehovah also shows us who God is. It means that He is eternal. It also speaks to His self-existence.
Deuteronomy 12: 5 says, “Instead, you must turn to the place Yahweh your God chooses from all your tribes to put His name for His dwelling and go there” (HCSB). We would interpret this to mean God’s church. God will meet us at His place of worship.
Other Ways to See God
There are examples where people saw God in other ways. We talked earlier about God’s glory in the fire. It had to have been in the fire at the burning bush (Ex. 3: 2). Scriptures say that God’s glory was evident at Horeb. Exodus 24: 17 says, “To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain” (NIV). This would correlate with Ezekiel’s vision of God. “And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him” (Ezek. 1: 27 ESV). This also puts Leviticus 9: 22-24 and 2 Chronicles 7: 1-3 into perspective.
Nature reflects God. “And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth” (Isa. 6: 3 HCSB). It is also used to illustrate Him: “Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him” (Ezek. 1: 28 NIV). “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory” (Ezek. 43: 2 ESV).
Humans can’t stand to see God in His full majesty and glory after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. But that doesn’t stop Him from revealing Himself to us.
Father God. You did not want the Garden of Eden to be the end of Your relationship with man. To ensure it wasn’t, You sent Your Son to die for us. You still today seek to establish an grow a relationship with us. Help us to grow closer to You. Amen.
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