UNDER THE ROCK
One of the greatest requests in the Bible was the plea of Moses, "I beseech thee; show me thy glory." The Lord replied, "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me and live." The quest for thousands of years has been to just see the Glory of Almighty God.
"And it shall come to pass, while my glory passes by, that I will put thee
in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by."
Glory means "majesty, splendor or beauty." But, all of those things, as awesome as they are, were concealed even further by the blinding, stupendous, inexplicable light surrounding the God of the universe. This light was so powerful that to view it meant death. So, the Lord did the only thing He could do to satisfy Moses' curiosity; He hid him under the rock and covered his face. He kept Moses safe. That's what we do when we want to protect something valuable; we hide it away in a treasure cove for safekeeping. However, I do that and it's tucked out of sight, and so safely hidden, that I eventually forget where I put it!
God provided a "hiding place" for Moses just as Corrie ten Boom did for the Jews. Corrie was a Dutch Christian Holocaust survivor who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II. She and her family provided a secret room behind a wall in their home to protect the Jews. Corrie and her family were later caught and she spent years in Ravensbruck prison camp; the other members of her family were killed or died in prison camps. Corrie could have played it safe like everyone else, hid under a rock and covered her face from the plight of the Jews, but she didn't, she chose to fight for them at her own misfortune.
Hiding His people was something God did continually throughout the Bible. When we walk through the "pearly gates," we will be shown the multitudes of times God hid us in the cleft of the rock and covered our faces to protect us from certain death or tragedy and we are so thankful for His loving arms of safety. Hiding us from terrors, troubles and perils is one thing, but still we yearn to see His Glory. Has anyone seen Him? My daughter saw Him standing by a pillar in our church once, but only His white robe, His feet and sandals, not His face. We sing it; we pray it; we long for it; we search and seek it; that mysterious something called His Glory!
Glimpses of Angels, wisps of angels' wings, visitations of angels unaware, visions, dreams, and God's operation of gifts all give us a sense of His Glory, but we're not satisfied; we want to look into His eyes and look full on His glorious face. Perhaps, we have hidden under the rock long enough. Could it be that we have entered an era where God's soldiers and warriors don't need or want to be hidden; they march boldly; they fight the wolves; they stand between the pillars and "push" for the Gospel with their last breath; they "Flame the Name" of our Lord Jesus Christ; and they proclaim to every Nation, kindred and tongue of One Lord, One faith, One baptism.
Jesus Christ, our Lord, did many surprising things because of people's faith. He turned the water into wine when it wasn't time to do so; He healed because a woman said "even the dogs eat of the crumbs under the table;" and He changed the Word of a Prophet because Hezekiah begged for his life with faith and persistence.
We are the Rapture generation, facing horrendous trials of wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes in divers places, riots, failing economies, and even persecution of God's church. God will hide us under the rock as He always has, for He loves us with an eternal unfailing love. But, maybe this tribulating, marching Church of Jesus Christ has the desire to come out from under the rock, face a dying world head-on, tear the roof off of unbelief, remove the covering from our eyes, stare Biblical prophecy in the face, proclaim Acts 2:38 to every Nation, move Almighty God with our incomparable faith and then ask one more time, "Show us Your Glory!"
By Sheryl Fowler
(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com. PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, "Austin In Love," Pastor Kenneth Phillips)
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